Unpopular Virgin River Opinion: Charmaine Isn't as Terrible as She Seems

Summary

• Charmaine has been hated by the audience since the beginning of the show.
• Virgin River's main 'antagonist' is right to hate Mel.
• The show's central duo doesn't treat Charmaine kindly.

As soon as it premiered, Virgin River became one of the most popular shows on Netflix. Set in a quaint fictional town in Northern California, the romantic drama primarily follows a recently widowed young woman, Melinda Monroe, as she attempts to rebuild her life. And as Mel navigates her new small-town lifestyle, she meets many people, some of whom become her friends and some of whom make her life in Virgin River less than pleasant.

It's no surprise that the audience tends to side with the main character of Virgin River, extending their love to her friends and antagonizing the characters who don't like her. For example, Charmaine is one of the most despised characters on the show, simply because she treats Mel as competition. But it seems that VR's main antagonist actually deserves the viewer's sympathy. Besides, Charmaine is right to dislike Melinda.

Wham bam, thank you ma'am!

Although Virgin River has spanned five seasons, and the sixth is about to begin filming, it has only been about a year since Mel's arrival on the show. In that time, Charmaine has been portrayed as an unpleasant, cunning woman who constantly gets in the way of Mel and Jack's happiness. As a result, the audience jumps to the conclusion that the character is despicable, not realizing that Melinda was a disruptor in the first place.

Charmaine and Jack had been a couple, albeit an uncommitted one, for several years before Mel set foot in Virgin River and immediately won over the local bar owner. For years, Charmaine had methodically worked on Jack, who didn't want a serious relationship and simply enjoyed the benefits of their so-called friendship. And as soon as he met Mel, he must have fallen head over heels for her and was ready to make a commitment. Wouldn't you find that frustrating if you were in Charmaine's shoes?

Mel's Cruelty

To add insult to injury, Melinda seems to enjoy her power over Jack and the situation with Charmaine in general. The main character seems to get a kick out of the fact that Jack chose her over Charmaine despite their long history.

Furthermore, Mel takes sadistic pleasure in interacting with Charmaine and rubbing her happiness in the face of the poor woman, who must be heartbroken to think that she wasn't enough to make Jack take their relationship seriously.

Hopefully, Charmaine will get the closure she deserves in Season 6 of Virgin River, because if anything, she is the wounded party on the show and deserves retribution.