Outer Banks: 20 Best JJ Quotes

All the characters in Netflix’s Outer Banks are fun to watch, but the JJ Maybank quotes provide some of the best dialogue in the series. The series follows a group of teenagers as they bond and go on a treasure hunt that puts them in danger in the Outer Banks of the Carolinas. With each season, the stakes are raised, the treasure gets bigger, and the friends only get closer. The main characters get into some of the most unbelievable situations – and find even more unbelievable ways out of them. With all the treasure hunting and running for their lives, however, come some great lines.

JJ Maybank’s’ quotes are a great way to track his character arc and mental state. The more sarcastic he is, the more stressed he likely is. The meaner his lines get, the more he’s dug into survival mode. He is seen as a fun-loving troublemaker, but JJ has a hard life in Outer Banks. He’s an incredibly loyal friend who winds up in trouble because he’s willing to do anything for people he cares about. JJ’s quotes are often full of sarcasm and lies, but that’s because he says exactly what he needs to to get out of any situation he and his friends wind up in.

Season 1, Episode 8 “The Runway”

JJ might make some incredibly reckless decisions, but he knows that about himself. No one can deny that JJ doesn’t understand exactly who he is. He knows that he’s argumentative and that he often can’t stop himself once he starts down that particular road. JJ is also well aware that he is responsible for a lot of bad decisions for the Pogues in Outer Banks.

So, when Kiara and Pope argue about John B’s safety in the first season of the series, JJ acting as a mediator between them is a little surprising, even to him. He always takes a side among his friends. JJ, however, also understands that both of his friends aren’t truly angry at one another, but the situation they find themselves in, and his crack about mediating is enough to defuse the situation.

19 “No Working On Swell Day. That’s Rule Number One.”

Season 4, Episode 4 “The Swell”

Most of Outer Banks is spent with the teenagers in mortal peril while they search for a hugely historically significant treasure. The artifact might change every season, as well as the location, but that is the crux of the adventure in the show. It’s rare for the Pogues to have a chance to just have fun with one another. Swell Day is a rare thing in the show, even if some of the audience might not have thought it was necessary. It provides a nice reprieve to see the friends have a good time.

When JJ and John B can tell that the conditions are perfect for surfing, they round up everyone to have a beach day. While Pope and Cleo don’t end up on the beach with the rest of the group, JJ makes a valiant effort to get Pope to come along. He makes the point that no one works on Swell Day, and he’s not wrong as various shots show other characters closing up shop and heading out to surf.

While the line itself is perfectly in character for JJ, what makes this funnier is that by the end of the episode, JJ has a completely different rule number one.

18 “This Blaming Each Other Is Some Kook-a** Bull***t, All Right? We Don’t Do That. Okay? We’re Pogues.”

Season 2, Episode 8 “The Cross”

The Pogues are the definition of the found family trope in young adult media. These teenagers are people who have learned trusting adults doesn’t always work out for them, the world is a difficult place, and the only people who have their backs are the friends they’ve been hunting treasure with. When the stress starts to build in season 2 and Kiara, Sarah, John B, and Pope start to argue more than they support one another, JJ reminds them of that.

He reminds them that they are friends, that they’ve have been through some of the worst times, and that they still find their way out of it. That’s why he reminds them all that they are not Kooks, but Pogues. The Kooks can afford to turn their backs on one another and betray one another and use their money to buy themselves fake loyalty. The Pogues have real loyalty. JJ never lets his friends forget that he would do anything for them.

17 “You Know What The Key Is Here? You Just Got To Make It A Little Janky And He Does It For You.”

Season 4, Episode 1 “The Endure”

It’s a system that has likely worked for him for most of his teenage years…

When the fourth season of Outer Banks kicks off, the Pogues develop a plan as the show catches the audience up on what happens in the 18 months between finding El Dorado and taking on the hunt for Blackbeard’s necklace. Their plan is to build their own business and living space. Because of how much money they spend on their property (thanks to JJ going rogue at auction), they quite literally have to scavenge materials and build everything themselves.

When Pope admonishes JJ for not being exact with his measurements, JJ argues that his work is good enough, but Pope is more concerned about the dock they are building up not being safe thanks to JJ not caring about making everything perfect. While Sarah, Cleo, and Kie are amused at the back and forth between the two of them, JJ reveals that his pretending not to care about the measurements at the dock is more thought out than Pope might think.

JJ prefers to be the fun one of the group, so if he pretends to slack off just enough, Pope will fix his work for him. It’s a system that has likely worked for him for most of his teenage years and speaks to the bickering dynamic that Pope and JJ have had since the start of the show.

16 “I Ain’t Scared Of You Anymore.”

