#Virgin River Season 3 Episode 3 Review: Spare Parts and Broken Hearts

Stacie and Charmaine would probably be the best of friends. They’re both brilliant at effing with Mel and Jack’s heads, and I hate them for it.

Seriously, when will Mel and Jack have a moment of bliss without all of Virgin River’s colorful characters and issues coming to marsh their mellow?

But if Virgin River Season 3 Episode 3 didn’t do anything, it introduced us to some new characters, brought some drama, sadness, and a new ‘ship.

So let’s get it out of the way. Maybe this reviewer jumped the gun on hating Brady and Brie. Sure, it’ll be hell to pay when Jack finds out about this, but damn it if the chemistry between Brady and Brie isn’t enticing.

Brie is adamant about it not going anywhere serious. But she’s into him more than she’s willing to verbalize, and if that morning after scene didn’t tell us anything, it suggested that Brady is genuinely smitten.

They’re flirty, fun, and cute, and in their bubble of hot sexytimes and revealing conversations. It’s a nice change of pace to have such simplistic intimacy and sweetness before reality hits.

Slowly but surely, Brie’s letting her guard down a bit about her life, and she prompts Brady to do the same. It’s a smart move here, as most of everything we’ve learned about Brady thus far is via his relationships with Jack, Preach, and even Calvin.

You get a different feel for other sides to a person when they’re embarking on a romantic relationship journey, and it’s nice to get to know Brady through this lens.

He loves watching movies, particularly classics, and he had a close-knit relationship with his uncle, who he credited for taking care of him and attempting to keep him out of trouble.

Hell, as an uncle’s girl (ironically, with the same shared hobby of movie appreciation), Brady’s fondness as he recalled cherished time spent with his uncle resonated.

And when we saw the trailer for the season and witnessed that clip of a couple speeding down the road on a bike, it was easy to assume it was Mel and Jack. It was a delightful surprise to see that it was Brady and Brie.

And dammit if Brady’s bad boy on a motorcycle shtick wasn’t hot AF. Did he get sexier with the bike? Tell me I’m not alone here!

It’s the whirlwind romance that most of us probably didn’t know we needed. And since Brie is trying to escape her old life, Brady may be the best distraction for her.

She’s trying to make some changes, and after spending the day with Brady, talking, making out, and whatever else, she at least got around to telling her brother that she quit her job and doesn’t have any intentions to go back.

Something else must’ve happened with her job and her previous life, and she’s trying to find herself again. It does make you wonder about her past and how she got into law in the first place.

It’s not an uncommon profession to have others push onto you, and if it’s not your calling or your heart isn’t in it, then it makes practicing difficult. Brie seems like she wants to feel liberated and figure out who she is and what she wants in life. Clearly, she’s letting her hair down in a way Jack isn’t familiar — but there’s more to the story.

And yet, her story with Brady is among the lightest at the moment.

Charlie: You’re 18, you’re a man now.

Ricky: Okay.

Charlie: Real men don’t need the approval of others. They just need the strength of their convictions.

The hour did step its game up with Ricky and Lizzie’s young love story. The introduction of Parker makes things spicier and interesting.

The second he came rolling into town with his fancy car hellbent on getting Lizzie back, it was evident that things were about to get intense. What makes Parker a viable threat to our sweet Ricky is that he’s bringing more than one type of temptation.

If it’s solely a matter of Parker trying to prove himself and win Lizzie back with his good looks and money, then she’d have an easier go of dismissing him without a second thought. However, Parker is opening up a club and wants her to partner with him in the endeavor.

It would give Lizzie everything she desires — a ticket out of this small-town that she never cared for, returning home to Los Angeles, staying in a nice condo away from parental supervision, and a promising job.

Mel: I don’t even know if I have a choice. I don’t even know if I can get pregnant.

Lilly: Honey, we all have choices. You may not like them. They may not look how you picture them. But they’re right in front of us. You just have to decide what’s important.

All of that is tempting enough to seduce Lizzie away from her puppy love with Ricky, and that’s worrisome.

After Charlie’s advice to Ricky about being a man and not seeking the approval of others, it’s possible that he lit a fire under Ricky, and we’ll get to see this timid, respectful, sweet boy talk with some bass in his chest and assert himself more.

He’s going to need to if he stands a chance against Parker for Lizzie’s heart. And all the men of Virgin River have big hearts and a willingness to do anything for the women they love.

The Hope situation is increasingly more concerning as we went another hour without seeing or hearing her once.

For a bit, the dangers she faced didn’t seem to hit, but during this installment, the concern for her was palpable. Everyone was asking about Hope, her whereabouts, and whether or not Doc heard from her.

And Doc was spiraling so much that he hit his limit. He couldn’t keep sitting idly by and waiting to hear something from her as he watched the news and saw conditions worsening.

