Did Virgin River have an ending?
Virgin River delivered a hefty dose of holiday cheer with Season 5, Part 2’s two seasonal episodes. But after the ice skating, Christmas tree decorating, and cozy celebrations, the series gifted viewers some more jaw-dropping cliffhangers.
While the whole of Season 5 explored loss, medical issues, pregnancy, a massive drug operation, wildfires, and much more small-town drama, the holiday episodes ushered a much-needed (albeit short-lived) sense of peace into Virgin River as Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge), Jack (Martin Henderson), family, and friends wholly embraced festive traditions and basked in the joy of togetherness.
The Season 5 finale welcomed fresh faces to Virgin River, took relationships to the next level, featured a rare Virgin River snowfall and musical, and finally introduced Mel to her father. But in its closing moments, the cheery, hopeful episode took a dark turn , foreshadowing relationship challenges, legal trouble, and concerning reveals to come — including that ominous final line spoken by Mel’s dad, which showrunner Patrick Sean Smith told Decider is “definitely a bit of a bombshell for their relationship” and “something that informs a lot of what’s happening in Season 6.”
Wondering how Virgin River Season 5, Part 2 ends? Decider’s Virgin River Season 5 finale recap has you covered. Just be mindful that spoilers lie ahead.
Season 5, Episode 11, “The More the Merrier,” ended with news that Mel’s dad, Everett Reid, was still living in Virgin River. So Episode 12, aptly titled “Father Christmas,” finds Mel and Jack pulling up to his house on Christmas Eve.
Despite a “No Solicitors” sign, Mel knocks on his door and a man appears, asking who’s looking for Everett Reid. “His daughter,” Mel says. “I found love letters addressed to my mother, Sarah Jenson.” The man claims he’s not the guy she’s looking for and doesn’t know where to find him. But when he runs to the kitchen to turn off a timer, Mel sees Everett’s trophy from the 1976 Lumberjack Games on his shelf and assumes he simply doesn’t want to know her.
When Mel gets back to the car she tells Jack that the mystery man is her dad, but he wants absolutely nothing to do with her. She’s upset, but ultimately happy she got clarity. And before she has time to process the rejection, a very pregnant Charmaine calls to say she’s finally (at long last!) having contractions.
Mel meets Char at the clinic to deliver the twins, and to her surprise, their father Calvin is there. After seeing the stress he’s causing Char, Mel banishes him from the clinic with a new understanding of why she lied about Jack being the dad. (Turns out the FBI dropped all the charges against Calvin and put him in witness protection for his help busting Melissa. As for how the two got together, Char said she was drunk, sad, and mad at Jack.) Knowing Calvin’s history in town , Mel agrees to keep the baby daddy news to herself. But if he’s back for good, we imagine it won’t be secret for long…
Elsewhere in Virgin River, Brie and Jack are disappointed in their parents, who seem incapable of spending the holidays together. Post-cold plunge, Preacher tells Kaia he loves her, but she can’t promise anything to anyone just yet. And Lizzie’s mom vows to support her during her pregnancy. Speaking of Lizzie and Denny’s baby-to-be, they decided not to get married quite yet, since Denny knows marriage means Lizzie is signing up to care for him as well. All this wedding talk reminds Doc that prior to Hope’s accident and his diagnosis, the two were planning to renew their vows. But no time to think about that! Like Mel, Doc has twins to deliver!
After some serious stress, Virgin River sends Season 5 off on a hopeful, curious note when Mel’s dad shows up outside her house and admits she looks so much like her mom it broke his heart. “I didn’t lie. I’m not the man who wrote those letters, not anymore — not since your mom died…I don’t know what you wanted to say to me or what you wanted me to say back. I don’t know if you wanted me in your life or just wanted to ask me for a kidney or something,” he explains. “By the way, I am your father. And I’m here now.” He gives Mel a stack of love letters from her mom in case she wants to hear her voice again, and the season ends with him saying, “I’ve got something important I need to tell you.”
Just when we think one Virgin River mystery is solved, he utters the final line of the series, telling Mel, “I’ve got something important I need to tell you…” Is he dying? Does Mel have a half-sibling? he just want to brag about winning the Lumberjack contest some more? As Smith said, it’s “a bit of a bombshell for their relationship,” but we’ll have to wait until Season 6 to hear his secret. Classic Virgin River.
