The sixth season of Virgin River delivered a rollercoaster of events, from a dreamy wedding to shocking betrayals and intense medical crises.
As Mel Monroe (portrayed by Alexandra Breckenridge) and Jack Sheridan (Martin Henderson) were busy with wedding preparations, Jack’s best mate Preacher (Colin Lawrence) found himself in a bind trying to prove his innocence.
With the support of his new love interest Kaia Bryant (Kandyse McClure) and the sharp-witted lawyer Brie (Zibby Allen), Jack’s sister, Preacher faced trial for the murder of Wes (Steve Bacic), the violent former spouse of Preacher’s ex, Paige (Lexa Doig).
Jack, initially summoned to testify against him, stood up for his friend’s integrity and, following an impactful speech by Brie, Preacher was acquitted of the murder charge, walking away with just community service to his name.
The twist undoubtedly left fans elated, though one perplexed viewer took to Reddit to express their amusement at the ease with which Preacher escaped his predicament, titling their post “One day murder trial” and highlighting the absurdity of the situation when taken out of context, reports the Mirror US.
“I got such a good laugh at the one day murder trial,” the fan elaborated.
“In another show maybe they could have pulled off a murder trial in one episode.
“But in VR, a woman was pregnant for [five] seasons and here is something that would normally take months boiled down to one episode and what appeared to be one day in the characters’ lives. Lol. Timelines on this show are so funny.”
Virgin River fans have been left scratching their heads over the handling of Preacher’s murder trial, which was wrapped up in a single episode. In contrast, the pregnancy of Jack’s former flame Charmaine (Lauren Hammersley) seemed to drag on for an eternity, with her finally giving birth to twins at the end of season five.
Viewers took to social media to express their frustration, with one fan exclaiming: “I laughed out loud when that episode ended with a mistrial and then Brie just being like ‘How about 300 hours of community service?’ and the prosecution being like, ‘eh, okay sure.’ WHAT!?”
Others pointed out that Preacher’s lack of punishment was unrealistic, with one fan commenting: “And he gets to be home the whole time! No way.”
Another added: “Without even an ankle monitor! ! Did he spend ANY time in jail?!”
Fans also drew comparisons to Brie’s traumatic experience with Don, noting that his trial lasted longer than Preacher’s. One fan wrote: “Don’s sexual assault trial lasted longer than Preacher’s murder trial! LOL.”
They also highlighted: “It was so unrealistic that Paige was not there. It was in the prosecution’s interest for her *not* to appear so they could pin it on Preach, so I get that part, but any good defense attorney would have told him that they didn’t care how badly he wanted to protect her, she needed to show up.
“Brie messed up in more ways than just missing the voicemail from Jack’s phone.”
While viewers are undoubtedly relieved to see Preacher avoiding jail time, the swift resolution of what could have been a captivating subplot throughout the season has left some fans feeling let down.
Virgin River is available to stream on Netflix.