Mel felt responsible for Doc, and she wanted to look after him and keep her promise to Hope, but there’s no stopping that man when he makes his mind up about something.

His plan to head to South Carolina, despite the travel bans, was such a foolish one. He has no idea where she could be. Doc trudging into those conditions in search of her puts himself at risk, and it interferes with professionals who are trying to find, rescue, and keep others safe, and so many other things.

And despite Jack offering to accompany him, he insisted on doing all of this alone. It felt as if it was a nightmare scenario where he risked endangering his life for a pipe dream of finding Hope, but the others were resigned to helping him, even Muriel.

Doc: What if it was Mel who was in Port Royal right now? What would you do?

Jack: Alright, well I’m going with you.

Doc: I appreciate the offer, but I got to do this, so I don’t want to put anyone in danger.

Jack: Come on be reasonable.

Doc: Reasonable? You of all people should know that when it comes to people you love reason doesn’t stand a chance.

Muriel has her ways, and she often comes across as if she’s still making moves on Doc, but Muriel supported and helped him, and it was sweet that they shared that moment where she gave him all the tools and things he needed for the journey.

It’s a relief that Lilly got that phone call from Hope. Sadly, it doesn’t sound as if she’s able to communicate much over the shoddy connection. It’s enough to maybe stop Doc from heading out there, but it’s not enough to put us at ease about her potential return and safety.

Hope isn’t the only Virgin River woman eliciting concern right now. Lilly’s diagnosis of stage four prostate cancer is earth-shattering. She got a diagnosis, a second opinion, and the treatment plan sounds grueling.

Radiation and chemotherapy mean she’ll be more out of it than anything, and it’ll only buy her a few months. She has a young baby and so much else to live for, and it’s understandable that she’s processing this in her way.

It also makes sense that she made Mel her emergency contact as she tries to keep this under wraps for as long as possible. Her daughter, Tara, is going to lose her mind when she finds out about this.

It’s a lot of pressure to put on Mel, though. Mel’s compassion is unparalleled. It speaks volumes about how great of a person she is that so many lean on her. Sadly, the weight of all of that and her personal battles can take a hell of a toll on one person.

And in addition to worrying about Jack, Doc, and now Lilly, one certified letter from Stacie sent Mel on a spiral of her own.

Stacie is such a conniving, awful person, and before Mel concluded that her motivations were likely malicious, it was easy to see that right out of the gate.

Jack: Do you wanna talk about it?

Mel: It’s just the last time I removed a sonogram from an envelope, it was mine. And it just caught me a little by surprise. I’m sorry, I didn’t–

Jack: No, wait. No, no, babe. No, don’t be sorry. I bet a lot of people who went through what you went through don’t ever recover. You built a whole life for yourself. That takes incredible strength to do that.

Mel: I used to think that I can handle anything, but now when I look at myself, I just see weakness.

Jack: No, babe, it’s because you don’t see what I see.

Mel: Thank you, that helps.

Stacie knew about Mel’s fertility issues, losing the baby, and all of the pain around that, and she chose to send Mel a sonogram and a note certified mail to make sure that she got it.

Everything about that was petty, spiteful, and vindicative, and while Mel wouldn’t throw hands with a pregnant woman, there are now two of them who are more than deserving of a love tap across the face.

Mel was having a damn fine morning with Jack, steamy, romantic, swoon-worthy, and that letter ruined everything. It was heartbreaking when she opened it and tried to pretend as if it wasn’t a punch to the solar plexus.

Her silently sobbing in the bathroom while trying to muffle it was upsetting. Jack was smart enough to know that despite her claims, she wasn’t okay.

Jack sucks when it comes to allowing Mel to love and support him through tough situations, but he’s amazing at doing it with her. He gave her that space to talk about what she was feeling, and he let her know that her emotions were valid.

He always leaves space for Mel’s grief, pain, and her past with Mark, and it takes a big man not to feel intimidated or put off by that. It’s one of the most respectable aspects of their love story.

He had the best, most reassuring words to her, especially when Mel admitted that all of this weight that she carries, from the fertility issues, grief over Mark, and all of it makes her feel weak all of the time.

Mel is vulnerable, yes, but a weak woman she is not, and Jack made sure that she knew that.

It’s part of the reason why Jack was shocked to find out Mel knew about Charmaine, but he understood upon her explanation why she didn’t tell him about it.

She tries to carry so many burdens on her own. And she was right that there wasn’t time to tell Jack when the original plan was that Charmaine would get a moment to tell Jack herself before Mel broke the news, and then all hell broke loose when Jack got shot.

I can see where Charmaine’s choosing to stay made Mel think it was pointless to share, but Jack is right. It’s better to know things than not, and since everything about his relationship with Charmaine is and will likely be contentious, he needed to know.

