What to Remember Before ‘Virgin River’ Season 4
Virgin River revealed one jaw-dropping bombshell after another in its Season 3 finale, making viewers eager to find out what’s next for the small town. Almost a year later, Season 4 arrives on Netflix on Wednesday, July 20, and, if the trailer is any indication, will deliver more of the soapy romance and gasp-worthy drama that we’ve grown to love.
So much went down last season that a Virgin River refresher is definitely in order. What exactly happened in that surprising finale? And what can we expect for Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge), Jack (Martin Henderson) and the rest of the town in the new episodes? Read on for all the main plot points to keep in mind going into Season 4.
Mel is pregnant, but doesn’t know who the father is
The Season 3 finale saw Mel get some life-changing news: After wanting a baby for so long, she’s finally pregnant. However, throughout the episode, she was reluctant to tell her boyfriend Jack, and we found out why — he might not be the father. While broken up from Jack, Mel used the last two embryos of her deceased husband Mark (Daniel Gillies) to get pregnant. The Season 4 trailer hints that this causes a rift between Mel and Jack — he doesn’t want to take a paternity test, lest it changes how he feels about the baby — and Mark’s mother wants to fight Mel for custody of the embryos. Uh oh!
Hope was in critical condition at the hospital
Virgin River’s mayor, Hope McCrea (Annette O’Toole), was severely injured in a car crash toward the end of Season 3. While rushing back to town to attend her friend’s funeral, Hope was hit by a truck, according to her husband, Doc (Tim Matheson). Her brain had internal bleeding, and Doc decided to allow the doctors to put her in a medically-induced coma. However, she soon developed a fever, which meant she could have an infection.
The finale left Hope’s fate up in the air, but the Season 4 trailer shows Doc comforting Hope at home, and though she’s looking a bit worn out, at least she’s up and around. Fans don’t have to hold their breath any longer, though she likely will be facing some after-effects from her injury. And some viewers have theorized that Hope’s accident maybe wasn’t so accidental, and local gang leader Calvin (David Cubitt) might have been behind the crash. Could he have hit Hope to get to Jack, who’s been trying to take him down over the past few seasons? You never know in Virgin River.
Jack almost proposed to Mel
Jack said that seeing Doc so torn up over possibly losing Hope made him realize that he didn’t want to live without Mel. Jack was far from chill about it, though, since he never thought he’d get married again. His friend and new business partner Preacher (Colin Lawrence) cautioned Jack to not “overthink it.” But finally, after a bunch of obstacles came up, Jack got Mel alone to propose — but before he could pop the question, she stopped him to reveal her pregnancy and that the paternity was unclear. So will they or won’t they be engaged going into Season 4? The trailer didn’t give us an answer, even though the couple appears to still be together.
Brie wanted to leave town
After a tumultuous stay in Virgin River, Jack’s sister Brie (Zibby Allen) decided she wanted to start fresh somewhere new. Her decision was partially influenced by a traumatic event that happened while she still lived in Sacramento that she doesn’t want to tell Jack about. She opened up to Mel about how she was sexually assaulted by the attorney she was dating, and she had a miscarriage from it. However, when she went to tell her love interest Brady (Ben Hollingsworth) of her impending departure, he tried to convince her to stay. She seemed to have changed her mind until later that evening, when she witnessed the police finding the gun that shot Jack in Brady’s car (more on that later). In the trailer, Jack sounds convinced of Brady’s innocence, so maybe Brie will stay to help out, since she’s an attorney. Hopefully she doesn’t leave Virgin River too soon!
Sally drugged Preacher, and Wes’ twin was behind it
In the Season 3 finale, Paige’s (Lexa Doig) alleged friend named Sally (Jana Benoit) arrived at the bar to enlist Peacher’s help. Sally said Paige was close by and wanted to turn herself in, but she wanted to see Christopher first, hence why she came to his guardian, Preacher. Sally had a hidden agenda, though: She drugged Preacher and stole his phone. Later, Christopher’s uncle Vince (Steve Bacic) — the identical twin of his abusive father, Wes, who Paige accidentally killed in self defense — was lying in wait for his nephew and Connie (Nicola Cavendish), Christopher’s other caretaker. In the Season 4 trailer, Preacher has hired a PI and has security cam footage of Vince, so he’ll likely be searching for a kidnapped Christoper in Season 4. But the question remains if Connie is okay after a presumed confrontation with Vince.
Charmaine will fight Jack for custody of the twins
Charmaine (Lauren Hammersley), the mother of Jack’s twins, got married to Todd (Patrick Sabongui) in the finale — she said she wouldn’t move to neighboring town Eureka until they were married, so they had a quick city hall wedding. However, she found out that Jack hired a family law attorney, and at Todd’s urging, decided to fight Jack’s attempts to get equal custody of the twins. Todd convinced her that Jack shouldn’t be involved with their family. It seems Season 4 will have two custody battles happening, one for Mel and one for Jack.
The charges against Calvin were thrown out
Calvin made a dramatic return in the Season 3 finale, offering Brady a deal to cover the costs of Emerald Lumber — which Calvin had used as a front to move fentanyl — for six months to relieve the company’s debt. In exchange, Brady would have to run drugs for him. Calvin ominously said that his suppliers would come after Brady if he didn’t pay them. But, after Brady’s arrest, it seems that Calvin won’t have any problems taking the business for himself.
Brady was arrested for shooting Jack
Calvin, when he approached Brady about getting back into the drug trade, warned Brady that his alibi had fallen apart. And even though Brady insisted he had nothing to do with Jack getting shot in his bar back in Season 2, he’d already admitted to Jack that he was there at the time of the shooting. Later, while Brie and Brady were hanging out, the police showed up with a warrant to search his house, and they found a gun with the same caliber as the one that shot Jack in his truck. Brady is in prison in the Season 4 trailer, but Jack seems to be on a mission to get him out. Only time will tell if Brady can prove his innocence.
Ricky enlisted, and Lizzie broke up with him
In Season 3, Ricky (Grayson Gurnsey) didn’t tell his girlfriend Lizzie (Sarah Dugdale) that he was going to enlist in the Marines, so she broke up with him, saying that she would have supported him if he had told her. Parker (Markian Tarasiuk), Lizzie’s ex, was back in Virgin River and tried to convince Lizzie to go on a cross country road trip with him. In the finale, Lizzie hadn’t given Parker an answer, but she doesn’t seem to have taken him up on his offer in the Season 4 trailer — there’s a shot of Ricky and Lizzie looking at each other nervously in Jack’s bar. So maybe there’s hope for them yet, if they can reconcile before Ricky ships off for training.
Doc’s grandson arrived in Virgin River
Yet another surprise! Doc has a long-lost 19-year-old grandson (Kai Bradbury) from Seattle. Named Denny Cutler, he arrived at the bed and breakfast in town in the Season 3 finale, looking for Doc. It makes us wonder, does Doc know about him? Who are his parents? Bradbury is set to be a Season 4 regular, and Denny came to Virgin River with a “dark secret,” so he’s sure to contribute to the delicious drama we tune in for.
From TV Guide Magazine
Inside 'Suits LA': Stephen Amell Talks Ted Black's Secret Side
Looks like Stephen Amell has hit another bullseye. After eight seasons as superhero Oliver Queen on The CW‘s Arrow, he’s playing a straight shooter of a different kind in Suits LA, NBC‘s new California-set spinoff of Suits, the beloved USA legal dramedy. Read the story now on TV Insider.
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services