Chase Stokes with his hand on Rudy Pankow's shoulder in Outer Banks Season 4
Outer Banks is known for its wild scenarios and daring adventures, and one thing the series has never been short on is plot twists. From John B’s (Chase Stokes) dad, Big John (Charles Halford) coming back from the dead to Rafe (Drew Starkey) killing Sherrif Peterkin (Adina Porter), Outer Banks has always pushed the boundaries of believability. But with the recent drop of Season 4 Part 1, the show has a whole new surprise in store for the Pogues, specifically for JJ (Rudy Pankow). When JJ gets a letter from the late Wes Genrette (David Jensen) telling him to ask his father about “Albatross” this sets JJ on a whole new path.

In the final moments of Episode 5, “Albatross,” JJ is brought out to a lighthouse by his father, Luke (Gary Weeks). It turns out he hasn’t been somewhere halfway across the world, but he’s been holed up at Barracuda Mike’s place down the street. Reuniting with his dad, Luke reveals to JJ that Albatross is the name of the boat that Larissa, Wes Genrette’s daughter, died on. When JJ asks what that has to do with anything, Luke reveals that he isn’t actually JJ’s biological father. Larissa is his mother and Chandler Groff (J. Anthony Crane) is his actual biological father. While he doesn’t go into the details of how he ended up with JJ as a baby and what exactly happened to Larissa, Outer Banks has once again dropped another shocking reveal, leaving us on a cliffhanger ending once again.

JJ’s New Parentage Is a Total Identity Change for Him

John B with his arms around Pope and JJ, standing together and looking out at someone in front of a sign that says no shirt, no shoes, no problem in Outer Banks Season 4 Part 1Image via Netflix

In an interview, we spoke with Rudy Pankow about this reveal to ask him how he reacted to this new change in his character. Not only does this technically make JJ a Kook, but he’s now being pulled into the center of the conspiracy surrounding Chandler Groff and the hunt for Blackbeard’s treasure. On the twist, Pankow said:

“I was shocked. Talking with Gary [Weeks] about, like, ‘Holy cow, we’re not, by blood, related.’ That took us by surprise and shock. I just said this earlier, that I think it actually played into the scene of when we both did it, of where it’s just like, ‘Whoa.’ We truly felt connected as father and son and as these characters, and then when we found out, it was a really difficult but fun scene to shoot, where you kind of come to that realization of like, ‘OK, then what is this new father figure? What is this new dynamic now with Luke? Do I listen to him even at all now?’ You didn’t really listen to him at all in the first place, but it definitely was like, there still was love there even though it was really complicated. And now JJ is going through a huge identity crisis , I think, of like, what is this gonna really do to JJ? How does he handle not knowing exactly who he is anymore? Because his whole identity is like, ‘I am definitely not a Kook.'”

The first part of the season ends on this reveal with Chandler looking out ominously at the Outer Banks with dastardly plans in mind. What would this show be without incredibly problematic parents? With the rest of the Pogues in Charleston tracking down clues, time will tell how JJ actually handles this news. Historically, he has not dealt with change well, and it will be intriguing to watch how his relationship with Luke changes due to this reveal.

Outer Banks Season 4 Part 1 is streaming on Netflix. Part 2 drops November 7.