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Warning! Spoilers ahead for the first three seasons of Virgin River. Be sure to come back for a wash and trim once you've caught up!
Charmaine Roberts. No matter how far you've gotten into the Netflix hit Virgin River by this point, it only takes one episode of watching the hairdresser from a nearby town for it to be obvious that she's not going to make anything easy for those around her. And when I say "those around her," I do specifically mean her eventual ex-not-really-boyfriend-at-all, Jack Sheridan, and his new lady love, Mel Monroe.
Across three seasons of the small town drama, there have certainly been points where it seemed like Charmaine would wake up and finally let go of the romance-adjacent relationship she had with Jack. But, by the Virgin River Season 3 ending, despite the fact that outward appearance would say she's moved on, Charmaine is still very intent on punishing Jack.
Basically, Virgin River has a Charmaine problem, and here are the reasons why I don't think she can be redeemed.
Charmaine Never Admitted The Part She Played In Her Failed Romance With Jack
There are many, many (many) moments within Virgin River where it's very easy to call Charmaine crazy, particularly in Season 2. The soon-to-be mother was dealing with a difficult pregnancy, and having to be treated by Mel, as the nurse practitioner and Jack embarked on the romance that Charmaine wanted with the Marine / bar owner, was certainly not an ideal situation for her. But, the only reason that Charmaine seems crazy, is because she refused, and still refuses, to fully accept her part in her failed relationship with Jack.
Season 1 revealed that Charmaine and Jack had been in a casual relationship for about two years when Mel showed up. Jack had told the Clear River resident that he didn't want anything serious, but Charmaine made the massive mistake of assuming that Jack had changed his mind because he never dated anyone else. So, when he broke up with her to truly date Mel, Charmaine was furious and confused.
I know that in the world of the series, it hasn't been even a full year since we first got to know the denizens of Virgin River. Charmaine is now married to someone else (we'll get to that massive mistake in a minute), though, and she still has yet to admit that she was also at fault in the situation with Jack, because she never told him she wanted more than a casual relationship. On top of that, there doesn't appear to be any real evidence that she realizes their breakup is not Mel's fault, as while Jack wanted to be free of Charmaine to date her, it doesn't mean that if he'd stayed with Charmaine he ever would have wanted anything more with her.
Charmaine hasn't gained any self-awareness in three seasons, and that's a huge problem. Unfortunately, this has led to yet another problem with the character.
Charmaine Is Desperate To Have A Man, Any Man
The opening of Virgin River Season 3 made it seem as though Charmaine had finally eased up and begun to let Jack go. Well, that lasted for all of 2.5 seconds, as after she introduced Mel and Jack to her boyfriend, Todd (new edition to the Virgin River cast, Patrick Sabongui), she revealed that the man she'd only known for about three weeks was also now her fiancé. Keep in mind, Charmaine is still pregnant, so this seems like a wild move for someone who's about to be a mom for the first time.
Charmaine had told Jack, pissed that he still had no intention of committing to her despite the pregnancy, that whomever she dated next would be the father to their progeny, so it's pretty clear that that threat led her to go out and find anyone she could to fill that role. Meanwhile, it's pretty clear that Todd is going to be a problem for her, but her desperation to have a sort of surrogate baby daddy to hold over Jack's head, led to the shocking reveal at the end of Season 3 that she'd married Todd despite her misgivings about his behavior.
Charmaine Is Petty When She Doesn't Get Her Way
Remember when Jack did the decent thing and finally told Charmaine, flat out, that he wasn't in love with her and never had been? Good. Then you might also remember that this prompted her to break up with him. Because Charmaine can't ever not be either petty or conniving, she chose petty after Jack revealed that he'd finally slept with Mel (well after that break up), and proceeded to tell the best gossips that Mel slept with Jack while they were together to take him from her, making sure they'd spread that lie all over two towns.
Charmaine is incapable of hearing anything that proves Jack isn't in love with her, and instead of just minding her business and trying to move on, she insists on trying to get back at Mel and Jack, because he actually dared to fall in love with someone else. And, this take me to my final point.
Charmaine Is Determined To Make Jack Pay For Not Falling In Love With Her
Obviously, with Charmaine's pregnancy a major point of contention already, the desperate mother with some severe manipulative tendencies knows she can use that to get to Jack. And, now that she's attached herself to Todd, she and her new man are doing that by trying to force Jack out of the babies' lives. Todd actually invited Jack to lunch to try and convince him to give up his parental rights, and when Jack refused and got a lawyer (knowing that a fight was likely coming), Charmaine confronted him.
She told him that she was standing with Todd in the matter, and that everything would be easier if he gave up the right to be involved in their kids' upbringing. Now that Charmaine has the new dad for her babies that she'd wanted, she's more than willing to use Todd's money and influence to literally make Jack pay for not staying in a relationship with her.
Should Virgin River get Season 4 (which is incredibly likely), there isn't really a good way for the show to bring Charmaine back around. She's never been a sympathetic character, though the show seems to want us to feel sorry for her, at least occasionally. Also, we haven't seen significant moments where she's shown any growth or a real understanding of her own behavior. Even Brady, who was doing actual illegal deeds for a very bad person, realized how far he'd gone wrong and made big strides toward being a better human.
Whenever Charmaine apologizes or seems to show kindness, she's only trying to twist sympathy out of whomever she's talking to. Plus, we know that, even after everything that's happened, if Jack dumped Mel and asked Charmaine to move in with him, despite him not being in love with her, she'd drop Todd and do it.
I'm convinced that Charmaine's obsession with Jack (as though he's her only good option), combined with her lack of growth, means that she'll remain Virgin River's petty-Betty bad guy, and will forever be an annoying thorn in Mel and Jack's collective side.
You can watch all of Virgin River on Netflix right now, and until we hear about a potential Season 4, check out the other Netflix TV shows that are coming up and look into the hotly anticipated upcoming romantic TV shows so you can get your fix!
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