Outer Banks season 4 finale: Show EP on JJ’s shocking death

We do certainly understand if anyone out there is still reeling from the shock of the Outer Banks season 4 finale. After all, it is pretty hard not to be. JJ is gone! It is very-much hard to accept that we have lost a huge character from the ensemble at this point, but it also made some sense given the sort of show this is. From the start, the series has always been about adventure. If you live the life of one of the Pogues, you have to prepare for a cost.

While losing Rudy Pankow’s character may be a huge surprise for viewers watching the show, you should know that behind the scenes, this was always something that was potentially in the works.

Speaking on that subject further, executive producer Jonas Pate had the following to say to The Hollywood Reporter:

It’s been kind of lurking in his DNA from the beginning. He’s really a tragic figure, and the idea of mortality, and you only have a finite window — it’s also a theme of the show. It’s something John B has talked about from the first season. So believe it or not, this is something that was always sort of baked in the cake, and we just wanted to tell the story as elegantly and interestingly as possible.

Obviously, this is a death that is going to lead the story into a number of huge directions as we move forward into the rest of the series, and of course that is absolutely the point. If you are the producers of this show, one of the big priorities here has to be setting up an endgame that works for all the characters and also ends up being somewhat of a surprise. You don’t want to just take people on a predictable ride, especially when you have characters front and center here who lead unpredictable lives.

Related – See more on when Outer Banks season 5 could premiere

Are you still shocked that JJ was killed on Outer Banks?

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