*Warning! Contains spoilers for Virgin River season 5 part 2*
While Virgin River season 5 part 1 finally gave us an answer to the huge cliffhanger of who is the father of Charmaine's twins? The new series sent shockwaves throughout the fandom yet again after it ended on another shocking revelation — but this time it was all about Mel Monroe (Alexandra Breckenridge).
In the final episode of Virgin River season 5, Mel and her fiancé Jack Sheridan (Martin Henderson) were decorating their cabin for the Christmas holidays.
The nurse practitioner was talking to her sister Joey on the phone, who told her about a number of love letters she found between their mother and an unknown man in Virgin River.
However, Mel was left reeling when her sister dropped a huge bombshell.
“Mom was having an affair with someone in Virgin River. And I think this guy might be your father," she said.
But after many theories, the identity of Mel's biological dad was finally exposed in season 5 part 2.
Who is Mel's father in Virgin River?
Mel's father was revealed to be Everett Reid (John Allen Nelson) after she and Jack went on a mission to find the mysterious man in Virgin River.
They started by looking into the return address, which was a PO box and found the old postmaster of the town from the 1980s, who was called Chip Cooper. It was then revealed by his admirer Lydie (Christina Jastrzembska) that the postmaster is the Santa Claus at Clear River and Mel and Jack paid him a visit to ask him about the address.
While Chip didn't remember the name of the man at the address, he did give Mel and Jack a vital clue — that the man won the 1976 Lumberjack Games, hence why the nickname "Champ" on the love letters.
With that information, the couple managed to find out that his name is Everett Reid. However, when they searched up his name, there was no phone book listing for California.
Jack then enlisted the help of Preacher, who asked his private investigator to look into Everett's address and Preacher soon informed Mel that they had found her father, revealing that he was still living in Virgin River.
An anxious Mel went to Everett's house on Christmas Eve and confessed that she was his daughter. However, he told her that he wasn't the person she was looking for and didn't know where she could find him.
Mel looked inside his house and spotted the Lumberjack Games trophy on the shelf, confirming that he was actually her father Everett and, to Mel's disappointment, didn't want to build a relationship with her.
The nurse was devastated that her dad wanted nothing to do with her, but she was later stunned when he showed up at their cabin in the second episode.
Everett confirmed that he was her father and was shocked at how much she looked like her mother. He then gave her the letters that her mother wrote to him, before adding that he had something important to tell her.
Who is Mel's father in Virgin River? Theories...
Before the reveal, we had some potential fan theories on who Mel's mysterious father could be…
Vernon 'Doc' Mullins
Vernon 'Doc' Mullins (Tim Matheson), the local physician who Mel works for at the surgery, may be the most obvious choice to be her father due to his age and their close relationship.
Initially, Doc and Mel were at loggerheads as he refused to accept Mel's help at the practice and wouldn't let her treat any patients because he felt that she wasn't medically competent.
Mel nearly quit her job at the practice due to his treatment, but Doc's wife Hope McCrea (Annette O'Toole) was able to convince him to give Mel a month trial.
The pair have since formed a close father-daughter bond over the seasons, so it would be fitting for Doc to be Mel's biological dad.
If this was true, it wouldn't be the first time Doc would be hit by a paternity bombshell.
In Virgin River season 4, Doc discovered that he had a secret love child — Denny's (Kai Bradbury) father, who showed up at Doc's house claiming to be his long-lost grandson.
It soon transpired that Doc had fathered a child with his girlfriend Rose Miller from college and was never told about it.
Nick
Another theory fans have is that businessman Nick (Keith MacKechnie) could be Mel's father. As Jack's new investor for his glamping business, Nick made more appearances in the last two seasons.
It was believed that he may have been involved in his sister Melissa Montgomery's (Barbara Pollard) underground drug ring at Emerald Lumber, but he seemingly had no idea about her dodgy antics.
Also, there is one scene in Virgin River season 5 that makes Nick a possible contender to be Mel's dad which is when his wife Jo Ellen (Gwynth Walsh) offhandedly tells Hope that she couldn't imagine a secret child coming back into someone's life.
Could this be a clue that Nick is about to make a huge discovery just like his friend Doc?
Buck
Lilly's (Linda Boyd) late husband Buck has also come up in a number of fan theories. In Virgin River season 5, Mel grew close to Lilly's daughter Ava (Libby Olser) who returned to the town to be with her younger sister Chloe after moving away to Portland.
This would also explain Mel's strong connection to Lilly's farmland, which she and Jack planned to buy after the house burned down in the wildfire.
However, there is one setback to this theory — in the trailer for the two Christmas episodes, Mel tells Jack: "We did it. We found my father."
When a stunned Jack asks where he is, Preacher (Colin Lawrence) says: “He’s still right here in Virgin River.”
Since Buck isn't alive, this would suggest that he couldn't be her father. Although, Mel does seem startled and rather confused by Preacher's statement, so could this mean that there's a deeper story behind it?
Virgin River season 5 part 1 is available to watch on Netflix now. Part 2 will arrive on November 30, 2023 with two holiday episodes.
