The aptly titled Virgin River Season 6, Episode 4 ‘Brothers & Sisters’ is the Bachelor and Bachelorette party episode, an hour where many amends are made, and many bad decisions too. It’s also an hour about perhaps, discovering the family you once had, the one you have now gained, and figuring out how you can unite the two.

Maybe, most importantly, for people who have been following this show from the beginning, this episode ends with a pretty sexy striptease from Jack to Mel and a pretty convincing clue that whatever drama this season is bringing us, it’s not coming from our main couple. We have to say Hallelujah. Not that we want to see Brie walk into the mess she’s about to walk into, but if someone has to do it, we’re glad it’s not Mel. We’ll take a drama-free season there and call it a win.

WHY, OH WHY BRIE?

This is the season of bad decisions for Brie, who takes Kaia’s words about the men they left behind to heart. Except Kaia is talking about it without wistfulness, and with a sense of celebration. She doesn’t miss the flaky man she left behind, she is indeed celebrating the steady man she’s found in Preacher. Brie, on the other hand …Brie misses Brady. I think she always has. And that’s a problem, not just for her, but for what she keeps pretending she wants to build with Mike.

If she wants Brady, she better go and get Brady. And if she doesn’t trust Brady, then what’s the point of trying to be with Brady? She needs to let him go. And if she can’t do that, then she just needs to let both of them go, because otherwise, she’s just going to hurt both of them and while she’s at it, she’s going to hurt herself. There’s no universe where this back and forth ends up well for anyone—and chances are the person who’s going to get hurt is Mike, who has done absolutely nothing to deserve it.

So hey, A+ as a prospective sister, Brie. A++ as a lawyer. But as a girlfriend? D-, and trust me, you’re closer to the F than you want to be.

BROTHERS AND SISTERS

In a nice way, this episode is about brothers and sisters, even if Jack doesn’t have any blood brothers. The men he served with have, in many ways, become his brothers and when he uses that word, he doesn’t say that lightly. Virgin River has certainly explored the depth of that bond in worse moments than what we get in Virgin River Season 6, Episode 4 ‘Brothers & Sisters’ but it’s good that we get to see them do so in good moments, too. It’s got that it’s not just about Jack being there for Preacher as he’s being accused of murder or trying to get Brady out of a mess, or Mike trying to help him out of one. Sure, war left a toll, but what this episode shows is that their bond goes beyond just the bad moments.

Because it’s about the time spent together, and that’s also made up of the quiet moments. The ones you fill with camaraderie and love. The ones that make you who you are, and cement the type of person you can become, and the relationships you can build going forward. And that’s why these men are the ones Jack wants by his side as he builds his future with Mel.

And for Mel, it’s about his past, of course—Joey, the sister she’s always had by her side, but it’s also about her future, Brie and Kaia, the sisters she will have by her side going forward. Because now that she’s chosen Jack, she’s also chosen his family. And Brie is Jack’s baby sister, so now she’s Mel’s baby sister, something Mel has never had. She’s been the baby sister for so long, she doesn’t know how to have this relationship, and yet she cherishes it. She wants to experience it. She longs for it.

Kaia is a different thing because the two are more or less equals. Jack and Preacher have chosen each other as brothers and Mel and Kaia are choosing each other too, even though they aren’t because they were brought together by their significant others. But sometimes those friendships can be some of the most important of your life because the family you make is as important as the family you were born into.

Things I think I think:

Urban…cowgirl?

Cop. Obviously? Sure, sure, Brie.
JOY IS HERE!
Practical baby gifts are good, Lizzie, what is wrong with you?
Aww, Muriel. How did I love to grow Muriel so much? Wanting Hope to go with her is good.
No, don’t believe her Brady.
This storyline with Denny connecting with someone else who has a degenerative disease is just sad.
These kids are going to beat their ass.
Okay, but Maid and Matron of Honor makes sense.
Ricky and Lizzie is nice.
THE FIREFIGHTER AND COP THING AGAIN?
I love Kaia a lot, okay?
Denny not wanting to get married because of the disease makes sense, but he needs to talk it over with Lizzie.
“My mom”? Mel, think before you speak.
Oh, they didn’t cancel the stripper. OH, THEY DIDN’T CANCEL THE STRIPPER.
Go, Muriel.
Mike and Brady fighting was way overdue.

I mean, Jack is right, war screwed them all up. But he still wants Ricky to go!
Glad Mel had that talk with Joey, though. It was about seeing each other’s POVs.
You called Brady, right Brie?
I still don’t like you, Lark.
Good man, Jack. Good man.
“Touching is extra,” lol.
“SAVE A HORSE, RIDE A COWBOY.” LOOOL.

Agree? Disagree? What did you think of Virgin River Season 6, Episode 4 ‘Brothers & Sisters’? Share with us in the comments below!

Virgin River Season 6 is now available to stream on Netflix.