Season1, Episode 7 “Dead Calm”

Outer Banks establishes very quickly in its first episodes that the Pogues don’t all have the best home lives. While Pope has parents who care about him and want him to have a bright future, Kiara’s parents so badly want her away from the Pogue life that they smother her, John B’s father leaves his son to hunt treasure and is presumed dead, and JJ’s father is physically abusive. JJ spends a lot of time afraid of his father until he comes to the realization that he doesn’t have to rely on his father anymore:

“You gave me nothing, you gave me nothing but a s***ty life, all you ever did was try and scare me. Well guess what, dad? I ain’t scared of you anymore.”

After JJ steals from someone who first steals from the Pogues, his father ends up taking much of the money from him, and the tension between him and JJ comes to a head. JJ has suffered many a beating in his young life as a result of his father’s temper and substance use, and while giving this speech, he finally fights back. It’s violent and heartwrenching, but also a bit of vindication for JJ.

For it to happen so early in the show – just near the end of the first season – is a welcome change compared to most other young adult shows, which would have saved it for a series-ender.

15 “Are We Really Going To Worry About The Details Right Now?”

Season 4, Episode 2 “Blackbeard”

JJ is known for wanting to jump right into action and not have to worry about what comes next. He has always been the most impulsive of the Pogues, though sometimes, Kie can fight him for the title. JJ is not a planner or a big-picture guy. Pope is the planner of the group and John B is the one who often sees the bigger picture.

When JJ and his friends are offered a large sum of money to find a necklace belonging to the wife of the infamous pirate Blackbeard, JJ is ready to say yes just to make the money they need to save their house. His friends, however, want to figure out the details of a plan and just work through some of the details before they agree to a dangerous job. JJ has this line in response to his friends having some concerns. Of course, everyone tells him, “Yes,” they do need to worry about the details, much to his annoyance.

14 “You Know Who You Gonna Have To Trust Right Now? Papa J.”

Season 3, Episode 8 “Tapping The Rudder”

JJ is a charismatic character with a good heart, but he’s not exactly trustworthy. He’s more like a classic rogue. He’s the kind of guy who tells his friends he didn’t bring a weapon but has a gun hidden in his backpack to protect them. He’s also the kind of guy who will repeatedly annoy a friend just to get their attention but then will turn around and lie to the police so that he gets arrested instead of someone he cares about. JJ is a young man of contradictions.

That’s why this line, said with Rudy Pankow’s signature charm, works so well. Characters don’t want to trust JJ. They know his plans go badly and that his impulses get him in trouble. Despite that, they can’t help but trust him because they know his heart is in the right place.

13 “It Is To Us.”

Season 4, Episode 1 “The Endure”

Despite his friends being angry that he made them pay so much more than they wanted to, he’s right.

Before the Pogues can set off on their next treasure hunting adventure in season 4 of Outer Banks, they try to get their lives on track. They want to live and work together and build a life they can be proud of without others interfering. To do that, they decide to use part of the money they got from the gold found in season 3 to buy the Maybank property that is up for auction.

JJ might not have ever thought of his home as being with Luke, but the property itself has a lot of advantages that Pope points out to the group. It’s the perfect place for them to live and work once they build their own dock, bait shop, and fix up the house. Pope has a plan for the auction, but JJ’s impatience and anger at someone else bidding on the property gets the better of him, and he drives the price up way above what the property is even worth.

When the man who wanted the property tells him that the property is nowhere near worth what he’s paying for it, JJ says, “it is to us.” Despite his friends being angry that he made them pay so much more than they wanted to, he’s right. All the group wants is something to call their own where they can lean on one another for support and live a normal life. The Maybank property is what they expect to provide that for them.

12 “He’s Straight Up Like The Spanish. Just, Bon Voyage.”

Season 2, Episode 8 “The Cross”

JJ doesn’t always make the most sense when trying to make a point to his friends, as is evident in this quote from him. It’s said while he’s trying to explain to Kiara, John B, Pope, and Sarah that the Pogues are his family, now, more than ever since his father has left him. While it’s clear that they all appreciate what he’s saying, none of them can resist teasing him about not knowing the difference between Spanish and French.

The entire exchange from Outer Banks season 2 is a great snapshot of the group in the show. They can tease each other for their mistakes, even be genuinely angry with one another, but they’d do anything for each other. It’s also a great demonstration of how JJ brings levity to even the most dramatic moments in the show as his line confuses his friends during the middle of a dramatic speech.

11 “The Pentagon… We Have Security Clearance. I Have A Card.”

