First off, I would like to point out that I am not a psychologist, but I have been diagnosed with ADHD some time ago and headcanoning fictional characters as neurodivergent/having ADHD has helped me deal and come to terms with it. JJ Maybank, in particular, got me through a rough time, thus he will always have a special place in my heart.
Secondly, I apologise to all the ADHD/ND people for those upcoming blocks of text (I have considered a list of bullet points but then I got so excited, I ended up writing an entire essay, and I am sorry). I also apologise to any neurotypicals: it might seem a little messy and all over the place, my ADHD brain jumped from one thing to the next and it might not always make sense, sorryyy.
Lastly, I am a Jiara shipper (I have absolutely nothing against any of the other pairings but I just wanted to point out that it did influence parts of my analysis, so please don’t come at me because you dislike the ship, thx <3)
hyperactivity/stimming/tics/fidgeting
I noticed the following stims/tics JJ tends to repeat a lot: putting on his cap and taking it off ALL THE DAMN time (especially in S2), running his hand through his hair, playing with his lighter, his keys, his cap, his joint, the gun, chewing on something, etc. Essentially, JJ’s always doing something with his hands or his lips or his legs, tapping or wiggling his fingers, keeping them busy. I’d argue that both the fidgeting and the overall nervousness were a bit more prominent in S2 (probably because the situation was way more intense and stressful).
Some of it might simply be Rudy (since a lot of those *stimming/hyperactivity* scenes were improvised, especially the ones where he trips over stuff, which, to me, is literally the most ADHD thing ever, or maybe I just do that because I’m a dumbass). But the way JJ moves and stumbles around (sometimes it’s him staggering awkwardly in the background for no apparent reason) is just so ADHD. I am sorry, I can’t describe it properly, but he’s incredibly jumpy and restless AF, seriously, half the time it stresses me out because I can’t look at him move, I feel so seen. He tends to pace and hop around a lot, too, notably when he’s under duress.
I also think the scene in 1x02 when JJ and John B. meet the others back at the Chateau is rather telling: JJ is pretty stressed out (about minor details like the paint in his hair, which might also fit into the “sensory issues”-category) and he’s struggling to calm down, so he walks back and forth, starts smoking nervously (while John B. is rather composed despite everything that has just happened), and obviously there’s his rather incoherent, loud and chaotic way of retelling the events… (“I waSn’T tAkINg mEntAL pOLaROidS tHe EnTIrE tIMe, I wAs unDEr duREsS!!!”) -> peak ADHD.
excessive talking/rambling/being unable to wait your turn and interrupting people
Maybe I’ve seen the show one too many times and maybe I’ve hyperfixated on JJ a little too intensely cause I love him so much it actually hurts, but JJ is always talking (even when he’s chilling in the background of a shot) or singing or humming (especially in situations where he’s supposed to be quiet, e.g. when they go look for the gold and this idiot is literally singing a lullaby at full volume)
Honestly, he can’t keep his mouth shut (to the point where others have to put their hands on his mouth so he won’t get them killed). JJ tends to go on and on about seemingly irrelevant stuff, as well, blurting out whatever comes to his mind, whether or not it has any connection to the ongoing discussion, doesn’t matter (like the CHUD-thing, randomly infodumping about alligators, the Crain house, babbling about his use of/love for plastic, giving a highly incoherent speech about friendship out of the blue, rambling about hidden traps in the church, etc.) His friends repeatedly scorn him for doing that, or sometimes ignore him completely.
Plus, there are plenty of scenes where JJ mumbles something, expecting a reaction, and nobody even remotely responds to it (they’re probably used to him doing that) and you clearly see the hurt on his face (or maybe that’s just me). I do believe, however, that some of these traits lessen - or disappear - as soon as the action is cranked up (for obvious reasons): JJ is uncharacteristically quiet and overall more calm in the last three episodes of S1, for example (which makes sense, there’s so much stuff happening).
extremely low self-esteem
This is a big one, of course. Probably one of the first potentially ADHD-related things I noticed about him because that’s exactly where I saw myself reflected in JJ. I spent approximately twenty years of my life being undiagnosed and struggling with low self-esteem, not knowing why. JJ - in my eyes - has most definitely never been diagnosed, either. I’m sure that his low self-esteem is first and foremost a result of the constant abuse (both physical and emotional) he has to endure at home, his mother leaving them (and, I guess, his father semi-blaming JJ for it, or rather taking it out on his son because he “reminds him of JJ’s mother”).
