NOTE: THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.
“Outer Banks” is a popular Netflix series, which recently came out with a new season with two separate editions. During the second edition, my favorite character and one of the main protagonists, JJ Maybank, dies. However, the reason he was killed off the show is surrounded by rumors.
JJ Maybank is my favorite character for obvious reasons: he is funny, loyal to his friends and obviously better-looking than John B. I finished the first edition of the new season about a week after it was released, and waited eagerly for the new part. However, when it was finally released, my TikTok For You page spoiled his death before I was able to watch it. These videos were accompanied by hate comments targeted at his girlfriend, Elaine Siemek, who was a previous assistant showrunner for the show.
Rumors have spread claiming that the reason Rudy Pankow, the actor of JJ, left the show is due to his girlfriend, who claimed to be uncomfortable with Pankow being so close with his costar after seeing “ship edits” for JJ Maybank and his girlfriend Kiara, who is played by Madison Bailey. It is said that Rudy and Elaine have had multiple disputes with Madison and her girlfriend, Mariah Linney, the first allegedly being from a cast dinner last year according to Style. There are speculations that something happened during that meal because Bailey and Linney unfollowed Elaine shortly after the get-together. Although what exactly happened remains unknown, the drama continued to get worse from there.
The directors of “Outer Banks” have expressed that JJ’s death has always been part of the show’s plan, but I find that hard to believe. Why would they kill off such a key character? And why did it happen shortly after the actors had a falling out? Pankow expressed his desire to branch out to open new opportunities in the acting world shortly before the season started filming, but I don’t understand why he would give up such a vital role in the show for something that may not have as much success. Rumors have said Rudy has already signed for another show, but none of that is confirmed. I think there are a lot of hidden truths behind his character’s death, and fans will never know the real reason why his character was written off.
Things were apparently so bad on set that both Pankow and Bailey requested to get stunt doubles for the simplest scenes like cuddling. This is severely unprofessional because it completely ruined the chemistry between the couple that fans grew to love. I get that there are issues behind the scenes from fans “shipping” the two taken actors, but personal issues should not get in the way of professional work. Actors Madelyn Cline and Chase Stokes started dating after their characters became a couple, but have broken up since. However, despite being exes, both of them have kept the chemistry between their characters alive, and remain friends even after a messy breakup. This further proves how unnecessary and unprofessional Bailey and Pankow’s issues are, because not only did they not even date, but nothing ever happened between the two besides alleged jealousy from Elaine.
I think throwing away such a good role on Pankow’s end was a mistake because “Outer Banks” is the show that grew his popularity. Not only did he give up the role of a lifetime, but he disappointed fans all around the world who loved his character and the couple. Although it is not entirely Pankow’s fault that he left the show, I think he definitely would still be on the show if he didn’t profess his desire to leave. JJ Maybank will remain my favorite character, even after his death, but the show will not be the same without him.
