Virgin River's Unexpected Season 5 Twist Sparks Controversy: An Exclusive Insight into the Showrunner's Justification
‘Virgin River’ showrunner Patrick Sean Smith defends the polarizing tragedy in Season 5, emphasizing how it strengthens the bond between Mel and Jack, bringing them closer than ever before
Alexandra Breckenridge, Martin Henderson. Courtesy of Netflix
This post contains spoilers for season 5 of the show Virgin River.
Patrick Sean Smith, the showrunner of Virgin River, is aware that Mel Monroe's fertility journey is a divisive plotline. However, he stands by the way it is portrayed.
Season 5 of the popular Netflix series premiered in September, with a dramatic start for Mel (played by Alexandra Breckenridge). She begins the season pregnant and engaged to her new love, Jack (Martin Henderson). However, her happiness is short-lived as she tragically suffers a miscarriage while in the midst of delivering someone else's baby. This heartbreaking moment has stirred strong emotions among fans, as it pushes the character's struggles even further. It is worth noting that Mel had previously experienced the stillbirth of her child while married to her late husband, Mark (Daniel Gilles). Despite the constant presence of death and loss in Mel's life, showrunner Patrick Sean Smith believes that her miscarriage opens up the opportunity for the show to explore the complexities of her fertility journey in greater depth.
"It presented an opportunity to delve further into a defining aspect of Mel's character, which felt like a crucial topic to explore," Smith, the showrunner for season 5, expressed in an interview with Glamour on October 5. "It felt like a natural progression to address this shared trauma. The past few seasons have focused heavily on the characters' individual traumas, and now we witness this couple navigating their way through the loss together, as it was the very thing that caused Mel's previous marriage to end."
In the earlier seasons of Virgin River, viewers are given glimpses through flashbacks into Mel's broken marriage, which ultimately collapses after the devastating loss of their child. Mark's tragic and unexpected death follows shortly after. For Smith, allowing Mel to process her grief with her new partner, Jack, was a significant aspect of her personal development.
"Mel and Mark's inability to cope with the emotional distress caused by her reproductive struggles made it all the more inspiring for me to portray Mel and Jack's resilience and growth in the same situation. This decision allowed for greater depth and a deeper bond between the characters," he explained.
Smith also carefully considered the decision to show the actual miscarriage on screen, depicting Mel discovering blood on her underwear and conducting an ultrasound to confirm the news. He later revealed that Netflix had no objections to this choice.
“The network remained unfazed by it. There is always the question of whether there is a gentler way to portray something that is traumatic, but at the same time, we struggled to find something that felt as crucial to demonstrate,” he stated. “Moreover, we aimed to convey a clear depiction of what was happening to her in that particular moment. This presented an opportunity to illustrate a woman undergoing a highly specific experience, and if we were going to undertake it, we wanted to do it justice.”
Courtesy of Netflix
Virgin River is no stranger to the themes of grief, loss, and tribulation. The series, based on Robyn Carr's books, premiered in December 2019 and follows Mel, a nurse practitioner who moves to a small town in Northern California after the death of her husband. The setting provides ample opportunities for tragedy, with Mel's medical work and the presence of a wildfire threatening the town. In Season 5, the show delves even deeper into the characters' struggles, including a devastating wildfire, Mel's miscarriage, paternity revelations, pregnancies, and a sting operation targeting a major drug supplier. It also addresses important issues like endometriosis, which is rarely portrayed on television.
Virgin River always manages to maintain its quaint and comforting ambiance, despite its heaviness. According to Smith, this will be further explored in the upcoming holiday episodes later this year. Smith describes it as "Virgin River holiday coziness times 10," with the talented cast and exceptional work from the crew. This season was particularly intense, surpassing previous seasons, but Smith emphasizes the importance of not turning it into a constant state of chaos. Ultimately, the show centers around love, community, romance, second chances, and overcoming life's challenges, and Smith expresses pride in this season.
