Fans of Virgin River have been sharing their dismay over the Netflix series’ “soap opera” style developments, with the next instalment’s release eagerly awaited.
The show, inspired by Robyn Carr’s novels, portrays the saga of Mel Monroe (played by Alexandra Breckenridge), who, after a crushing loss, relocates to a charming small town in Northern California.
Once there, as she adapts to her job as a nurse practitioner and navigates her affection for ex-Marine Jack Sheridan (Martin Henderson), Mel confronts challenges that make her realise the town might not be the tranquil haven she anticipated.
Despite their rollercoaster journey keeping the audience hooked, the evolution of storylines has sparked a debate among fans about the narrative direction of recent seasons.
Discontent bubbled over on Reddit, where one upset viewer exclaimed: “The show is ruined now”, reports the Express.
This individual professed continued love for the series and plans to watch the forthcoming season but voiced significant concerns about the adaptation’s divergence from the source material.
“I’m on the 5th book in the Virgin River book series, and holy c**p, the show completely ruined the books!!!!” the Reddit user went on to say.
They reached out to fellow book readers, stating, “For anyone who’s read the books I think you can relate. I don’t get why they strayed from the book so much.”
The commenter spotlighted the abundance of content available in the lengthy book series, suggesting ample opportunities were missed to craft compelling television without veering from the original tales.
“There are so many plots in the series on TV that are from the books but are from different characters in the books and put into characters in the show and it makes the show so overly dramatic like a soap opera.”
One storyline in particular from the latest season had this viewer pulling their hair out when Mel finally reunited with her biological father Everett Reid (John Allen Nelson).
“The final straw for me was in season five when Mel finds out her mother had an affair with a guy in Virgin River and that man still HAPPENS to be there and Mel HAPPENED to come to virgin river for her job,” they wrote.
“I mean like cmon, really? That’s making it soooo soap opera-y.”
“Yeah the storyline about Mel’s dad is incredibly cheesy and unnecessary. I’ll still watch it tho lol,” one viewer said. “I’ll have to get my hands on some of the books.”
“Yeah, I love the books! ” another said. “I binged after the first season so I was not loving how the show plotted out.
“However, I do love the characters and the actors who play them in the series (at least the ones through the first season) because I imagined that I was reading.”
Will you be checking out the next season or has Virgin River officially gone off the rails?
