We’re returning to many of the mysteries, loose threads, and delicious drama you expect from the series.
Everyone was tired of Jack’s shit on Virgin River Season 4 Episode 9, but he finally took the necessary steps to get the help he needs and deserves, and that’s the best thing for him as an individual and for all those who love him.
Jack hit that rock bottom that he needed. Although, the drama hasn’t laid up for a second.
One thing this town does well is rally around its own. They’ve all gone through so much as a community, and fresh off the death of Lilly, when the alarms sounded, it was all hands on deck to find Jack.
It was enough reason to be concerned when six hours had gone by since anyone last heard from him. Mel was beside herself. Jack was the main one worried about Mel’s high risk pregnancy, yet has become her primary stressor!
Jack had everyone worried to pieces this time. Preach is such a gentle presence, and he was the perfect person to be on the phone with Mel as he looked around.
The second he saw Jack’s truck at another bar, one’s heart sank. We know Jack has these issues, but there was some hope that maybe he would’ve done anything other than go straight to a bar and drown his sorrows to the point of passing out in his truck.
He was a mess, waking up talking about a wedding that was long over.
And you could see the disappointment on Preacher’s face. It was warranted. Jack sank to a new low with that stunt, and those close to him had every right to be frustrated because they’ve been telling him he needs to seek help for some time, and he always blows them off.
Jack thought he could go to Mel and talk to her that night, which was a big mistake. She was understandably hurt and livid; no good would come from that conversation or even seeing him that night.
I loved that Preacher leveled with Jack the following day and told him directly that he needed to get his head on straight. Jack wasn’t the only one over there. Every veteran’s experience is different, but if Preacher did the work, Jack needed to do the same.
I want you to know that I think of you as family, so I’m going to be straight with you. Work out your issues. Find out what’s going on up here.
Preacher
Preacher bluntly pointing out that everything Jack was currently doing wasn’t helping was the jolt that Jack needed to hear. It makes you think back on Brady, too.
For as much as Jack hates how Brady conducted himself, at the root of things with Jack, Brady, and Preacher is that they’ve all carried this pain and trauma from their experience overseas — not even including what came before and beyond that — it manifests itself in different ways.
Brady is a mess, and he knows that but it was interesting to hear how self-aware he was when he spoke to Brie about how he didn’t handle himself well when he got out of the service, nor did he do things the best way, but he managed to work through some things and let some stuff go all the same.
Brady’s assessment of Jack was spot on. Jack is so accustomed to being the responsible, reliable, “good” one, and on top of the issues he’s battling, one feels compelled to maintain those standards because it’s what’s expected.
Brie: I know going to a wedding and helping me look for Jack wasn’t exactly fun.
Brady: It was fine. And at least he’s okay, you know?
Brie: I just don’t understand. He’s always been so responsible.
Brady: That’s the problem. He acts like he’s untouchable, but the stuff he’s seen, it’s dark. It doesn’t magically disappear because you pretend you have it all figured out.
Brie: How did you handle it when you got back.
Brady: Not well, I got into fights, went to jail. I didn’t do it the right way, but I did let go of a lot of stuff.
Brie: I know Jack is hurting, I just don’t know how to help him.
Brady: Just be there.
Jack doesn’t feel like he has the space or luxury to be anything other than “okay.”
Preacher went about things the responsible way right out the gate, but he still has his respective issues. He’s not afraid to confront or acknowledge them, though.
And Brady always had the reputation of being the “screwup,” so, with low expectations, he didn’t have to uphold the type of standards of Jack or even prove himself, which oddly was freeing for him as far as getting his head on straight.
Mel’s discussion with Doc was also compelling and informative. It’s not often that Doc discusses his experience as a veteran, but he could speak to that and how difficult it is to get help because part of that work to improve includes reliving some of the worst things that cause so much pain.
Mel: I don’t know how he’ll get out of this destructive cycle if he won’t get help.
Doc: It’s the fear. The fear of reliving the pain that trumps reason.
