For those just catching up with Virgin River, the hit Netflix Original series based on the books written by Robyn Carr and published by Mills & Boon, or those needing a refresher, we have put down the ‘need to know’ stories from series 1, 2, 3, and 4…
Please note spoilers below!
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SEASON 1
Mel Monroe, a nurse practitioner from LA, turns up in Virgin River to work, but with secrets of her own – an unknown trauma relating to her ex-husband Mark. When she arrives however, the cabin she has let is run down and it becomes apparent Doc Mullins did not know she had been hired and does not want her there…(She probably shouldn’t have accidentally insulted him on arrival!)
However, just as Mel decides Virgin River is not the place for her she meets Jack Sheridan a former Marine-turned-bar owner, and then finds an abandoned baby on the surgery doorstep. Caring for the baby brings her into further conflict with the doctor, and town of Virgin River, but at the same time she grows ever closer to Jack.
By the end of the season it is revealed Mel’s husband had died in a car accident, leaving her struggling to deal with her grief, whilst also struggling with her growing feelings for Jack.
However, just as romance begins to blossom, Jack’s ex, Charmaine, announces she is pregnant with Jack’s child. To make matters worse in the love triangle, the town Mayor, Hope McCrea (and town busy body) accidentally reveals the news of Charmaine’s pregnancy to Mel! Despite Jack declaring he still wants to be with Mel, she finds the news difficult as she is unable to have children, and in the finale, Mel packs up her belongings and prepares to leave Virgin River…
But this was not the only blossoming romance in Season One as bakery truck owner Paige Lassiter and Jack’s right hand man Preacher fight their attraction. But Paige has a secret to hide, an abusive ex-husband she and her son are on the run from.
However, by the end of the season her ex-husband finds out where she lives and when Preacher goes on to check on Paige, she and Christopher are missing, and there’s blood in the house…
But life is not all love triangles in Virgin River as Dan Brady, an ex-Marine with Jack and Preacher, turns up to work at Jack’s Bar. Whilst Jack wants to give Brady a chance, Preacher does not trust him and rightly so when Brady is tempted to join forces with local crime boss Calvin…
SEASON 2
Season 2 starts with Mel returning to Virgin River. Here she faces Jack and Charmaine, and the love triangle intensifies as Charmaine is desperate for Jack to fall in love with her and will try every trick in the book! It soon becomes apparent that Jack only has eyes for Mel, as she learns to let go of her past pain and move forward with Jack.
Paige’s situation becomes even more dangerous when her ex-husband, Wes, finds her and tries to forcibly get her to leave with him. Paige pushes Wes down the stairs and accidentally kills him. As Wes is a cop Paige knows she would never be able to win in court and so with the aid of Preacher leaves town whilst Preacher takes care of Wes’s body… But then Wes shows up at his bar! Until it is revealed it’s his identical twin brother, Vince out for revenge.
Doc finally proposes to Hope, but with secrets of his own he has yet to tell, more difficulties are ahead for these two…
After being fired from Jack’s, Brady starts working for Calvin. The money promised is enough to ensure he turns a blind eye to the illegal workings of the gang. That is until Calvin asks him to shoot Spencer, one of his men who has turned against him and speaking to Jack. One step too far for Brady, he pretends to shoot Spencer, and instead, helps him and his family leave town so that Spencer can testify against Calvin.
However, Calvin has warned Jack not to get involved in his business and in the season finale Mel finds Jack in the bar shot. Is Mel about to lose the second man she loves to tragedy…?
SEASON 3
Luckily, we didn’t have to wait long to find out! The opening scenes of Season 3 showed Jack in intensive care and luckily the medical staff were able to stabalise him. It wasn’t long before we saw Jack on the slow road to recovery and he was even able to organise a surprise graduation party for Ricky. Although the question of Jack’s shooter remains a mystery throughout the entire season, so we’re going to have to wait for Season 4 to find out.
The health issues continue in Episode 1, as Doc learns he could end up permanently blind. Unfortunately, we don’t get to see much of fan-favourite, Hope in the beginning of the series, as she is out of town with family. This storyline came into play as actress Annette O’Toole was unable to film due to Covid-related travel complications (Entertainment Weekly). But we do see Hope involved in some life-changing drama at the end of Season 3. More on that below…
The opening episode of Season 3 also introduced Charmaine’s mysterious new fiancé, Todd, they became engaged after just three weeks. Todd is a controlling and rather nefarious character, having gotten rid of Charmaine’s dog and trying to do the same to Jack. When Jack (obviously) objects to being removed from his soon-to-be-born twins’ lives, Todd and Charmaine announce that they are moving out of Town. Lets just say that Todd isn’t a new fan favourite… Some fan theories even suggest that Todd might be connected to the show’s wider crime story line.
Season 3 saw Preacher looking after Christopher after Paige went on the run following the death of Wes and the hunt of his twin brother, Vince. It turns out, that Season 3 did not provide the happy reunion between Paige, Preacher and Christopher that fans so desperately wanted. At the end of the season, Preacher was approached by Paige’s friend Sally, who said she wanted to facilitate a safe reunion between Paige and Christophe. Instead, she drugged Preacher and left him for dead in the woods in an apparent setup for Vince to come for Christopher. Evidently, it works. Per the Season 4 synopsis from Netflix, ‘even as Preacher forges a new romantic connection, he can’t help but hold out hope for being reunited with Christopher and Paige.’
