Diksha Sundriyal
The fourth season of Netflix’s ‘Outer Banks’ makes a major revelation about JJ’s life. Raised by Luke Maybank, JJ is a Pogue through and through. However, one letter changes the course of his life when he is told that Luke is not his biological father. He reveals that JJ’s real parents are Larissa Genrette and Chandler Groff, which not only makes him a Kook by blood but also means that he has been living a lie for the past twenty years. The revelation leads JJ to have many questions, one of which is why his parents, specifically his father, gave him away. And more importantly, why did he never come back to claim him? SPOILERS AHEAD
Groff Married Into the Genrettes for a Selfish Motive
The second half of the fourth season gives us Groff’s history in bits and pieces, through which a clearer picture emerges of his ambitions and intentions. He tells JJ that he was born and raised in Kildare, which means he is deeply familiar with the place and its politics, which comes in handy for his nefarious plans. He left Kildare and made a reputation for himself around the world, stacking up one crime after another on his record. He has also acquired many identities over the years, which means that Chandler Groff may be just another alias.
About seventeen years ago, Groff wormed his way into the Genrette family and married Larissa with the intention of getting the family fortune to his name. He played house for a while, even having a son with Larissa. But then, he realized that old Wes Genrette would never allow the family fortune to go to an outsider unless, of course, there was no other option left. So, Groff killed Larissa, but that still left little JJ. Groff had seen how good Luke Maybank was with the baby. At the time, Luke had been working for the Genrettes and had affection for Larissa. Groff had no other option but to give the child to Luke, whom he fed lies about why he was leaving his only son behind.
The child with Larissa was an unwanted side effect that Groff wanted to get rid of so he could clear his path toward inheritance. Wes could have easily put everything under JJ’s name, which is why he needed to believe that both Larissa and JJ were dead. To make Larissa’s death convincing, Groff concocted the story about Elizabeth Teach’s ghost haunting the Genrette family, demanding her amulet be returned. Then, he gave away JJ to Luke, and the next day, the story about Larissa drowning in the sea with her son was sent out and the story was good enough to convince the world, especially after Groff made it seem like Larissa had mental health issues preceding her death.
Groff told Luke that he wanted JJ away from Larissa for the baby’s safety. After Larissa’s death, he gave Luke some money in return for taking care of JJ and assured him that he will come back for his son when he can. He also convinced Luke that Wes cannot know about his grandson. In his mind, Groff thought that the Genrette inheritance was within his reach. But Wes Genrette proved to be more obstinate than he had imagined. Even when Groff was his only living relative (that he knew of), Wes didn’t pass on the inheritance to him. Eventually, Groff gave up on this idea and moved on.
Groff Returned for the Treasure, Not His Son
By the time Groff disappeared, Luke had grown to love JJ like his own son. He wasn’t a perfect father, but he was the only one JJ had. He never saw the point of telling the boy about his family, believing that Groff might eventually come back for him. But above all, he loved the kid so much now that he hoped that Groff never came back to claim him. The lie persisted over the years, but then Chandler Groff returned, and it changed everything.
While he was away, Groff committed so many crimes that he ended up on the watchlist of Interpol. He was even arrested, but was rescued by Anton Finch and was enlisted with the Lupine Corsairs, which is where he found out about the Blue Crown. Eventually, Groff realized that the secret to finding the treasure lay in Kildare with the Genrettes. And that’s why he came back. He was never interested in meeting JJ, but when he discovered what JJ and his friends had done with finding several treasures over the past few years, he realized he could use that to his advantage. The only problem in Groff’s plan was Wes Genrette, who was still alive. Groff needed the necklace that Larissa was buried with, but Wes would have never allowed Groff to desecrate his daughter’s grave. So, Groff decided to remove Wes from the picture.
With some theatrics, he convinced the old man that the ghost of Elizabeth Teach was haunting him and that the amulet was the only way to get rid of her. The story served two purposes. It gave Groff a story about Wes’ death. Groff killed him and blamed it on Elizabeth’s ghost. For his alibi, he asked Hollis, the real estate agent with whom he was also having an affair, to cover with the cops. The second purpose was to get the amulet, which he couldn’t have gotten himself because he knew the Corsairs were after it, too, and he preferred to keep his distance from them. With the Pogues involved, he could kill two birds with one stone; that is all he cared about. The revelation about JJ’s parentage was something unexpected and unwanted, but he found a way to use that to his advantage as well. His only goal in all of this was to get his hands on the Blue Crown, no matter the cost.
Read More: Outer Banks Season 4 Finale Ending Explained: Is JJ Dead?
