Virgin River – Season 5 Episode 8 “Full Moon” Recap & Review

Full Moon

Episode 8 of Virgin River season 5 begins with Jack walking in on Mel dancing about to Lizzo’s music. He’s surprised by her sudden mood swing given the emotional notes we’ve been playing lately. Mel has decided to keep herself busy, going fishing with Doc and sewing with the girls. Jack is still grieving though and he feels like he’s alone in his feelings.

Elsewhere, Brady meets with Mike in private and he admits that it was a coincidence that they were in Sacramento together. He admits that he didn’t want to say anything as Brady would overreact… which we just saw him do anyway! Mike admits that the only way to get Brie back right now is to go all-in on taking Melissa down.

Mike hands over a wire and tells him to wear it for the whole day. He wants Melissa to open up and reveal everything but Brady is quick to point out that he wants this resolved quickly, otherwise he’s going to go to Jack and reveal all.

Lizzie gets dressed up for her Chief of Staff role and shows Hope a big list of items for her to go through. Hope bemoans her luck but Lizzie presses on, believing that housing crisis in the most important point here. Denny shows and gets ready to leave but he has a cute little business card for her first. He’s got some job interviews coming up and fingers crossed, he comes out on top.

Doc and Mel go fishing together, where Doc admits he sometimes talks to fish and it helps him think things over. Mel admits that she’s been trying to drown out her thoughts with endless noise. Doc reassures her though, telling Mel that it takes time to heal a broken heart. “Sometimes its hard to practice what you preach,” He says, before going on to mention Cameron’s bigger role. And not just that, Mel decides to pick her old role back up at the clinic again.

Elsewhere, Brady shows at the camp and finds Lark in one of the empty trailers. She and Hazel couldn’t sleep well and she decided to squat. Jack shows up and he decides that it’s okay for her to stay here for a bit. Brady isn’t sure it’s a good idea given it’s right in the middle of the construction site – and Melissa’s drug running operation.

Cruella De Ville herself shows up and despite straining to smile, agrees to let more squatters stay in the camp nearby. She also apologizes to Jack privately about the miscarriage and tells Jack that he’s family now. She also tells him that Brady is going to sort all the finances out for him, which Brady doesn’t take very well when he learns.

After fishing, Mel goes and does her sewing with the other ladies. There’s a bit of teasing with Muriel and Cameron, while the latter takes Mel aside and apologizes for judging Jack earlier on. On the way out, the other ladies tease Muriel about her potentially getting intimate with Cameron, given it’s going to be a full moon. It’s a surprisingly funny moment in the wake of all this drama.

Preacher and Kaia go off biking, with the former admitting his nickname stuck as a kid because when he talked, other people listened. His real name is John, while Kaia admits she’s always been a bit of a wild child.

After a big day together, Kaia opens up over how she met Jay. They went through training but Kaia was the only woman. Everyone was bothered by her presence except for Jay. He was arrogant but also welcoming and sweet. It was only after they got married that she realizes he was masking his insecurity.

Seven years things came to a head when they both went for a promotion for captain. Jay belittled her in front of everyone, pointing out how fragile she is and how she should be back home when they start a family. Kaia refused to give up her dream and they end up getting a divorce. Preacher reassures her that she won’t have to do that with her.

After sewing, Ava checks in on Mel and offers to hang out later on. However, they’re en-route to Brie’s that night for dinner, although she offers Ava to come too.

Speaking of Brie, she and Mike continue to hang out. He agrees to sub in for her softball team and while getting another round of drinks in, Brie receives a text from Brady. He apologizes for his attitude lately and asks her to forgive him. Brady doesn’t get a reply but he keeps checking his phone. Brie thanks Ava and Mel for coming over and they reflect on what’s happened.

That night, Denny speaks to Doc and admits that Grandma Rose is concerned about him given the fire and she’s coming over to check on him. Doc agrees to broach the subject with Hope. During dinner, Hope is supportive.

Elsewhere, Muriel and Cameron have dinner outside under the full moon. Cameron admits that Mel was a rebound. She was everything his ex-fiancé Michelle was not and that’s why he gravitated toward her. He also acknowledges that they never had that connection. And just like that, Muriel and Cameron end up flirting and kiss. Cameron pulls away reluctantly and points out that they can’t go forward given they’re working together and it wouldn’t be professional.

Mel finally lets her grief come back out with the girls, under the dancing flames, and admits that she thought this was going to be the right time for her. But now that’s been ripped apart from her again.

Elsewhere, Brady speaks to Gene and tries to get him to open up that night but he’s forced to lift his shirt to show he’s not wearing a wire. Thankfully, he’s not wearing it when he does.

As the episode closes out, we cut back to Mel once more and she speaks plainly to Jack that she’s done. She’s not trying again and she’s so tired of having her heart ripped apart.

The Episode Review

It’s hard not to feel bad for Mel and Jack. They really have been through the wars and now that we know this miscarriage is for real, Mel is going to go and work back at the clinic again… which again negates another storyline that’s been building over time. Naturally, this will mean Muriel will probably be booted out of her role so she and Cameron can hook up. That’s one of the more unexpected pairings but one that actually could have some legs, especially if the writers handle their story well.

But ultimately we’re going in circles aren’t we? We still have the drug issue simmering away in the background, while Jack has his mental health issues and Mel is back working at the clinic again, dealing with her trauma. All of this have been repetitive threads over the past 3 seasons and it gives the impression that we haven’t really moved forward, narratively speaking.