The Morning After
Episode 3 of Virgin River begins with Jack and Mel waking up together as she apologizes for what happened. When the baby shows, things are going to get complicated so for now they agree to be friends. How long this remains the case though, remains to be seen! At the clinic, Jack gets working on the lock for the back door as Preacher shows up and tells him he’s looking after Paige’s Bakery for now. Back at Hope’s place, Hope asks Doc to continue seeing Muriel and suggests some extra date spots too. In the room adjacent from them, Charmaine immediately becomes frazzled when Doc shows with an IV. She refuses to let him inject her with it but the only other option is heading to hospital. Mel shows to save the day again and she’s given until that evening to sort the IV drip. If she can’t do it then Charmaine will have to go to hospital. This ticking clock arc definitely has echoes of baby Chloe from last season. The situation with Mel continues to get worse as Charmaine pleads with Jack to stay the night with her. Although he initially refuses, Jack eventually agrees to think it over. Charmaine knows something is up between Jack and Mel and eventually confronts Mel about her flirting with him in the driveway. Although she sternly tells her they’re just friends, it’s obvious they’re most certainly not. Brady’s back in town – because of course he is – and Calvin offers him a lucrative new deal. Despite not knowing anything about logging, Brady’s given the chance to set up a business in town. Jack eventually shows up on site though and quizzes Calvin about the knife-wielder. He outright asks whether he’s one of Calvin’s men but he scoffs at the notion, telling him he’s not. When Jack leaves, Calvin turns and talks to the others about “Leo” and how they need to give him a map. It seems likely now that this knife-wielder may be part of their camp after all. Hope shows Connie’s niece Lizzie around town. She shows up at Jack’s Bar and immediately takes Ricky’s eye, who sputters and struggles to control himself around her. Preacher is distracted too but for a very different reason. Jack figures out there’s something going on with him but for now can’t put his finger on what. He also receives a call from Mike informing him that something’s going on with Calvin’s crew but right now, that remains unknown too. Muriel shows up at Doc’s office and makes him some homemade strawberry shortcake. As he eats, she invites him along to a classical music concert in Clear River. After she leaves, Hope shows up after having lost Lizzie at the bar. Connie finds out about this too, but she’s not exactly surprised that she’s gone. As Doc himself tells them “follow the boys and you’ll find Lizzie.” Mel’s woes with Charmaine continue as she drops lemonade all over the driveway back home. I’m not quite sure why she bought 4 but there we go. Anyway, Mel eventually manages to breach Charmaine’s defences and she’s able to attach the IV. Afterward, Mel drives home and speaks to Joey on the phone. Alone and with no prying eyes or ears around, she admits that she hooked up with Jack again and they made love. She definitely doesn’t want to stay friends with him but for now that seems like the only viable option for her. Meanwhile, Preacher’s sketchy-but-trying-to-act-like-everything’s-normal gig takes a turn for the worst when he finds out Connie knew Wes was in town. Stern-faced, he tells the gossip queen not to tell anyone Wes showed up. Looking slightly concerned, she agrees. As the episode closes out, Mel does an ultrasound for Charmaine and finds out she’s having twins. Understandably, there’s a lot of confliction in the room when this news breaks.
The Episode Review
So what did Preacher do with Wes’ body? Could he act any more guilty? It seems like he can, given he went to Connie of all people and essentially painted a massive red flag on himself. For now though, this story continues to be the most intriguing – and contrived – but also frustratingly kept to the shadows in favour of the love triangle. With Mel and Charmaine continuing to butt heads, eventually the IV drip is attached and Charmaine is saved a trip to the hospital. Calvin’s crew lurking in the wings continues to be an intriguing development too but for now, episode 3 essentially serves as a foundation setter for the drama to come. Quite what will happen next though remains to be seen for one thing’s for sure – this one is far from over.