However, other people constantly tell him he’s not good enough, too (“you’re starting to look like your dad a lot more” and “you’ll be back [in jail] one day, it’s in your blood”), even his closest friends can be pretty insensitive at times (“if you keep going down this road, you’re gonna end up just like your dad” and “we’re sick of your shit, you’re pulling guns on people shit, you’re acting like a freaking maniac” etc.)
JJ’s rash actions speak for themselves, but on top of that, he himself believes that he’s not good enough, and mentions it again and again (“I’m gonna end up in jail anyway, so why does it matter?” and “I’ll end up in jail anyway, might as well be for a good cause” and “you know where I’m from” etc.) The fact that his plan for the future consist of the surf trip (*insert deafening fangirl noises*) might be connected to his self-doubting, as well (surfing seems to be something he’s exceptionally good at, so naturally he’d want to continue doing it.) In addition to that, the surf trip (and obviously the gold to make this dream possible) clearly offers a way for him to escape the OBX and his current situation.
I also think that JJ actually believes himself to be someone who will inevitably end up alone (whether it’s in a prison cell or on a surf trip). Perhaps he thinks he doesn’t deserve to be with anyone (in the long run), idk. In my opinion, the look on his face and the way he laughs at first, thinking it’s a joke, when Kiara said “got room for one more?” in 2x10 was also rather expressive. Sure, he may have been surprised because he didn’t expect Kiara to want to join him on his adventure, but his confusion may also be linked to this deep-seated belief that, in the end, he’ll always be alone.
good at lying/good at improvising
This is a personal one for me… I used to lie all the damn time, and I still do it occasionally, but never out of malice. I’m not saying everyone with ADHD automatically lies (but they - children in particular - tend to be more prone to it). As a kid, I usually lied because I was either bored with the truth (for example, I liked to pretend I was off on some adventure in Narnia instead of admitting that - in actuality - I had simply gotten lost on my way home or forgotten the time, which drove my parents and teachers crazy) or sometimes I did it because I was terrified of facing the consequences for making stupid minor mistakes like breaking a jar (nobody cared, but my brain was like *DANGER*).
So, JJ is extremely talented at making up excuses on the spot (the salvage yard thing in S1, the Knights of the Rhododendron story in S2) and thus getting himself out of trouble. Trouble, he often got himself into due to other potentially ADHD-related things. His friends actually applaud him for being a good liar, even use his skills to their advantage in certain situations (the gold pawning thing in S1).
strong sense of fairness/loyalty/devotion
At the same time, JJ also lies to protect his friends (taking the fall for Pope is probably the most obvious example, however, this bleeds into the “taking risks/impulsiveness” category, as well). Here, I merely want to point out that whenever people google for lists of ADHD-related symptoms, they usually find ones that mainly highlight the negative traits. Nevertheless, there are some positive things I want to emphasise. People with ADHD can have an unusually strong sense of fairness, since they have a low tolerance for things that don’t seem just and they themselves feel the need to do what’s right (I immediately thought of the hot tub scene and his line: “I just wanna do the right thing” and obviously his emotional outburst in 2x05: “Are we just gonna sit here and do nothing? No, we’re gonna get [John B. out of prison] and we’re gonna do something about it!”).
