Over the course of five seasons, Netflix’s Virgin River has had quite a strange timeline attached to it, and although season 6 could definitely fix that problem, the solution will make season 5’s ending much worse. Virgin River is a romantic drama following a nurse practitioner named Mel who moves from Los Angeles to the idyllic California town, Virgin River, and is surprised by who and what she finds there. The series began in 2019 and has now run for five seasons with a sixth on the way. Virgin River season 6 will likely be released in 2024 or early 2025.
With so many seasons under its belt, it’s unsurprising that Virgin River has a few questionable aspects to it. Something that has likely helped and hindered the television series is the fact that it is based on the Virgin River books, written by Robyn Carr. Oftentimes, having source material can confine a series just as much as it can lead it. But ultimately, Virgin River’s biggest problem is not necessarily a detrimental one. It is just that, if audiences think too hard about the show’s timeline, it may seem a bit strange- and worse- unrealistic.
Virgin River’s Timeline Is Absolutely Baffling
The fact of the matter is, Virgin River has a truly weird timeline because, during the course of five seasons, only a few months have actually passed. Despite the fact that in the real world, it has been several years of Virgin River, in the show’s universe, everything has occurred in less than a year. In some cases, this brief timeline would work, however in Virgin River it does not. Ultimately, the issue is that Virgin River’s characters have had so much development and the relationship dynamics have changed so much that it seems entirely unrealistic that so much could happen in only a few months’ time.
For some perspective, over the course of a few months, Mel has moved to Virgin River, started a complicated romance with Jack, Jack has been shot and recovered, his house has burned down, and the two have prepared to have a baby. Even then, those are just the major plot points. Other storylines include murder, drug smuggling, more wildfires, and of course, romances coming together and breaking apart. In the end, Mel and Jack’s relationship alone is a good indicator of how quickly the show is moving along. The two are essentially together forever with hopes of starting a family, despite it being less than a year since they met.
Virgin River Season 6 Will Continue To Fix The Unrealistic Timeline
Some good news for Virgin River is that they have already begun to fix this discrepancy, and can continue to do so in the future. Virgin River season 5 was split into two parts, with ten episodes premiering in September 2023, and two more being released in November 2023. These final two episodes, Virgin River season 5, part 2, were holiday episodes, and therefore had a time jump. Skipping over a few months is beneficial for Virgin River because it gets the series closer to having a timeline that makes sense with its plot. Plus, the show will continue to do this.
In an interview with Deadline, Virgin River showrunner Patrick Sean Smith said that another time jump can be expected between season 5 and season 6. He said, “But we do intend to do another time jump from the holidays to when Season 6 starts so we can anticipate a bit of a time jump. I don’t know exactly how many months but it won’t be a direct pickup from the holidays.” While it is unclear just how long Virgin River’s season 6 time jump will be, it will definitely be a welcome change. Virgin River needs to expand beyond the six months that the show has lasted for.
A Time Skip Means Virgin River Season 5’s Cliffhanger May Not Be Resolved Right Away
Although Virgin River’s season 6 time jump will fix one problem, it will inevitably cause another. The series’ time jump means that the show will likely not give answers to its cliffhanger right away. At the end of Virgin River season 5, Mel meets her biological father, and he has something to tell her via a letter. However, audiences do not find out what is in the letter, leaving a pretty major cliffhanger. Unfortunately, this cliffhanger is probably going to be left open as the series acclimates to its new place on the timeline. Therefore, Virgin River will save its timeline but leave fans hanging in the process.
