Virgin River Season 7, Episode 8 “Back in the Saddle” is about letting go and trusting the universe, for better or worse. For Mel and Jack, that means taking a real step back and trusting that Marley is going to make the best decision for her, and that whatever happens there, their journey towards what they dream of: being parents, won’t end here.
For Mike, that means letting Brie go, because he wants her happiness, and he understands that it isn’t necessarily with him. And, for Jack… well, it might mean letting Preacher go chase his own dreams, even if it’s hard for him to conceive of the bar without him. That’s what real love is. Holding people close when they need to and trusting them to go when you have to, knowing that they’ll never truly leave you. Not if they love you back.
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THE CLAY THING
We wanted Clay to be a good guy instead of someone shady, but it’s still kind of surprising that he is, I’m not going to lie. I know this is Virgin River, but I was still expecting him to be one of Calvin’s henchmen or something. However, perhaps in this case, subverting the expectations and making it so he is exactly what Jack thinks he is means that we can have an episode that keeps the suspense well, but not end up with our attention diverted from the emotional conflicts that are happening elsewhere.
And yet, when Mel is doubting at the beginning of the hour and asking Jack what he even knows about Clay, I’m not gonna deny I was nodding along with her. What do you know about the guy, Jack! Why are you so easy to trust?
But that’s the way of these small-town shows. And as strange as it might seem to us city folk, it’s also strangely comforting. It adds to the vibe of this show, the idea that you could move to a small town yourself and find this kind of community. Now, we probably won’t, but we really like watching shows like this one. What can I say?
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WHAT IS A CLIFFHANGER?
I find cliffhangers the Virgin River way the most amusing thing about this show. Every dang cliffhanger ends up being something way less dramatic than we thought it would be. Case in point, Charmaine. This has been the mystery of the season. What happened to Charmaine? Is she okay? Did she kill Calvin? And look, we wouldn’t have even blamed her if she did, considering, you know… Calvin. But it turns out she didn’t! Her boss did. And he’s been keeping Charmaine sort of hostage while everyone has been looking for her.
But nothing bad actually happens. Brie is in some level of danger for about 0.2 seconds, and then Mike swoops in, and all is fine, I guess? In fact, there’s more drama in this episode with Brady, Kaia, and the aftermath of the fire that almost took their lives than there is with Charmaine. Perhaps because we care about them a little more than we care about Charmaine?
But, even though it’s fairly anticlimactic, I will admit it’s nice to see Preacher and Kaia figuring things out without the need for some big blow-up fight. She left and found the clarity she needed. And in the meantime, Preacher realized where he was failing as a partner and stepped up. Not just that he communicated. Isn’t that a revelation?
Now, all we wish for is the same energy for Brie and Brady. This back and forth between them is actually killing us. We’ve spent too much time this season with Brie and Mike, even knowing that they really had no future. And Brie has spent too long trying to tell herself she doesn’t want the thing we all know she does, which is Brady. And though he had his near-death experience to help make things clear for him, she hasn’t. She still needs to understand that right now, she’s letting fear rule her.
That’s no way to live. And it’s certainly no way to love.
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 8 ‘Back in the Saddle’ in the comments below.
Virgin River Season 7 is now available to stream on Netflix.
