Virgin River fans fume over 'pointless' storyline after character disappears from Netflix series

Fans of 'Virgin River' have been left scratching their heads after a plotline involving key character Baker Paige Lassiter, portrayed by Lexa Doig from the first season, seemingly fizzled out.

Paige had been a central figure in the story, establishing a strong bond with Preacher (Colin Lawrence) following her escape from an abusive marriage with Wes (Steve Bacic).

Moving to Virgin River for a fresh start, she's relentlessly followed by her former spouse's twin Vince, who even resorts to shooting Jack Sheridan (Martin Henderson) and abducting Paige's son Christopher (Chase Petriw). While Vince is eventually nabbed by authorities in season five, audiences were perplexed when Paige elected to skip town as the new season commenced, not showing up onscreen thereafter.

One vexed fan queried on Reddit about the narrative's abrupt drop-off, posting: "They go through all this s**t and in the end, she just leaves town and they don't even end up together."

Their dissatisfaction didn't stop there as they critiqued Preacher's latest romantic pairing with Kaia Bryant (Kandyse McClure), declaring their liaison lacked spark compared to his connection with Paige, reports the Express.

They continued: "After all the built up, he ends up with this random firefighter with whom he has zero chemistry no less, unlike Paige.

"But really, what was the point of this entire weird, B-story arc about Preach doing all this for Paige?

"There is no payoff for him. I am thinking maybe the writers had a bigger role for the actress playing her and she probably could not fit it into her schedule or something - which makes sense given that she was pretty much entirely absent in later seasons and then only she came back to wrap up this loose end."

Since beginning her tenure on Virgin River, actress Lexa has secured roles in prominent series like Goosebumps, The Power, and Chucky, as well as starring in the Aurora Teagarden Mysteries TV films; hence the belief that her packed roster might have limited her availability for continuing a full season in the Netflix favourite seems plausible.

Several fans have expressed disappointment with how things turned out, particularly when comparing Preacher and Paige's story arc to the one depicted in Robyn Carr's books that inspired the series.

"I've always wondered this as well. Went on so long and for what?" questioned one viewer.

"I assumed the actress got another acting job so they wrote her off," speculated another fan.

"They surely must have intended them to end up together as they are in the books. So IDK what happened but I agree it was just unnecessary," a third chimed in.

And adding to the voices, a fourth fan commented: "In the books, Preacher does end up with Paige. My guess is the writers didn't know she was leaving the show."

Speculation continues as to whether Paige may return if Preacher's current romantic prospects don't pan out, or if an unexpected profession of love in season five signals Preacher's readiness for something more enduring.

Virgin River is available to stream on Netflix.