Shocking: Actor Daniel Gillies (Virgin River) has passed away md20

Although Jack Sheridan is one of the main characters in Netflix’s Virgin River, the show missed out on a major opportunity concerning one of his most important storylines. Based on Robyn Carr’s romance book series, Netflix’s adaptation of Virgin River follows Melinda “Mel” Monroe’s journey after she moves to the titular town to fill the nurse practitioner position at Doc Mullins’ clinic. She soon meets and falls for Jack Sheridan, the kind yet troubled bar owner, and the two begin a whirlwind romance that is the focus of some of the show’s most memorable moments.

Jack goes through a lot over the course of Virgin River’s four seasons, but one of the biggest challenges occurs when Jack is shot by a then-unknown assailant in the season 2 finale. Given the second season ends with such a shocking event, one would expect Jack’s shooting storyline to be a major aspect of season 3. But, unfortunately, Jack’s shooting and recovery weren’t in Netflix’s Virgin River in favor of other storylines.

Netflix’s Virgin River Skipped Jack’s Recovery After His Shooting

Although Jack gets shot at the end of Virgin River season 2, he appears perfectly fine at the beginning of season 3. Rather than making Jack’s recovery from such a trauma a focus of his storyline moving forward, the Netflix show entirely skips over the Virgin River character’s recovery to restore the show’s status quo. Aside from some sparse mentions of Jack’s healing at the beginning of season 3, this aspect of Jack’s shooting storyline is completely glossed over. This is a confusing choice for Virgin River, considering the show has given time to similar storylines with other characters.

Ultimately, Jack’s missing shooting recovery is a symptom of Virgin River’s weird pacing problem. Therefore, it’s not surprising that the show’s timeline feels strange in regard to this event. However, Virgin River glossing over Jack’s recovery misses the chance to explore different storylines with Jack outside his romance with Mel or Charmaine’s pregnancy, making it a huge missed opportunity for the Netflix adaptation.

Why Jack’s Virgin River Shooting Story Was A Missed Opportunity

Jack’s shooting does become a focus in Netflix’s Virgin River, but not in one of the ways that are expected, making the storyline a big missed opportunity for the show. Rather than devoting time to Jack’s recovery from his shooting, which could have built his character in an interesting way, Virgin River instead focuses on solving the mystery of who shot Jack. Though this is an important factor in Jack’s shooting storyline considering the show made a point of concealing who pulled the trigger, it partially misses the point of what makes Virgin River so good.

At its heart, Virgin River is a romance, and although skipping over Jack’s recovery might have been the show’s way of ensuring it could focus on romance, the choice is actually a squandered opportunity for Jack and Mel’s relationship. Since Mel is a nurse practitioner, an interesting angle for Jack’s shooting storyline would be for her to help with his healing. Having Mel nurse Jack back to health could have been a way for the show to still retain a focus on romance while exploring new dynamics. While Virgin River still found ways to expand upon Jack and Mel’s relationship, not incorporating Jack’s recovery into their story missed a mark.