Virgin River Season 7, Episode ‘It Takes a Village’ is all about how in this show—and this town—you’re never alone. This goes for Lizzie, who finally breaks under the strain of the pressure on her and finds that she’s not alone; she never was. But it also applies to Doc, who gets his license back with the help of an unlikely ally, Victoria. Wonders never cease! And the best thing of all? It doesn’t even feel unearned.
And it’s all because she finally sees what we’ve all known from the beginning. Doc cares about his patients, and that… that’s the kind of thing you can’t really put a price on. We’ve all gone to a doctor and felt like we’re not being listened to, or like we’re just another cog in the machine. In Virgin River, no one is a cog in the machine, and that’s important.
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NO MAN LEFT BEHIND
One of my favorite things this season has been the friendship between Brady and Kaia. If there’s one thing TV often fails at, it’s giving us friendships between a man and a woman that aren’t charged. But this is. It’s a friendship based on mutual respect and a healthy dose of camaraderie. They’ve been confiding in each other. They like each other. And hey, they’d face a literal inferno together. But there’s nothing else there.
Kaia is happy with Preacher and loves him. Brady’s heart is with Brie. And both those things can be true even as the two of them face a literal fire together. It happens in real life, a lot. The people we work with are sometimes our friends, our sounding boards, and sometimes even family. And we can have our partners at home, and that changes nothing.
Though, for the sake of Preacher and Brie, I think we’d all wish Brady and Kaia both stayed away from the big fires from now on. Kaia seems like she’s there already. Near-death experiences have a way of making you reevaluate your life. What Kaia wants is that home, that simple life, and Preacher. What Brady wants is Brie. Will they both get what they want?
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I USED TO BE HIM
“It Takes a Village” also gives us more perspective into why Doc is how he is and why he’s fought so hard to get his license back. Because he knows what it’s like to be on the other side. He was Doctor Hayes once, and he realized that wasn’t what he wanted. That putting the needs of the hospital and insurance companies over the needs of his patients was not something he could, in good conscience, do.
So Doc, with a little help from Victoria, who he has now convinced, tells the tribunal not just about Dr. Hayes’ offer and the fact that he is only trying to strip him of his license to get his practice, but about who he is. Why he’s so determined to get his license back. And how much the people of Virgin River need him. Proof of that is what almost happened to Mel.
“Medicine has lost touch with the simple act of care,” Doc says, and I kinda wish I didn’t understand what he’s saying. But I do. And that’s part of what makes Doc such a great character, even when he is being a little grumpy. He goes the extra mile because he is part of the community, and the well-being of everyone matters to him. That’s the kind of doctor you want on your side.
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POSTPARTUM ANXIETY
As women, there’s so much we don’t know about the hormonal change that happens right after a pregnancy, and I’m so happy this show has chosen to tell this story with Lizzie. Because a lot of people know about postpartum depression, but not as many know about postpartum anxiety. And what you don’t know, you can’t work through. In fact, many people, like Lizzie, probably believe this is on them, that it’s something they have to fix. Or worse, that feeling like this makes them bad mothers.
Virgin River is a show whose primary audience is women, and it’s great for it to be sending these messages to the exact audience that needs them. And it’s also great to see Lizzie realize that yes, it takes a village to raise a kid, but it takes a country to help the mother. And she has people on her side to do both.
And it’s not just the women of Virgin River; she has Denny, too. She can lean on him. That’s what he wants, and it’s what she and her daughter deserve.
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 7 ‘It Takes a Village’ in the comments below.
Virgin River Season 7 is now available to stream on Netflix.
