Netflix‘s hit small-town drama, Virgin River, is finally back with new episodes. And after Season 6 ended with an unexpected marriage proposal, Season 7 sees Brie (Zibby Allen) finally choose between her boyfriend Mike (Marco Grazzini) and her ex Brady (Benjamin Hollingsworth).
Spoilers for Virgin River Season 7 ahead.
Team Brady fans, our time has come!
“I think Brie really needed to take ownership of her feelings for Brady. She’s been so paralyzed, much to the audience’s frustration. So it was important for her to try and put words to the things she was most scared to say,” Allen told DECIDER over Zoom. “Sometimes we learn in contrasts, don’t we? Sometimes you learn more about what you really do want by having something that you think you want , but it’s missing the real thing at the center of your desire. I think it’s very clear Brie really wants Brady. Whether or not they can make it work in the real world is a whole other thing…”
On the list of obstacles that stand in Brie and Brady’s way is Season 7’s big cliffhanger. As Brady was headed to Brie’s house with minutes left in the finale, he got in a motorcycle accident that left his fate up in the air ahead of Season 8 production.
“We know that Brie and Brady are really cherished. So fingers crossed,” Allen said, admitting she and Hollingsworth were “devastated” when they learned the big twist. “We were like, ‘NO! They just got together!’”
In honor of Virgin River Season 7 finally being out in the world, Allen visited DECIDER’s Manhattan studio to chat all things Brie and Brady, that steamy motorcycle scene, her hopes for Season 8, and more.
DECIDER: The big Season 6 cliffhanger was Mike proposing to Brie. I read that your dad and your husband were team Mike. So how are they going to take the break up? And what did Brie learn from her relationship with Mike that she’ll take moving forward?
ZIBBY ALLEN: My dad and my husband were team Mike, because just like any dad or husband, they want anyone they love and care about to make the right decision. And I really get that. I think that that choice is a reasonable one. Brie needs stability. She’s trying to get her self trust back. And sometimes we learn in contrasts, don’t we? Sometimes you learn more about what you really do want by having something that you think you want or you think you should have, but it’s really missing that real thing at the center of your desire. I think it’s very clear Brie really wants Brady. Whether or not they can make it work in the real world is a whole other thing, but I think she has to own her desire.
You and Marco got to work together when Mike and Brie teamed up for Charmaine’s investigation. Do you enjoy getting Brie out in the field on cases?
I love being out in the field and working on the investigative aspects of the show with Marco Grazzini. We have a lot of fun banter. We’re good friends off camera, so it’s really fun to have something we’re both focusing on other than whether or not our characters can be together. I also think that side to Brie is really great. I think she and her brother Jack both have this real hero complex, for better or for worse. They have this real need to fix, and save, and solve. It’s why she’s a lawyer. And she’s really good at it. With Charmaine missing, it’s been a really great way for Brie to reclaim that part of her identity; to do something good for someone and be an advocate for a woman who’s been screwed over by another dude.
In Episode 8, Brady tells Brie when he thought he was going to die, she was the last thing that crossed his mind. Why was she still reluctant to give in to those feelings?
He wreaks havoc out in the normal world, and he can be a liability to her need for stability. I think Brie and Brady, their physical chemistry — as we know — is great. It’s on fire. And I think where she is with him in that space is where she feels the most trust and most abandon. We all want that for ourselves and for them. It’s undeniable. But she’s hyper skeptical, because she can’t afford to be with somebody who’s out there making literal life and death mistakes while she’s trying to get herself back in order.
You mentioned their palpable chemistry. What makes you and Ben click so well, and how has that trust evolved over the years?
It’s another benefit of a long-form show, there’s a natural evolution of trust. The very first day we met, incidentally, was also the first make-out scene in Season 3. So we met, shook hands, and it’s the make-out scene on the sidewalk. But it’s such a testament to who Ben and I both really are as actors. We’re so devoted to the characters and making it feel honest and real. And there was an instant invitation to trust each other, so we could really give in to the physical of it and not feel like we were like, ‘Oh, is this OK? I know you’re married. I’m married too.’ We’re just like, ‘No, this is the world we’re occupying.’”
Brady has a near-death wildfire experience that leads him back to Brie. And Brie has this exhilarating horseback epiphany about him. What was it like working with the horse?
Listen, I’ve never ridden a horse before on screen. I’d barely ridden a horse, so I have to say, it was exhilarating for Zibby and Brie. Really cool. And obviously we had trainers and I had a couple of days of practice, but just a couple. I loved it. There’s something as an actor, when you’re dealing with the element of something that’s less in control, like an animal that you have to be on, it helps you get out of your head. I’d love to do more riding. And Cody [Kearsley] was awesome, a really good human being.
Last season the iconic pool table scene had Brie and Brady fans screaming. This season, it’s the iconic motorcycle scene. Tell me everything, and did you choose where that major moment was taking place? Because I know you chose the pool table.
We did [choose the pool table]. We like to choose our surfaces. [Laughs] Pretty soon we’re going to run out of some creative ideas. I don’t know how we’re going to top the motorcycle, but that one was the writers. Ben and I do get involved when it comes to a lot of the physical scenes with Brie and Brady, because we feel like we really get them. A lot of it was the logistics of “How do you have sex on a motorcycle without it tipping over?” But we were really excited about it. We felt like that choice that Brie makes to really say, finally, “I choose you. Let it be me. Let’s do this,” It needed to be epic. It needed to be sexually charged. It needed to be visually beautiful.
