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Hope McCrea, the mayor of Virgin River, is an important character in the Netflix series. Portrayed by Annette O'Toole, Hope is conspicuously absent throughout the third season of Virgin River. The series explains her absence as visiting a distant aunt and accompanying her to doctor's appointments.
The town's doctor, played by Tim Matheson, keeps everyone informed about this, but the situation becomes serious when Hope also loses contact with Doc. Hope's presence in season 3 is limited to phone calls and Zoom calls, with her physical absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Showrunner Sue Tenney explained to Entertainment Weekly,
"We've worked very hard to ensure she was still very much a part of the show. If we have a fourth season, everyone is now vaccinated, and the pandemic is not as severe. So, I would hope that we would have Annette back."
The fate of Hope in Virgin River: Is she alive or dead?
The crew of Virgin River found a creative way to include Annette in the series by incorporating her virtually. Hope is one of the main characters in the series, and the decision to change her storyline from physical presence to virtual presence required significant script alterations. This change disappointed some fans who wanted to see Doc and Hope together.
"We had a very lovely, two long episodes about that. Two episodes of plot on that. When we get to that point, which is a re-commitment ceremony, we definitely are going to want to see that. But we have some drama going on with both of those characters that puts that on the backburner but also heightens their commitment to one another."
At the end of season 3, Hope is involved in a major accident while returning to North Carolina after treating her aunt. Doc and others discuss the major brain surgery she needs to survive. Season 3 ends without providing an answer to the question, "Does Hope survive?" In Virgin River season 4, it is revealed that Hope made it out safe and alive, but she lost her memory.
She asks for her friend Lilly, who had passed away due to cancer and for whom Hope was rushing when the accident occurred. In Virgin River season 5, we see Hope fighting hard to regain her normal life. She sees her new reality as a challenge and has difficulty connecting with her friends and family.
A new character named Lizze, played by Sarah Dugdale, is introduced to help with Hope's recovery. Season 5 follows Hope and Lizze as they work together to return to normalcy.
Annette O'Toole and Tim Matheson have previously worked together
Annette O'Toole, who portrays Hope, is an American actress who began her career in 1967. She has acted in numerous projects, including Nash Bridges, It, Superman III, Cross My Heart, and Smallville. In Virgin River, she plays the character of Hope McCrea, the town's mayor and the wife of local physician Vernon "Doc" Mullins.
Annette and Tim Matheson have worked together in various projects, and she mentioned in an interview with PureWow:
"I met him when he did a movie [Almost Summer] with my then-boyfriend Bruno Kirby, and that's when we first met. And then I did a television show called 'What Really Happened to the Class of '65?,' which was based on this book. So, we played a young married couple."
We can expect to see more of Hope in the upcoming seasons of Virgin River.
