Virgin River producer defends Mel's devastating season 5 storyline
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Virgin River season 5 spoilers follow.
Note: The following article contains discussion of baby loss that some readers may find upsetting.
Virgin River executive producer and showrunner Patrick Sean Smith has defended Mel Monroe's devastating storyline in season five.
Mel's journey to motherhood has been a challenging one, having experienced multiple miscarriages and a devastating stillbirth with her first husband Mark.
It looked like things were starting look up when she fell pregnant with her new partner Jack in season three, but in season five, she tragically suffers another miscarriage while helping to save the residents from a huge wildfire.
Related: Virgin River season 5's finale trailer confirms answer to big cliffhanger
The storyline was quick to receive backlash, with one viewer tweeting: "It's just so unnecessary and cruel, there was no reason for it other than to pile more trauma onto her."
"I can’t believe the writers put Mel through another miscarriage," wrote another, while a third said: "I’m so tired of the Virgin River writers constantly giving Mel a miscarriage!"
However, Smith has now defended the storyline and said it was "an opportunity to not blow past something that has defined Mel's character", adding that it "felt like an important topic to explore even further".
Related: Virgin River's Martin Henderson agreed to "run through flames" for wildfire filming, says director
In a new interview with Glamour, he continued: "The past few seasons have been very defined by her trauma and his trauma, and this is a shared trauma.
"We now see this couple struggle their way through this loss together because it was the one thing that literally killed her last marriage.
"Mel and Mark could not survive the trauma of the reproductive issues that she experienced, so to see Mel and Jack in that same situation but actually persevere and come out stronger and closer, that felt [like the most logical] reason for me to do it, because I feel like that gave them so much more depth and so much more love."
Organisations including Sands and Tommy's are able to offer help and support to anyone affected by baby loss.
Virgin River seasons 1-4 are streaming now on Netflix. Season 5 Part 1 is streaming now, with Part 2 due on November 30.
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