‘Outer Banks’ Season 5: Will JJ Really Return? The Trailer Fuels a Fan Theory

The death of JJ Maybank in the season 4 finale of Outer Banks marked one of the most discussed moments of the entire series. Not only because he was the character fans loved most, but also because no one expected the creators to decide to write him out just one step away from the final season. And yet, ever since season 5 was announced, one question has continued to haunt the fandom: Will JJ really return?The first trailer for the new episodes only fuels the doubts. The Pogues’ new adventure will in fact revolve around the Blue Crown, a legendary artifact that, according to the series’ mythology, would have the power to bring a person back to life. A detail that seems to suggest an end goal: trying to save JJ.So…will Rudy Pankow return? In recent months, the actor has been quite clear that his character's journey ended with season 4 and that he did not return to the set to shoot new episodes. For instance: During a March appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Rudy was asked by host Josh Horowitz if his character JJ will pop up in a flashback this season.“That would be news to me,” Rudy said.Add Cosmopolitan as a preferred source in your Google search results.Use your Google account to add this to your settings.The series’ creators have also reiterated several times that the decision to kill off the character had been made long ago and was not a consequence of the rumors that circulated in recent months about what was happening behind the scenes.Outer Banks co-creator and showrunner Shannon Burke previously shared with Teen Vogue that JJ’s death will serve as the “main spine” of season 5, saying, “It’s going to change them. They began as kids who just wanted to have a good time all the time, and now they’ve gone the full spectrum now, where one of them has died in a terrible way.”However, anyone who has followed films and TV series for years knows one thing very well: Actors will rarely confirm a return before the official release. In fact, very often they are bound by confidentiality agreements that require them to deny any spoilers.NetflixFor this reason, part of the fandom continues to believe that Netflix is simply protecting the final season's most important twist. If the Pogues’ mission really will be to bring JJ back to life, it is inevitable to wonder whether the series will go all the way or use this quest only as a narrative engine.The hypothesis that seems most plausible—at least for the moment—is one that will perhaps disappoint fans of the series and the character. That theory: JJ will only appear in flashbacks. Even if JJ does not actually come back to life, it is hard to imagine a final season without Rudy, so chances are that fans will at least see some moments set in the past, showing how much he meant to the Pogues and giving even more weight to their mission.Whether the Blue Crown really manages to bring him back is a whole other story, but one thing is certain: Outer Banks season 5 will do everything it can to keep fans on the edge of their seats until the final episode.