Outer Banks' Rudy Pankow and Madison Bailey Break Down That JJ and Kiara Kiss

[Warning: The following contains spoilers for Outer Banks Season 3. Read at your own risk!]

JJ (Rudy Pankow) and Kiara (Madison Bailey) have long been best friends. They've stuck together through thick and thin, and in Outer Banks Season 3 their relationship was taken to another level. After evading their feelings for much of the season, JJ and Kiara confessed their love to each other in Episode 9 and kissed. Finally, the #Jiara moment that legions of fans have waited for has arrived.

But both characters faced some real trouble before reaching this romantic moment. For one, Kiara's parents forced her to go to the nature camp Kitty Hawk. She has taken off from home one too many times to join the Pogues' treasure hunts, and her parents hoped the program would put an end to these excursions. Meanwhile, JJ decided to stay behind in Kildare as his friends were departing to search for El Dorado. He correctly sensed that Kiara was in trouble, and snuck into Kitty Hawk with the goal of rescuing her. 

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In the middle of the night, JJ reached the cabin where Kiara was staying. Nevermind that they were surrounded by girls in their bunk beds — the two happily embraced. "It's like a knight-in-shining-armor moment," Bailey told TV Guide. "I love that moment." The actor explained the emotions that Kiara has been experiencing up to that point. "Getting dragged there and being so betrayed by her parents, and not knowing when she was going to get out — if she was going to get out," Bailey said. When Kiara saw JJ appear, it wasn't the thought of leaving Kitty Hawk immediately that entered her mind. "I think it was like, OK, someone has my back, we're going to do it together," the actor explained. "It's such a sigh of relief for her." 

Bailey added that their time on Poguelandia helped give Kiara clarity about her feelings toward JJ. "I think being on the island, really everybody had time to think about what they really want and [were] made aware of, anything can happen at any moment," she said.

Pankow also discussed JJ's emotions when he arrived at the cabin and the two kissed. "I think JJ is feeling a lot of guilt, actually, in that moment, because I feel like he's been so confused and scared throughout the entire season," Pankow said. "He's seeing a lot of his friends grow up, and he wonders what that means for him and he's also wondering what that means for himself — if he grows up, what is he going to be like?" The actor said that JJ does not have many people to lean on, which became obvious when the Pogues returned to Kildare. "He's at that point [where] he's like, you know what, we'll see what this means," Pankow added. 

For JJ, confessing his love for Kiara is part of the character maturing. "That is a moment where it's a big growing-up stage for JJ," Pankow said.

Outer Banks Season 3 is available to stream.