Virgin River Season 7, Episode 2 ‘Beautiful Child’ brings us the birth of Fumiko, Lizzie and Denny’s baby, Mel struggling with the desire to have her own family, and oh yeah…Brie coming to terms with letting go of Mike, just as Brady finds some closure with Lark. Plus, we’ve got a Virgin River special, a cliffhanger that’ll probably end up being not such a big deal once we press play on the next episode.
I’ll never understand why the show loves to end on cliffhangers that look super dramatic, only for the resolution to either not be dramatic at all, or sometimes, for us to not even get the resolution right away because the show has decided to do a time jump. The bane of my existence, truly.
But before that, this is a pretty nice episode about how people come together in small towns, which tackles the issues with suspending Doc’s license in a way that feels true to Virgin River. The thing with Doc isn’t that he’s the town doctor; it’s also that he’s everyone’s neighbor. He’s everyone’s friend. He knows them and cares about them. And that’s why he makes all the decisions he makes.
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BEAUTIFUL CHILD
One thing I’ll give Virgin River is that very few shows depict not just motherhood, but labor quite as beautifully as this one does. There is stress and worry, of course. But there’s also laughter, love, and so much joy in the moment for Lizzie, Denny, and even Doc and Hope, that it’s hard not to feel a little emotional. Mel obviously feels it, for other reasons. I know this is literally her job, but it’s still gotta be hard considering how much she’s wanted her own baby and how many times she’s had to let go of that dream. That she continues to do it with a smile on her face, one that feels genuine, says a lot about the kind person and nurse she is.
But the episode establishes that things might be looking up for her, as she and Jack tell Marley that they would love for her to consider them to adopt her baby. She’s elated at first, but then seems to react badly to Jack’s military history. In the end, it seems like that’s only about the bad things she associated with it and not the idea of the military in general, which is good for Jack since it’s not like he can undo his past service.
The whole thing still has me feeling uneasy, though. Maybe it’s the pace of everything in Virgin River, but I don’t know if I trust that this is how they get their family, though I wholeheartedly believe they will. Maybe I’ve just been hurt too many times with this storyline, but I’d rather stay cautious.
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LETTING GO
We get both Brie and Brady doing their best to let go of their past relationships in this hour, and it’s probably for the best, as neither of them were really in it with Mike or Lark. Not for the right reasons. But you didn’t have to let Lark keep all the money she stole from you, Brady. Okay, let her keep something, but everything? This is the kind of thing that would only happen on a TV show like this one.
Then there’s Brie, and I like that she’s being honest with herself, I do. And I also like that she’s not exactly jumping into something with Brady. That way lies pain, and she already tried that. And hey, perhaps there’s hope there in the future. But I think the best thing for them right now is to figure themselves out, far apart from each other. Of course, the problem with Brie is that life continues to put her in Mike’s path, and that part will be really hard to avoid. Especially considering the Charmaine of it all. And, you know, the fact that we all knew Brie was going to show up the moment Charmaine called.
Overall, I would like for Brie to take a step back from relationships. I just don’t know if I love that the show continues to put her in Mike’s path like there’s still a chance there, all while giving me charged looks with Brady too. It feels like they picked a lane already, and they have to stick to it. And while they do, they’d better find Mike a good love interest, because he deserves some happiness too.
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 2 ‘Beautiful Child’ in the comments below.
Virgin River Season 7 is now available to stream on Netflix.
