Virgin River Season 4 Ending Explained: Mel And Jack’s Romance, And How Everyone Was Set Up For Season 5 (2024)

Warning: Major SPOILERS ahead for the Virgin River Season 4 ending. Come back once you’ve birthed a set of twins and caught up!

Well, well, well… Virgin River Season 4 finally came to Netflix as part of the 2022 TV schedule, and, as usual for the twisty, small town romance, did not disappoint when it comes to intriguing relationship developments and dramatic romantic twists. The Virgin River Season 3 ending left viewers with a lot of cliffhangers, and you can bet the latest set of episodes did its job by answering fan questions and giving us even more to talk about until Season 5 debuts.

So, what kind of shocks did the Virgin River Season 4 ending deliver to fans? We’re here to tell you that, fill you in on the newest developments in Mel and Jack’s romance, and tell you how the season finale set everyone up for Season 5. Let’s get to it!

Jack Is The Father Of Mel’s Baby, And They’re Engaged

They finally did it, kids! After Jack’s proposal to Mel in the Virgin River Season 3 finale was cut short by her admission that she was pregnant and didn’t know if he or her deceased husband, Mark, was the father, Jack was able to properly pop the question in the Season 4 finale, and Mel accepted. With the duo’s romantic intentions for one another fully cemented, they were able to take care of that big paternity question.

Mel and Jack had been somewhat at odds over whether or not to find out who was the father of Mel’s baby throughout the season, with Jack worried that if it was Mark’s child it would change how he felt about the impending bundle of joy. Mel, however, wanted to know and eventually had the test done, with she and Jack being able to read the results and see that her new fiancé is the dad the morning after their engagement. So, these two will be preparing for the birth of their child in Season 5 and looking forward to their wedding. As Jack’s portrayer, Martin Henderson, told ET about the couple:

And, uhhh, what about Charmaine? Well…

Charmaine Lied About The Twins, And Her Marriage Might Be Over

I thought for sure that the petty problem bomb that is Charmaine would continue to be a super thorne in Mel and Jack’s collective side, but with her twins’ birth fast approaching, she was actually doing a much better job of staying out of their way and trying to pre-co-parent with Jack. Sure, he made some snide comments to Mel about her stealing Jack that one time, but, overall Charmaine was out of the way.

That is, until the last minutes of the finale. Charmaine called Jack when she was having trouble breathing, and when he and Mel arrived they found her panicking on the floor thinking she was going to lose the babies and that her new husband, Todd, was going to leave her. When they tried to figure out why Charmaine was in such a state, she revealed that she felt like she was being punished because she lied to Jack about her twins being his! Jack was clearly confused by the news, and Henderson told Glamour that he’s excited to play the aftermath of that reveal in Season 5:

You guys? I am SO ready for Jack to tell Charmaine all of his opinions about her sh*tty behavior!

Preacher Could Be Torn Between Paige And Julia

I was openly salty last year when another full season had passed and Preacher was still deeply embroiled in the secret accidental killing of Paige’s ex-husband, raising her son, Christopher, and not getting to have any damn fun. Let me tell you, Season 4 changed that when Preach decided to give Aikido a shot, and ended up falling for (and getting naked with) his lovely instructor, Julia.

But! Just when it looked like that was going to be endgame for Preacher and his happily-ever-after, Paige returned! Preach and Paige seemed to defeat her devious, Christopher-kidnapping brother-in-law, Vince, in the finale, but what about that tentative romance they began before she had to flee Virgin River? Preacher’s portrayer, Colin Lawrence told EW:

It’s now a toss up as to whether or not Virgin River Season 5 will see Preacher fall back in with Paige, or try to keep things going with Julia (who was already concerned about his connection with Paige before she even returned). Oh, the drama!

Brady’s Been Exonerated For Shooting Jack, But He’s Got A Troublesome New Boss

I think we all figured that Brady had been set up to take the fall for shooting Jack, and the recent season did confirm that suspicion, leading to him being fully exonerated for the crime once Jack remembered that it was actually Vince who shot him while he was looking for Preacher. However, Brady’s troubles are far from over, even with his former crime boss, Calvin, now dead, because Calvin was killed by his boss, Melissa Montgomery, who’s already promised to make Brady’s life more criminally-inclined, dangerous, and difficult going forward. Yikes!

Lizzie And Denny’s Relationship Now Has A Sad Obstacle

Most Virgin River fans probably thought we’d see Lizzie take Ricky back after he neglected to tell her about joining the military in Season 3, but it was not to be, as Lizzie was drawn to Doc’s newly discovered grandson, Denny, this time around. The young man was clearly hiding something, and for a time it made Lizzie give up hope that she could trust him.

When Denny heard that Lizzie was about to turn down a job with Hope because of him, he finally revealed why he’d been acting so shady: he has Huntington’s disease, which is fatal and has no known cure. Lizzie has come a long way since she first arrived in Virgin River as a self-absorbed, rule-breaking troublemaker, so Season 5 will likely see her and Denny try to keep hope for a romance alive, despite what his future holds.

Brie’s Dangerous Ex-Boyfriend Is Back

Poor Brie. Not only had she been trying to help Brady out with all of his legal trouble, but she’d been keeping secret from Brady the fact that her ex-boyfriend, Don, raped her and that she moved to Virgin River to get away from him. Unfortunately, Don came calling in the Season 4 finale, confronting Brie in the scariest way possible when he showed up near her car one night in an attempt to get her to sign a non-disclosure agreement, so that the growing “rumors” of what he did to Brie wouldn’t continue to hurt his career prospects back home.

Brie told him she’s going to file a police report and have charges brought against him, so it’s likely we’ll be seeing more of Don in Virgin River Season 5, and it probably won’t be a fun hang.

I don’t know if you can tell, but Virgin River Season 5 is already shaping up to be another one filled with drama, romance, and enough surprises to keep us hooked and hoping for Season 6!