Virgin River Season 1 Episode 4 Recap – A Wounded Heart

Mel and Doc bring Hope home from the hospital after she suffered a stroke. Hope tells them she thinks it’s not that serious, but Mel insists she needs to change her lifestyle. Surprisingly, Doc agrees with Mel. They tell her she should avoid getting stressed, and Mel convinces her not to sleep upstairs just yet because the stairs may be too much for her right now. She’s also told to adopt a heart-healthy diet without alcohol and stress. Hope doesn’t want to change anything, but Mel tells her it’s necessary if she wants to live longer.

Jack comes with a welcome-home treat. He and Mel share an awkward glance. Hope’s unhappy that Jack brings him a soy-based quiche instead of her usual bacon and eggs with cheesy potatoes. Mel offered to bring it to the kitchen and raid Hope’s fridge to remove anything that was not good for her.

Hope notices that something is off between Mel and Jack, and Jack tells her that Charmaine walked in on them at the bar before he even got a chance to tell Mel about her. To get Mel and Jack alone, Hope tells Mel she’ll agree to sleep downstairs but only if the two of them bring her mattress down.

While getting the mattress, Jack tells Mel that he and Charmaine are not in a relationship. Mel begs to disagree because she thinks that Charmaine is not being casual with Jack, but Jack tells her otherwise, and Mel is not happy with it.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Doc tells Hope to take things seriously. Hope tells her she likes living on her terms, but Doc tells him that he’s concerned about her as his patient. Hope tells him he’s a good doctor but could have done better as a husband. She then pulls out divorce papers that she has kept for 20 years. Doc is dumbfounded that Hope is asking for a divorce after a long time of living separately. Hope tells him she thinks it’s time, but Doc tells her that he does not want things to be formally over. Hope reminds him that it’s his fault, after all.

The mattress gets stuck in the door, and Mel sits down for a while. A flashback of Joey telling her not to force being happy after losing a baby is shown, and it seems that Mel was really in a bad place before. Back to reality, Mel finally accepts Jack’s help, and they succeed in bringing the mattress down. They now need to bring the guest mattress upstairs, and after doing so, Jack suffers from a spasm.

While Mel gets a cream downstairs for Jack’s spasm, he retrieves a flask from his boots and quickly takes a gulp. He gets a flashback of his time in service again, and he takes some medication. Mel offers to put the cream on his back and sees some scars, and Jack tells her he got those from Iraq.

Meanwhile, Paige and Preacher get their dose of gossip from Connie while she buys some pastries from the truck. She tells them that Preacher should get himself a girlfriend and that she pities Paige’s son for not having a father.

Charmain brings Hope a casserole, which she reluctantly accepts. Hope dislikes Charmaine.  She goes upstairs, and it gets awkward when she learns that Mel is with Jack.

Paige drops by the bar to get some food, and Preacher asks her why Christopher, her son, does not go to school. She tells him she thinks that the boy is gifted and that he might find the regular curriculum boring. Preacher refuses to take payment from Paige for her food and proceeds to give her cash as payment for their last order from the bakery. Paige bumps into a woman who calls her Michelle, but Paige says that she’s mistaken her for another person. She tells Paige she looks like someone she went to college with, and Paige claims she never went to college. Preacher buts in and help the woman with directions and tells Paige he could have sworn she said to him that she has a degree in psychology. Paige dismisses this, saying she went to work right after high school. Two men get into a fight, and Preacher quickly gets between them.

Back at Hope’s house, Charmaine asks Mel about her husband – if he’ll join her in Virgin River soon. Mel says he’s not coming, and Charmaine gets an unapproving stare from Jack. Hope also tells her to stop asking questions. Mel excuses herself from the table to take a call from Joey. She tells Joey that Jack has a girlfriend who’s asking about Mark. Joey finds this unusual until Mel tells her that she’s still wearing her wedding ring.

Mel goes back to the dinner table to find that Jack and Charmaine are already leaving since Hope doesn’t want them helping with the dishes. After they leave, Hope tells Mel she’d love some help on the dishes; she lets them leave so that she can get rid of Charmaine.

Alone with Mel in the kitchen, Hope tells her she does not think Charmaine is good enough for Jack and that she shouldn’t have asked about Mel’s personal life. Mel tells her it’s okay; it’s just that she doesn’t want to talk about the past. Hope tells her that she respects her privacy but proceeds to advise her that if she protects her heart, she might not get hurt, but she might also fail to live to the fullest. Hope invites Mel to a movie night, and a flashback of how Mark proposed to her using a bowl of popcorn and some movies is shown.

The following morning, Hope sees Doc’s truck outside her house. Once she’s closer, she sees Doc sleeping and learns that he stayed the night to make sure he’s near if she ever needs him. Hope asks him if he has signed the divorce papers, and he tells her it needs to be redrafted to reflect the current date. He also gives her a bottle of supplements, and Hope’s surprised to learn that he went to the city to get the bottle because he hates the city.

At the bar, Preacher tells Jack that there are no more discrepancies in the cash box. Jack calls in Brady and gives him an advance even when he does not ask for it. Mel comes in from her run, and  Jack apologizes for Charmaine’s questions the other night. Mel asks Jack about Myrtle Farms and how she plans to go to pick up some organic produce for Hope. Jack tells her it would be better if he takes her there because it’s not that easy to go there, especially for a non-local.

On the way to Myrtle Farms, Mel and Jack get stuck in the middle of Washington Gorge Road due to a tire mishap, and a call to Bert tells them that someone’s coming for them by nightfall.  While waiting for their rescue, Mel asks Jack why he’s only being casual with Charmaine. Jack reveals that he’s afraid he’ll be like his father, who did not treat her mother the way she deserved. Mel believes otherwise and tells Jack that he should make things official with Charmaine. She also tells him she doesn’t want to come between them because she does not want to hurt Charmaine’s feelings.

Back at her house, Paige dies Christopher’s hair brown. He tells her that he doesn’t want that anymore, but she tells him they have to do it until they’re safe.

Jack’s phone dies while attempting to get an update about the tow truck. Mel apologizes for bringing up Charmaine. A vehicle comes, and in it is the guy who picked a fight in the bar earlier. He forces Mel to go with him upon knowing that she’s a nurse practitioner. When Jack tells him to back off, he wields a gun.

Our Thoughts

Woah. Discovering that Hope and Doc are married was quite a surprise! This explains why they seem to know each other well, as seen in previous episodes. Doc appears to have been unfaithful to her, so we’re on her side on this. However, we’re dying to know why Hope isn’t so fond of Charmaine. Jack seems to have an alcohol problem, which we think will complicate things in the future. Well, that is if his pseudo-relationship with Charmaine isn’t complicated enough. The mystery around Paige baffles us – what kind of danger are they in that she chooses to stay under the radar and dye her son’s hair regularly? Lastly, we certainly hope that the man wouldn’t hurt Mel or Jack; we know he’s trouble. It’s too early to lose either one of them, right?