Father Knows Best…?
Episode 2 of Virgin River Season 4 starts with Brady rushed to hospital. After being attacked last episode, he’s taken into surgery. When Jack finds out, he’s worried and speaks to Mike, telling him they need to get Brady out as he’s innocent. Mike though, points out the evidence is irrefutable and this is a long shot. Jo Ellen rings and lets Mel know that Jack’s father has checked into the B&B. He wants to see him and Brie. “Can this day get any worse?” Jack bemoans. Well… yes. Brie refuses to leave the hospital until she makes sure Brady has pulled through. So that leaves Jack to see him alone with Mel. Brie slips in and talks to Brady, who seems to be on the mend. Anyway, Brie admits she loves him and will do everything she can to get him out. At Jack’s Bar things are frosty, especially when Mel puts her foot in it and mentions Charmaine and the twins. Sitting in the booth, Jack’s Dad, Sam, is incredulous at Charmaine being with someone else and isn’t happy about Jack’s decision. Meanwhile, Hope continues to spiral into a depressive state. She doesn’t want to go out or call anyone, until Vernon makes a deal to at least entertain the other women for 29 minutes. While she’s off with the girls, things go from bad to worse when Tara shows and the conversation moves to Lily. Hope is distraught and heads back home. Vernon heads out with his grandson Denny, who admits that he’s taking a year off from college and wanted to meet him. Funnily enough, Lizzie shows and ends up hanging out with Denny. When Ricky notices them together, he decides to accelerate his plans, with boot camp starting in 2 weeks’ time. Back at the clinic, Mel and Cameron deliver a baby foe a couple but unfortunately the babe is not crying. It’s a precarious situation and absolutely heartbreaking when the baby passes away. This is something that’s going to hit home with Mel…but the mum – Lee Ann – is actually having another child and begins to have contractions again. Although one of her babies is born healthy, the other does not. Mel is careful not to tell Jack what’s happened, especially given how worried he is over her baby. Jack finally speaks to his father plainly, admitting that he’s happy with his life and wants Sam to respect that. Sam does begrudgingly agree to respect his decision and heads over to Jack’s for a bite to eat. Sam’s real reason for being in town is soon revealed. It turns out Sam and Jack’s mum have broken up. She wants a divorce. As the episode closes out, Brie is approached by Calvin, who demands she get Brady to set up Emerald Lumber’s side business. If not? Well, that’s going to cause serious problems.
The Episode Review
Virgin River settles back into a familiar rhythm this episode, with the annoying tropes from last season popping up again. It turns out Brady is absolutely fine and recovering in hospital after being shanked. While I’m not expecting him to be killed off, his rapid recovery and how quickly the writers have brushed this under the carpet is a little disappointing. This is one of the storylines that could have been dragged out a little to raise tension. Meanwhile, you have budding romances with Denny and Lizzie alongside Preacher and his new aikido teacher, Julia, who are definitely going to get together. In the middle of this though, we also have Jack’s dad show up to stir drama, leading to a rather surprising turn of events. The ending certainly leaves the door open for the rest of the season and given we have a fair few episodes to get through, it’s onto the next!
