The 10th episode ended on several major cliff-hangers. Here’s our theories.
Virgin River fans, how you doing? Is your head completely spinning?
Which reveal—or cliff-hanger—shocked you the most?
And do we need to start a countdown clock until the final two episodes in season five (a.k.a. “the holiday episodes”) air at the end of November? (Warning: Stop reading now if you aren’t caught up.)
Episode 10, titled “Labor Day,” picked up immediately following the events of episode nine, with Jack accusing Brady of selling drugs out of his trailer. Brady says he needs to trust him because he’s not the bad guy. “Mike and I are working together to take [Melissa] down,” he says, adding that if Jack doesn’t let him go outside and talk to Melissa now, they’ll both be dead. And so Brady goes outside to try and assuage things with Melissa, but she quickly pulls a gun on him, and her men kidnap Brady. Jack calls Mike for backup, and Mike quickly attempts to fill Jack in on all the necessary information in a matter of seconds. Is Virgin River an action series now? A spin-off of SVU? Does it even matter? I’m riveted.
Anyway, Melissa and her men take Brady to the lumberyard, and Jack follows like the honorary cop he thinks he is. Melissa tells Brady that she’s certain he knows a lot more than he’s letting on, and deny as he might, she shows him the video of him snooping around trying to get evidence. Shit. She then tells Brady that his life will end tonight unless he opens up and gives her pertinent information. But Melissa’s messing with the wrong guy, because Brady spits on her (amazing), and says he has no intention of telling her anything. Of course, that only causes Melissa’s men to get more aggressive and beat him. Brady must be quite confident that Jack and Mike are coming for him, because I’m not so sure he’s got the best strategy here.
Sure enough, Jack makes a noise while hiding, which puts Melissa and her henchmen on high alert. They all try to escape—while still holding Brady hostage—but as Melissa tries to leave in her car, Mike and his fellow officers show up to arrest her. Enjoy life in the big house, lady. Meanwhile, Brady escapes, Jack comes to his rescue, and all seems fine (because Mike says so), but of course it’s not. With that, one of Melissa’s men shoots Mike, and his fate doesn’t look good.
All that, and we’re finally at the opening credits. Nobody told me I was going to need to monitor my blood pressure this episode, but here we are.
Fortunately, the writers knew we needed a calmer scene to follow, so we open with Preacher in bed with Kaia as the sun shines through the window. She has to leave for her next assignment but hates goodbyes, so she tells Preacher that every time she has to ship out, they shouldn’t make a big deal out of it. It’ll be “I’ll see you when I see you.” Preacher, who is totally smitten with this woman, seems good with it. Seriously, Preacher? Come on! You hate goodbyes!
But anyway, he’s got bigger issues to worry about because Mel calls to tell him what happened in the dead of night, and how Mike is fighting for his life at the hospital. So much for a calm, sunshiny morning.
Moments later, Brie, Preacher, Mel, and Jack are all gathered at the hospital. Mel was going to start back at the clinic today, but wants to be with Jack. He says she’s of more use at the clinic and doesn’t want her to put off her plans, so off she goes.
In lighter news, it’s the Virgin River Labor Day carnival! Lizzie is running around, making sure everything is in order. This chief of staff role serves her well. But something’s not quite right, because carefree and confident Lizzie is antsy, and she’s never antsy. Denny wants to tell her something, but she doesn’t have the time to sit down with him yet. She also tells him she has something she has to get off her chest, but that’s going to have to wait too. I’m pretty sure I know where this is going, but I don’t want to be right.
At the clinic Doc calls a staff meeting with Mel, Cameron, and Muriel. Doc announces Muriel is the new office manager. They also introduce a new telehealth component, as well as an idea for a birthing center, and I’ve concluded this is the most efficient staff meeting I’ve ever seen. Doc says the future of the clinic is looking brighter than ever.
As for Mike’s future? Well, it’s touch and go. Brady sees Brie keeping vigil at his bedside, and when she spots him outside Mike’s room, she runs to talk to him. In the most efficient and quick breakup scene, Brie tells Brady she will love him forever, but things have changed for her (meaning she has feelings for Mike). He says he gets it and walks away.
Ava (Lilly’s adult daughter, and one of this season’s new characters) tells Mel she made the follow-up appointment with her doctor to talk about a hysterectomy because of her endometriosis. Mel tells Ava she always thought she’d be missing out on something if she didn’t carry her own child, but the more she and Jack talked about it, being a parent is so much more than how you got there. “So if you decide you want to be a mom someday, you’ll find a way,” Mel tells Ava.
Back at the hospital Jack tells Brady that working undercover took a lot of courage. They have a bit of a bonding moment until Brady gets a message from potential new love interest, Lark, who tells him the FBI is at Jack’s glamping site, and off they go.
Meanwhile, at the clinic, Cameron and Muriel discuss disclosing their burgeoning romance with Doc. Muriel says she’ll take care of it. “I’m hard to resist,” she tells him. Cameron’s all, “Yeah, you are,” and gives her a flirty smile. I am so here for these two.
Anyway, Jack and Brady arrive at the glamping site, where they are informed that the site and all assets are now property of the FBI in connection with the Montgomery investigation. To top it off, this whole ordeal could last six months or six years. “These tenants need to be out by end of day,” the FBI officer tells Jack. He explains they aren’t tenants; they are evacuees from the fire with nowhere to go, but the FBI doesn’t seem very empathetic to their situation
At this moment Nick arrives and tells Jack that the FBI has been questioning him and JoEllen for hours. He says he wouldn’t have let his sister anywhere near Jack if he knew what she was up to. (I certainly hope not, Nick!) Anyway, Nick says if there’s anything he can do, please ask. Jack gets an idea to place some of the families at Nick and JoEllen’s B&B, and Nick is more than happy to make it happen.
Meanwhile, Lark and her daughter share a sweet scene with Brady, and while I think it’s too soon for him to jump into another relationship, I’m also all for the companionship given the heartbreak he’s just gone through with Brie.
Speaking of, Brie is ecstatic when Mike finally wakes up. Readers, I’ll be honest: I wasn’t sure if he was going to survive at first, but I can breathe a sigh of relief now. He’s a much better match for Brie than Brady, and after this season, it’s never been more apparent that Virgin River needs him.
We haven’t gotten a lot of Mel and Jack scenes this episode, so it’s a welcome sign when Mel meets up with a contemplative Jack in the woods. He’s sitting atop the mountain area where he had hoped to raise their family. She says they’ll get the land back eventually, but he says if this breaks the wrong way, they’ll lose everything. She says as long as they’re together, they are home. The scene feels a bit too rushed and too neat given everything that’s just happened to them (Mel’s miscarriage, Jack nearly getting killed and then possibly losing his land and a lot of money), but it’s still a sweet moment.
