It’s fair to say Virgin River’s finale left some fans reeling. Having watched Jack (Martin Henderson) and Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge) overcome endless hurdles in their rollercoaster road to married bliss, it seemed they might finally get the family life of their dreams, thanks to surrogate Marley giving birth to their baby boy. But that was all thrown up in the air when it was revealed that the newborn has a congenital heart defect that will require multiple risky surgeries.

“It wouldn’t be Virgin River if they didn’t break your heart at the very end—give you something you really want, then go ‘We might take that away from you!’” Henderson, 51, tells Country Living. “It’s going to annoy people, but it will also lure them back in.”

So, what can we expect when the Netflix series returns for season eight? Two weeks before heading back to Vancouver, Canada, to commence filming the new season, New Zealand-born, Los Angeles-based Martin filled us in.

Where do we go from here with this baby and his health issues?
You’ll have to wait until next year to find out, which is obviously by design. But it sets up the stage for watching this couple navigate adversity, which really is the testament of a relationship. Even though I wish they had kept their baby in season five, watching them handle so much devastation, heartache and the things that typically break couples up is a testament to their love. Hopefully it’ll still turn out to be romantic!

Courtesy of Netflix

It was like we were waiting for something to go wrong after such a nice, fun honeymoon episode. The surrogacyjourney has been such a powerful part of season seven. How much did you know or understand about surrogacy or how much did you relate to this idea that the life you imagine doesn’t always pan out as easily as you hope?

That part I know because I’ve been alive for so many years! I’m not terribly close to the adoption stuff in my own life and I don’t know many people who have gone through it, but [Patrick] Sean Smith, our new showrunner, had firsthand experience, so it was a very personal story that he felt compelled to tell.

When we think about adoption, we typically think about the baby being adopted and the people who adopt the baby, but I thought it was beautiful to really spend time over season seven exploring the journey that Marley has to go on emotionally, and how gut-wrenching it is for her to give up her own child.

That scene at the end in the delivery suite, when she says to Jack, “Go be with your son,”—I get emotional just thinking about it. Her performance was so beautiful and brought so much emotion to that moment.

That moment when she said, “Go be with your son,” was definitely a tearjerker! I cried.
I know. It got me, too. I shot the scene, yet I still watched it and was like, “Ohhhhh.” Her performance was so beautiful. And to see Mel finally take that baby in her arms and hold this child that she was denied for so long was beautiful.

Courtesy of Netflix

Mel and Jack have the kind of love everyone wants—minus the drama. What do you think makes their bond so special?

I think they just really enjoy each other – the little moments, too. There’s so many sweet moments they cherish. They love being around each other and they treat each other with a huge amount of respect.

I think one of the things that’s so lovely is how they always show up for each other when one of them is in need. There’s a very sincere desire to support the other person. They recognize that they need support and they’re honest about their vulnerabilities in that way. They understand there are times they really need the other person to be there, so they let each other in, which makes them very close.

How has it been working with Alex?

I love working with Alex. She’s a very good actress. She’s so present and playful. You can throw things at her, like little ad-libs, or just muck around a little bit and she’s always right there playing along with you. That’s not always the case, so it’s great!

You’ve also been working on shows like Madam and My Life is Murder back home in New Zealand in recent years. Do you have any other projects coming up?

I have a shark movie coming out this year, Alphas. I’m going in on Monday to do the last bit of ADR [Automated Dialogue Replacement]. Everyone was like, “How did it go? How were the sharks?” and I’m like, “I don’t know. I didn’t see any sharks!” Obviously, you can’t be with real sharks when you’re shooting the movie and the sharks are put in later. So, the first time I see it will be a bit of a surprise!