This post contains spoilers for Virgin River season 5 episode 7, From the ashes.
This new episode of Virgin River season 5 opens on unusual sights. The town is no longer the same as ash, burnt trees and destroyed houses take over the majestic views the show usually features.
Virgin River indeed just went through a lot, but its inhabitants are ready to rebuild.
What happens with the show’s beloved characters in From the ashes? Let’s recap this new episode of Virgin River season 5...
The aftermath of tragedy
Soot swept through the windows of Mel’s cabin, but luckily the place is intact. It isn’t the case of Brady’s, who shows up at the bar where Jack has agreed he can stay for a while. After all, Brady did save the place. Preacher isn’t thrilled to see him there, but maybe part of his anger is due to the fact that he is upset with Kaia for being married. When she shows up on his doorstep, he gives her the cold shoulder, even when she explains her and Jay are separated.
While Mel is hiding from the world and grieving at the cabin, Jack tells Preacher what happened and discusses how he mourns the father-daughter moments he thought he would have with their child. Although Preach assures him he and Mel will have a family one day, Jack cannot help but feel angry at their loss. The next day, he takes Mel to a clinic where she is meant to have a D&C, a procedure aimed at preventing infections after a miscarriage, and Mel asks if they can wait in the car instead of having to face a waiting room full of happy, healthy pregnant ladies. This is not her first rodeo and Mel is not sure she can take it.
After a town meeting where she laid out her plans to make things right in Virgin River, Hope starts organizing a food and clothing drive to help the people who lost everything in the wildfire. Lizzie helps and in fact, she is so helpful that after she finds the courage to tell her mother she will not be going to college, Hope offers her a job as her chief of staff. Because apparently Virgin River is a town big enough for having that kind of paid position in its mayoral office. Who would have thought?
Trust issues
Not only does the town need to heal, but some relationships do too. After their argument at the clinic, Cameron visits Doc at home to talk things over. He wants to know why Doc didn’t say anything about his declining vision before, and Doc admits he should have told him but thought he would have more time. He adds that when he hired Cameron he hoped he was also hiring his replacement for when the time comes for him to step down as Virgin River’s star doctor. He therefore asks Cameron to take over his practice but is surprised when the young doc asks for some time to think it over. Come on Doc, it’s a big ask!
Meanwhile, Brie and Brady run into each other and sit down for a chat. He is happy to see she held onto his dog tags but Brie tells him she no longer feels that she can trust him. He assures her he is doing everything he can to get out of the drug business, but since Mike made him promise to say nothing, he cannot give her the details she needs to believe him. In the end, she walks away as he urges her to find someone to talk to about what she is going through since it cannot be him.
Brady is indeed doing his best to put Melissa behind bars though. He even records her saying that she intends to use Jack’s glamping business to wash her dirty money, but when he gives the recording to Mike, the cop says they need more. He asks Brady to wear a wire to get better proof that Mel is up to no good.
Mike then pays a visit to Brie, who just found out that the verdict of Don’s trial was guilty, guilty, guilty. Unfortunately, it doesn’t make her feel as good as she had hoped and she confesses to Mike that she wanted it to allow her to put the whole thing behind her, but it looks like she will need to give it more time. The two of them also talk about the kiss they almost shared and acknowledge that they just want to be friends. Riiiiight. We’ll see how long that lasts.
Speaking of people vibing, Muriel and Cameron have another little chat that hints at a potential future romance, especially when Cameron offers Muriel to stay with him as her house burnt down. She eventually takes him up on it after realizing that she can’t stay at Connie’s for long or the two of them won’t remain friends.
Like a phoenix rising
While Denny, who has decided to stay with Lizzie in Virgin River, is looking for a job, Ava tells Hope that her sister is moving to San Francisco and that they will be selling Lilly’s farmland. She herself plans on going back to Portland. Worried that a development company will buy the land and deprive it of its soul, Hope asks Ava for some time to find a suitable buyer. After Tara and Chloe bid a tearful goodbye to Mel, she tells Jack she wants to inform others of their miscarriage after all, and he suggests using Hope’s phone tree so they don’t have to repeat the story over and over.
At the food and clothes drive, Cameron tells Doc he is ready to put down roots in this town and accepts his offer to take over the clinic. Afterwards, Hope gives a hopeful speech (get it?) about the future of Virgin River and Ava tells Mel she has decided to stick around instead of going back to her failing music career in Portland.
Jack hires Brady to do construction work at the glamping site while Kaia comes to find Preacher to tell him she has started the divorce process. He apologizes for the way he reacted when he found out she was married, and they decide to give their relationship a chance. But look who’s also here? Jay! And after pretending to be a nice guy, he drops his smile and tells Preacher that Kaia will always put her job first, and he will always be part of her job. Looks like someone might not be as ready to sign those divorce papers as he led his ex to believe.
While Jack talks to Mel about “trying again” and her face shows she is far from ready to talk about that, Brie runs into her new best bud Mike and Brady sees them chatting. He immediately can tell, just like the rest of us, that something is brewing there. So, in the most Brady-like manner, he gets all up in Mike’s face about him basically stealing his girl. Brie is having none of it and the more Brady loses his cool, the more she pulls away… To the point that she tells him they are done.
Will Brady and Mike still be able to work together to take down Melissa? How will Mel and Jack work through their grief? Will we finally find out if Cameron and Muriel are going to hook up?
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.