Every day Charmaine wakes up and chooses violence. Good grief, it makes her one of the most insufferable characters.

Jack: So, uh, Todd says you’re having the twins in a hospital in Eureka.

Charmaine: Yeah, like three generations of his family were born there.

Jack: So what about the birthing plan?

Charmaine: What about it?

Jack: You’re just throwing that out the window?

Charmaine: Jack, I thought you were the one who wanted me to have the babies in a hospital?

Jack: Yeah, I do, but it would’ve been nice to have been consulted before you changed the plan that’s all. Charmaine’s: Let’s just remember I’m the one who is giving birth here.

Jack: And uh, I am the father, not Todd, so if you can keep me in the loop, I’d greatly appreciate it. Charmaine: Jack, this is good.

Jack: How do you figure?

Charmaine: I know that you were having a hard time adjusting to the whole being a dad thing, but now Todd’s here, and I’m not alone, so you’re free to live your life.

Jack: Charmaine, I think I made it perfectly clear that I’m going to be a hands-on father.

Charmaine: Well, you’re not calling the shots anymore, okay? And you know what, you should be thanking Todd for being here because if it wasn’t for him the twins and I would be living in Portland.

Jack: What are you talking about?

Charmaine: Mel didn’t tell you? Huh, I mean I asked her not to say anything, but I just figured she would. Before I met Todd, my aunt and uncle invited me to go live in portland.

Jack: Charmaine.

Charmaine: I gotta go, please, just don’t make this difficult.

On paper, she should be more sympathetic, but she tests the limits of anyone’s patience with her bullcrap.

It is not okay that Todd is sweeping in and trying to displace Jack as a father. He can’t be bothered to speak to refer to Jack by his name, but he took it upon himself to discuss Charmaine’s new birthing plan and other information about Charmaine while she wasn’t in the room.

Charmaine may think all of this is romantic and cute, and she’s probably grateful that some handsome, rich guy is giving her time and attention, but if she could remove her emotions from this and view it logically, it should disturb her how Todd treats her like a doll.

We haven’t spent much time with him, but he sounds controlling and likely doesn’t respect her agency as a woman. Any information about her pregnancy should come from her. She at least should be in the room.

It’s not up to Todd to casually tell Jack, who he doesn’t speak to any other time, about things that’ll piss him off.

Since it’s evident that Charmaine has told Todd all of her business and opinions about people, Todd probably knew that Jack was trying to get Charmaine to go to a hospital, and he was rubbing it in that he got her to do something that Jack couldn’t.

I’m proud of Jack for pulling Charmaine aside and confronting her about this thing she’s doing where she’s trying to decentralize Jack from their babies’ lives and this process.

At the rate Charmaine is going, she’ll have the twins and won’t even tell Jack, and he’ll find out through the Virgin River grapevine.

If she changed the birthing plan, Jack should’ve known about it so that when the time comes, he can be there for the birth of his children, but Charmaine thinks that now that she has a new man, Jack can cease to exist.

Charmaine is childish and unreasonable. It’s also disturbing that she keeps deciding how Jack feels about the babies, and since he doesn’t display what she desires, she can kick him to the curb.

It doesn’t matter what type of lawyer Todd is; Jack is still the father, and this attempt to push him out of his kids’ lives is ridiculous. Her comment about letting Jack off the hook was enraging.

Charmaine thinking that all of her power and worth comes from her relationship status to a man is so freaking sad, and to put it bluntly, pathetic, that it’s nervewracking.

Does she even know how silly she sounds suggesting that Jack should thank Todd for showing her interest and keeping her there?

Why should Charmaine finding a man to take care of her dictate the choices she makes? Why is the concept of single motherhood unfathomable to her?

Why is she so terrified of being alone?

And why can’t she be remotely mature about this for the sake of her children? She did love Jack once. She didn’t think she could even have kids before he knocked her up, and yet she doesn’t bat an eye at waving him off as if he was a sperm donor with no rights.

I will always wanna know the truth whether you think it would upset me or not.
Jack

Her parting words that he refrain from making things difficult were rich from the person who notoriously makes everything much harder than it ever has to be.

Do you think she and Todd are going to last? On the one hand, even though she’s a pain in the ass, one doesn’t wish bad things on her.

Aside from the awful effects on Jack, it feels like Charmaine is riding so high right now that she’s not thinking about how fast this relationship is or any of the little red flags that we’ve seen in the little bit of time they’ve shown her and Todd together.

All of this, and Charmaine isn’t even showing yet!

So far, they’ve scaled back on the Charmaine screentime, but she sure as hell knows how to maximize drama and damage in the bit that she has.

Over to you, Virgin River Fanatics. How do you feel about Brady and Brie? Is Charmaine in the wrong, or do you agree with her actions and stance? Was that sonogram a dig? Hit the comments below!

Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.