Will JJ and Kie get together in Outer Banks season 3?

JJ and Kie have been a fan favorite ship on Outer Banks since the first season. With John B. paired off with Sarah, and Pope and Kie’s romance lacking equal fan fervor to her relationship with JJ, all eyes are on Outer Banks season 3‘s potential to let the good ship Jiara sail.

Season 1 left off with Kie and Pope tentatively stepping forward into romance. Kie’s initial rejection of Pope’s love confession was erased with a kiss that promised more to come. Then John B. and Sarah were presumed dead, and it placed Pope and Kie into a weird limbo due to grief.

Spoilers ahead of Outer Banks season 2

If you felt like the two were in a holding pattern that served neither of their characters then you wouldn’t be alone. Kie played it hot and cold with Pope all the way up to their decision not to become a couple. Never on the same page, sleeping together only affirmed to Kie that she and Pope were better as friends, in contrast, it confirmed Pope’s love for her.

Their romance was hard to watch mainly because it was clear the writers were waiting it out until they could break them up for reasons Kie’s initial rejection of Pope’s advances in season 1 already made obvious.

Explaining why Pope and Kie got together and not her and JJ, co-creator Jonas Pate told The Wrap:

"We saw some of the feedback from the fans about how everybody was cheering for Kiara and JJ to get together. But that wasn’t where we left them in season one."

Co-creator Shannon Burke elaborated further:

"We wanted to play out the hand we were dealt with. We tried to feel like, what do we think is real between these characters, and move it forward organically where it felt like realistically what would have happened with those characters."

Does that mean Pope and Kie were always meant to call it quits? Or did fans influence how the writers approached their relationship? We’ll never know for sure, but Pate has been talking about fan love for Jiara since season 1 dropped in 2020.

With season 2 out in the world, the conversation on JJ and Kie’s potential as a romance is back in the forefront and signs are pointing to fans getting what they want.

Will JJ and Kie start a romance in Outer Banks season 3?

While the team behind Outer Banks haven’t out right and said Jiara are next up for romance, given the ending of season 2, it’s not out of the question.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, co-creator Josh Pate enthusiastically teased that romance will become a big part of Outer Banks season 3. The Pogues being stuck on the JJ dubbed Poguelandia is what will open that door, and fans may just see Jiara on the other side of it.

Pate told EW:

"Teen romance and teen soap are a big part of the show. We wanted to explore the Ki-Pope relationship but obviously, we’re aware of how the fans feel about JJ and Ki. We wanted to tease that for the third season. We didn’t want to do it immediately, but we definitely want to do it just because that took us by surprise, like the audience’s reaction to JJ and Kiara and rooting for that romance. So we were immediately open to it, because it seems like an interesting idea to explore but we kind of left it for season 3."

So, that’s not a full-throated yes that a Kie and JJ romance is definitively on it’s way, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility either. Keeping things close to the vest isn’t surprising, you’ve got a leave a little room for mystery, but there’s plenty of clues that Jiara will at least have a talk about feelings since the showrunners keep teasing their relationship.

Kie has, after all, had a vibe going on with John B. and crashed and burned with Pope. It stands to reason she and JJ would have a discussion of some kind about the whole “No Pogue on Pogue macking” rule. Not to mention out of all the Pogues, they’re the only two planning a surfing trip together once everything is said and done.

The future looks bright for JJ and Kie on Outer Banks. We’ll have to wait and see if that will bloom into a romance on the show, but the potential of what they could be is definitely on the showrunners’ minds.