It’s a different beast worthy of sympathy and patience, however frustrating all of it was. I appreciated that talk with Doc because Jack definitely needed to be read the riot act six ways from Sunday and some.
I’m glad people dragged him to the high heavens until he got it, but sometimes Mel doesn’t fully understand how to navigate Jack or how PTSD for a veteran is a specific kind of monster.
From Brie offering her support to Preacher and others having their say, I’m glad people made Jack really take a look at himself and didn’t sweep his behavior under the rug or downplay it the way he intended to do in the beginning.
Although, Cameron was the one who felt like he overstepped. He doesn’t know Jack well enough to voice his observations. They’re not friends, they’re barely acquaintances, and his unsolicited remarks about people he barely knows were annoying as hell.
Cameron: Listen, I know this is none of my business, but it’s obvious how much she loves you.
Jack: Yeah, you’re right, it is none of your business.
Cameron: I’m just trying to help. Mel’s a great woman and …
Jack: Look, man, I don’t know what you hope to get out of this situation. You have no idea what you’re talking about.
Cameron: I’m not hoping to get anything. I’m simply observing.
Jack: Do me a favor, keep your observations to yourself.
It’s no wonder Jack was on the verge of going off on him. He only came across as someone interested in Mel and was letting Jack know that if Jack didn’t treat her right, he would. It was such a grating scene.
Jack meeting with Barry was such a satisfying moment, though. He seems genuine in wanting to get help for himself, and things weren’t as intimidating with Barry, a Marine who experienced some serious trauma.
Barry sharing that he lost 30 soldiers from his battalion to suicide, more than they lost during the tour, was heartbreaking but a painful reality, and I appreciate how delicately they’re covering this topic. It’s no wonder Barry dedicated his life to getting fellow soldiers the help and tools they need to live their lives after war.
The exploration of this issue, while heavy, makes for powerful storytelling.
Charmaine made her reappearance again, and her scene with Jack was nice. You could believe them as friends, which was refreshing. And they both acknowledged that they would do right by their children and provide the twins with the type of parents neither of them had.
Interestingly, she thought Jack was mad at her, so he and Mel refused to respond to the baby shower invitation.
They said they didn’t get it, and it sounds like something more significant than an oversight. We haven’t seen Todd, but based on our previous knowledge of him, I wouldn’t put it past Todd to have left out that invitation so he could continue driving a wedge between Charmaine, Jack, and Mel and cutting Jack out of the process.
Stacie’s reappearance heightened some stress as Mel found herself consumed with Jack, then sitting across from her former sister-in-law, one of the few people rivaling Charmaine in being the absolute worst.
Julia: I have feelings for you, and I think you have feelings for me too.
Preacher: I do. And you’re smile it knocks me out every single time.
Julia: So for right now that is all I need to know.
Stacie seemed genuinely contrite to her credit and made amends for the error of her ways with Mel. Mel deserved every last bit of that apology.
But she can never simply get that without a whammy. Stacie may have come to her senses and behaved like an adult with Mel, but it doesn’t sound like Mark’s mother has it in her.
I’m utterly speechless about this woman believing she should have custody of Mel and Mark’s embryos. Regarding fertility law, it’s a web of complications as the law itself attempts to catch up to the science.
But I don’t foresee a world where Mark’s mother should gain control of her son and Mel’s embryos and go forward with a plan to place them in a surrogate so she can raise the child, not if Mel is still alive!
They belong to Mel. At best, Mark’s mother can pursue a shared custody or visitation arrangement with Mel if the child she’s carrying is Mark’s, but outside of that, hell no!
Why won’t this woman consider extensive therapy to help her grieve instead? Hell, she could drop into Virgin River since the entire town has experience with loss and grieving, and maybe she can find something more constructive to do with her time.
Mark’s whole family is bonkers!
The hour also gave us some of the best closure for Hope with Lilly’s death.
It was beautiful and emotional to see Lilly return, even if it was a figment of Hope’s mind, to give Hope some time with her, closure, and a reminder for her to reach out to her loved ones and fill that void left with their love.
