‘Virgin River’: What Happened at Charmaine’s, the Love Triangle & More Burning Questions for Season 7
Well, the good news is that we know that Virgin River will be back for a seventh season because the end of its sixth? Wow!
There’s the obvious cliffhanger involving Charmaine (Lauren Hammersley), whose house was broken into and who may or may not be alive. There’s also the matter of the very (and always) complicated love triangle of Brady (Benjamin Hollingsworth), Brie (Zibby Allen), and Mike (Marco Grazzini), which included cheating, a passionate declaration, and a proposal in Season 6. Doc’s (Tim Matheson) career is taking a hit. And we’re very worried about Muriel (Teryl Rothery) after her cancer diagnosis.
Below, we take a look at the burning questions we need answered in Season 7. Let us know yours in the comments section.
Virgin River, Season 7, TBA, Netflix
What happened at Charmaine’s?
Mel and Jack (Martin Henderson) were worried after Charmaine missed their wedding, so he went to check on her. (After all, she was taking a restraining order out against the twins’ father, Calvin, played by David Cubitt.) Jack found the door open and signs of a struggle. Whatever he saw in the nursery shocked him. We’ll have to wait until the Season 7 premiere to find out what that was, but the good news is showrunner Patrick Sean Smith told TV Insider that they’ll be picking up with a time jump of just two hours.
Smith also revealed that “the twins are safe” but admitted, “I would be concerned about Charmaine.” Uh-oh!
Will Mel and Jack adopt Marley's baby?
While it seemed like Phil and Darla were excited to adopt Marley’s (Rachel Drance) baby in classes and appointments with Mel, the finale delivered a twist. Marley stopped by to see Mel at home and was visibly upset. “Phil and Darla are backing out of the adoption,” she said, though they hadn’t “exactly” said that. As Mel pointed out (and we seemingly saw), “They seemed so invested.” Marley had wanted her baby to be raised in Virgin River, and she had a solution: “Mel, I want you to have my baby.” But that’s easier said than done, right? After all, Phil and Darla may still want to adopt Marley’s baby, and there’s just been a miscommunication, or there will be another twist or some reason why Mel and Jack don’t.
This storyline was planned from the beginning, Smith told Swooon. “It was a similar story that kind of found its way into Mel’s life at a time in the books while she was looking to expand their family and [Jack] was being reluctant … but I really love the idea of introducing this potential birth mom before Mel and Jack even had her on their radar. So Season 7 will be exploring potential of that opportunity, as Mel and Jack continue on their path to parenthood.”
Will Brie say yes to Mike’s proposal?
While talking about the high bar Mel and Jack set, Mike told Brie that they do, too. “Every time that life gets tough, we’ve proven that we get tougher. You’re resilient and brave and strong. You give me strength,” he told her. “You’ve been carrying a lot the past few weeks, and all I’ve wanted is to take care of you and to hold space, to love you. I know that we talked about moving in together, but I’m thinking about our future, all of it, and I think we should just go for it.” With that, he proposed—and she told him that she slept with Brady. But, surprise — he knew!
“I think to show his love for Brie, I think he would do anything to try to make things work with her,” Smith explained to Swooon.
As Brie told Mel and Kaia (Kandyse McClure), she wanted to commit to Mike because she couldn’t trust herself with Brady. Could that lead to her saying yes to Mike’s proposal — even if she realizes she can’t go through with a wedding after?
How did Mike know about Brie and Brady’s hookup?
Smith told Swooon that there was a hint in Episode 8 “where he theorizes that Brie and Jack’s parents are having sex. He says, ‘I’m a detective. I detect things.'” One of the things he could have detected? The look Jack (who knows) gave Brady after the wedding. But we also kind of hope there’s more to it than that.
Is there a future for Brie and Brady?
After all, as Smith told Swooon, while Brie and Mike may be together, “there’s always going to be the Brady factor, and that’s what keeps the triangle alive in Season 7 is just both sides battling to see which one wins in the end.”
In Episode 9, at Mel and Jack’s wedding, Brady made quite the grand declaration. “I’ve loved you since the moment I met you. I knew in the first 10 seconds that you were the one for me, that was never the question. The only question was whether or not I was the one for you,” he told Brie, who said he was but messed it up. He did that to keep her safe, and he’d do it again. He’d do anything for her. And he knew he would never feel that way about someone else again. (Awkward: His girlfriend Lark, played by Elise Gatien, was listening.)
Then, Brie told Mel and Kaia about their hookup and what he said. “There will always be feelings,” she said but knew she was messing with Brady’s life. “I don’t know if I can trust him. I know, I know I definitely cannot trust myself with him. That is why I’m with Mike. He’s a good guy, and I want to commit to Mike.” Kaia suggested she let Brady go, and if she couldn’t, Mel said, she should let them both go. But will Brie be able to do that? It does feel like Brie and Brady have at least one more go in them, whether they end up together or not…
Will Doc lose his clinic?
As Season 6 ended, Doc’s medical license had been suspended, pending an investigation into his actions during a house call and other times on the job. But, as his wife and Virgin River’s mayor, Hope (Annette O’Toole), learned, that was because the Grace Valley Hospital board of directors had plans to bring their network into the town. They want the clinic. But it’s impossible to imagine Virgin River — and the town — without Doc and his clinic. Something has to give, and so we think that should the clinic be affected, it would end up only being temporary.
“It feels like there’s a fresh opportunity for us to look at the current state of medicine a little bit and how that can influence these smaller practices,” Smith told TV Insider. “There’s sort of an overarching theme of Season 7 of the outside invading this little slice of heaven, and that’s some of the tension there.”
Is marriage in the cards for Preacher and Kaia?
That was a point of contention for the couple at the end of Season 6, as she admitted that what happened with her marriage as she attempted to make it work made her realize that “maybe [it] just isn’t for me.” (Brady likened telling Preacher she doesn’t want to get married to “telling a kid there’s no such thing as Santa on Christmas.”) Kaia did later tell Preacher that she wasn’t exactly ruling it out forever; he was the person she could see herself with if she chose to get married again. “You have stood by my side in more ways than I could ever imagine. We’ve got nothing but time,” he assured her.
“It’s odd to say we’re only two seasons in, and they’re still settling into their relationship, but I think given the pace of our show, they’re still in a place of getting to know each other,” Smith pointed out to Swooon.
But we can’t help but think that this could become a bigger issue for the couple down the line — even if they do end up together.
Will Brady get his money back?
After Lark admitted to Brady that she saw him talking to Brie and reminded him of their deal to be honest with each other, he said he told his ex-girlfriend to give her the benefit of the doubt like he did. (Oh, if only he knew what she overheard: everything.) He said he needed to focus on moving forward together, and she seemed on board … but then, after she went to find her daughter, that was the last he saw of her. “Just remember, this is your fault” was the last thing Lark said, ostensibly about getting her daughter hooked on Candy Crush on his phone … but applicable to why when he found them gone (from town) and his phone on the table, his bank account had been emptied. Uh-oh! Will he even try to get his money back?
How worried should we be about Muriel?
Muriel was diagnosed with cancer, and while she kept mostly to herself at first (other than Hope and her ex-boyfriend Cameron, played by Mark Ghanimé), by the end of the season, she had the full support system of the sewing circle. But even though she’s going to get treatments, this is still cancer — and Virgin River could very well be about to say goodbye to another of its own.
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