Outer Banks Season 5 Officially Brings Back 5 Major Villains

Outer Banks Season 5 is set to bring back several core villains, including the dangerous Chandler Groff and the elusive Topper Thornton. The previous season of the hit Netflix adventure drama series ended with a shocking plot twist after Groff killed off one of the show's core characters: Rudy Pankow's JJ Maybanks. This insane twist was only the tip of the iceberg, mainly because Groff was revealed to be JJ's biological father. This meant that he killed his own son. 

While JJ's death is expected to reverberate throughout Outer Banks' final season, the Pogues (John B, Pope, Kiara, Sarah, and Cleo) will not only have to deal with their grief but also with the return of Groff and other key villains, desperate to derail the group's momentum and eliminate them once and for all. 

Every Outer Banks Villain Confirmed to Return in Season 5

Chandler Groff

Outer Banks Season 4 introduced Chandler Groff (J. Anthony Crane) as the season's chief antagonist, who has deep ties to JJ because he was his father. Initially introduced as a man who is grieving for the loss of his wife, Groff is far more dangerous than the Pogues (and the fans) realize. 

The penultimate season confirmed that Groff is a murderer, making him a formidable threat to the Pogues. Aside from JJ, Groff killed several other characters, namely Omar, his business partner Wes Genrette, Larissa (JJ's mom), and Hollis. Still, given that Groff killed one of their own, it's all but confirmed that this chief villain is the Pogues' primary target when Outer Banks returns in Season 5. 

Crane even admitted in an interview with The Direct that he thinks Chandler Groff became a monster over the years, noting that it began when he killed his wife and seemingly fully embraced it when he killed his own son:

"He's found that it didn't bother him from an early age to do some of the things that he did. Letting his child go. Obviously, what he did to his wife. I think that turned him ugly over time. You just become a monster over time. It's like Dorian Gray's painting after awhile. There's just nothing left that's pretty inside. So I think that's where he's at."

Rafe Cameron

Rafe Cameron (Drew Starkey) has been messing with the Pogues ever since Outer Banks began. At one point, he was enemy number one for the adventure seekers, but he underwent a complete transformation in the final few episodes of Season 4, which led everyone to suspect that he might be switching sides. It's also worth noting that Rafe is Sarah's brother. 

Some of Rafe's heroic acts in Outer Banks Season 4 include stealing a boat so that he and the Pogues can travel across the Atlantic and convincing a sheriff to let them go so that they can search for Groff. All of these acts were seemingly anchored by Sarah's near-death experiences in Season 4, which completely changed his perspective. This is a good thing for the Pogues because they would need all the allies they can get ahead of their looming confrontation with Groff.

Topper Thornton

Topper Thornton is considered the king of The Kooks and a prime enemy of the Pogues due to his elitist status and obsession with Sarah. While he had a limited role in Season 4 due to not being directly involved with the quest to find the Blue Crown, Topper is still expected to return in Season 5 to continue his rivalry with the Pogues.

Dalia

Another new antagonist in Outer Banks Season 4, who is also expected to return in Season 5, is Dalia. She is the ruthless leader of the Lupine Crosairs, a mercenary group hellbent on finding Blackbeard's treasure like the Blue Crown. 

Dalia and her group of brutal killers engaged in a relentless pursuit of the Pogues, and they are expected to return to their dangerous ways in Season 5, especially now that the protagonists are vulnerable after losing one of their own.

'Finch'

While Outer Banks didn't explicitly reveal who Finch is, the fact that he is a mysterious villain and the confirmed leader and mastermind behind the mercenaries suggests that he will play a pivotal part in eradicating any plans that the Pogues make in the final season. Some have theorized Finch is the true big bad. 

Finch is slated to show up in Outer Banks Season 5, with Jonas Pate confirming that the character is "going to be developed" and teased expectations of his "formidable presence:

"His character is going to be developed going forward, and we knew that he would really land in the next season. So it's just kind of like the expanding of that character. But yeah, we expect him to be a formidable presence, for sure, going forward."

BONUS: Ruthie

Outer Banks Season 4 introduced Ruthie, Topper's new girlfriend, who exhibited toxic behavior toward the Pogues. 

In fact, Ruthie was the one who influenced Topper to become more violent against the protagonists, making her a sneaky and sinister secondary villain who might become unpredictable when the time comes.