It won’t be the same, and no one can ever replace Lilly, but Hope has been in so much pain and hurting so much over losing her friend that she needed to hear that and have that moment with Lilly.
Is anyone surprised by the direction they’ve taken with Denny? It’s still difficult to make heads from tails with him, but Doc took his sweet time chatting with Denny and pointing out all the suspicious things he’s done.
According to Denny, he went through the financial records of the clinic because his father left him some substantial money, and he wanted to pay off the clinic’s mortgage.
It’s generous of him and thoughtful, but that was not the way to do something like that. He’s too much of a wild card simply for being an unknown to sneak around Doc’s back the way he has been.
He’s a smart enough kid to know what his actions look like, yet he does them. He also had what I can only assume is a good reason for why he had a prescription for Klonopin that wasn’t in his name.
We didn’t get to hear what that reason is, but with the way news spreads around Virgin River and Lizzie sharing what she discovered with Ricky, and so forth, it’s bound to come out.
In fact, at some point, all of Denny’s actions will come to light, and Doc will probably find himself defending his grandson despite what he promised Denny.
Hope: You’re not real.
Lilly: That’s up to you.
Hope: None of this is up to me. If it were, you’d be alive and I wouldn’t be in that stupid accident. I wouldn’t be sitting here missing you so much my brain is playing tricks on me.
Lilly: Because you’re hurting.
Hope: I never even got to say goodbye. I miss you so much, my heart hearts. Now that you’re going there’s a huge hole in my life. How can I ever fill it? Lilly; Look to those who love you most.
If anyone can keep their promise, Preacher can, and now that Christopher called, he’ll do whatever he can to track the poor boy down.
As suspected, the moment he had a conversation with Julia, cleared the air, and let her know how much he cared about her and wanted to pursue something, his past came back in the form of that phone call.
Things with Christopher and Paige are complicated, but fortunately, he told her enough to reassure her that his feelings for her are genuine and he’d like to move forward with her. She’s not impeding on something he had going on with Paige.
Preacher finding love and getting real romance has been long overdue in this series. The man is a certified catch, and it made no sense that he was single for so long.
Christopher was able to make a phone call with Vince, was asleep, and it gives them some hope that they can make headway with that part of the investigation.
They’ve been moving around a lot, which isn’t surprising, but it also doesn’t seem like they’ve gotten too far, so who knows?
It was the type of unexpected bombshell you’d expect from Virgin River.
Of course, they upped the ante with the Calvin stuff.
For starters, Brie and Brady are as sweet as can be, but no matter how many times Brie explains how much she loves Brady, he can’t seem to get it through his head that Brie is likely staying in Virgin River and genuinely wants to be with him.
He thinks he’s a pitstop for her, some vacation fling before she returns to her real life, but I don’t see Brie going back. It shows you that they haven’t spoken enough about why Brie left and why she sought a fresh start.
Brie is thoroughly invested, and Brady still doesn’t believe he’s worthy of her, but he’s enjoying the ride.
Of course, part of the issue is that he’s keeping secrets from her. Brie is working this angle with Mike to catch Calvin, but Brady is working with Calvin and now Melissa to avoid any harm coming to Brie.
Mel: Jack, trauma is not a switch that you can turn on and off by yourself.
Jack: I know. I get it.
Mel: You get it? Then why do we keep having this conversation?
Is Melissa the one who is truly in charge? Brie and Mike got the lead that she’s who bailed Brady out, but little do they know, Brady has met the woman now.
She seems like a doozy and no longer finds Calvin useful or cares for how he handled things. She claims it’s a family business, but if Calvin is a reflection of how she treats family, then it’s best to stay out of the woman’s way.
Obviously, she’s the one who is behind blowing up his boat with him inside! Bye, bye, Calvin.
Over to you, Virgin River Fanatics.
What are your thoughts on Jack finally getting help? Do you think Mark’s mother will see custody of the baby if it belongs to Mark? Sound off below.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.