Mel and Jack and Charmaine
In the premiere of Virgin River season 4, episode one “Be My Baby”, opens with Jack dreaming about him and Mel talking about naming the baby. In the dream, Mel says that Mark (her late husband) also needs to be considered. Mark even makes an appearance where he greets Mel with a kiss. Jack awakens, clearly worried about the uncertainty of the baby’s paternity and how it’s going to affect his relationship with Mel.
In the Virgin River season 3 finale Mel discovered that she was pregnant shortly after starting an IVF process using her late husband's specimen. And also shortly after rekindling her relationship with Jack...
Jack and Mel visit the ob-gyn’s office to discuss paternity testing. Jack just wants to focus on having a healthy baby and is concerned about the potential harm a paternity test could cause, especially since Mel's is a high-risk pregnancy.
Jack worries about Mel's high-risk pregnancy but nurse practitioner Mel is calm, choosing to have faith that she'll have a healthy pregnancy. Jack also doesn't want to go public with their pregnancy news because of the paternity question hanging over them. To Jack’s surprise, Mel agrees, saying that she's just happy to be pregnant.
Jack goes into full new dad mode — buying prenatal vitamins, pregnancy books and even a fetal monitor.
Joey, Mel’s sister, returns for season 4. The overprotective big sister accuses Mel of dodging her calls, so Mel relents and tells her about the pregnancy. She also shares her worries about her baby's paternity. She tells Joey how shocked, but happy, she is to actually be pregnant. Jo says she deserves happiness.
Mel lets Jack know that she told Joey about the pregnancy and promises not to tell anyone else. Jack wants her to fly to LA to a specialist clinic. Mel says she's comfortable with her current ob-gyn and explains that she did everything by the book with her first pregnancy and still lost the baby.
Charmaine is having twin boys. She accidentally tells the innkeeper the babies' sex when reserving space for the baby shower. Jack doesn't know and Charmaine asks her to not say anything.
Hope and Doc
Last season viewers were left worried if Hope would survive surgery after the car accident on her way home for Lilly’s funeral. Hope is out of the hospital now but has suffered significant neurological impairment which also affects her memory, motor skills and her energy levels. Her taste and smell have also been compromised — when Doc asked why she didn’t eat the eggs he prepared for her breakfast she replied “the eggs smell weird.” Most worryingly, Hope doesn’t remember Doc telling her that Lilly died. She keeps asking if Lilly is mad at her since she hasn’t visited since she got home from the hospital.
Doc confides in Mel about Hope not remembering Lilly's death. He worries that the news will impact her recovery. Mel advises him that honesty and trust are critical for her recovery and says he should tell her the truth.
A friend notices Hope is still not herself. She tells Doc that they played three rounds of gin and Hope didn't once try to cheat! Lizzie helps out with gardening while keeping an eye on Hope. She unwittingly tells Hope that Lilly has died after Hope asks to go visit Lilly and Lizzie replies by asking if she wants to go to the cemetery. Hope freaks out so Lizzie calls Doc to let him know what she's done.
Hope asks Doc when Lilly died. She says her first clue that something was wrong is that Lilly always sent cards so she knew something was wrong when she didn't have one from Lilly. Doc explained the circumstances around Lilly’s illness and death. Hope cries while being comforted by Doc.
In the season finale of season 3, a young man checked in at the local bed & breakfast saying he was in town to see his grandfather. In the premiere, the same young man shows up at Doc’s door. Doc says he couldn't be his grandfather. The boy says his grandma's name is Rose and Doc admits to knowing someone of that name who died 40 years ago. The boy shows Doc a photo of him and the woman and says his grandma gave it to him.
Brie and Brady and Mike
Jack's sister, Brie, still reeling from Brady’s arrest for the attempted murder of Jack, interviews for a new job. She gets the job but needs to commit for a year. Jack tries to convince her to take the job and stay because of the new baby, but can't tell her about the pregnancy due to his agreement with Mel.
Jack's friend — the slightly shady Detective Mike Valenzuela — has also decided to stay on for at least a year, at the sheriff's request. He apologizes to Brie for Brady’s arrest, saying he was only doing his job.
When Brady calls from prison Brie ignores him. Season 4 sees Brady in prison, navigating the ins and outs of the prison yard, seemingly unafraid of the other inmates despite being locked up with some of the people who were arrested during the lumber yard/fentanyl distribution ring raid.
Mike talks to Jack about Brie. He says he’s tongue-tied around her and instead talks to her about Brady's arrest. He tells Jack that the bail is set but that court cases are backlogged. Jack ponders about Brady's guilt. He thinks it's unlike him to drive around with the murder weapon and something about the whole thing doesn’t sit right with him.
The episode ends with Brady being ambushed and stabbed in the prison yard. He lies there bleeding out while guards run to him calling for help.
Preacher
Preacher recovers after being left incapacitated in the woods, in season 3, by Paige Lassiter’s friend Sally. Vince, Paige’s brother-in-law, has taken her son Christopher and is on the run. Preacher is limited in how he can respond because Vince is Christopher’s uncle and therefore has a stronger case for guardianship but he hires a private investigator to find him. He wonders if going public with Christopher’s abduction will help and discusses the pros and cons with Jack.
Preacher shows Jack a surveillance video sent by the private investigator that includes Vince. The video triggers Jack's memory of the night he was shot. Jack has a clear memory of Vince being in the restaurant and shooting him. He tells Preacher that it wasn't Brady who shot him, it was Vince.
Dr. Hayek
Doc hires a new doctor, Dr. Hayek, for the practice to help out so that he can spend more time focused on Hope’s recovery. Mel remarks that she can’t believe that he hired a doctor who he doesn’t know. Doc responds that he’s not a stranger and is the son of a friend from medical school. Mel compares the new doctor’s welcome to hers and jokes about him getting counter space when she didn’t.
Gossip circulates about the handsome new doctor, with everyone speculating if he is single. Women flock to the doctor’s office to check him out. He asks Mel if the practice is always this busy and she laughingly responds that they’re here to see him.
