Virgin River star claps back at “implausible” Season 7 storyline criticism

Virgin River Season 7 is set to tackle Doc’s fight to keep the clinic – but with the shadow of his own investigation looming, actor Tim Matheson doesn’t think it’s all “implausible.”

If you’ve been wired into the Virgin River fandom, you’ll know there’s been talk of Doc’s Season 6 cliffhanger falling down. To catch you up, he’s currently under investigation by Grace Valley Hospital for performing emergency surgery on a patient stuck in a rural cabin.

On top of this, the Season 6 ending revealed the hospital is poised to try and take over Doc’s clinic completely, using the investigation as a Trojan horse. What happens remains a mystery, but it’s got people concerned.

Across social media, some fans feel the entire Season 6 storyline has been “implausible,” and would never have played out in real life in the same way. According to Doc actor Tim Matheson, his character journey is staying true to reality.

Doc’s Virgin River story grounded in “inside knowledge”

Speaking to Dexerto, Matheson explained: “I think that that’s good drama and we try to keep it within the bounds of realism. I know that the medical research that’s done by the writers and the showrunners is profound, so they really dig in and talk to professionals about the situations to try and ensure that they are as realistic as possible.

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“It may not be the most common place thing, but when I’ve talked to and read numerous books about small-town doctors… the boundaries for a small-town doctor are much larger than they are in the confinement of a hospital or a practice in a city.”

In Season 6, Doc and Denny happened upon Henry – a man on death’s door who couldn’t be moved to Grace Valley in time. In order to save his life, Doc performed emergency brain surgery there and then before taking him to hospital doctors.

By the time he got there, the lead doctor announced Doc would be under investigation, potentially losing his license for performing unauthorized surgery.

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“Is this storyline plausible?” one fan posted on Reddit. “Doc’s medical license is under investigation initiated by Dr. Hayes at Grace Valley Hospital. Doc did call the hospital for a video consult but lost connection so he performed the burr procedure in a life-or-death situation. The patient was not admitted to Grace Valley yet, how does Grace Valley assume liability for what Doc does on his own?”

It’s since been revealed that the overarching storyline has an “ulterior motive” that’s yet to be revealed, and will be a huge touchpoint in Season 7. In the meantime, however, this all demonstrates exactly what makes Doc the doc (pun intended) he is.

“That was the main reason I think Doc left Seattle,” Matheson added. “He was the head of Seattle General and he just wanted to get back to practicing medicine and trying to help people. And the more you know about them, the more you can help them because you have inside knowledge of who they are and what’s going on with them in their lives.”

Virgin River Season 6 is on Netflix now. Find out more about the original book series, filming locations, and more shows to watch if you like Virgin River.