Virgin River fans left confused over “missing” character

Jasmine Valentine
Ava in Virgin River

Virgin River has now dropped its final Season 5 episodes on Netflix – though some fans have been left confused over one “missing” character.

Unsurprisingly, Virgin River Season 5 Part 2 pulled out all the festive stops for its fans, setting up enough juicy cliffhangers ready to be explored in the upcoming sixth season.

While some storylines – such as Charmaine’s ongoing pregnancy – got some closure, others have been left open to interpretation.

One such thread is the disappearance of a “missing” Virgin River character, who left before the festive episodes without a trace.

Virgin River fans left confused over “missing” character

Following the release of Virgin River Season 5 Part 2, some fans have been left wondering why Ava (Libby Osler) was “missing” from the festive episodes.

Ava is a character that viewers had previously seen in Season 5, but appears to be left out of Part 2 for no valid reason.

Spotting the disappearance, Reddit user NiniBebe posted: “Don’t know if this has been discussed but why wasn’t Ava in the Christmas special? Did she leave VR for the holidays or something I don’t remember?”

“She was busy at the hat store,” one fan joked in response, with another posting: “No doubt with her family…”

Though there seems to be no official explanation for why Ava isn’t in the Virgin River Christmas special, one Redditor does have an answer.

Actual-Reference3125 wrote: “She was staying in VR until the sisters found a buyer for the farm. The sale obviously was made with Jack and Mel, as Brady mentions he’s helping Jack build a new home for free. Ava was originally living in Portland so she probably went back. I think it would be cool if Tara, Chloe, and Ava return to the farm when Jack and Mel finally get married there.”

“No mention that the new home Jack is building has anything to do with the farm,” another user disagreed.

Is Ava missed in Virgin River?

While the details remain unclear, other viewers clearly didn’t miss Ava’s absence from Virgin River in the slightest.

“Not to be unkind, but she wasn’t missed. … ok, maybe I am being unkind. But I am not invested in her character at all. We’ve had the PSA about endometriosis via her character so she can move along now. I really hope she doesn’t return for 6. She would just be taking up valuable screen time,” one fan posted.

“I actually have little to no interest in her character my question was more from curiosity because she was featured like she was going to be another side character. I wish they’d stop adding characters and focus more on the main characters, especially Mel and Jack,” another agreed, with a third stating: “I just right now realized she wasn’t in the episode. That’s how bad I am.”

Virgin River Season 5 is available to stream on Netflix now, and you can check out our other coverage below: