“Virgin River” is full of cliffhangers, ranging from attempted murder suspicions to questions of paternity. But audiences might say the show’s biggest mystery is its timeline.
As viewers of Season Four of “Virgin River” pointed out on social media, Charmaine (Lauren Hammersley) has been pregnant for what seems to be a long time — likely, a longer-than-nine-months time.
“Poor Charmaine. She’s been pregnant for three years,” one Twitter user wrote.
As of Season Five, she is still pregnant. “It’s crinkling my brain that Charmaine is still pregnant with the twins in season 5 of Virgin River!!!! The time frame of the show confuses me beyond belief,” a tweet written in 2023 reads.
“I expected the new season of #VirginRiver to start off with Charmaine having those damn twins,” another wrote.
Charmaine, Jack’s (Martin Henderson) ex-girlfriend, found out she was pregnant in the show’s first season. During a 911 phone call in the Season Four finale, Jack says that Charmaine is five months pregnant.
The series premiered on Netflix in 2019. That means that, while viewers are three years older than they were when the show started, characters are five months older. For some, the cognitive dissonance is too much.
“Charmaine on #VirginRiver has been pregnant with the same twins for 3 real-life years and 4 seasons, it’s getting ridiculous. Even the elephants are starting to roll their eyes,” one Twitter user wrote.
But aside from Charmaine’s pregnancy, things are moving quite fast in the town of Virgin River.
Say we use Charmaine’s pregnancy as a yardstick for everything that’s happened in “Virgin River.” If she’s five months pregnant in Season Four, that means the past three seasons — and all their actions — took place in five months.
As one Twitter user added up, “That means, in 5 months, Jack broke up with (Charmaine), got together with Mel, got shot, recovered, broke up with Mel, got together with Mel and is engaged to her and she is six weeks pregnant.”
That’s not even counting Mel and Jack’s entire debate about whether to have kids, and Charmaine’s whirlwind relationship — and marriage — to Todd (Patrick Sabongui).
Essentially, Charmaine only being pregnant for five months draws, into sharp consideration, the fast pace of the rest of the show.
A few events that have taken place in the last five months? Doc’s surprise grandson, Denny, coming to town. Lilly’s death. Hope’s absence and brain injury. The Paige-Preacher saga.
As one Twitter user put it, “How does everything move so fast … yet so slow.”
Alexandra Breckenridge, who plays Mel, addressed the timeline in an interview with Glamour, timed to Season Four.
“Things move slowly in Virgin River,” she told the publication. “I think Mel’s only been in Virgin River for maybe four months. “It’s a hundred and some odd days; there’s a chart for it. She’s only nine weeks pregnant at this point, and Charmaine is like five months, apparently.”
Charmaine’s pregnancy has been a complicating factor for Mel and Jack’s budding relationship since Season One. In Season Three, Jack wavered about starting a family with Mel, knowing that he was expecting twins with his ex and had a business to run.
Now, there’s another complication. In the Season Four finale, Charmaine reveals that Jack is not the father of her children (just after finding out Mel’s paternity news).
Season Five has progressed when it comes to Charmaine’s pregnancy — namely, the identity of the father.
Is the father a stranger? Is it another Virgin River resident, a minor character until now? Is she going to move back from Eureka, where Todd forced her to live?
In addition to answering these questions, the Season Five finale, out in November, might even have another unexpected progression: She might actually have her babies.
