Did JJ actually save Kiara in the Outer Banks season 5 finale? The creators have an answer

*Warning: Spoilers ahead for Outer Banks season five*

JJ (Rudy Pankow) might not have been around in Outer Banks season five, but the finale appears to hint that he helped save Kiara (Madison Bailey) from beyond the grave… or did he?

The Netflix series returned for its fifth and final season, picking up in the aftermath of JJ’s brutal death at the end of season four. The Pogues are grieving their best friend while hunting down Groff (J. Anthony Crane), who killed his own son and escaped with the Blue Crown.

By the finale, the Pogues have finally made it back to the Outer Banks, but there’s little time for a homecoming as Hurricane Cassandra approaches Kildare. To make matters worse, Groff has stolen the Royal Merchant gold and is preparing to flee the island with it.

Still determined to avenge JJ’s death, Kiara tracks Groff down to a marina and secretly boards his boat as he attempts to escape. The pair get into a brutal fight, during which Kiara confronts Groff over why he killed his own son.

Groff admits he was jealous after JJ told him he already had everything he wanted – things his father would never have. Kiara eventually manages to trap Groff with a rope attached to the sail before cutting him loose, sending him into the water where he drowns.

But killing Groff leaves Kiara alone aboard the boat in the middle of the hurricane. With the vessel taking on water under the weight of the stolen gold, she radios her location to the others and desperately starts throwing gold bars overboard in an attempt to keep it afloat.

Kiara is then struck by the sail and knocked into the ocean, leaving her stranded in the water with the storm raging around her. 

She fires a flare for help and turns to the person she has spent the entire season grieving. “Help me JJ,” she says, during which time she finds herself in the eerie calm of the eye of the storm. 

Just moments later, the gang show up and rescue her. Was it divine intervention or simply a happy coincidence? 

Did JJ actually help save Kiara from beyond the grave?

Deadline spoke with Outer Banks creators Josh Pate, Jonas Pate and Shannon Burke about the finale, noting that the eye of the hurricane likely saved Kiara’s life and asking whether this was symbolic or if JJ really did help. 

Burke gave a notably ambiguous answer, suggesting it’s however the viewer takes it. “It’s what you think. Like Josh said, it’s walking right up the line, and you can think one thing or the other,” he explained. 

“Probably everyone is going to look at that and have a different interpretation. Did he really help or was it just that the eye of a storm passed over?”

But Josh was less elusive, revealing what Kiara herself believes. “I guess I know what I think, but that’s not…,” said Jonas, to which Josh interjected, “I think I know what Kiara thinks… She thinks JJ helped her.”

As Burke pointed out, it’s not the only moment in the finale that deliberately blurs that line. Earlier on in season five, the Pogues finally retrieve the Blue Crown, and Kiara recites the prayer to try and bring JJ back from the dead. 

Sadly, he does not return, but Kiara does experience a montage of memories from their time together, giving her the closure she needs. 

When asked if the creators ever considered giving the crown real supernatural powers, Josh said, “Actually, there’s a similar supernatural element in earlier seasons with [Carla] Limbrey. 

“We always knew that the show was not a supernatural show but some people believe supernatural things in the world, and these kids could believe in these myths without us actually crossing the line into actual magic, which we never wanted to do.”

Jonas added, “But we felt like, to your point, Josh, it’s human to be superstitious, right? I mean, that’s what a lot of religion is. So we never thought about crossing the line, but we knew that we could have characters that could believe in those types of things, and it could motivate their actions.”

Burke chimed in, “And we wanted to walk right up to the edge of that line, to the point of where some people believed that it was supernatural, and some people didn’t. We wanted to get right up to the edge of that line, but then not cross it.”

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Featured image credit: Netflix