It’s officially wedding season in Virgin River. While the 10 new episodes, which began streaming on Dec. 19, focused on the planning of Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge) and Jack’s (Martin Henderson) wedding, it also stayed true to the world of “Virgin River.” That means love triangles-turned-squares, shocking proposals, and a surprise baby.
Below, showrunner Patrick Sean Smith breaks all down all of the twists and cliffhangers and teases what’s to come in Season 7.
I think there was. It felt organic in all of the love that leads up to a wedding. It’s my second season on the show, and I was still learning every aspect of it. There are so many plates that you’re spinning from the character relationships, romance, crime, medical, now fire, to the multi-generational [themes]. So there was a lot going on, and we did lean a little bit more into the sexual relationship of some of our couples. I’m proud of all of them. The one that probably is most surprising was the sewing circle having a discussion about their sex lives, which I’m so incredibly proud of. It just felt real. It felt organic. It felt true to the characters.
Absolutely. There were many love scenes this season, including one on the pool table between Brady and Brie. Do you guys use an intimacy coordinator?
We always offer. In that instance, Ben and Zibby declined it, but a lot of thought and consideration went into it. We work with RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), and I had a meeting with them personally just to educate myself because we knew we wanted it to be physical, somewhat sensual, and in some ways, aggressive. That was the part that made me nervous, as far as how far that went. I was reminded that sexual assault and sexual violence are never about aggression as much as they are power domination. I think we were really respectful. I think Zibby and Ben both doing their research on it really brought a level of awareness into it, that they were kind of coordinating it themselves.
While we’re talking about Brady and Brie, let’s dive into the love square. While Brady and Mike (Marco Grazzini) made their feelings clear, is Brie with Mike because he’s a good person or because she believes he’s her person?
I think it’s probably more the former. I think she’s trying to make something work that, on every level, should be working. I think the thing that’s confounding to her is, why is it not? Also, given her experience and being a survivor of sexual assault from a partner, I think it’s brought some doubt deep down for her to trust herself in making the right choices. I think she’s making the obvious choice in Mike, and is trying to force it, and that’s where the struggle is.
Lark (Elise Gatien) obviously showed her true colors in the end but for a minute, it did seem like she actually was falling for Brady. Was that all a ruse?
We’ll unpack it all in Season 7, but in my mind, she did fall for him. I think she heard loud and clear that she would always be second to Brie, which is a bit of a contradiction. And Brady wasn’t at his best for lying to her when she confronted him about it. He withheld that truth, so I wanted to make sure that she felt as justified, because there’s one thing about conning somebody in cold blood, and there’s somebody conning somebody just out of emotional revenge that felt a little more interesting.
