Virgin River Fans Outraged: This Season 5 Plot Wasn't Supposed to Happen
There was no need to hurt the characters so profoundly, they say.
Summary
- Season 5 of Virgin River was one of the few premieres of this fall.
- The installment's bleakest moment wasn't originally planned.
- Fans wish it had never happened.
Although this year's WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes brought Hollywood to a near standstill, indefinitely delaying most of our favorite shows, including NCIS, Law & Order, Chicago Fire and Young Sheldon, one fan-favorite series still premiered. Season 5 of Netflix's most popular romance drama, Virgin River, was released in early September.
While viewers were initially thrilled to have the show back, it soon became a major source of anxiety and misery for viewers. Following the residents of the titular small town in Northern California, Virgin River Season 5 featured a number of tragic events – from the devastating wildfires that swept through the town to the main character's miscarriage. The latter took a toll on fans who were distraught.
However, it turns out that the storyline that caused the characters and the audience so much misery didn't have to happen in the first place.
A Controversial Revelation
According to Alexandra Breckenridge, who portrays Virgin River's central character, Mel Monroe, on the show, the original concept of Season 5, created by first showrunner Sue Tenney, was that Melinda and Jack would have their baby. But when Patrick Sean Smith took over production, the plans changed.
'We changed showrunners, and we have a lot of new writers. I think the original plan with our previous showrunner was to keep the pregnancy. But things in television change constantly. We did consider it, I think we all just felt that it [miscarriage] was an important place to take [the characters]. I think that they're going to start a family in the future in a different way,' the actress shared in an interview.
Fans Are None Too Fond of It
Needless to say, fans are upset about the news – just as they were ranting and raving about the miscarriage when it happened.
'Just as I thought, the miscarriage was the new showrunner's idea and Sue Tenney had originally planned for Mel to have this baby,' one Reddit user wrote fretfully.
Ultimately, the audience doesn't understand the need for so much distress and drama for the characters this season.
'[This revelation] has made me want to watch the show even less. The main characters have had nothing but misery and woe for 5 seasons. Sure, they sprinkle a little happiness in there every season before they lower the boom. I think they outdid themselves in S5,' another Redditor chimed in.
Hopefully, Virgin River's further installments will be lighter in tone. By the way, Christmas specials are set to premiere tonight.