Virgin River – Season 5 Episode 10 Recap, Review & Ending Explained

Labor Day

Episode 10 of Virgin River season 5 starts with Brady trying to explain himself to Jack. Jack is livid about the drugs and decides to call the cops. Before Brady gets a chance to speak his piece, Melissa’s car shows up. Brady hurriedly explains that he and Mike are working together to take Melissa down and he needs to trust what’s happening here.

What happens to Brady? How is the Melissa situation resolved?

Jack is shocked, but Brady heads outside to talk to Melissa and try to hold her up. She and Gene hold him up at gunpoint and bundle Brady in the car racing off. Jack, having seen it all, rings Mike and asks for an explanation. Mike reveals everything about Mel and her people being dangerous. Jack is currently following Melissa’s car, and Mike gives him instructions to keep doing this but keep a distance so he’s not spotted.

Brady is brought to an abandoned warehouse. Jack listens in as Gene and Melissa begin beating him down. Unfortunately, Brady was caught sneaking about the warehouse on CCTV footage and the jig is up. Melissa promises that he’s going to die but they’ll make it quick if he reveals all about the cops. He refuses, and keeps quiet.

Jack watches all of this and decides to serve a distraction to catch Gene off-guard While he investigates clattering noises around the warehouse, both Brady and Jack begin beating their assailants down. Or as best they can anyway while he’s cable-tied.

The cops arrive outside and arrest Melissa, while the whole situation is resolved. Just like that. It’s over… or is it? Unfortunately Gene comes out of nowhere and shoots Mike in the chest. As he bleeds out, paramedics rush to the scene.

Does Kaia leave without saying goodbye?

We then skip forward in time, with Kaia trying to leave Preacher early in the morning. She hates goodbyes and just wanted to skip out and leave. Kaia decides to make a deal that when she ships out they don’t make a big thing out of it. Instead of goodbye they decide on “see you when I see you”.

With Kaia gone, everyone heads to the hospital to check on Mike. He’s lost a lot of blood and it’s touch and go right now. As for Brady, he’s being questioned by police over what he knows regarding Melisa’s operation.

In the middle of this, Virgin River has a big carnival to celebrate Labor Day. Denny wants to talk to Lizzie but she’s busy right now and decides they should catch up later on that evening. After all, she has something to tell him too.

Is Doc okay with Cameron and Muriel dating?

Jack decides to let Mel go back to the clinic while he handles things at the hospital. At the clinic, the group have their first official staff meeting. Thy discuss the growing patient load and discuss ways to try and serve the community better. Mel wants to start a birthing center, while Cameron comes up with ways of improving communication long-distance.

After the meeting, Muriel and Cameron decide to come clean about their feelings for one another and speak to Doc. Muriel is going to be the one to broach the subject and do the talking here though.

Muriel starts discussing this with Doc but he cuts her off. He reminds her that they’re there for their patients but he’s actually okay with it as long as they remain professional.

Do Brady and Brie get back together?

At the hospital, Brady shows up and he feels responsible for Mike being there. Unfortunately, things have changed for Brie and there’s no way for them getting back together, especially as she has feelings for Mike now.

On the way out, Brady speaks to Jack and apologizes for what happened. He’s decided to give Brie some space but knows that this is over between them. Unfortunately, things take a turn for the worst when Brady catches wind of the FBI showing up at the glamping site and trying to take Lark away.

Jack and Brady rush down and learn that the tenants need to leave the site given it’s now a crime scene. Nick shows and profusely apologizes but there’s the B&B he has that’ll be ideal for moving the guys at the glamping site.

What does Kaia choose to do?

After sorting this out, Mel and Jack discuss their circumstances and believe they’re ready to move forward together. They’re going to go to the carnival and have some fun that night.

Preacher is at the bar when he gets a surprise visitor. No, it’s not another gunman ready to shoot the place up but instead it’s Kaia! She’s back. Kaia admits that she hates goodbyes and she’s back “for work”. She’s turned down her job offer and decided to stick around and work here instead. Jay is not happy about it but Kaia is convinced that she’s made the right choice.

Back at the carnival, Hope thanks Lizzie for what she’s done pulling all of this off. In exchange, Lizzie hands over a mug and thanks her for believing in her and giving her a chance. The pair hug it out, as Hope tells her to go and find Denny and have some fun, given she’s off the clock now.

Is Doc going to go ahead with the clinical trials?

Ava speaks to Mel and decides she’s going to go ahead with her hysterectomy but she’s also going to freeze some of her eggs. She’s ready to leave and has found a buyer that’s going to turn the farmland into a golf course. Funnily enough, the rope swing is actually still in one piece, which gets Mel thinking.

At the hospital, Mike is on the mend but he talks to Brie plainly, admitting that Brady is the real hero given he put himself in danger. Brie thanks him for the honesty but also she’s ready to get on the Mike train now.

Muriel catches up with Cameron and admits that Doc is okay with them being together. As they kiss, right in front of Jo Ellen, she exclaims “oh my” and immediately gets on the phone after to share the juicy gossip.

While this is going on, Charmaine returns. Sigh. She’s apparently moving on with her life but that doesn’t stop her from crawling back to the camera. As for Doc, he and Hope spend some time together, where he admits that he’s going ahead with the clinical trials to try and help his eyesight. Someone has dropped out so he’s going to go for it and press forward with this. The trial is just after New Years in four months’ time.

What does Lizzie have to tell Denny?

Elsewhere, Lizzie and Denny catch up on what they need to talk about. Denny reveals what Rose said about leaving Virgin River and he’s thinking about giving it a go. Just before asking if Lizzie wants to come with, she suddenly reveals that she’s pregnant.

After this bombshell reveal, Jack and Mel head on the Ferris wheel together, and discuss seeing things from a different point of view. At the top, they manage to watch the fireworks in a front row view.

How does part 1 of Virgin River season 5 end?

On the way out, Charmaine is approached by Calvin who’s actually still alive. He’s there to be a father to his boys, but given how long Charmaine’s pregnancy has lasted for, he’ll probably be old and dead by the time she gives birth.

Elsewhere, Kaia receives a call about a body being found in the woods. The same body that Preacher buried. Uh oh. As for Mel, she takes Jack up to Ava’s farm and decides that this is the sign they’ve been looking for. They can start a family together here, regardless of how they end up having kids and Mel even broaches the idea of them getting married too.

We then skip forward in time to Christmas. Mel receives a call from Joey, who tells her she’s found love letters her mother wrote to someone she was having an affair with in Virgin River. Joey believes this man could be Mel’s real father! Merry Christmas Mel!

The Episode Review

The first part of Virgin River comes to an end with some shocking revelations. We’ve got Mel’s father as a talking point for the second part and season 6 beyond, while Preacher burying Wes’ body is going to be a big talking point too.

If that wasn’t enough, we’ve got the drama involving Lizzie’s pregnancy, and Doc’s clinical trials. It seems finally we might actually be going somewhere with these storylines.

Despite all the heartbreak and the annoying back and forth with the characters, it’s actually quite refreshing to see Mel and Jack turn a corner and decide to take up Ava’s farm and start a new life together. The fact that Mel is open to surrogacy is a nice touch, although let’s hope there’s not more drama down the line with this!

Either way, season5 has been an improvement over last year’s effort, even if the Melissa situation is resolved in record time, which is a bit annoying. We’ll have to wait and see what’s in store for us around the holidays but it seems Virgin River might actually be back on the rise again.