Warning: Major spoilers ahead for season four of Outer Banks.
Life will never be the same for the Pogues.
Outer Banks season four came to an end on Nov. 7 and with it, so too came the end for one of the show’s most beloved characters. Because after four seasons of John B (Chase Stokes), Sarah Cameron (Madelyn Cline), Kiara (Madison Bailey), Pope (Jonathan Daviss) and JJ (Rudy Pankow) risking life and limb in increasingly dangerous situations in pursuit of gold, their luck has finally run out.
So just which of the original cast members won’t make it to the fifth—and final—season of the fan-favorite Netflix series?
It’s Pankow’s JJ, the heart-of-gold, loyal-to-a-fault friend who found his true family in the Pogues. And to make matters all the more heartbreaking, JJ’s demise comes at the hands of the man he learns is his true father Chandler Groff—played by J. Anthony Crane—who, as it turns out, also killed JJ’s mom. (Ouch, we know.)
But just what led to this tragic end? Let’s rewind.
Heading into the season four finale, the Pogues are in pursuit of the Blue Crown—a piece of Blackbeard the pirate’s treasure—and fighting off mercenaries along the way.
But while it seemed as though karma finally came for Chandler after JJ left him to fend for himself in the desert as retribution for all the terrible things his father had done in life, Chandler reappears later on and takes JJ’s girlfriend Kiara at knifepoint.
To save her, JJ hands over the crown, only to have Chandler stab him in the stomach for leaving him in the desert. JJ then dies in Kiara’s arms, after telling her he loves her one more time. (Once again, ouch!)
But heartbreaking as it is, JJ’s death will not be in vain, acting as the catalyst for the quest for revenge the rest of the Pogues are sure to embark on in the show’s fifth installment.
A fifth season that will also be the show’s last, according to creators Shannon Burke, Jonas Pate and Josh Pate.
“From this beginning, we imagined a mystery that would lead to a five-season journey of adventure, treasure hunting, and friendship," the trio wrote in a Nov. 4 statement shared to the series’ social media. "At the time, seven years ago, it seemed impossible that we would really get to tell the whole five season story, but here we are, at the end of our fourth season, still chopping away."
And while noting that season four was the hardest, but also the most rewarding, season for the team to put together so far, they also shared their hopes and plans for the series’ finale.
“We hope to bring our beloved Pogues home in the way we imagined and planned years ago,” the statement continued, noting they plan for it to be the show’s best yet. “We hope you’ll join us for one more paddle out to the surf break.”
But while you recover from the end of season four and await season five—and the revenge that is sure to come—keep reading for more shows to fill your time.
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