‘Virgin River’ Season 5, Part 1 Ending Explained: Who Is Mel’s Father?

‘Tis the season to wait for new episodes of Virgin River with our jaws dropped. But luckily for fans, Season 5, Part 2 is only a few months away.

The Netflix series, based on Robyn Carr’s beloved novels, is set to return with two holiday-themed episodes later this year. But while we wait to see what the show has in store for Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge) and Jack (Martin Henderson), Doc (Tim Matheson) and Hope (Annette O’Toole), and the rest of the small town’s residents, let’s unpack that eventful Season 5, Part 1 finale, shall we?

Virgin River Season 5 featured storylines related to loss, fertility issues, medical diagnoses like Huntington’s Disease and macular degeneration, a massive drug operation, wildfires, and more. Season 5, Episode 10, “Labor Day,” tackles all these topics (and then some!) over the course of 47 minutes, leaving viewers with multiple cliffhangers and new burning questions to obsess over.

Wondering how Virgin River Season 5, Part 1 ends? Decider’s finale recap has you covered. Just be mindful that major Virgin River spoilers lie ahead.

Virgin River Season 5, Part 1 Ending Explained:

Virgin River Season 5, Episode 10 picks up right where the penultimate Part 1 episode left off: Jack busted Brady working on the glamping site after hours and assumed he was selling drugs.

“Labor Day” begins with Brady telling Jack it’s not what it looks like and swearing he’s on Jack’s side. When Melissa and her muscles roll up outside and kidnap Brady at gunpoint, Jack quickly realizes he’s not only telling the truth, but he’s in serious danger. As Jack stealthily tails Melissa’s men, he calls Mike and tells him they’ve got Brady. Mike says he’s on his way with backup, but by the time Jack gets eyes on Brady — who’s being beaten for trying to take down Melissa’s operation — he realizes his life is on the line. Jack purposefully draws attention to himself, and the two Virgin River boys tag-team an epic brawl against Melissa’s men as she escapes the warehouse. Just when all hope seems lost, the cops roll up to cuff Melissa and save Jack and Brady. But Mike takes a bullet for Brady in battle, leaving his life in danger and Brady’s innocence up in the air. 

In the morning, Kaia is leaving Preacher again, but this time she won’t be coming back for late-night tequila at night. She’s shipping out to Alaska with her husband and the rest of her team to be Team Lead on a new round of wildfires. Meanwhile, Mel’s back at the clinic, where the team has a bright vision for the future. Muriel is sticking around, Cameron suggests a new telehealth component to Doc’s practice, and Mel presents plans for a birthing center in town.

At the hospital, Jack and Brady survived their near-death night largely unscathed, but Mike is still in rough shape, and until he wakes up and corroborates Brady’s story, the FBI has no evidence in Brady’s favor. After Brady sees Brie holding Mike’s hand in his hospital room, she tells Brady she wishes she’d known he was a confidential informant all this time. He asks if they’re too far gone to save their relationship, and Brie tells him that although she’ll love him forever, things have changed for her, meaning she has feelings for Mike. Excuse me while I — someone who ships Brady and Brie for life — take a moment to recover.

OK! I’m back, but just barely. And there’s so much drama still to come!

After another close endometriosis call during the wildfires, Ava tells Mel she plans to go forward with her hysterectomy after freezing some eggs. A supportive Mel — who’s been reflecting on fertility issues and a family of her own — reminds Ava that “being a parent is so much more than how you got there,” so perhaps kids aren’t out of the question for her and Jack after all.

Speaking of Jack, after Brady apologizes to him for the trouble, the two race to the glamping site, where the FBI is investigating indefinitely. Displaced wildfire evacuees need to be moved out by the end of the day, so Nick — who’s mortified by his sister Melissa’s behavior — says the evicted tenants can relocate to the inn. That’s good news for Brady, considering he’s been getting closer to Hazel and her mom. Again, I need a moment to mourn…Briedy?

As is usually the case in Virgin River, love is in the air, even amidst chaos. First up, Muriel and Cam decide to stay together and see where their chemistry takes them, provided Doc approves, which he does — but not without warning Muriel to watch out for herself. Hmm… At Jack’s bar, a sad Preacher gets a boost when Kaia returns to say she ditched her soon-to-be-ex hubby and the Alaskan wildfire opportunity to stay in Virgin River and help with wildfire cleanup.

In both good and bad news for Brady, Mike wakes up with Brie by his side. He corroborates Brady’s story — which means our boy is finally free again (hopefully for real this time!) — and he even tells Brie how Brady risked his life to go undercover and protect her. Sadly for ME, Brie said Brady’s heroism doesn’t change her feelings for him and she and Mike have their first date (debatable) in the hospital.

The rest of the town spends the night celebrating at a traditional carnival — or trying to, anyway. Cam and Muriel head for the Tunnel of Love, while Vernon tells Hope someone dropped out of a clinical trial that could help him retain his vision and he plans to enroll. The trial — which starts just in early January, about four months away — carries a risk, but without it, he’d go blind anyway, so it’s a risk he’s willing to take. After Denny tells Lizzy he thinks he’s making a mistake staying in Virgin River and wants her to travel with him, she tells him she thinks she’s pregnant! GASP! Kaia and Preacher’s honeymoon phase is cut short when her boss calls her mid-fair to report a dead body found amidst the wildfire debris. DOUBLE GASP! Understandably, Preacher worries the body belonged to Paige’s ex Wes — the guy he buried earlier in the series. So the Preacher/Kaia honeymoon phase may be extremely short-lived.

A very pregnant Charmaine makes another Season 5 appearance at the carnival, but things take a turn when she heads to her car and gets a visit from Calvin, who limps up to her with cane in hand. She says she thought he was dead. He replies, “So did the person who tried to kill me. I don’t have to hide from her anymore.” When Char asks what he wants, he says he wants to be a father to her boys, revealing the identity of Charmaine’s twins’ father at long last. TRIPLE GASP!

Between the pregnancy loss, the wildfires, and everything in between, Mel and Jack have undoubtedly had a rough season, but the Season 5, Part 1 finale leaves them on a hopeful, curious note. Before the episode ends, Mel takes Jack to the site of Tara’s family farm. It’s set to become a golf course, unless — Mel proposes — they buy it and build a beautiful house to fill with kids. She shows Jack the tire swing that survived the fires and the two flash back to the first time they went there, back when Jack told Mel that “dreams are funny things, they come true when you least expect it.” Jack agrees the land is perfect for a home, and the perfect place to get married. Next thing we know, “Jingle Bells” is playing to signify a time jump and usher in the final scenes of Season 5, Part 1.

With Christmas decorations and winter apparel on full display, Mel has a life-changing phone conversation in which her sister reveals she found a stack of old love letters to their mom that suggest she was having an affair with someone in Virgin River and the mystery man might be MEL’S FATHER. WHAT?! Will Mel find her biological father over the holidays? We need Virgin River Season 5, Part 2!

When Does Virgin River Season 5, Part 2 Premiere on Netflix?

Curious when those two additional episodes drop? Thankfully, we won’t have to wait a full year to see more Virgin River. Season 5, Part 2 is scheduled to premiere several months after Part 1 drops, on Thursday, November 30, 2023 at 3:00 a.m. ET.