If there’s one thing we’ve learned about Outer Banks, it’s that everything and anything can happen on and off-screen. With Season 4 officially done and Season 5 confirmed to be the final season of the show, fans have been anticipating seeing the lengths the Pogues will go to find The Blue Crown. Despite ending Season 3 with a big bang in finding El Dorado, fans also got the opportunity to see one of their favorite ships involving JJ (Rudy Pankow) and Kiara (Madison Bailey) finally get together and conquering the high seas in Season 4.
JJ and Kiara have been a couple that fans have rooted for since Outer Banks premiered in 2020, and have also become one of the reasons why many have tuned into the show. The series started off strong with JJ and Kiara, but after Season 4, we’re not so certain about that.
As Season 4 saw JJ and Kiara get closer and finally begin their relationship, fans noticed that there was a difference in not only the way the characters interacted with one another, but in the way that Pankow and Bailey were on screen, which fans think may have to do with a potential feud happening between the two actors. Her Campus reached out to Bailey and Pankow’s teams about this rumor, but did not hear back by the time of publication. Spoiler warning: Spoilers for Outer Banks Season 4 follow.
There appeared to be body doubles in a brief scene during Season 4.
In a brief scene in Season 4, JJ and Kiara are sitting by a fire cuddling with each other after looking for The Blue Crown. However, fans noticed that there was something out of the ordinary in the way that the scene was framed. Split cuts showed Pankow and Bailey’s faces, but never showed them right next to one another in the scene.
The camera cuts. pic.twitter.com/ilgM4EjQd1
— . (@originaixsin) November 7, 2024
This could be seen as an editing choice, however, fans noticed that there was a body double for JJ during this scene. When you put the clips side by side, it’s clear that both Pankow and Bailey are not in any scenes together, but cut separately to make it seem like they are.
NO WAY THEY HAD A JJ STUNT DOUBLE WHEN KIE WAS LAYING ON HIM?????? pic.twitter.com/o0Ea6SWbh3
— Bella (@bellaisa20012) November 7, 2024
What happened between Pankow and Bailey?
Throughout the last 2 seasons of Outer Banks, fans have theorized that there may have been a potential rift between Pankow and Bailey with their respective partners. Pankow’s partner, Elaine Siemek and Bailey’s partner Mariah Linney have been rumored to disagree with fans desperately wanting JJ and Kiara together. It’s also been rumored that during a cast dinner back in 2023, Siemek, who was a former assistant on Outer Banks, had a falling out with Bailey and Linney. Bailey and Linney unfollowed Siemek after this, leaving fans to speculate that there was a potential conflict between the couples.
During Season 1 and Season 2 of Outer Banks, fans believe that Pankow and Bailey were close friends until Linney and Siemek began to notice how Outer Banks fans were rooting for their characters to get together. Pankow and Bailey were more active on social media together during the first two seasons, but now, they hardly interact online with each other. Fans think that this caused a divide between the two friends, and it’s reflected in the way JJ and Kiara interacted with each other throughout Season 4.
No one really knows what’s going on between these two, but since it’s possible that Pankow will not be returning to the fifth and final season of Outer Banks, I can bet that we’ll be seeing the Pogues recovering from the loss of JJ, while Kiara takes center stage.