Season 1, Episode 1 “Pilot”

After Hurricane Agatha lands in the early episodes of the first season of Outer Banks, JJ and John B stop by Pope’s family’s business to take him out on the water. Unlike the other two boys, Pope’s parents actively engage with him and are trying to get him to help with the damages to the property. Pope’s parents are, from the first moment of their introduction, worried about their son and see JJ as potentially a bad influence.

JJ tries to tell Pope’s father that the day after a hurricane is a free day… according to the government, i.e. the Pentagon. Pope’s father, of course, isn’t amused by JJ’s antics, though JJ still fully commits to the bit. It’s the first of many times that it’s clear the Pogues aren’t really great with one another’s parents, or their own parents, or really, adults in general.

10 “I Love Third-Wheeling. It’s My Favorite Thing.”

Season 2, Episode 1 “The Gold”

While some argue Outer Banks‘ Kiara makes no sense in a relationship with Pope, JJ is the one with a front-row seat to most of their struggles during the second season. JJ appears supportive of Pope and Kiara, much as he appeared supportive of the potential of Kiara and John B ending up together in the first season. It’s clear, however, that always being the third wheel to his friends is getting to him a little bit.

John B and Sarah fall for one another very quickly. Pope is pretty well gone on Kiara for most of the episodes. JJ is left to watch the surrounding couples – for better or worse. He often finds himself on the outside of their discussions looking in, as is the case with this quote when Kiara, Pope, and JJ are trying to get evidence against Ward Cameron.

9 “I Can’t Let You Take The Blame For Something I Did. You Have Too Much To Lose.”

Season 1, Episode 4 “Spy Games”

One of the best things JJ does in Outer Banks, and one of the most selfless, is to take the fall for Pope after Pope sinks Topper’s boat. JJ has no illusions about his place in OBX, but he’s well aware that Pope is on track for a prestigious scholarship – and getting out. When Pope is going to be arrested for doing something JJ encouraged him to do to get back at Topper and Rafe, JJ doesn’t let that happen, giving this line to Pope to encourage Pope to say that JJ committed the crime instead.

It’s a huge thing for a friend to do, but JJ is one of the most loyal friends there is. If there’s one thing that’s reiterated in the first season of Outer Banks, it’s that JJ is the best liar. He knows exactly how to get himself out of trouble – or in the case of this particular line, into it. He’s more than willing to get into trouble for his friends since everyone thinks that’s his future anyway.

8 “Us Against The Universe, More Like. And We’re Winning… We Are.”

Season 4, Episode 2 “Blackbeard”

The Pogues have always seemingly been in a fight for their lives against the Kooks, but as the show has continued, it’s not just the wealthy in the Outer Banks that they have to go up against. When Kie says to JJ that it really is “us against the world” while they recover from the bends in a hyperbaric chamber, JJ thinks it’s even bigger than that.

Outside of his friends, JJ has never felt like anyone is on his side. The man who raised him would beat him, frequently ended up in jail, and lied to him his entire life. His teachers and other members of authority always treated him like an inevitable criminal. So do the parents of his friends. Even Kie’s parents believe that JJ is the reason their daughter has seemingly gone off the rails.

JJ and Kie save one another’s lives while diving for Blackbeard’s necklace, which is how they end up with the bends. Despite the possibility of death, JJ does feel like with them being united, they have an advantage against the rest of the world.

7 “Oh, Now She Wants The Gun.”

Season 2, Episode 10 “The Coastal Venture”

In the second season, JJ and Kiara end up paired for a lot of the adrenaline-fueled sequences. Part of that is a result of John B and Sarah being separated from the rest of the Pogues quite a bit. Part of that is also the result of Kiara’s strained relationship with Pope. As much as JJ and Kiara are on the same side, however, they also bicker quite a bit.

One of the chief arguments they have is over JJ’s possession of a stolen gun. While JJ is not as quick to jump to violence as Rafe Cameron, that doesn’t mean he won’t use the gun, something Kiara doesn’t approve of until the second season when the group is targeted yet again. As Kiara asks JJ where the gun is, he’s both annoyed and surprised that she’s willing to use it as soon as he’s had to hide it to protect the group.

6 “I Know For A Fact That All I Got Is You Guys, Okay? You’re It.”

Season 2, Episode 8 “The Cross”

The family a character is born into compared to the family they’ve made in the Pogues is a running theme in every season. In the second season, JJ is finally able to cut ties with his abusive father because he helps his father run from the police on a boat, not unlike what he did for John B in the first season.

As JJ watches his friends squabble in the marsh right after Kiara helps him see his dad off for good, JJ makes it clear that this group of people is the only family he really has. The relationships among the Pogues are Outer Banks‘ best. Sure, JJ has cousins he can ask for a hand once in a while, but the people he loves and trusts are the Pogues. That’s true for all five of the characters as they make their way through Outer Banks.

