Even in its idyllic small-town setting, where one would assume life’s a breeze, there is never a dull moment in “Virgin River” (Season 6, now streaming).

While Season 6 of Netflix’s soapy romance focused primarily on Mel Monroe (Alexandra Breckenridge) and Jack Sheridan’s (Martin Henderson) big wedding – the town’s equivalent of the royal wedding – there was no shortage of drama among the town’s other residents: most notably with Brie Sheridan, played by Zibby Allen, who at the end of the season found herself in a romantic entanglement with Mike Valenzuela (Marco Grazzini) and Dan Brady (Benjamin Hollingsworth).

Based on the “Virgin River” books by Robyn Carr and created by Sue Tenney, the Netflix show follows the love story between nurse practitioner Mel and former marine-turned-bar owner Jack in the quaint little, fictional town of Virgin River, nestled somewhere in northern California. Season 6 of the romantic drama, which focused on Mel and Jack’s wedding, released last month on Netflix and remained on Netflix’s Top 10 for a few weeks.

Brie, who is also Jack’s sister, broke up with Brady in Season 5 and the two supposedly moved on with other people, but the yearning, tension and stolen glances between the two remained all season until it culminated into a moment of passion on the pool table of Jack’s Bar.

Turns out that scene was improvised upon Hollingsworth’s suggestion.

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“It was originally set to be in the bedroom (Brady’s bedroom at the bar) (which) seemed a little more planned out,” Hollingsworth told USA TODAY over video call. “It felt more instinctual, raw and passionate to make it happen right in the bar, and to make it be all of a sudden.”

He continued: “I always talk about Brady and Brie like magnets. They’re constantly being drawn to each other, and at some point, if you get them close enough, it’s undeniable. I wanted that to play out in real time, and it just felt rawer and more organic.”

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Does that mean Brady would be endgame for Brie?

“I don’t know. They never tell us, and I have not seen any scripts,” Allen told USA TODAY. “I’m certainly getting a lot of feedback about what the world wants to see. By and large, it’s a real debate online. I know the writers are very busy right now and they’re taking a lot of the feedback from the viewers.”

“Brie and Brady have an undeniable chemistry, and that kind of chemistry doesn’t just come around any time,” Allen continued. “But I also think that chemistry goes away very easily. Whether or not they can navigate a very grounded, realistic relationship still stands to be seen.”

Allen said with all the mistrust between the former flames and not a lot of people in Virgin River “on board for their relationship,” Brie “starts battling the logic around it all.” She does hope that Brie gets more of an insight into how Brady has changed and reformed himself in the upcoming season.

Mike, meanwhile, offers Brie something that’s “very solid and real,” Allen says.

“Just the fact that Mike said, ‘I know you slept with Brady’ in his proposal, and is still suggesting marriage, I think is an interesting thing,” the actor said.

On the other hand, Hollingsworth said he’d be “okay” with Brie and Brady getting together, though he claims he doesn’t know what comes next for the two.

“I wish I knew,” Hollingsworth said. “I don’t know who the endgame is. They (writers/creator) don’t tell you these things. I do know there’s quite a large amount of support for Brady and Brie to get together or reignite, and I’d be okay with that. I think they have great chemistry together.”

Brady started dating Lark (Elise Gatien), a single mother, after his relationship with Brie ended. Throughout Season 6, Brady tried to be the “guy for Lark that Brie wants him to be for her,” Hollingsworth explained.

“Brady’s trying to be the guy that Brie wants, and he’s doing it in a relationship with someone else, which is bizarre,” Hollingsworth said. “But it makes sense, because he’s still very much in love with Brie.”

However, that doesn’t mean Brady will stop being the “bad boy.”

“Brady’s always going to be a rebel. He’s always going to do kind of what he sees is right, regardless of what the law might think about it. He always going to have that lone wolf mentality,” Hollingsworth said, adding he wants to “keep him rough” and “different than all the other characters in Virgin River.”

‘Virgin River’: Will Brie accept Mike’s proposal?

“She does genuinely want it to work,” Allen says. “We all have been there. Like you want something so bad to work, but it just doesn’t feel totally right, but you’re trying to sort of hit.”

Wedding episodes:‘Virgin River’s’ wedding sequence was hard to shoot but ‘had to be big’

What to expect in ‘Virgin River’ Season 7

While both Allen and Hollingsworth remained tight-lipped over what viewers can expect from their characters in Season 7, the two did share some insight into what direction they would want their characters to take.

“I hope it involves Brie finding more of an alignment with her inner being, and finding her footing again, and being able to claim what she really wants in her heart to feel worthy of it,” Allen said. “I do think she needs to stick take a step back and be real with herself, so that she doesn’t drive these boys through her inner turmoil back and forth.”

Allen said Season 6 has been “so much of an identity crisis for” Brie “or more specifically, a real battle between her heart and her head.”

“I think that comes from having moved to Virgin River with a big trauma,” Allen said. “Her sense of self was so firm before her sexual assault.”

Brie, who was introduced in Season 3, had a high-flying career as a lawyer in Sacramento, until she was sexually assaulted by her boyfriend and colleague Don.

“Even with this love triangle, it’s like her heart wants something and her head isn’t sure,” Allen added. “There’s an inner mistrust.”

However, Allen believes Brie is on her path to recovery and is “further along in the healing journey.”

“I like that the writers have not made it this linear path to recovery that we can sort of tie up with a bow and move on from,” Allen said. “I hope that she gets to translate the healing that she’s done into the work that she can do in her lawyer world, or as an advocate for other people who have dealt with any form of sexual assault and violence.”

Allen added the writers worked closely with RAINN, the country’s largest anti-sexual violence organization to ensure they’re keeping an integrity with what that journey looks like.

On the other hand, when we last saw Brady, he was all alone with an empty bank account after Lark skipped town with all his money.

“This is classic stuff that happens with Brady,” Hollingsworth chuckled. “He always seems to find himself between a rock and a hard place.”

While Hollingsworth is all for taking Brady down a revenge trip and tracking down Lark and getting his money back, he hopes the writers also explore his character’s relationship with other characters in Virgin River such as Virgin River Fire Chief Kaia (Kandyse McClure), who is also his boss, and local doctor Doc Vernon Mullins (Tim Matheson).

“I think (it would be) really cool to have Doc and Brady have some time together,” Hollingsworth said. “Because Doc has lived such a long life and, and Brady hasn’t ever really had an influence from an older, father figure, it might cool to see an episode where they are together.”

The two actors say they are not aware of when the new season would release but expect the series to follow the same timeline as Season 6, with the new season shooting in the spring and summer and dropping at the end of the year during the holiday season.

“I’m hoping (producers) will do the same kind of thing over Christmas,” Hollingsworth said. “I think it’s great watch over Christmas holidays.”

‘Virgin River’ Season 7:What we know so far about next season of Netflix romance

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support to survivors and their loved ones in English and Spanish at: 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.