Who blew up Calvin’s boat?
Before Virgin River season 5, Calvin was last seen in season 4’s episode 9, where his boat exploded into flames. By season 4’s finale, Melissa and Brady believed that Calvin was dead, but the show kept his fate uncertain by hinting that the police did not find his body. Following season 4’s ending, Virgin River intentionally abstained from revealing anything new about Calvin or his fate to ensure that audiences had assumed he was dead after the season 4 incident. However, just when it seems like Calvin will never return, a surprising season 5 twist reveals the truth behind his fate.
In Virgin River season 5, episode 10, Calvin suddenly approaches a pregnant Charmaine during the town’s Labor Day festival. Surprised to see him, Charmaine acknowledges that she thought he was dead. Calvin responds, “Yeah, so did the person who tried to kill me.” With this, Virgin River season 5 reinstates a character who was presumed to be dead and, as a result, triggers several changes in both Charmaine and Melissa Montgomery’s narrative.
Melissa Montgomery first appeared in Virgin River season 4 when she showed up at Calvin’s company’s base to meet Brady. She instantly took command by not only claiming that the company belonged to her but also by automatically downgrading Calvin’s rank in the company hierarchy. Although Brady, as always, tried stepping away from the business after being skeptical about Melissa’s motives, Melissa forced him to get involved by bringing up his girlfriend, Brie, and potentially threatening what she could do to her. With what followed in Virgin River season 4, Melissa showed up at Brady’s home and subtly plotted the boat explosion that killed Calvin.
Although Virgin River never explicitly mentions why she killed him, one of the reasons could be her hunger for power. She wanted to establish her dominance over Calvin in the company and, to prove what she was capable of doing, she killed him. By doing so, not only did she set an example for how far she was willing to go to get what she wanted but also snagged the kingpin’s reign over the business. She and Calvin might have also had a behind-the-scenes disagreement that eventually made her double down on her decision to kill him. With Calvin’s return, Virgin River season 5 part 2 might offer some concrete answers on what actually happened between the two.
As Calvin confirms in Virgin River season 5 part 1’s ending arc, he returned because Melissa got arrested. After she orchestrated his murder in season 4, he realized it would not be safe for him to return until he had some assurance of her absence. With Melissa in prison, he found the perfect opportunity to come back and claim what he thinks he deserves. The reason for his return and its implications for Charmaine intertwine with another sub-plot in the series.
Charmaine had disclosed that Jack was not the father of her unborn twins in Virgin River season 4. Despite Jack’s best efforts to know the biological father’s identity, Charmaine only hinted that the real father was not capable of being a good paternal figure. As Virgin River season 5 part 1 confirms, Calvin is the real father of Charmaine’s twins and, perhaps for some reason, wishes to be the father to his boys.