Further tragedy came when Hope got into a major car accident at the end of the season. She went into an induced coma to help heal from her injuries, but her life was very much still hanging in the balance. Fortunately, showrunner Sue Tenney didn’t let fans worry too long as she confirmed the show will involve ‘the recovery and what she’s [Hope] dealing with – a traumatic brain injury.’ (Entertainment Weekly)
The couple’s life will no doubt be complicated even further after the arrival of a young man claiming to be Doc’s 19-year-old grandson at the very end of Season 3.
However, the biggest reveal of the season was Mel’s permanency and the question over who the father is. During a brief breakup with Jack, Mel travelled to LA and opted to try getting pregnant with her and Mark’s last two embryos. However, upon her return to Virgin River, she reunited and slept with Jack. The timing prevented her from knowing the paternity of her baby. We’ll have to wait for Season 4 to find out.
The major development from season three, though, is that Brady was arrested for Jack’s attempted murder, after the apparent gun from the shooting was found hidden in his car. However, this doesn’t feel like a closed case… Even Martin Henderson, who plays Jack, said ‘I’m just going to say that season four reveals and answers all the questions, but then presents some more’. (Digital Fix)
SEASON 4
Season 4 of Virgin River did not hold back any punches! Throughout the season, we follow love triangles, criminal mysteries, and journeys of both emotional and physical recovery. From a renaissance fair to cosy cabin nights, Virgin River has been busy!
Following Hope’s accident from Season 3, she continues to struggle with her health. The recovery process is not helped as Hope did not remember Lilly’s death and struggles with her grief throughout the season. And Hope starts to form an unexpected friendship with Muriel as she supports her through her health and grief.
Doc also receives an unexpected visitor from his grandson Denny, that he never knew about! Denny ends up in a love triangle with Ricky and Lizzie. And whilst Lizzie and Denny clearly fall for each other, Denny keeps a secret about his health and his hot-and-cold attitude causes issues between them. At the end of the season, Denny says he cannot be involved with anyone to Lizzy, we learn that this is because he has Huntington’s disease, but Doc is the only person who knows. Ricky then leaves for bootcamp after a heart-warming send off from Lizzy. So we can only wonder how this triangle will continue to unfold!
A new hot-shot doctor is in town! Dr Cameron Hayek was hired to help Doc while he attends to Hope’s recovery and receives treatment for his own health. Whilst Cameron might be a gorgeous source of town gossip, he only has eyes for Mel… (Tudum by Netflix) At the end of the season, he confesses his feelings, but Mel shuts him down. Cameron then hands in his notice, despite Mel’s attempt to reconcile. But Mel worries about how Doc will cope if she must take time off due to her pregnancy and resigns at the end of the season.
The course of true love never did run smooth, and we certainly see that with Jack and Mel this season. Both characters face struggles, independently and together, that tugged on our heartstrings. We continue to follow Mel’s pregnancy, unaware for most of the season if the father is Mel’s former husband, Mark, or Jack. Jack is initially resistant to finding out the paternity of the baby, but he does the test when Mark’s mother takes legal action to possess custody of her late son and Mel’s embryos. In the final episode, we find out that the baby is Jack’s and it’s a girl!
However, throughout the season Jack struggles with his PTSD and copes with alcohol, which results in significant concern from Mel – especially when he disappears for hours resulting in a town-wide search (Tudum by Netflix). But he eventually seeks help when Preacher recommends him a therapist who was a former marine. At the end of the season, the two remain strong and Jack proposes to Mel (again) and she says yes. FINALLY!
Jack’s relationship Charmaine was suspiciously smooth for most of the season… But in the final few seconds of the season, we find out that Charmaine lied, and Jack is not the father of the twins! What a bombshell to end on!
Brady and Brie continue to face trial after trial. After Brady is released on bail from a mystery donor, imprisoned for allegedly shooting Jack, Brie and Mike work on his case. Eventually, CCTV footage jogs Jack’s memory and he realises that Brady didn’t shoot him – Paige’s ex-husband’s brother, Vince, did. We continue to unravel the inner workings of Calvin’s drug trade. But when Calvin seemingly dies in an explosion on a boat, we uncover the true head of the business who maintains threats to ensure Brady’s cooperation.
But the plot thickens, the head of the drug business, Melissa Montgomery, is introduced as Nick’s sister to Mel and Jack. Nick is a well-known man in town, running the local B&B with his wife Jo Ellen, and has agreed to invest in a glamping business venture on Jack’s land. A nerve-racking set-up for what is to come…
On top of this, Brie struggles with her traumatic past as the co-worker that sexually assaulted her turns up to Virgin River asking her to sign an NDA (Tudum by Netflix).
Our hearts go out to Preacher, who continued to struggle with Christopher’s kidnapping by Vince. He starts an aikido class to try and cope and falls for his teacher. But then Paige returns (in the middle of a date) and gives herself up to Vince in exchange for Christopher’s safe return to Virgin River (Tudum by Netflix). At the end of the season, Preacher finds Paige and we can only hope that they will escape to find some safety and security next season.
So many ends are left untied that we can only hope that Season 5 puts us all out of our misery! We can’t wait to get the cast back on our screens and find out what Virgin River has in store for us.
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Don’t forget you can buy all Virgin River titles in eBook from Mills & Boon. So, if you want to know what happens with Paige and Preacher shop now!
Virgin River – Mel and Jack
Shelter Mountain – Paige and Preacher
Whispering Rock – Mike and Brie
Paradise Valley – Ricky and Lizzie
