NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
While JJ was easily one of the most beloved characters on Outer Banks, the fan in me didn’t miss him as much as I thought I would in Season 5. The reason for that was due to the emergence and presence of Rafe.
JJ played a huge role in the first 4 Seasons of Outer Banks. While they all were labeled black sheep, JJ took that title to a different level. He was the one person who had it the worst. And according to him, he had nothing to live for or look forward to. And yet, he was the first one to put it all on the line for everyone. That’s why JJ was so loved.
If there was one character who deserved the gold and Blue Crown, it was JJ. But his death, while awful and heartbreaking, was needed for Outer Banks to thrive. Not trying to be cold in saying that, but look what we got out of it.
JJ was murdered by his biological father, and in his place, Rafe took over and became somewhat of a JJ clone. Not only to the P4L crew but to the viewers of Outer Banks as well. He was what we were missing in the absence of JJ. But how did he fit in so effortlessly?
JJ was wild. And we forget that Rafe was just as wild in the beginning. Drugs, alcohol, women, fights with his dad, murder and all, Rafe was the Kooks version of JJ. He did not care about anyone but becoming next in line and making his dad proud. JJ was sort of the same. He hated his father, but at the same time, he yearned for that connection between the two. There was nothing JJ would not do for his friends, the same as Rafe and his father.
So, when JJ was killed, the writers had to find someone who could step into the role not only for the Pogues, but for the show. Someone had to carry that go-all-out mantle that JJ carried for 4 seasons, and that character was Rafe.
For me, it hit a bit different. I binged Outer Banks in 2 weeks. By the time that I finished Season 4 and witnessed the death of JJ, it was 2 hours before the premiere of Season 5. So, unlike a lot of fans who were there from the start, I only had a limited time to grieve the death of JJ and what it would mean moving forward for Outer Banks.
But the writers did the show right. Go back to Season 4, and you can start to see the mantle being passed. Yes, Rafe still had ulterior motives, but slowly, he was putting his life on the line for the crew. JJ was still doing JJ things, but he was becoming a bit more unraveled, like Rafe was in Seasons 1 and 2. They were already setting us up; we just didn’t see it then.
As Season 5 wore on, we would now fully find ourselves rooting for Rafe the same way we cheered for JJ. Alright, JJ deserved some of the punishment that came his way; he was a guy who was lost and doing what he thought was best. Rafe killed the sheriff, but we also know why he did it, and the writers made a valiant effort to have him try to atone for that. And yet, we still wanted him and Sofia to come out on top.
Would JJ have done anything differently than Rafe on Season 5? If that was Kiara locked in jail during the storm, would JJ not have done everything to break her out? Would JJ not have pulled a gun on Shoupe just so he could save him? Truth is, no matter if we like it or not, Rafe became JJ 2.0, or were they always the same but just on different sides of the island?
I do admit one thing: it would have been TV gold to see them two work together till the end. But I get why it had to go down the way it did. JJ will forever go down as one of the best characters on Outer Banks. But not having him in Season 5 was not as bad as I thought it would be. Yes, he was missed, but Rafe more than held his own as a JJ replacement.
