After Virgin River season 7, it’s officially time for one major character, whom everyone loves, to die. Netflix’s romantic drama is back with a whole new season of dramatic storylines that put Virgin River’s characters through the wringer. The series has never shied away from tragic plot twists that could easily be found in a soap opera or telenovella.
However, these larger-than-life moments are part of what keeps bringing the audience back season after season. Only on Virgin River can the writers pack in a fentanyl trade, a conspiracy, a wildfire, and a miscarriage all in the same season. It often seems like anything that can go wrong will. Frankly, I don’t understand why anybody chooses to stay in that godforsaken town, given how many bad things have happened.
Virgin River season 7 wasn’t nearly as soapy as past seasons, but it still packed a few punches. Mel and Jack found out their son will need heart surgery immediately after his birth, which will be anxiety-inducing. Hope kicks Doc out after he partners with Grace Valley Hospital. However, the most difficult part of the ending to swallow comes when a fan-favorite character is put in a life-or-death situation. As much as I hate to admit it, it’s time for him to die.
Virgin River Repeatedly Threatens Character Deaths & Backtracks
Virgin River repeatedly sets up a character’s death and then fakes us out. It’s absolutely irritating how many times they’ve resorted to this plot device without actually following through. It happened with Jack when Vince shot him in the bar in Virgin River season 2’s finale, but he recovered. Hope got into a car accident in season 4, making it seem like she would die, but then she just had a TBI.
Brady gets stabbed in prison and bleeds out in Virgin River season 4, then they have him completely recover. Everett has a heart attack, and he basically dies in season 6. However, they’re able to resuscitate him, and he survives the open-heart surgery.
The ending of Virgin River season 6 makes it seem like Charmaine would die. Lauren Hammersley, who plays Charmaine, even joked on Instagram about how she wanted Charmaine to be drowned in the river. Then, in Virgin River season 7, Brady and Kaia get caught in a wildfire that should have been fatal, but they walk away unscathed.
All six of these Virgin River main characters survived, which just feels like cowardly writing. Not counting people who died before the first episode, Lily is the only time writers actually killed off a non-villain who got a decent amount of screentime. Even then, she was mostly a side character.
Virgin River Season 7’s Ending Sets Up Brady’s Death
Brady is the story that Virgin River always likes to kick when he’s already down. Yes, he was a punk at the start of the series, but he has grown and matured into a likable guy. Things seem to finally be going well for Brady in the final episodes of Virgin River season 7. He’s back with Brie, and they’re very happy together. He has his bike shop, which he will be opening soon.
Unfortunately, they ruin all that in the finale. Brady is riding his motorcycle down the road, seemingly headed back to Brie. He’s thinking of all the happy moments he’s had with her, which distracts him from. Brady doesn’t notice that he’s headed full speed at a roadblock with construction workers. Rather than hit them, he pulls his bike to the side, throwing him from the bike.
Brady takes nasty blows to his body when he bounces off the pavement, rolling and hitting down repeatedly at full force. Then, they cut away, rather than show him alive. It’s clear that they wanted to leave the audience with the question, “Did Brady survive the motorcycle accident?” There’s a very real possibility that he wouldn’t survive an incident like that, even if he was wearing a helmet.
The crash is shocking, to say the least. It seemed like they were finally committing to giving Brady the happy story that he deserved. He just can’t seem to catch a break, though. Even Ben Hollingsworth, who plays Brady, was livid at the ending. He told TV Insider this:
“I was so upset. I was like, ‘This is bullsh*t. What? No.’ He finally gets it all. He can’t have nice things. Brady is just one of those guys who is not allowed to have nice things. It is very hard as an actor, too, because you cheer for your character. You want them to be happy. You want them to have nice things because you’re so close to them, especially after seven seasons. I get it, it makes for a great cliffhanger. I mean, what happens to Brady? I don’t know.”
Frankly, Hollingsworth is right. It feels really cruel that they chose to end the season this way. Brady deserved better. He has proven time and time again that he’s not the person he used to be. Maybe Virgin River season 1 Brady didn’t deserve a happy ending, but season 7 Brady does. Unfortunately, this death set-up is what we’re left with.
Brady’s Motorcycle Accident Cannot Be Another Fake-Out
Brady is the character who has survived the most fake-out deaths. Now, Virgin River season 7’s ending sets up all the pieces for Brady to die. The writers have to be brave enough to follow through, even if it will be a controversial decision.
Before anyone comes at me for saying this, I love Brady as a character, even if I don’t buy into Brie and Brady as a couple. What’s more, I stand by the fact that Ben Hollingsworth is one of the best actors on the show. This statement isn’t coming from a place of malice towards the character.
Rather, I’m thinking of the negative effects that would come from his survival. The show is beginning to feel like The Boy Who Cried Wolf: The TV Show. Obviously, cliffhangers have to happen to maintain interest, but asking “Will [X] die?” has less and less of an impact when we know that every answer will be “no.”
It’s all the cause without any of the effect. If they keep this up, nobody will care when a character gets injured because there aren’t any stakes. The only solution for this is to actually follow through. Virgin River needs to prove that it isn’t just going to yank the audience around. There needs to be actual consequences for the storylines that the writers put in place, and that starts with killing off Brady.
- Release Date
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December 6, 2019
- Network
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Netflix
- Showrunner
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Patrick Sean Smith
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Alexandra Breckenridge
Melinda Monroe
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Martin Henderson
Jack Sheridan
