All of the angst came full force on Virgin River Season 3 Episode 7 as Jack’s inevitable breakdown came to a head.

The man has been teetering on edge, grasping to the last bits of control he had, but everything is closing in on him, and it’s too much.

Jack can’t win for losing, and in the end, he made the unilateral decision to cut off the one good thing he had going on in his life that kept him grounded and sane under the guise of loving Mel too much to stand in the way of her desires.

Was it noble or stupid? Maybe a bit of both, but you can understand Jack’s position here.

It’s frustrating that Jack doesn’t confide in anyone and seek the support he desperately needs. But it is equally irritating that Mel dropped this baby bomb on him this early into their relationship when she knows he has way too much going on right now. She didn’t think of how overwhelming it would be for Jack.

I love Mel, but the timing of this hasn’t been reasonable at all. Anyone could see that Jack was drowning with some of the baby stuff from before. I don’t understand why she wanted to add more into the mix without thinking about the complications for him.

In the end, he gave the answer he always had, and she knew from the beginning. They spent the majority of the season postponing this inevitable conversation.

And when you consider that Mel’s reaction is that if the timing isn’t right now, then she’ll wait until it’s better, it leads you to wonder why she even brought up this baby issue in the first place? Why not wait for better timing? Did radical honesty and sharing every single feeling serve them well in this case?

Mel wants a baby. She’s come to this realization rather abruptly, and from the second she had this epiphany, she’s gone full-speed ahead in bringing up this conversation without considering the effects on Jack, their relationship, or the timing.

She’s also decided that it’s not something she’s willing to compromise on, so can she really be upset with an overwhelmed Jack who is willing to make the tough call of ending things before it grows to resentment and other issues?

Mel’s stance is that she believes and wants a world where she can have both Jack and a baby. She never elaborated on what that looks like for her or mapped out all possibilities for this to happen.

But we’re left to surmise because she hasn’t explained things fully that she wants to get pregnant and have a biological child of her own with Jack.

And if she can’t have it right this instant, she’s willing to wait until things settle down a bit, but that’s something she still wants.

But to Jack’s point, which she somehow keeps overlooking, is that his twins aren’t even born yet, and he’s never hidden that the thought of them alone gives him anxiety. Jack doesn’t even know how he’ll feel about being a dad to the twins yet, and Mel plans for the two of them to have a child of their own.

Mel isn’t the one who’ll have three kids under the age of five or whatever. No, that’s Jack. And his stance on the issue is that he doesn’t know if he’ll even want another child once he gets over all of these other hurdles.

For some reason, it’s like Mel isn’t listening to that or viewing that as a viable stance. For Mel, the options are a baby now or later. For Jack, it’s maybe later or never. Good heavens, their signals are crossing something fierce.

You can respect Jack for saying that he loves her enough not to stand in the way of her having what she wants. And if she wants a baby that he can’t 100% be sure he’s willing to give her, he doesn’t want to waste her precious time.

But you can also be upset at Jack for deciding to end things by himself without listening to what Mel is saying. If Mel is saying that SHE loves him enough to stick this out regardless of his feelings, he needs to trust and respect that.
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In his effort to protect her, he’s not respecting her, and that’s not cool either.But again, there’s a lack of discussion on Mel’s part for what having a baby looks like for her that makes things confusing.

Jack is only left to assume that she wants his baby, or else she needs to find a stable, loving relationship that can still result in a child.

We still don’t know if Mel can get pregnant again. Mel hasn’t mentioned anything about alternatives if Jack said no. Even though she said it was his choice, and she wanted his honest response and that it would be OK either way, it felt like she was banking on him giving in eventually.

Mel doesn’t have a plan for having a baby that doesn’t include Jack. And while her optimism is lovely, she unwittingly put Jack in this position where he has to play the bad guy. She pressured the hell out of him without meaning to do it.