JJ (aside from Kiara) is definitely the most loyal out of all the Pogues (not trying to downplay the others’ sense of loyalty, but he takes it to the next level) and he is 1000% (maybe a little too) devoted to the P4L-thing. JJ (and Kiara, I’m sorry, I love my girl and I don’t want to dismiss her actions) gets incredibly frustrated whenever something happens that isn’t fair and he will immediately step in and take action (again, impulsiveness and often doing something without thinking). He tends to get physical because of that, too (e.g. when Barry ambushes them in 1x07 and they’re cowering at the side of the road, JJ slams his fist on the ground and later loses his temper, or in 1x10 when Shoupe tells them they lost sight of the Phantom in the storm and JJ responds with his fists and multiple “I’ll kill you”s, or in 2x01 when Kelce provokes him by spreading lies about John B., etc.)
The downside, of course, is that you might get too frustrated with how the world works (”[the Kooks] always win”, his - justified - distrust in the cops, his frustration whenever they fail), you may feel discouraged or you “overreact” and do something impulsive to try and change it. I firmly believe that JJ encourages Pope to sabotage Topper’s boat because of that: for one, he makes impulsive decisions based on emotions, and for another, he simply can’t let the unfairness of Topper and Rafe jumping his best friend slide (plus, he might feel responsible because they beat up Pope after JJ put a gun to Topper’s head). All of this may play into the issue of emotional dysregulation neurodivergent people face on a daily basis, as well.
warm-hearted/compassionate/caring/observant
I want to quickly mention: I hate how some people assume that - when you have ADHD - you’re a terrible friend or you “don’t care enough to remember the little things or you do remember one specific stupid argument and now hold a grudge blah blah”. Personally, I’ve made the experience that others always told me that I was too much to handle, too clingy, or too obsessed with the idea of being friends with someone (I don’t do casual, I do “I would die for you without hesitation” or nothing at all). I lost a lot of friends over the years because I went from “exchanging two words with you” to “you’re my best friend I’ve decided” in a day and… I guess that was a little intense, but I couldn’t help it.
Since this show is usually about life or death and they’ve been through a lot together, it makes sense that the Pogues aren’t just casual buddies hanging out whenever they have nothing better to do. Plus, friendship/(found) family is a pretty important theme in OBX, so. And as I mentioned before, they’re all incredibly loyal and always there for each other. But I also feel like JJ would be the one having the most trouble moving on in case they’d ever separate or split up (adventure stuff aside, some of them do plan to go off to college at some point in their lives). I mean, the Pogues are everything to him.
When it comes to compassion, I feel like JJ has a lot to offer (because he cares so deeply for his friends, he “can’t bear the thought of losing them, they’re all he has”). I also find the scene in the van when Pope goes to meet his great-grandmother particularly interesting: JJ and John B. discuss Ward and it’s clear how much empathy JJ has for Sarah’s difficult situation (whereas John B. does not), and I love how he basically tells his best friend to maybe consider his girlfriend’s feelings instead of only thinking about himself (sorry, that sounded like a John B. rant). Moreover, JJ can be very observant (not always, of course, I guess, depending on the tone of the scene) and it’s obvious how highly he thinks of his friends (his speech about Pope in 2x03) and how he notices even small changes in their behaviour because they’re extremely important to him.
Okay, so JJ most definitely has an unhealthy relationship with both alcohol and weed (to the point where his brain reacts with “weed” whenever someone says “wheat” which might belong in the hyperfixation-section, too, but that’s just a minor detail I noticed during one of my many rewatches). It would make sense for him to smoke marijuana on a regular basis in an attempt to trigger the release of dopamine (even if JJ doesn’t actively realise what he’s doing, the weed would help him function, so naturally he would want to keep doing that).
Drinking also seems to become his go-to coping mechanism in S2 (he shows up to school drunk more than once, not caring in the slightest) and it doesn’t necessarily stop when he finds out John B. and Sarah are still alive. However, OBX is incredibly inconsistent at times and whenever some new danger pops up (every five minutes), other stuff just… vanishes from the story. I myself am also a little too sensitive when it comes to this topic, so I might be reading into it more than I should.
impulsiveness/little to no sense of danger/making careless mistakes
JJ obviously has a talent for getting into trouble (don’t they all? I guess that’s *the pogue life* for ya). But JJ takes it to the next level of recklessness. He gets into trouble for the most idiotic things (she says, affectionately). More often than not his “careless” actions are depicted as a result of his low self-esteem or his deep-seated fear of ending up like his father (again “I’ll end up in jail anyway, so why does it matter [if I get caught stealing an ambulance, etc.]) He also tends to brush more serious things off or he uses humor/sarcasm to deal with it (which makes everyone around him go “JJ, be serious!” or something like that).
