“Virgin River” star Benjamin Hollingsworth talks Lark's betrayal, what's next for Brady

Warning: This article contains spoilers about of Virgin River season 6.

Though Virgin River is an idyllic little town, there's one guy who can never catch a break — Brady.

Despite Brady (Benjamin Hollingsworth) making a valiant effort at a relationship with Lark (Elise Gatien), particularly for the sake of her daughter Hazel, the romance ends in disaster in season 6. After Lark hears an emotional heart-to-heart between Brie (Zibby Allen) and Brady at the wedding of Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge) and Jack (Martin Henderson), she asks Brady about the situation with Brie.

But Brady lies to her, and later, he discovers that Lark has disappeared with Hazel, as well as all the money that was in his bank account. Still, if Lark is connected to Jimmy (Ian Tracey), there's a possibility of foul play. So, should we assume the worst, as Brady does, and believe that Lark cheated him out of this money and went through with her con?

Related: Virgin River renewed for a seventh season

Both showrunner Patrick Sean Smith and Hollingsworth say yes. "You should also close your bank accounts at Clear River Credit Union, because their firewall system and security system is less than optimal," quips Smith.

However, Hollingsworth feels like Brady kinda had this one coming. "It's almost justifiable in a way," Hollingsworth tells Entertainment Weekly. "What he said to Brie at the end of the season is pretty paramount. And Lark was kind of planning to do this all along. So yeah, he's in trouble again."

Hollingsworth explains that it's not just that Brady has been nursing feelings for Brie all along, so much as the fact that he wasn't honest with Lark. Even though he had just promised her he would be.

"What he didn't do is what he was saying he was going to do, which is make the habit of being honest," he says. "He should've stopped dancing with her and said, 'Listen, I need to talk to you. I realized tonight that you'll always be second in line. I still have feelings of Brie. I had an affair with Brie. You don't really deserve me, and if you want to move on, I totally understand.' That is the proper response."

Related: Meet Mel's parents in Virgin River season 6 flashback photos

"There's a part of me that was let down when I read that about Brady," Hollingsworth continues. "Because he is falling back into his old ways and the real standup thing to do would've been what I said. I don't think he necessarily deserves that someone steal all his money, but I can see where Lark is upset."

Smith confirms that Lark's course of action was largely dictated by what goes down with Brie. "When she overhears the conversation, her emotional reaction and heartbreak to that is what motivated a lot of what ended up happening by the end of the season," he notes. "But that's something that Brady's not aware of. From his perspective, he thought she was conning him. He called her out, he let her back into his life, and then she ended up completing the con."

Related: Virgin River showrunner talks season 6 setup of potential prequel and other burning questions

Why, though, did Brady ever bother trying to make a go of things with Lark if he still had feelings for Brie? "It comes down to him wanting to be the guy that Brie wants him to be," Hollingsworth notes. "He's forced to try to be this Brady 2.0 and step up to be the father figure for Hazel. That's how I played it throughout the season — I wanted to make sure that Brady, as much as he was falling in love with Lark, it was a different kind of love. It's not the same as with Brie, but I was very careful to make him invested. But the reason why he was doing that is to make sure that Hazel is supported and doesn't end up having the kind of childhood that both he and Lark grew up with."

What about Brady's own dreams? We learned more this season about his aspirations to own a mechanic shop for motorcycles — and before Lark flew the coop, she surprised him with the lease to an empty shop he'd been looking at. Though Brady might have more obstacles now, Hollingsworth says it's absolutely still a goal for Brady to open that shop.

Related: Netflix is developing Virgin River spinoff about Mel's parents

"Bikes are his passion," he says. "He talked about having it help local youths who might be in trouble feel like they have an outlet. The fact that it's giving back makes you fall in love with Brady even a little bit more. He's not just thinking about himself; he wants to help other people who are in a difficult situation. That's one of things that is a redeeming quality for Brady."

There is one person that we all worry he won't be helping, however — Bert (Trevor Lerner), who has already cornered the mechanic's market in Virgin River. But thankfully, there isn't about to be some attempt to put each other out of business. "Bert thinks the more the merrier," says Smith. "Bert's comfortable with that. Bert would support him."

Adds Hollingsworth: "Maybe Bert handles the trucks and Brady will take care of the motorcycle[s]. That'll be the understanding."

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It'll probably be a minute until Brady is able to make that dream a reality anyway, considering that Lark just ran off with all his money. "He still does have the bike shop dream, but he's doing it at a substantial financial deficit," Smith says.

But Hollingsworth, perhaps more than anyone else, believes in Brady's ability to make his dreams a reality. "Brady can do anything he sets his mind to," he says. "He will find a way. He's a survivor at the end of the day. The odds were stacked against him for most of his life, and he's found a way to survive."

Related: Virgin River season 6 teaser shows first glimpses of Mel and Jack's wedding

In fact, he even thinks that this turn of events could have a silver lining. "He's used to seeing a zero balance in his bank account," Hollingsworth concludes. "That's nothing new. What is new is having a bunch of money and not really knowing what to do with it. Sometimes that's a burden for people. I know it sounds crazy, but sometimes it's overwhelming for someone who's never really had anything to all of a sudden land a bunch of money because they don't really know what to do with it."

Virgin River season 6 is now streaming on Netflix.

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