This post contains spoilers for Virgin River season 5 episode 6, Heroes rise.
The wildfires are raging around Virgin River and the townsfolk do their best to keep it safe.
As Mel comes to the rescue of baby Chloe, Preacher watches over the bar with Jack while Brie and her mother worry about their loved ones.
What is the outcome of the catastrophe that hits Virgin River in Heroes rise? Here is what happened in this new episode of Virgin River season 5...
To the rescue
Not to worry, Mel, closely followed by Jack, made it just in time to Lilly’s farmhouse to help baby Chloe and an unconscious Ava. Jack even managed to save the animals in the barn, but the house completely burnt down. Others also made a miraculous escape, like Denny and Lizzie who came very close to their demise but were saved by Bert, whose truck cleared a path for them to drive out of the blaze. When they get to Jack’s bar, Denny pulls away from Lizzie but later reveals that facing death showed him he is not as prepared for it as he thought.
At the clinic, Doc and Cameron have identified that Jay needs a needle decompression to inflate his collapsed lung, but when Doc tries to do the procedure, he is forced to ask Cameron to take over as he cannot see. When Jay is stable, Doc confesses to Cameron that he is experiencing vision loss and Cameron's upset to only find out about it now.
Chloe and Ava then arrive at the clinic and need to be treated for smoke inhalation. Mel keeps a close eye on the baby while Ava frets over the fact that she fell and hit her head trying to leave the farmhouse, and that things could have gone very badly for them. When Jack gets to the clinic soon after, he tells Mel the farmhouse is gone, but she doesn’t have time to tell him about her miscarriage before he heads back out to help the people at the bar.
Preparing for the worst
After the chief firefighter thanks Hope for helping with the evacuation, Nick asks her to work with him and they decide to try and convince the Incident Commander to send water planes to help save the town.
Meanwhile, Brady is held as a hero by Hazel’s mother and Preacher is aggravated that Brady acts as such. They are arguing but cannot spend too much time bickering as, outside, the fire has jumped the river and is heading towards the bar. People start panicking but Hope takes charge and organizes their evacuation to a safe zone.
When Jack, Brady and Preacher go outside, they start digging a fire ditch to protect the bar, but Brady suggests they start a backfire instead. Preacher refuses to listen but Jack reminds him Brady used to fight fires in prison, so it might be best to do as he says. And he was right, when Kaia and her team arrive later on, she praises Brady’s idea, which ends up saving the bar.
Not everyone can be evacuated easily however, like Jay who can’t be moved out of the clinic just yet, so Doc volunteers to stay with him and asks Denny to tell Hope he loves her… just in case. Carrying these words on top of the close call he had himself make Denny realize he needs to tell Lizzie he loves her. Which he does. And she returns the feeling.
Taking charge
Seeing that the town won’t get the resources it needs from the Incident Commander, Hope has an idea and enlists Jack’s help to convince Charlie to let them use his crop duster to dump water over the fire. He agrees after complaining that Hope never agreed to date him, and Jack is tasked to fly the plane while Hope and Charlie ask more farmers to lend their planes to the effort to save the town.
In the meantime, Mel is still keeping an eye on Chloe’s vitals while Ava wonders how she will tell her sister that Lilly’s farmhouse is gone. Mel, who is still going through her own loss, says that there is no easy way to break somebody’s heart, clearly thinking about how she will have to do just that when she tells Jack about her miscarriage.
The townsfolk are gathered together when the planes arrive to dump thousands of liters of water on the wildfires. Cheers erupt and Nick turns to Hope to tell her she is more than capable to be mayor and that he is handing her back the reins.
Watching from the sidelines
In Sacramento, Brie and her mother Amelia watch the news while desperately trying to reach Jack and co in Virgin River, but the cell towers are down. Thankfully, Mike is still around and decides to stay with them as his cop-connections allow him to give them updates faster than the newscasters.
Things are tense between Brie and her mother, who keeps bringing up Brady and praising Jack’s strength, until Mike points out Brie is pretty strong too. When her mother calls her selfish instead, Brie storms out and is consoled by a sweet and understanding Mike. The more time goes by and the more it seems like a Brie and Mike romance would be better for her than sticking around Brady.
Anyway, Mike is supportive and eventually Brie apologizes to her mother, who tells her she’s just always had a hard time seeing Brie being closer to her father than to her, and that she would tell her how much she loves and admires her everyday if she could have a do-over.
The next day, the fire is out and everyone can finally catch a breath. Preacher thanks Brady for his help saving the bar, but quickly sees his mood turn when a firefighter lets it slip that Jay isn’t not just Kaia’s colleague, but also her husband. Ouch, because he told her she was all he could think about.
Mike is Amelia’s new favorite person by the time he takes his leave from the Sheridan household. And perhaps Brie’s too, because when these two hug each other goodbye, sparks are flying so hard that they almost share a kiss.
Back in Virgin River, Hope comes to see Doc. She learned from Muriel what happened with his vision and tells him they will go through this together. The episode ends as Jack finally reunites with Mel, who collapses into his arms as soon as she sees him and finally lets go of what she’s been carrying all day, revealing without words that they have lost their unborn child.
How will Mel get over this new loss? What will happen between Preacher and Kaia? Can Cameron forgive Doc for keeping the truth about his eyesight from him?
All episodes of Virgin River season 5, Part 1, are now available to stream on Netflix, so tune in to the next one to find out.
