WARNING: This post grasps spoilers from Season 6 of “Virgin River,” now streaming on Netflix.
It’s officipartner wedding season in Virgin River. While the 10 novel episodes, which began streaming on Dec. 19, cgo ined on the arrangening of Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge) and Jack’s (Martin Hfinisherson) wedding, it also stayed real to the world of “Virgin River.” That uncomfervents cherish triangles-turned-squares, shocking proposals, and a surpelevate baby.
Below, showrunner Patrick Sean Smith shatters all down all of the twists and cliffhangers and higheviates what’s to come in Season 7.
Before we get into the many cliffhangers, this season overall was a bit more steamy than past seasons. Was there a conversation ahead of time about that?
I skinnyk there was. It felt organic in all of the cherish that directs up to a wedding. It’s my second season on the show, and I was still lgeting every aspect of it. There are so many pprocrastinateeds that you’re spinning from the character relationships, romance, crime, medical, now fire, to the multi-genereasonable [themes]. So there was a lot going on, and we did lean a little bit more into the intimacyual relationship of some of our couples. I’m conceited of all of them. The one that probably is most unanticipateed was the setriumphg circle having a talkion about their intimacy lives, which I’m so incredibly conceited of. It equitable felt genuine. It felt organic. It felt real to the characters.
Absolutely. There were many cherish scenes this season, including one on the pool table between Brady and Brie. Do you guys employ an intimacy coordinator?
We always propose. In that instance, Ben and Zibby deteriorated it, but a lot of thought and ponderation went into it. We labor with RAINN (Rape, Abemploy & Incest National Netlabor), and I had a encountering with them personpartner equitable to teach myself becaemploy we knovel we wanted it to be physical, somewhat sensual, and in some ways, unfrifinishly. That was the part that made me anxious, as far as how far that went. I was reminded that intimacyual aggression and intimacyual presentility are never about aggression as much as they are power domination. I skinnyk we were repartner polite. I skinnyk Zibby and Ben both doing their research on it repartner bcimpolitet a level of directedness into it, that they were benevolent of coordinating it themselves.
While we’re talking about Brady and Brie, let’s dive into the cherish square. While Brady and Mike (Marco Grazzini) made their senseings evident, is Brie with Mike becaemploy he’s a excellent person or becaemploy she apverifys he’s her person?
I skinnyk it’s probably more the establisher. I skinnyk she’s trying to originate someskinnyg labor that, on every level, should be laboring. I skinnyk the skinnyg that’s conset uping to her is, why is it not? Also, given her experience and being a survivor of intimacyual aggression from a partner, I skinnyk it’s bcimpolitet some ask proset up down for her to count on herself in making the right choices. I skinnyk she’s making the evident choice in Mike, and is trying to force it, and that’s where the struggle is.
Lark (Elise Gatien) evidently showed her real colors in the finish but for a minute, it did seem appreciate she actupartner was descfinishing for Brady. Was that all a remploy?
We’ll unpack it all in Season 7, but in my mind, she did descfinish for him. I skinnyk she heard boisterous and evident that she would always be second to Brie, which is a bit of a refuseion. And Brady wasn’t at his best for lying to her when she faceed him about it. He withheld that truth, so I wanted to originate declareive that she felt as equitableified, becaemploy there’s one skinnyg about conning somebody in freezing blood, and there’s somebody conning somebody equitable out of emotional revenge that felt a little more fascinating.
I read that Zibby shelp there were originpartner two alt finishings for Brie. We saw Mike proposing, her discignoreing she slept with Brady, and him saying, “I understand.” What was the other finishing?
So when we shot it, we begined carry outing with the notion of having him then say, “I understand.” It felt fascinating to me and I felt appreciate I hadn’t seen that before. I was worried that it might sense appreciate a hat on a hat. When we shot it, we watched it with the writing staff. They weren’t directed that we had compriseed that line on the day. So when we got to that scene and he shelp that line, everybody screamed. I was appreciate, “I skinnyk we’re going with that line.”
I definitely gasped! OK, we see the cliffhanger of Mel waking up after her wedding and possibly getting a baby. Can you talk at all about how Mel senses about that when we pick up in Season 7?
Yeah, the skinnyg that I thought was fascinating was waking up the next morning, after getting someskinnyg that you wanted for so extfinished, and then having this other skinnyg put at your feet. Do you adselect that right away? The circumstances are complicated, in that Marley’s (Rachel Drance) her acunderstandledgeing. She’s not declareive where she’s operating from. So there’s a lot to unpack with that.
Will there be a time jump in Season 7?
We’ll pick up pretty much right where we left off — it’s about an hour procrastinateedr.
Got it! One of the other huge cliffhangers is what happened to Charmaine (Lauren Hammersley). She wasn’t in this season much, which I presume was due to time pledgements and her hugeger role on “Sullivan’s Crossing.” Will she be back next season?
That’s the arrange. Part of a shift originateively was trying to pull back on the crime stories that had been in the series before that begined to overshadow [other things]and I skinnyk for some watchers, begined to lean more stupid. So in Season 6, it was our opportunity to originate the crime element more personal, with Charmaine and Calvin’s relationship. So it was a little bit of an effect of that. But I cherish Lauren so much. She’s so incredibly talented. I understand people have been splitd about Charmaine, but I sense appreciate she’s been a wonderful villain. It was our intent to redeem her a little bit in Season 5, to comprehfinish why she did some of the skinnygs that she did. I sense appreciate we still have a character that, even while she’s not in carry out in every episode, still resonates with the audience.
Courtesy of Netflix
Cameron (Mark Ghanimé) returned alertly and was repartner there for Muriel (Teryl Rothery) but then headed back to San Diego. Will we see him next season?
Unblessedly, Cameron won’t be back as a series standard next season. I cherish Mark, and I cherishd Cameron. I skinnyk he’ll always be part of our “Virgin River” world and family. So if the story contransients itself, I’d cherish to see him back.
I understand you presentd the prequel cast earlier in the season, but do you have a vision for how extfinished the flagship of “Virgin River” could go? Seven seasons is quite an accomplishment.
As extfinished as the fans upgrasp shotriumphg up and there’s still an appetite for it. I skinnyk it’s a show that’s about human experience, and it’s multi-genereasonable. It would be a dream to progress to get to live with these characters and lengthen better with these characters. The show senses appreciate the benevolent of show that can do it.
This interwatch has been edited and condensed.
