What happens to Jack in Virgin River?

Spoilers for Virgin River season four follow.

From Jack’s shooting to Mel’s surprise pregnancy reveal, the last few seasons of Virgin River have put this pair through the wringer. So, the fact that Virgin River season four ends with them in a fairly okay place—engaged, pregnant, and not in any mortal danger!—is a miracle in itself. The season also answered several big questions, such as the paternity of Mel’s baby, the motive of that mystery shooter, and how Hope is coping with the reality of a traumatic brain injury.

But hey, it wouldn’t be Virgin River without a few cliffhangers to clear up—or start theorizing about ahead of season five, which is apparently filming now, according to Martin Henderson’s Instagram. And if showrunner Sue Tenney has anything to do with it, there might be even more on the way. “I want to do as many seasons as we can,” she told Us Weekly last year.

As viewers cross their fingers and count down the days until more seasons are confirmed, now’s the perfect time to reflect on the wild ride that was season four—which might have just introduced the show’s next big conflict. Keep reading for the biggest moments of the Virgin River season four ending, explained.

Jack is (and isn’t) the father.

All signs were pointing to Jack being the father of Mel’s baby—and by the very end of Virgin River season four, that suspicion was finally confirmed. Though Jack didn’t really want to know who the dad was (“It could change how I feel about our baby,” he tells Mel), the pair ultimately decide to get the test after finding out that Mel’s ex-mother-in-law wants custody of her embryos. Adorably, Jack and Mel get engaged before finding out the paternity, proving that their commitment to each other is for real. (Not that there was any doubt!)

What’s not so real is Jack’s other fatherhood situation, aka his twins with Charmaine. After she calls Jack and Mel over to her house because she’s having a scary medical situation, she says she’s being punished for lying—and that Jack actually isn’t the babies’ father. Season four ends *right* there (yes, another classic cliffhanger courtesy of the River), so it’s still not clear who the twins’ dad is, or what role Todd plays in all of this. Either way, despite the deception, this might actually be—dare we say—good news for Jack and Mel?

Paige and Christopher are finally safe.

In the Virgin River season four finale, Paige and Preacher finally put an end to Vince’s threatening grip on the family. After Vince demanded that Paige trade herself in for Christopher’s safety, Preacher interrupted the deal and knocked Vince out before he could kill Paige. There are still plenty of questions here: Is Vince dead or just unconscious? Will Paige or Preacher (or both?) take the fall for Wes’s death? But for now, all that matters is that Paige and Christopher are safe. (During the climactic confrontation, we also get a flashback that confirms exactly how Jack’s shooting went down—but more on that later.)

Despite making it out of this near-death situation together, it seems unlikely that Paige and Preacher will be endgame, especially since Preacher heavily expressed his interest in starting things with Julia. “When Paige left, I realized what I was missing: someone to share my life with,” he says in episode 10. “Then I saw you, and something told me to take a shot.”

Doc’s grandson, Denny, revealed his secret.

Throughout Virgin River season four, Doc’s grandson serves as one of the town’s (very many) major mysteries. From constantly brushing off Lizzie’s advances to breaking into the clinic’s medicine cabinet, it almost seemed plausible that Denny wasn’t Doc’s descendant at all—and was instead in town for sneaky ulterior motives.

However, in the season four finale, the Virgin River newcomer revealed the real, tragic reason for his puzzling behavior: He has Huntington’s disease, so he won’t plan a future with Lizzie—he doesn’t even have a future himself, he says.

According to the Huntington’s Disease Society of America, Denny’s condition is a “fatal genetic disorder that causes the progressive breakdown of nerve cells in the brain.” While it’s not quite as common in young adults like Denny, it can happen—and in his case, the clues were there all along. One symptom is “forgetfulness and impaired judgment,” which Denny seemed to have in his early interactions with Lizzie. For example, he didn’t remember telling Lizzie that theater was “not really [his] thing,” and was surprised when she mentioned it to him two episodes later.

Jack’s shooter was revealed.

Going into Virgin River season four, theories swirled about who really shot Jack two seasons ago—and if you guessed Vince, well, congrats. The twin brother of Paige’s abusive ex, Wes, originally came to Jack’s Bar to find Preacher—but when he found Jack instead, a fight broke out and Vince shot him. Not only does the reveal give Jack (and us!) major closure, it clears Brady’s name once and for all.

Melissa Montgomery arrived in Virgin River (?!).

Though Jack is moving on from one major problem, he might be moving toward another in season five. After Nick agreed to invest—threefold!—in Jack’s glamping business, the business partners went out to dinner with Mel, Jo Ellen, and Nick’s sister, Melissa Montgomery—the woman we found out was in charge of Calvin’s drug operation two episodes earlier.

We don’t actually spend too much time with Melissa, but earlier in the season, we do hear via the knitting-slash-gossip circle that Melissa is responsible for what sounds like a sizable family trust. It seems that someone might have a vested interest in that money, too, because there’s a hidden person snapping photos of Melissa, Jack, and co. at the restaurant. Not to mention the incredibly foreboding music that plays when Melissa first appears. Whoever she is, she seems to be ushering in next season’s big conflict.

Grace Wehniainen is a freelance culture writer at Oprah Daily and a staff entertainment writer at Bustle, where she covers everything from Grey’s Anatomy to The Bachelor, the newest Marvel titles, and more. Her film and TV coverage has also appeared in Bright Wall/Dark Room, Electric Literature, and the 2019 essay collection, Mister Rogers and Philosophy:Wondering Through the Neighborhood.

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