Among the new drama and adventures in Outer Banks’ second season, here’s how the show sets up a romance between JJ and Kiara for season 3. As teen drama series do, Outer Banks sets up several relationships among the Pogues, even though they have a strict “no Pogue on Pogue macking” rule. While Sarah Cameron and John B were always set up to be Outer Banks’ core star-crossed lovers romance, the Netflix TV show has been less clear about the statuses of JJ, Kiara, and Pope.
During season 1, Kiara and John B were given a subplot about deciding they’re just going to be friends after he kissed her. Neither of the two really wanted to move forward with being in a relationship, so Outer Banks quickly dispelled the two from being an item in the future. With only two core female characters and three male protagonists, once John B and Sarah became the endgame, unofficially married couple in season 2, Outer Banks was left with exploring who Kiara would choose: Pope or JJ.
Once Outer Banks started truly exploring the dynamics between the Pogues not centered around John B, it became obvious that JJ and Kiara had a special chemistry. In JJ’s darkest moments in the first season, Kiara was there for him. Audiences were quick to ship the two as a couple, pointing out the sweet dynamic between Kiara’s tomboy nature and JJ’s reckless, yet sensitive demeanor. While the first season only gave hints at the duo’s pairing, Outer Banks season 2 features several subplots that set up JJ and Kiara’s romance for Season 3.
Kiara Breaks Up With Pope
Toward the end of Outer Banks season 1, Pope tells Kiara he loves her, which she doesn’t know how to take until she kisses him in the season finale. While this set up the duo for a season 2 romance, it was never quite convincing that Kiara wanted to be with him. For Outer Banks season 2’s first few episodes, Kiara and Pope have a confusing dynamic where she wants to hook up with him out of boredom and grief, but he wants more. After the two sleep together, Kiara realizes she doesn’t feel what she’s supposed to and breaks up with him, much to Pope’s heartbreak. The two decide to remain friends, but their solo interactions become much less frequent. With Kiara and Pope officially over with no dramatic breakup that suggests a possible revamp of the relationship, Outer Banks sets up JJ as the guy she really likes.
JJ & Kie Go On An Emotional Solo Mission
On the Pogues’ way back home from finding the tree that leads to the Cross of Santo Domingo, John B’s van, The Twinkie, gets stuck in the swamp. The only Pogue Outer Banks characters with no awkward tension to take care of the situation are JJ and Kiara, so the two venture alone to steal Kiara’s dad’s truck and JJ’s dad’s winch. The 20-minute mission turns into a fiasco when JJ’s dad is at his house, begging the Outer Banks teens to take him to a boat so he can escape to Yucatan. JJ and Kiara resist, ultimately giving in so JJ can have closure with his tumultuous home life.
Along the journey, more sparks of their genuine care for one another appear. When JJ goes into the store to buy food for his dad, Kiara chides Luke for not realizing how special his son is. She genuinely sees good and believes in JJ, while most of Outer Banks’ characters, Luke included, just see him as a delinquent who will follow in his dad’s footsteps. On their drive to the boat, Luke starts to taunt Kiara about how her mother ran with the bad boys in high school, though JJ steps in to stick up for Kiara and tell him to knock it off. This small journey Kie and JJ take together intentionally sets the stage for an emotional connection that may finally come to fruition in Outer Banks’ third season.
Kiara Nearly Sacrifices Her Own Life To Save JJ
Similar to the solo journey Kiara and JJ take to rescue The Twinkie, they’re also notably paired up in Outer Banks‘ season 2 finale as the rest of the Pogues leave the shipping container to rescue Sarah and the Cross of Santo Domingo. Kiara even mentions that the two keep being left together, sighing “it’s just me and you,” as they overheat in the container. After bonding about the future, they’re again paired off, tasked with locking all of the ship’s crew in the hull. The duo runs into the ship’s captain, who tries to kill the teens, eventually knocking an unconscious JJ overboard.
With no life jacket, safety precautions, or nearby boat to pull them in, Kiara jumps off the boat to keep JJ afloat. JJ has been one of her best friends her whole life, but this kind of connection and risk of her own life means more. Had Kiara not jumped in to save him, knowing that she could also die, JJ likely wouldn’t have made it. When the Pogues come around with the boat to find them, it’s Kiara that holds JJ and takes care of his wounds as they drive to the nearby island.
JJ & Kiara’s Future Solo Surf Trip Plan
One of the most tender, real moments between Outer Banks’ Pogues in season 2 happens when JJ and Kiara are stuck in the shipping container together. JJ starts talking about what he wants to do with his future if they get all the money back, which he describes as a humble life where he can surf all day, fish, and cook on the grill. Kiara never cared about money, so it’s genuine when she replies that JJ’s dream sounds perfect. She asks him if there’s room in his trip for one more which leads to some banter about passports, both realizing they would be content with a trip together.
As the Pogues reach the unknown island at the end of Outer Banks season 2, it seems the six teens, including Cleo, are pairing off. John B and Sarah have reconciled and agreed to be unofficially married again, Pope begins teaching Cleo the handshake and welcomes her to the Pogues, and JJ helps Kiara up as they all head out to body surf. Kiara had mentioned earlier in the season that the Pogue life would be easier without parents, and JJ’s dream was to surf all day and catch fish, so now that the six are marooned on a deserted beach, both are in their ideal states. With the Pogues finally catching a break and navigating life with just the six of them, Outer Banks can more intimately explore their romantic dynamic, especially that between JJ and Kiara.
