Virgin River Season 7, Episode 10 “David and Goliath” is the end of one part of the story, and the beginning of another, as Marley confirms to Mel and Jack that she wants to go ahead with the adoption, despite everything. But then, come the bad news. The baby has a congenital heart defect and will need surgery immediately after birth. And it’s not an easy surgery.
The episode, and the show’s season, ends there. With Mel and Jack as new parents, but with the heavy worry of what’s next. It’s a new type of journey than the one we’ve seen them on before. But we have followed them through getting to know each other, figuring out if they were really meant to be together, then breaking down each other’s walls so they could fully commit all the way to marriage.
Now, onto a new adventure: parenthood. Sometimes the scariest adventure of all. But with a Season 8 already confirmed, I cannot wait to go on this brand-new journey with Mel and Jack.
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CLIFFHANGERS
The worry about Mel and Jack’s new baby is not the only cliffhanger of the season finale, as we see Brady crash on his motorcycle. Now, I’m not a medical professional, but that didn’t look like a fatal crash or anything similar. I’m sure he’ll be a little banged up, but he should be fine, right? Right? This is just another Virgin River cliffhanger that will, in the end, turn out to be nothing big. I need it to be just that, please and thank you. Don’t do this to my girl Brie, just when she finally has a chance to be happy.
And we also have Hope and Doc, who have not really had marital issues for a while. But Doc’s decision triggers something in Hope that we understand now that we know her history with Roland. Even though Roland has finally explained, and that has allowed Hope to heal some of her wounds, the truth is that she was, and still is, hurt by the way things transpired. By being left to believe the worst for so many years. By not being consulted.
Then, Doc turns around and does the same thing, at least in Hope’s mind. And of course, he didn’t mean to. He thought he was doing the best thing for Virgin River, and he wasn’t trying to keep secrets. Plus, this is his practice. Hope deserves a chance to say her piece because she’s Doc’s wife and the Mayor, but she doesn’t get to make the decision for him. But trauma is trauma, and her reaction has a lot to do with that.
Either way, I happen to find these two things acceptable and even interesting cliffhangers to end the season. That, and the anticipation of what’s happening with Mel and Jack, will make for a hiatus where we’re way more worried than last time around, but one where there’s a lot more to speculate on, too.
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FULL CIRCLE
In a way, this episode also comes full circle in some ways. For Mel, for Hope, for Doc, and even for Virgin River. Because yes, Hope gets plenty of signatures on her petition to keep corporations out of Virgin River, and she’s doing it with the best of intentions, but in many ways, what Doc is doing is also right. We can’t be like Don Quixote fighting against windmills. Sometimes, we gotta understand that things change, and we must adapt or be left behind.
That’s true of Mel and Jack, as well. They could have said you know what, it’s too hard now. We don’t want this baby. We’ll just go back to the waiting list, and we’ll find a baby who’s healthy. This isn’t our problem yet, and it doesn’t have to be. But they didn’t do that. Instead, they met the moment and rose to it. Not just because that’s the kind of people they are and it was the right thing to do, but also because adoption doesn’t mean this isn’t their kid… it is.
And you don’t abandon your kids, plain and simple. Just last episode, the two were told that they were already parents; they were just waiting for their child to find them. Now that the child has indeed found them. And Mel and Jack don’t intend to leave him behind.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of this episode? You can share with us and leave your own rating in our Virgin River hub! And you can also let us know what you thought about Virgin River Season 7, Episode 10 ‘David and Goliath’ in the comments below.
Virgin River Season 7 is now available to stream on Netflix.