I don’t know what it is about lockdowns, but I seem to gravitate towards the most wholesome, heart-warming films and TV shows. In 2020, it was Emily In Paris – a fluffy, wholesome escape to Paris that was equal parts sweet and silly. This year, it’s Virgin River.
Virgin River has been on Netflix since 2019. It’s not a new show, and over the last two years I’ve tried (and failed) to get invested in it. The whole storyline was so SACCHARINE. Gorgeous 30-something Mel Monroe flees Los Angeles and a painful past to take a cosy nurse/midwife job in Virgin River, a small town in Northern California. Of course, there’s a hot single guy who owns a bar. A grumpy but good-hearted doctor who doesn’t want her there. Other quirky townsfolk.
Mel starts adjusting to life in her new town while also working through her trauma, blah blah. See why I wasn’t into it at first? It’s like Hart of Dixie but without my fave, Rachel Bilson.
Then 2021’s NSW lockdown hit. Suddenly, I was craving wholesome television and Virgin River has really hit the spot. The saccharine-heavy plotlines that once irked me now feel cosy and warm, like a hug from my mum.
Like Emily In Paris, I can see the huge flaws in Virgin River. It feels “done” – like I said, we’ve seen this show a million times over, from Hart of Dixie to Chesapeake Shores. You can see what’s going to happen a mile away – obviously Hot Town Guy and New Girl With Past will fall in love, and then come together and break apart a few times over the series. Naturally, Mel will become part of this town and well-loved by all.
I think we just need some consistency in a very uncertain time. At least, I do – Virgin River is so predictable, it soothes me. I know each episode will present some sort of minor medical crisis that will get resolved. I know there won’t be any major plot twists. At a time where the end of lockdown seems to be in the far-distance, and I feel like I’m treading water, it’s just nice to have that consistency.
If you’re also feeling like you need some soothing television, this is it.
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