5 “Ain’t All That Bad… That’s Just One Man’s Opinion Though.”

Season 2, Episode 3 “Prayers”

Out of context, this particular line doesn’t exactly have the same punch of some of JJ Maybank’s other quotes. It’s part of a larger speech to Kiara though, when Kiara is being pulled in two different directions by her parents and her friends, something that comes to a head in season 3, but begins building here in season 2. The line comments on the central conflict of the Pogues versus the Kooks as well as his never-ending support of the people he cares about.

Kiara is, technically, a Kook. She’s adopted the Pogue lifestyle, and in the second season, it starts to catch up with her as she’s constantly at odds with her parents. Her mother threatens to send her to boarding school because of who she’s becoming. JJ comforts Kiara with this line, that Kiara being a Pogue isn’t the worst thing in the world, and while he says it as though he’s speaking for Pope, he’s clearly voicing his own opinion about her.

4 “So, I Busted The Wrong Guy Out Of Jail, Sue Me.”

Season 2, Episode 5 “The Darkest Hour”

When it comes to making plans, JJ isn’t exactly the smartest of the Pogues. His plans aren’t always the most thought out, and they often go sideways somewhere in the middle because he’s missed a vital piece of information. That’s never more clear than his convoluted idea that involves using an ambulance to break John B out of jail in Season 2. JJ is completely confident and cocky about his ability to get John B out, not even realizing that he’s missed a step.

When it doesn’t work, and a different inmate is released into the care of the paramedic JJ is pretending to be, he has to text Kiara for help. She and Pope save him just in time. Despite the desperate nature of the situation, he still has time for this quip, helping to alleviate the tension for the audience.

3 “Stupid Things Have Good Outcomes All The Time.”

Repeated by JJ in seasons 1 and 2

This is one of JJ’s only lines that makes an appearance in the first two seasons of the show multiple times. It also happens to be a JJ Maybank quote that becomes part of the larger Pogue lexicon as the others use it as well. It’s an acknowledgment that he and his friends make, in their own words, incredibly stupid decisions most of the time. It’s also an acknowledgment that the choice to do that isn’t always a bad one.

After all, their bad decisions lead them on multiple treasure hunts, allow Sarah and Kiara to become friends again, bring Cleo into the Pogues, and build new relationships with those they think they’ve lost. They also save one another’s lives multiple times. Their bad decisions only strengthen their bond and solidify that these teens are truly a found family.

2 “Thinking Never Helps When You Already Have The Idea.”

Season 3, Episode 2 “The Bells”

When someone he cares about is in trouble, that’s JJ’s entire focus…

JJ Maybank has always been the most impulsive Pogue, and many of his best lines in the series reflect that. He likes acting on instinct, as this line early in Season 3 after Kiara is taken by Singh proves. JJ believes the group needs to just run in, grab Kiara, and get out, but that’s not a feasible option. The truth is that JJ is more worried about what might happen to Kiara than he is about his own safety or even making it out of Barbados. JJ would do anything for Kiara.

When someone he cares about is in trouble, that’s JJ’s entire focus, and that’s something that remains true throughout the show. While how he handles his feelings might change over the course of the show, that single-minded focus does not. Later in the season, he even risks owing millions, and his own life, to Baracuda Mike to break Kiara out of a wilderness camp for troubled kids. JJ is nothing if not someone who comes through for his friends in danger, and he works best when working on instinct instead of planning.

1 “I Steal S***. That’s My Job.”

Season 3, Episode 2 “The Bells”

There’s a lot of talk by the adults in JJ’s life about him not being trustworthy because he steals things. The truth, however, is that JJ often steals things as a coping mechanism for the stress in his life. JJ lives like he’s trying to survive an Outer Banks horror movie. In the early days of the show, he might have stolen things while exploring crime scenes with John B because he believed those things (money, a weapon, etc.) could help him and his friends in the long run.

This mentality is also why he steals Portis’ phone early in season 3, which is where this line comes from when Cleo is surprised that he has a phone. Later in the season, however, JJ steals money from Kiara’s father, and it’s not born from a need. It’s instead a reaction to what her family thinks of him. JJ steals in a “fight or flight” response, only in that instance, it’s fight. He needs a reason for Kiara’s dad to be mad at him beyond him being a Pogue, and it fuels JJ’s complicated relationship with Kiara.

JJ’s “job” in the group becomes an emotional response to his situation instead. That’s par for the course with his other actions and the best JJ Maybank quotes in the show as well. His “job” is to do the things his friends can’t, and sometimes that involves theft, but other times, it involves joking about the most dangerous situations in Outer Banks.