Who dies in Outer Banks season 4: A breakdown of every key death in OBX season 4

The full season of Outer Banks season 4 is now streaming on Netflix following the release of the final five episodes of the season on Nov. 7. Season 4 brought about a lot of change for the Pogues but as the adage goes, the more things change the more they stay the same. 

While the Pogues start the season out riding high off their victory at the end of season 3 which saw them discover the lost city of El Dorado and escape with over $1 million in gold nuggets, they quickly came crashing back down to reality. With their earnings going down the drain in the blink of an eye, the Pogues once again found themselves pulled into a treasure hunt which brought about a new wave of obstacles to overcome and brought about new threats lurking around every corner. 

It goes to say that the treasure-hunting industry is a dangerous one and it definitely brings out the worst in people, a fact that we’ve come to learn the hard way over the span of the show’s run. In just four short seasons, we’ve seen a growing list of characters die in search of the treasures they seek and season 4 saw that body count rising with a handful of shocking deaths including the show’s biggest death yet. 

Now that the full season is streaming, let’s take a quick look back at the named characters we lost along the way over the course of Outer Banks season 4. 

Needless to say, there are major spoilers for both part 1 and part 2 of Outer Banks season 4 ahead so read at your own risk! 

Wes Genrette was season 4’s first major death

Interestingly, the first major death of Outer Banks season 4 came with the death of the mystery man who showed up in the season 3 finale looking to hire the Pogues to help him find Blackbeard’s treasure. Following his introduction in the closing moments of season 3, we learn that Wes Genrette is a wealthy man who believes his family has been cursed by Blackbeard leading to the death of many members of his family including his daughter. 

Wes calls upon the Pogues to help him find an ancient amulet from Blackbeard’s last ship which he believes will break the curse. In exchange, Wes offers them some cash for their services which the group accepts. 

The Pogues manage to successfully retrieve the amulet, but when they go to collect their reward and hand it over to Wes they discover he’s died a mysterious death. At first, his death is said to have been from natural causes, but we later learn that Wes was murdered by Groff, who was hoping to inherit the family land and make off with Blackbeard’s treasure for himself as part of a larger score. 

Terrance died saving Cleo

The second major death of the season also arrived in part 1 when Terrance died a hero’s death protecting Cleo. 

Early in the season, we learn that Terrance is working with the mercenaries who are tracking down Blackbeard’s amulet as well and it seems like he can no longer be trusted. However, when one of the lead mercenaries, Lightner, takes Cleo hostage and threatens to kill her we see that Terrance truly did want to protect Cleo, and he ends up paying the ultimate price in doing so. 

After taking Cleo, Lightner called Pope and told him to bring him the amulet in exchange for Cleo’s life. When Pope arrives, a struggle ensues as Terrance and Lightner fight over the gun which ends up going off in the struggle fatally wounding Terrance. 

Hollis Robinson is killed by Groff

Moving into part 2 territory, our first major death of part 2 arrived in episode 8 when Groff added yet another body to his kill count, quickly helping to establish himself as one of the show’s biggest villains. 

After gathering the lens needed to read the scroll, Groff goes to see Hollis with the intention of taking the money Rafe paid them as part of their deal. She ends up pulling a gun on him as she calls him out for the deal being a lie, and she hints that she also knows he’s lying about his involvement in Wes’s death. 

When Hollis tells Groff she’s going to turn him into the police, he distracts her and manages to take the gun away from her which he then uses to kill her and flee with Rafe’s money as well as the keys to her yacht. We admit we weren’t the biggest fans of Hollis and knew she was trouble from the minute she stepped into Rafe’s life, but we never expected her arc would be so short-lived! 

Pope kills Lightner in self-defense 

Speaking of short-lived characters, add Lightner’s name to the list of one-season goons. As Dalia’s right-hand man, Lightner quickly proved himself to be the brawn to her brains as her top minion. 

He made life hell for the Pogues this season so we didn’t feel an ounce of sorrow at all when he met his maker in the season 4 finale, though his death did come in the most surprising of ways. 

In the final showdown between Dalia’s men and the Pogues in the race to get the Blue Crown, Lightner is sent to tend to - aka kill – Pope and Cleo. What he wasn’t expecting was that when he breached the hideout they were tucked away in, Pope was armed and ready. That’s right, it was Pope who killed Lightner in an act of self-defense, a thread that is sure to come up in season 5 as Pope deals with taking someone’s life. 

Sadly, JJ dies in Outer Banks season 4

While there were a lot of deaths across Outer Banks season 4, none hold a candle to the heartbreaking and shocking death of JJ in the season finale. 

After finding the Blue Crown, JJ and Kiara fled as Dalia closed in on them. Due to the sandstorm, the pair got briefly separated which gave Groff the chance to pull one over on Kiara and hold her at gunpoint. When JJ arrived, Groff made it clear: he’d release Kiara in exchange for the crown. Without any thought, JJ immediately handed the crown over to save Kiara and it looked like the pair were in the clear. 

Instead, Groff stabbed JJ in an act of vengeance, telling his son that he shouldn’t have left him behind in the well when he had the chance to save him earlier in the episode. Groff quickly fled the scene without blinking an eye, cementing his status as the most vile and ruthless villain the show has seen. 

What followed was one of the most gut-wrenching moments in the show’s history as JJ used his last breath to ask Kiara to take care of the rest of the Pogues for him and to tell her “I love you” one last time as his dying words. If there was any doubt that perhaps JJ just passed out from the injury, those doubts were cast aside when the Pogues were seen laying him to rest in the desert and then morning his loss as they vowed to get revenge as the season came to an end. 

Rafe does not die in Outer Banks season 4

While Outer Banks season 4 brought about several shocking deaths, there was one character who fans don’t have to worry about losing in season 4 and that’s Drew Starkey’s Rafe Cameron. In the season 4 finale, Rafe has a few close calls, but he is alive and well as the season comes to a close and we expect Rafe will actually play a key role in the show’s final season. 

For those wondering why there is panic among some about Rafe dying, a lot of the panic comes from the finale which is a rough one for Rafe. At one point, Groff attempts to pull one over on him and ends up slicing Rafe’s hand open in a fight but Rafe gets the upper hand and bests Groff in the end. Later in the episode, Dalia and her mercenaries roll up on Rafe and hold him at gunpoint. It looks like they’re going to kill Rafe until Sarah creates a distraction that allows him to flee safely and avoid being killed by Daila and her crew.