Exclusive Interview
‘Virgin River’ Boss Talks Season 6 Finale Proposal Shocker, Mel & Jack’s Future, and More
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Virgin River Season 6.]
How many times did your jaw drop when watching the Virgin River Season 6 finale? While we’re still shaken over that Charmaine (Lauren Hammersley) cliffhanger, we’ve got to discuss the many memorable relationship moments. Your favorite couples are going to be in for quite a ride in Season 7.
From that Mike (Marco Grazzini) and Brie (Zibby Allen) twist to Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge) and Jack’s (Martin Henderson) baby surprise, the Season 6 finale changed everything for your beloved pairs. Below, Virgin River showrunner Patrick Sean Smith opens up about the finale and what’s next.
Ricardo Hubbs / Netflix
First and foremost, will Mel and Jack get a honeymoon in Season 7? These two deserve it.
Patrick Sean Smith: I would love to see some version of that. I do think the fans would love it. I can’t make any promises, but wouldn’t that be sweet?
In Episode 9, Jack has a first look at Mel before she walks down the aisle. Did you always want them to have that moment together before he sees her at the altar?
Smith: We knew that we wanted to have the moment of hesitation for her at the end of Episode 9 and that felt like the perfect cliffhanger because I anticipated that the audience, given the history of the show with twists and turns and all of it, it felt like we had to have one last wrench thrown into it. The one that felt the most interesting was Mel emotionally getting to a place of hesitation, and Jack whisks her away and is able to help support her through the health scare and through all the loss. It’s a woman who’s endured so much that she’s like, “I just want to feel good on my wedding day, and I hate that I don’t feel that way.” We knew that we wanted that, and then I think it kind of found its way into that moment of the first look. I’m glad, too, because it also protected us for what I hope will be a pleasant surprise of Jack showing up at the end of the altar in his dress blues. It just felt super sexy, like An Officer and a Gentleman. Who doesn’t love a man in uniform? Actually getting to see him in uniform was a must for the wedding.
The moment that made me gasp the loudest was Mike proposing to Brie and him revealing he knows about her hookup with Brady. Will we learn how he found out about Brie and Brady in Season 7?
Smith: Yes. We had hinted at it in Episode 8 where he theorizes that Brie and Jack’s parents are having sex. He says, “I’m a detective. I detect things.” I felt so sorry for Mike so much through the series because it’s like he is a cop, but sometimes he wasn’t always getting to be the best cop possible. I felt this was like a moment of redemption of him being like an incredibly good detective who’s picking up on little breadcrumbs along the way and looks and Brie pulling away, and his kind of putting it all together and deducing that she and Brady had slept together. That was kind of the start of it, but we’ll unpack it more in Season 7.
Did he find out at the wedding? Or did he deduce it before?
Smith: I think in most situations when a partner feels that somebody could be cheating on them, it’s more a longer process of picking up on things along the way. I think it was something at the wedding that flipped the switch for him.
What’s next for Mike?
Smith: I think for him, as nature of his character and his profession, he’s a very black and white kind of guy. I think to show his love for Brie, I think he would do anything to try to make things work with her. But 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.
Craig Minielly / Netflix
How will Marley’s wish for Mel and Jack to have her baby impact the newlyweds in Season 7?
Smith: I think it’s something that we had planned from the introduction of the character Marley. Phil and Darla are both characters from the book series, so 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 was sort of the version of the books, 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.
Where do Kaia and Preacher go from here?
Smith: 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. I think we’re looking at the fact that in the holiday episodes, Kaia did mention that when he asked if she was coming to Virgin River for the job and she said, “I’m coming for you.” Sometimes when a woman, as proven by a little series called Felicity, makes the choice of chasing a boy and having that determine a lot in her life, there are consequences that come with that. I think that’s something that we’ll explore a little bit in Season 7. Her love for Preacher is real and true, and I love this couple, and I’m excited to explore them even deeper.
Virgin River, Season 6, Streaming Now, Netflix
