Outer Banks: JJ Deserves Better Treatment From The Pogues In Season 4

There are always going to be fictional characters that get the short end of the proverbial stick, at least in the eyes of fans. For the popular Netflix teen drama "Outer Banks," that character is JJ Maybank (Rudy Pankow), arguably the most wild and loyal member of the Pogues. There have been many Reddit threads related to JJ and how the other Pogues treat him, but it's something that really came to the forefront after the release of Season 3.

"JJ is the most loyal friend and would do anything for them," u/jaylee-03031 said on Reddit. "I do like that hot tub scene where Pope and Kie comforted him and hugged him but the rest of the time, he is getting made fun of or put down and he just puts up with it." On another thread, u/marinarasauce0 also noted their irritation at how JJ is treated by the others: "None of the other Pogues even acknowledged that JJ literally had nowhere to go, nothing to eat, no one waiting on him once they came back to OBX ... I guess it just annoys me bc JJ is truly ride or die for the other pogues but when it comes to him he's put on the back burner."

It's a trend that a lot of "Outer Banks" fans have noticed for quite a while now, but it really seems to have escalated in Season 3. Luckily, Season 4 is the perfect opportunity for the showrunners to finally show JJ some much-needed empathy.

At the conclusion of Season 3 of "Outer Banks," the show makes a daring and unexpected 18-month jump into the future. A monologue from John B. (Chase Stokes) reveals that the characters have settled down in different ways, including JJ, who bought a charter boat. Other than the very last scene, it almost feels like the end of "Outer Banks." But, as most fans likely know, Season 4 is absolutely on its way — which makes it the perfect opportunity for JJ to thrive for once.

"Outer Banks" is always going to be filled with dramatic, high stakes moments and character interactions that end in tears or anger. But that doesn't mean that JJ has to remain the butt of every ill-conceived joke that the Pogues can toss at him, nor does it mean that JJ's struggles have to be met with such indifference on the part of his friends. There's a fine line between creating effective character tension in ways that help with their arc and torturing a character for its own sake. For a lot of fans, JJ has sat too firmly on the latter side of that equation for far too long. If the writers are as interested in a fresh start as their Season 3 time jump implies, then Season 4 is the perfect time to change things for the better.