The “nothing to lose” and “stupid things have good outcomes all the time” attitudes play into that as well. I feel like his behaviour in the Midsummers episode speaks volumes: the way he keeps provoking Rafe and his minions (“you Power Puff girls have fun!”) after getting beaten up by them (more than once) and how he refuses to walk away quietly (he literally cannot keep his mouth shut and I love him for that, but still) and instead he causes as much damage as possible…
Besides, JJ has a tendency to walk away from jobs (jobs, he definitely has to depend on to survive) and he does this in the most destructive and reckless way possible: starting a fight, destroying property, etc. Pulling a gun on Topper in the Pilot was also rather impulsive (and might be a result of RSD or sensory overload and his inability to deal with stressful situations in a civil/non-violent manner).
Some other minor things that might be a result of his little sense of danger: the way he starts singing when they look for the well (granted, they’re all pretty noisy, especially John B. and Kiara with their mosquito banter, but JJ basically just walks in there, belting and Pope is like “wILL yOu sHUt uP?”), then in 2x08 when he randomly starts throwing something in the water to check if there are indeed alligators (honey, what, whyyy???) or later (in 2x10) when he doesn’t even hesitate to save Kie (even if it means getting knocked unconscious, but then again, Kie does the same thing for him and I’m just calling attention to random details popping up in my brain at this point).
Also, can’t forget how he literally threw 25K out of the window and bought a hot tub… peak ADHD impulsiveness (as a strategy to cope with all the sh*t going on in his life, of course).
mood swings/irritability/acting without thinking/quick temper
Uhm episodes 1x07 and 2x05, anyone? Yes, obviously, for plot reasons, JJ has to go off on his own from time to time, but then again, most stuff happens for plot reasons, anyway, so Imma just roll with it. JJ is clearly the least predictable of the group (he was kinda written as the wild card, after all) and he tends to overreact (the RSD is strong here) whenever someone - usually Kie or John B. - tells him to stop whatever he’s doing or stay behind due to his unpredictability.
Usually, this leads to JJ protesting vigorously whenever he’s not allowed to be where the action takes place (like in 2x10 where he’s forced to stay back in the container with Kie and he’s being particularly bitchy about it). Furthermore, JJ repeatedly acts on instinct - most of them do, sure, they’re teenagers and they share a single braincell - and doesn’t necessarily think things through.
A minor thing I noticed is how he barks at the snake for some reason (which I always interpreted as: I guess he saw the snake and his mouth suddenly went: bark! before his brain could stop him, because I do that, too… again, projecting, sorry). Plus, the entirety of 2x05 was pure “acting without thinking” and I believe that motorcycle scene in particular was very ADHD (but also very sexy) of him.
this might be a little far-fetched (I’m always reaching for breadcrumbs in this show, anyway) but there is that one scene at the beginning of 1x05, when he’s locked in his room while Luke is yelling at him, loud music is playing, and JJ covers his ears, pacing up and down, kicking things.
Again, I might be projecting, but it reminded me a lot of myself and how I often fail to deal with sensory overload and how I tend to cover my ears or punch the wall to cope with it (sensory overload, of course, isn’t merely an ADHD thing and it can pretty much happen to anyone experiencing an overwhelming amount of stress). Sensory overload also leads to extreme discomfort and it can enhance anxiety or restlessness and you can definitely see JJ struggling with it in that scene, whether or not it’s ADHD-related is up for debate, I guess :))
inventive/imaginative/full of ideas/romantic/sense of humor
Okay, I feel like people don’t give JJ enough credit for his ideas, since they’re usually either too extreme (e.g. kidnapping and torturing someone) or it’s pretty obvious that it’s not going to work (like his 2x05 breaking John B. out of jail plan or his proposition in 2x10). However, he does come up with creative solutions, more so than anyone else in the show, even though most of them are a little too wild or impossible to realize (the key swapping thing was his idea, though, and he did find the angel tree).
