Warning: this post contains spoilers for the season 4 part 1 finale of Outer Banks.
The first part of Outer Banks season 4 concluded with a bang as Rudy Pankow’s character JJ Maybank learned an earth-shattering secret about his family — and the actor says that the reveal is going to throw JJ into a spiral.
Speaking to PEOPLE about the “big reveal” — JJ’s father, Luke (Gary Weeks), is not actually his biological father, but instead, JJ is the son of the late Larissa Genrette and Chandler Groff (J. Anthony Crane) — Pankow, 26, says his character is “still in denial.”
“What the Pogues all deal with is: we can persevere. And I think that’s a huge thing about the Pogues is that they persevere. And now, [JJ] completely losing that identity, [he’s feeling] like, ‘Okay, where do I belong? Where do I belong — and are my friends going to think differently of me?'” he says.
Pankow notes that JJ’s “identity” as a Pogue is “the foundation” of who he is in many ways — a scrappy survivor who is often the loose cannon amongst his friends and is, in Pankow’s words, “impulsive” — so learning that he’s not technically a Pogue is going to truly rattle him.
“I also think he’s still in denial of it. I think at the end of [episode] five, he’s still in denial — that that is something that he is,” Pankow continues, referring to JJ technically being a Kook based on his real parentage.
“And that Luke is just trying to make another buck somehow, which grinds his buttons probably just as much,” he says, before joking that he’s messed up the phrase and meant to say “grinds his gears.”
As for how fans can expect JJ to react in season 4 part 2, which premieres Nov. 7, Pankow teases some “lashing out” both internally and externally.
“Internally, I think, is where it starts,” Pankow says, before Chase Stokes, who plays John B., chimes in, saying, “You can only contain the beast for so long.”
“Yeah. You’ve got to let it out somehow. And I can tell you, he’s going to let it out,” Pankow promises.
Aside from the major bombshell he learns about his real parents, the other challenge JJ is navigating in season 4 is his relationship with Kiara (Madison Bailey), which was finally explored in season 3 but still feels far from solidified.
Pankow says that his character “struggles a lot” when it comes to relationships, and particularly with the question of “what actually does a relationship entail?”
“I think JJ struggles with that a lot because he didn’t have a really good template from that with Luke, which is why his mother left. And so he’s trying grasp, ‘Okay, what does that look like?'” he says.
“And then also JJ’s wants and desires — I don’t know if those align always with Kiara’s. I don’t think they always do see eye to eye on that,” Pankow continues. “As well as, JJ’s trying to keep — not just Kiara — but everyone else with him. And yeah, he feels that pressure, I think, that sends him spiraling.”
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Part 1 of Outer Banks season 4 is now streaming on Netflix, and part 2 premieres Nov. 7.
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