Outer Banks' Rudy Pankow Says JJ Is 'in Denial' After 'Big Reveal' in Season 4 Part 1 Finale (Exclusive)

Warning: This post contains spoilers for the Season 4 Part 1 Finale Foreign banks.

The first part of Foreign banks season 4 ended with a bang as Rudy Pankow’s character JJ Maybank learned a shocking secret about his family — and the actor says the revelation will send JJ into a spiral.

Speaking to PEOPLE about the “big reveal” — JJ’s father, Luke (Gary Weeks), isn’t actually his biological father, but instead, JJ is the son of the late Larissa Genretta and Chandler Groff (J. Anthony Crane) — Pankow, 26 , says his character is “still in denial.”

“What the Pogues are all about is: we can persevere. And I think the great thing about the Pogues is that they persevere. And now, [JJ] completely lose that identity, [he’s feeling] like, ‘Okay, where do I belong? Where do I belong — and will my friends think differently of me?'” he says.

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Rudy Pankow as JJ in ‘Outer Banks’ Season 4.

Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix

Pankow notes that JJ’s “identity” as a Pogue is “the foundation” of who he is in many ways—a scrappy survivor who is often a loose cannon among his friends and who is, in Pankow’s words, “impulsive”—so that he learns that technically Pogue won’t really upset him.” I also think he’s still in denial. I think in the end [episode] five, he’s still in denial — that it’s something he is,” Pankow continues, referring to JJ technically being a Kook based on his actual origins.

“And that Luke is just trying to make a few more bucks somehow, which probably bothers him just as much,” he says, before joking that he messed up the phrase and meant to say “he’s grinding his gears.”

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As for how fans can expect JJ to react in Season 4, Part 2, which premieres Nov. 7, Pankow is dishing out some “attacks” both internally and externally.

“Inside, I mean, that’s where it starts,” Pankow says, before Chase Stokes, who plays John B., chimes in, saying, “You can only contain the beast for so long.”

“Yeah. You’ve got to let it out somehow. And I can tell you, he’s going to let it out,” Pankow promises.

Madison Bailey as Kiara, Rudy Pankow as JJ in ‘Outer Banks’ Season 4.

Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix

Aside from the big bombshell that he found out about his real parents, the other challenge JJ is dealing with in Season 4 is his relationship with Kiara (Madison Bailey), which was finally explored in Season 3 but still seems far from solidified.

Pankow says his character “struggles a lot” when it comes to relationships, and especially with the question “what does a relationship really entail?”

“I think JJ struggles with that a lot because he didn’t have a very good template from what happened with Luke, which is why his mother left. And so he’s trying to figure out, ‘Okay, what does that look like?'” he says. .

Chase Stokes as John B, Madison Bailey as Kiara, Carlacia Grant as Cleo, Rudy Pankow as JJ, Jonathan Daviss as Papa, Nate Bynum as Demp in episode 401 of Outer Banks.

Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix

“And then JJ’s wants and desires — I don’t know if they’re always in line with Kiara’s. I don’t think they always agree on that,” Pankow continues. “Also, JJ is trying to keep – not just Kiara – but everyone else with him. And yes, he’s feeling that pressure, I think, that’s driving him into a spiral.”

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Part 1 of Foreign banks season four is now streaming on Netflix, with part two premiering on November 7.

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Source: HIS Education