JJ - at least to me - seems to be the most “thinking outside of the box” type of person in the group (aside from Kiara and maybe Sarah). He’s also the one who lets his imagination run wild (this falls in with the “good at lying/improvising”, and I mean, he does come up with some pretty ingenious stuff whenever he’s trying to talk his way out of something). And yes, people with ADHD can be incredibly creative or inventive, but unfortunately we often lack the ability to make our ideas work (or we get hit by executive dysfunction and just give up, arjhfgdhfjghkg) and sometimes we get so excited, we fail to see a fatal flaw and push through. When it doesn’t work, it’s extremely frustrating. I believe that’s what may have happened with JJ and his “breaking John B. out of jail plan”. He seemed genuinely convinced that it could actually work, so…
Last but not least, JJ obviously has a great sense of humor and tends to deliver some of the best and funniest lines in the entire show (I don’t make the rules). Sure, Rudy is highly charismatic, so that’s also thanks to him, but still. When it comes to the romantic part: I will literally die on that hill, claiming JJ is a true romantic at heart (and he likes to poke fun at John B. for being too cheesy when in reality he’s the biggest simp out there, but okay). I just know it. I feel it. Besides, that dating advice JJ gave Pope in 2x02 was weirdly specific and very thought-out (”play some Otis Redding, light some candles” etc.) Anyway, there weren’t many opportunities for him to be romantic (though, I’d argue his surf trip vision was exactly the kind of dream a romantic would have) and I hope to see more of this side in the future (cause I know it’s there).
First, his gun obsession (like… literally, this guy can’t go one second without stroking his gun or proposing to use the gun to kidnap sbdy./Rafe or Ward or whoever). Then, of course, his interest in Kiara’s love life: yes, I admit, I might be biased due to my own obsession with Jiara, BUT… JJ literally cannot shut up about Kie and it’s painfully obvious that he’s crushing… hard. The amount of times he asks John B. or Pope about her is quite astonishing (even back in S1 before the writers more actively built up the pairing), and the way he keeps noticing the slightest changes in her behaviour or her dynamic with Pope (”we’re all just a big happy family today, aren’t we?”) ugh my poor heart. This, of course, goes along with the “compassionate/observant”-section.
I’d argue, he’s slightly fixated on his friends, as well, and he takes the “P4L-thing” a little too seriously (I would, too, tbh). I might be projecting, since I always hyperfixate(d) on the people closest to me and there’s nothing more comforting to me than the idea of having a group of friends that are basically my second family. Sure, all of the Pogues are remarkably loyal and they view each other as family, but JJ (and Kiara, to some extent) takes this up a notch. Which makes sense, he’s got the most f****d up home situation and he’s definitely touch- and affection-starved.
Another minor (in the sense that so far we don’t know enough, because the show focuses on other stuff) hyperfixation could be the surfing (and the surf trip, of course). According to John B., JJ’s the best surfer he’s ever met and who knows… Maybe JJ hyperfixated on surfing as a kid and therefore got exceptionally good at it (so good, it’s the only thing that makes sense for him to do in the future, idk). Plus, his very random Yucatan-Obsession? Where did that come from?
rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD)
This, again, goes hand in hand with the mood swings and the low self-esteem, depending on the scene I’m referring to. First, I feel like JJ does not deal well with rejection, like… at all. It may be some seemingly insignificant thing (being denied something by his friends, e.g. accompanying John B. to the lighthouse, or bringing his gun, or whatever, so he sometimes “overreacts” or even storms off). But it might be something bigger, too.
