But above all, this hour is about how important your tribe is—in good times and bad. Because Mel has both in this hour, Everett’s heart attack and then her wedding, all so close together. And through it all, she’s anything but alone. Instead, she has a family, the one she made for herself when she came to Virgin River. The one that will be by her side, no matter what. And that is, perhaps, the most important thing of all. It is, for sure, the reason she even gets through the day and has a chance to end the season married to the love of her life. So now, well, let’s get these too married. Please.
The idea of forever is a very scary thing when you’ve had that possibility ripped away from you over and over again and that’s what Mel is contending with in Virgin River Season 6, Episode 9 ‘Prelude to a Kiss.’ It’s not that she doesn’t want to marry Jack, because it’s clear that there’s nothing she wants more. It’s that this big wedding, this big celebration, and the shock of almost losing Everett is a big blow for a woman who has been hit over and over again with loss.
How can you trust in the one thing that life seemed to be determined to prove over and over again isn’t for you? And how can you believe that what you take into the marriage is enough if it hasn’t been enough before? And sure, logically, Mel knows she is not to blame for the losses he’s suffered, but fear has never been logical. This is why what Mel needs when we get to the end of this episode is just a moment, not a moment alone, but a moment with Jack.
That Mel needs that moment with Jack, a moment that defies all wedding conventions, proves that Virgin River Season 6, Episode 9 ‘Prelude to a Kiss’ and perhaps even the show at large is truly about finding your soulmate, whatever that looks like. And sometimes, that’s a second chance romance—like with Jack and Mel. Sometimes, you even get it wrong the first time you try your own story, because you still have to learn some lessons on your own before you are ready to come back together—like with Doc and Hope, and Jack and Brie’s parents.
And, perhaps, sometimes, it’s about finding the person you feel at peace with—like Kaia and Preacher have found in each other, despite whatever fears she might have about the future. And though we don’t all know what we want, what we need, or what really fits, it’s about allowing ourselves to really and truly open up in a way that lets us discover that. Hopefully, that’s Brie’s journey in Season 7. Because right now, I can’t tell you what she really wants, much less what she really needs. And I, like her, would love to find out.
