The scene where JJ was in the hot tub, talking about buying it for his family and him being so proud and then seeing his bruises after he stood up broke my heart. He's been through so much sh*t and he still tries to give his friends everything, not to forget when he took the blame for destroying the boat. But this hot tub scene... idk, it did something to me. It made me think so much and when Kie got in and hugged him and Pope followed, that was such a great moment. I'd say it's definitely one of the best scenes of the whole show so far.
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With the second season of Outer Banks in full swing, the show has already given viewers all they could ask for and more. And by more, I mean more Rudy Pankow, who we know better as JJ Maybank, the loose cannon of the Pogues. This season did not fall short of giving us plenty of JJ content, and most importantly, an entire scene that established him as the best Pogue.
For those unaware, JJ is the quick-witted, sarcastically humored, and feisty best friend of John B and the rest of the Pogues. We often find him grappling with society’s expectation of him living up to be a mere repetition of his criminal and abusive father. And, of course, we can’t forget the time he stole $25,000 from a drug dealer to pay off his restitution but instead spent it on a hot tub in the first season. So if JJ so easily flies off the rails when his emotions become too much to handle, why is he the best of them all? If you were on the fence before, allow me to point out Season 2, Episode 5.
At this point, John B has surrendered to the police and is sitting in a jail cell awaiting a trial which could result in the death penalty. The Pogues have tried almost every way possible to prove it wasn’t him who killed Sheriff Peterkin, however, the police and the town refuse to believe them. After having his plans rejected after time (i.e. torturing Rafe with a gun until he confesses or kidnapping Sheriff Shoupe), JJ decides to go off on his own. This time, instead of buying an elaborate hot tub setup, he devises a complex and borderline asinine plan to bust John B out of jail. However, it’s not the bound-to-fail plan that makes JJ the best character, it’s the way he does it and the heart that’s behind it.
At the start of the scene, JJ pulls up to the jail, burning out on his dirt bike, wearing cuffed jeans, a white t-shirt, a backwards hat, sunglasses, some wired headphones with a 420 sticker on them, and a toothpick between his teeth, arguably the cleanest we’ve seen a Pogue yet. He walks into the detention center with the utmost confidence, obnoxiously saluting police officers as they pass by, and in classic JJ fashion, flipping them off the moment their heads turn away. However, this tough guy persona melts away as he jumps at the sound of a prisoner banging on his cell, proving he’s not the criminal he thinks he’s bound to be. His face at the sight of his friend in orange shows it all and even in such a difficult moment, he manages to make John B laugh.
Of course, as stated before, his plan is asinine. JJ tells John B to fake appendicitis so that his cousin, who’s an EMT, will show up to take him to the hospital, thus completing what he calls “Operation Liberation.” Of course, we all know Outer Banks well enough to know that nothing, and I mean nothing, goes according to plan. However, we see how far JJ was willing to go and how far he actually went for his friend, and not to mention how good he looked doing it.
JJ is the best kind of friend anyone could wish to have. Last season, he went to jail for Pope after encouraging him to sink Topper’s boat. This season, he steals an ambulance truck and pisses off more town officials than anyone in any show I’ve seen. And he does all this to save his friend. He knows how to keep the situation light-hearted, commenting on John B’s aluminum interior design when he visits him in jail or making Kie uncomfortable every time he asks about Pope and her relationship. JJ has given southern bad-boy with a soft spot for those he cares about a completely new meaning. I mean he LITERALLY pretended to be an EMT and walked away with the wrong patient, completely committing to the bit.
So when it comes down to it, JJ is a diehard loyal friend, a good kid whose demons take over at times, and probably the category of bad-boy you wouldn’t judge your best friend for going after. He’s the comedic relief of Outer Banks. He’s emotional, he’s a bit extremist, he’s intoxicatingly adventurous, he’s gorgeous, and if he was your friend, you’d always have someone looking out for you. And that’s why JJ Maybank is the best Pogue.
Watch Outer Banks on Netflix
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