For example, I always headcanon him as having tried to make a move on Kie at some point prior to the Pilot (otherwise we wouldn’t have gotten the “I know that door is closed, because I tried it” line), and her rejecting him (due to the No Pogue on Pogue Macking rule). Her rejection probably fed his already low self-esteem and his fear of not being good enough (for her, or in general). It may have made him more cautious and less inclined to show physical affection towards her (yeahh, my shipper brain has been dissecting this very obsessively) but JJ does have a tendency to be extremely open and (physically) affectionate with Pope and John B. but he’s way more hesitant/careful with Kie.
It might be because Kie herself isn’t necessarily the most touch-loving person out there, and he knows and respects that (I think it’s really interesting how all of their intimate scenes are initiated by her and whenever he wants to touch her, he’s doing it in the softest and least intrusive way possible, and whenever she touches him - remember her hand on his shoulder in 2x10 and his expression - he is so overwhelmed by it, he’s literally dying inside), but it might as well be due to his fear of being rejected (again).
The scene where he yells at Kiara (“why do you always take [Pope’s] side? why do you never take mine?”) after she tells him it’s his fault things escalated, is peak angst ofc. Though it’s definitely a result of him being stressed out (and a little jealous), his reaction might have been amplified by his RSD and his fear of failure. Criticism, especially coming from loved ones, can lead to intense emotional outbursts, and JJ does have a tendency to let his temper/anger get the best of him whenever something doesn’t go according to plan or someone blames him for it. Plus, he does storm off twice, when his friends tell him they’re not happy with his methods (1x07 and 2x05).
Coupled with his low self-esteem and his conviction that he’s not good enough, he often seems to come to the conclusion that it’s his fault or that he’s a disappointment to his friends (I guess the fact that he takes the fall for Pope, doesn’t hesitate to jump a group of guys after Rafe’s “tell Kiara she looks pretty hot for a Pogue” comment at Midsummers, or his readiness to do anything to save John B. from jail, even considering shooting his way through a bunch of policemen at the end of 2x04, proves how far he’s willing to go for his friends: “I know for a fact, all I got is you guys. You’re it.” (This, of course, goes along with his little to no sense of danger, his sense of fairness, his loyalty, and perhaps even his potential hyperfixation on his friends).
Another thing is JJ’s relationship with his father: Luke is all the blood-related family he has and it makes sense for him to want to be loved by his father, no matter how much he mistreats him. It literally pains me how many times JJ mentions his dad in a way that emphasises how desperate he is for Luke’s approval, despite everything, or how he’s internalised a lot of “advice” his father has given him over the years (he has those “my dad used to say…” moments). I might be reaching here, but it could be the RSD increasing this urge to please his father (as seen in 1x07 when he comes back with the money and clearly craves Luke’s endorsement, or the way he clutches to him in 1x10, or obviously the entirety of 2x08).
Like I mentioned before, RSD can often cause, or rather increase beliefs that you’re a disappointment to others or that it’s actually your fault if someone mistreats you. Feelings of shame and humiliation can rise (the scene where JJ helps his father escape and he literally apologises for not being a better son???) Plus, both the car scene where Kiara appoints herself the president of the JJ Maybank protection squad (“do you have any idea how special your son is?” ahhhhhh) and the scene in 1x05, perfectly depict that Luke does see his son as a disappointment and how little he thinks of him (he basically tells him what a “worthless piece of sh*t” he is in 1x05, so yeah).
This one was pretty much only mentioned in the pilot episode and we literally never see him be the “mild kleptomaniac and future tax-cheat” John B. made him out to be in his introduction round (I mean, sure, in the pilot episode, but other than that, idk). Still, this may also be a result of the lack of impulse control ADHD people experience (similar to him buying the hot tub).
Congrats to all the people who reached the end of this messy post I call an analysis, oops…
Update: For anyone who’s interested, Rudy actually talks about having struggled with attention-problems in the past, and hyperfixating/hyperfocusing on acting, and possibly having ADHD (thank you to @rudystree for pointing this out to me<3) here (in case anyone wants to check it out, it’s overall a really interesting talk).