Did you and Ben use an intimacy coordinator or come up with that choreography?
We don’t actually use one, Ben and I. Only because we just have such a familiarity and we feel we have a lot of command in so much trust with each other. Once we figured out the basic logistics, everybody knows just to let us do our thing again. Ben and I are so emotionally connected to our characters. We’re really rooting for Brie and Brady, so we’re always excited to work with each other and always excited when there’s a big, iconic make-out scene, because we know what we’re giving them is like another chance to connect in a really powerful way.
What did it mean to have Brie be the one to deliver the grand romantic speech this time?
It meant everything. I think Brie really needed to take ownership of her feelings for Brady. She’s been so paralyzed, much to the audience’s frustration. So it was important for her to try and put words to the things she was most scared to say. A lot of that speech was cut down, because the writers were so generous in trying to give her a lot of words for it. And at the end of the day, you don’t really need it, as long as she’s able to say the words that really matter. I’m so glad she got that.
In a devastating cliffhanger that had me screaming on my TV, Season 7 ends with Brady in a motorcycle crash.
I know, I’m sorry.
What was your reaction when you found that out? Do you get a heads up with near death experiences like that?
Yeah, we knew it was coming. But nothing is certain in our business. This is an insane industry where you can call it personal or not personal. It always feels a bit personal and you never feel fully safe. So I’m sure it gave Ben the fright. We had many conversations about it, but also a good laugh. And we know that Brie and Brady are really cherished. So fingers crossed. We were both devastated, like, “NO! They just got together!”
If he does survive the cliffhanger — which he has to, or people will riot — what do you think is the key to him and Brie keeping that relationship strong?
They both have to continue down their path of metamorphosis. I think they’re both really trying and it’s a non-linear, very imperfect path. So we’re rooting for them. And they just have to stay the course. Hopefully their love is strong enough, and they stop breaking each other’s hearts so much.
Before there was Virgin River, there was one of my favorite 2000 shows, One Tree Hill. You starred in A Pickleball Christmas with James Lafferty. Ben starred in A Christmas Ring with Jana Kramer, and Austin Nichols is in Season 7.
OK, thank you for making this connection. Honestly. Because I said this out loud to someone and they were like, “Big whoop!” But like, what is this weird triangle? They are very compatible shows. I never fully got into [One Tree Hill] I’m embarrassed to say. But I love that Austin’s on [Virgin River] and I was also on Jana’s podcast. So we have an open door policy [for One Tree Hill stars].
What excites you about playing this character after so many years?
Oh man. As an actor, it’s a real privilege to be able to play a character longform like this. I love Brie, and I think over time it’s actually become difficult in certain aspects of her and me to decipher the difference, but in a really lovely way. She’s really helped grow me in certain ways. She’s helped me become a lot tougher. I’m a sensitive little vessel, as my sister loves to call me. And so Brie, who’s a lot more hard-charging, has brought me some of those qualities that I’ve really appreciated. That’s one example of many.
Virgin River is renewed for Season 8. What can you tell hungry fans?
Oh my gosh, we’re just as hungry. We don’t know much. The showrunner, Sean, always calls in each of us and tells us what they’re planning out for our character arc the next season. I can’t tell you anything, but it’s going to be a lot. I think the writers have a great command over what these characters need and how to get them on their journey, and I’m always happy with what they do with Brie. I think it’s really cool.
Is there a storyline you’d like to see for Brie or something you want to do more of?
Definitely ride horses. They’re going to be at my brother’s farm anyway! Let’s do this. I’d love to work with horses more. That was such a cool experience. I’d love to see more Brie and Brady. There were times in the last two seasons where Ben and I were like, “Man, I miss you.” Because our characters had such push and pull. So hopefully, depending on what happens with Brady’s accident, we’ll see them trying to navigate a relationship in real terms for once.
Earlier in the series, we saw Brie have a miscarriage after a very traumatic experience with Don. And this season she’s very excited to become an aunt. So do you think starting a family of her own is something that Brie wants?
Yeah, totally. I think Brie would be a really incredible mom, and I think it would probably do things for her that she could use and could do more with. I think she’s a caretaker, but she hasn’t had a lot of time to feel that motherly, nurturing thing. I think it’d be good for her. But she has to have a stable partner, because otherwise I think it’d be very hard. I’m worried that life’s things will make her tougher, because her major thing is to put up the armor and handle it. So I’d like to see stuff that softens her.
Before we go, I also interviewed Ben and he sent over a question for you: What is your favorite Brie and Brady scene? What’s your least favorite? And why?
To be honest, my least favorite — not because of him — was the dancing scene in the bar. It was my first season. I read that in the script and I immediately had sweaty pits. I was so nervous. I was like, “How am I supposed to just start gyrating on a dance floor in the middle of a bar?” I was so nervous filming that. But I think it ended up OK. And one of my favorite scenes to date is the Brady love confession scene. We both had been waiting for our characters to have a moment like that, and it was a stolen moment, but it was impassioned. We only did it in two takes, and we were both charged, and feeling it, and grateful to the writers for giving us the chance to have that moment. And it was a beautiful day out in the woods! I loved it.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
Virgin River Season 7 is now streaming on Netflix.
