Hope has played a central role on ‘Virgin River’ from the beginning.

Now a fan theory suggests that she’s going to die in season 5.

Virgin River is one of the most beloved series on Netflix.

The show follows Mel Monroe (Alexandra Breckenridge) and her now-fiancé Jack Sheridan (Martin Henderson). After some ups and downs, the duo is expecting their first child together.

Hope (Annette O’Toole), the town’s mayor, is also in a better place than she once was. Her health is improving after a terrible car accident, and she has a lot to look forward to. However, fans now believe Hope will die in season 5.

Hope will be focused more on the community in ‘Virgin River’ Season 5

Hope was mostly absent in season 3, and amid season 4, she spent the majority of her time on screen recovering from a brain industry after a horrific incident. Now that she’s on the mend, O’Toole says that character will be focused on the business of being the mayor.

“I would like to see her — and I believe this is going to happen — be more of a mayor, be more involved in her work,” O’Toole told The List. “We see her walking around, showing up, and she can go anywhere.”

However, fans have other theories about where Hope will end once the season closes.

A fan theory suggests Hope will die in season 5

Fans are convinced that Hope will die during Virgin River Season 5. “Hope is going to pass away,” one Redditor explained via Express. “It was hinted throughout S4 that her health was deteriorating, and with the home health aide thing, I’m thinking she will die surrounded by loved ones, and Doc/Denny will live together.”

Another Virgin River fan agreed. “Hope starts to experience physical and mental decline from a combo of the accident and aging,” they said.

However, some fans aren’t so convinced by this theory. “Hope won’t die; that’s literally impossible; she’s getting better and will continue to be well,” the fan explained.

Hope is a lot, but she is also the mayor of the town. Virgin River certainly wouldn’t be the same without her.

Hope could reconnect with Jack in ‘Virgin River’ Season 5

Whether Hope survives until the end of season 5 or beyond, fans are hoping that she and Jack rekindle their friendship. The pair used to have a mother/son dynamic. However, at the end of season 1, Jack distanced himself from Hope after she read a private note Charmaine (Lauren Hammersley) had written to him.

Now amid her healing processes and with Mel and Jack’s new baby on the way, fans are hoping the pair will be able to reconcile.

“We’re just shooting the first two episodes now . . . I hope [Season 5] comes out next year,” showrunner Patrick Sean Smith told Salon. He added,

I don’t know when. I couldn’t speculate, but what I’m really excited to do — and I think I have the gift of perspective, being the outside guy who’s watched the first four seasons — one of the things I wanted to do when I came in was start to see characters that I haven’t seen interact in a long time, like Jack and Hope. They had a really big storyline out of Season 1 and into Season 2, which I thought spoke well of their relationship. It creates so many questions for me as to how they came into each other’s lives and what role do they play in each other’s lives? I feel like we haven’t seen that in a while. I’m hoping that Season 5 will feel like the previous seasons, but with new ways into the characters you already know about.