Virgin River Season 5 Finale: Who is Mel's Father?

As they prepare to head out, they run into Kaia and Preacher. Seconds later, Kaia takes a work call and she’s assigned to a new case, which just so happens to be an investigation into the remains of a dead body found near a service road by Aldergrove. She says the body has been there a while, indicating someone probably buried it there. Oh crap. Flashback to Preacher burying Wes's body. “So much for a sleepy small town,” Kaia says. Oh honey, you haven't seen anything.

And then the reveals start coming fast and furious. We see Charmaine walking to the car, holding her pregnant belly when a man holding a cane and walking with a limp approaches. It’s Calvin, who apparently did not die in the explosion in season four. “I thought you were dead!” Charmaine exclaims. “So did the person who tried to kill me,” he says nonchalantly. She asks what he wants, and he says, “You know what I want. I want to be a father to my boys.” Holy $@!*!

Then Mel and Jack pull up to Lilly’s farm, which of course is still in ashes from the fire. Mel shows Jack that the swing is still standing and remarks what a miracle it is. Mel reminds him of the first time she came there with him, and we get a flashback of Mel and Jack in season one, where she says her dream was to have a big farmhouse and fill it with kids. In the present, she says, “What if that time was now? [Because] if your dream is to build us a home, I can’t think of a better place to do it than here. We can fill it with our kids, however they come, whenever they come.” Jack takes a deep breath and says, “I think it’s perfect,” before adding that it would also be the perfect place to get married.

But that’s not all. In the next scene, which, no, is not a preview of the upcoming holiday episodes, but instead still part of the finale, “Jingle Bells” is playing, and it’s wintertime. Mel and Jack are outside decorating the cabin and Mel is on the phone with her sister. Joey and the kids are coming for their first Virgin River Christmas, but when she was looking for old stockings to bring with them, Joey found some other stuff mixed in with their mom’s decorations. ”You’re not going to believe this,” Joey says, “but I found this whole stack of postcards and letters addressed to Mom from Virgin River.”

In the glimpse of the letters, one of them is signed “Champ” and another reads, “All I ever wanted was for you to be happy. And if that means returning to your husband, then I will find a way to make my peace with that.”

Mel—and myself—are confused. “What?” Mel exclaims. “Mom knew someone from Virgin River?” This now has Jack’s attention, who is also immediately intrigued. Joey says she’s been reading these letters all morning and they’re love letters. In fact, “Mom was having an affair with someone in Virgin River, and I think this guy might be your father,” she says. Mel scoffs at first, but that's all we get before the fade to black.

And, that my friends, is what we have to wrap our heads around before Virgin River returns on November 30. Could Doc be Mel's father? Or is that too obvious? Is it someone we've met before (I say probably), or someone new? (And no, I will not entertain the possibility of Mel and Jack sharing a father, so let's not even go there.) Also, when in God's name did Charmaine sleep with Calvin and why? And is Kaia inadvertently going to make Preacher's life a living hell?

Buckle up. We've got a lot to look forward to.

Jessica Radloff is the Glamour senior West Coast editor and author of the New York Times best-selling book The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series, coming to paperback with over 40 never-before-seen photos on October 10, 2023. You can preorder here.