Virgin River Season 1 Episode 5 Recap – Under Fire

Jack tries to intimidate the man with the gun to not take Mel with him, but the man is persistent. When things are about to get heated, Mel tells the man that if someone is sick, she’ll go, but Jack should come with her, and the man obliges.

Back at the bar, it is a full house. Brady and Ricky try to keep up, but they’re short-staffed. Jack has not come back, and Preacher’s out too. Doc comes in and asks for Jack; Ricky tells him about the tire incident. Hope overhears this and volunteers to bring a spare tire to them. Doc disagrees and says he’ll go, but Ricky tells them a tow truck has already been called. Seeing the situation in the bar, Hope pitches in to help. Charmaine comes and asks for Jack as well. After learning what happened, she decides to stay and wait.

Mel and Jack arrived at the illegal pot growers’ camp with Jimmy, the man with the gun. They were led to a cabin where Calvin, the camp’s boss, was suffering from a gunshot wound. Mel tells them that they need a surgeon because the bullet might have nicked an artery, but they refuse and insist that he be treated there.

Seeing Hope struggle with a customer who’s been waiting long enough for his order, Charmaine pitches in and gives the customer free booze to soothe him. Hope seems to be unhappy with what Charmaine is doing, and Doc sees this. He asks why Hope appears to have something against Charmaine. She tells him she’s not good for Jack.

By nightfall, the man’s wound hasn’t stopped bleeding. This prompts Mel to burn the wound as a temporary fix. It worked, and they were already getting ready to leave when the man passed out. Jimmy forces them to stay the night. Meanwhile, Bert finds Jack’s car abandoned by the side of the road.

Mel and Jack get cozy while exchanging stories at the camp.

The time has come to close the bar. Brady leaves as Doc walks in. Charmaine tells him it was nice of him. Hope tells her it looks like she inherited the sweet spot her mother had for Doc. Charmaine decided to leave after hearing this. Doc learns that Hope’s dislike for Charmaine was because her mother slept with Doc 20 years ago, destroying their marriage.

The following day at the camp, Calvin, the wounded man, awakens.

Hope receives a call from a worried Joey, who has been unable to get a hold of Mel since the previous night.

Calvin’s wound seems okay, and he lets Mel and Jack go. On their way out, though, they hear a woman screaming in labor. It was Maxine, trying to give birth. Mel discovers that her baby is in a breech position. Jimmy tells them they’ve got to go, but Mel insists on delivering the baby.

Back in town, Hope and Doc learn that Jack and Mel hadn’t made it home last night and that their truck was abandoned. Doc decides to go and look for them himself after calling the sheriff.

Doc finds Jack’s car and recognizes a soda can nearby. He immediately knows that they’ve gone to the camps.

Charmaine walks into the bar. Upon seeing Hope, Charmaine decides to clear up the air by telling her that she’s sorry for what her mother did but that she can’t do anything about it.

At the camp, Mel successfully delivers Maxine’s baby. They were about to leave with Maxine, Spencer, and the baby, but Jimmy tells them Spencer cannot go. Doc comes and agrees with Mel’s decision to bring them all to the hospital. Calvin insists that Spencer cannot go, so Doc has no other choice but to leave him behind. Calvin also tells Jack and Mel that he’ll be watching them.

Doc, Jack, and Hope make it home. Mel and Jack go to the bar for some drinks and food. Doc talks to Hope, who’s happy to see him back. She invites him to go inside, but he tells her that he has found a new attorney for their divorce. He says to her that he thinks she’s right – that they should go their separate ways since they have been separated for 20 years already. This saddens Hope.

Jack brings Mel to the Fitches’ and decides to stay the night because Mel is still freaked out that Calving might go after her. While asleep, Jack jolts awake from a nightmare where Morgan, a fellow soldier, blames him for leaving him behind to die. He stands up for a brief moment, and Mel comforts him right before he falls back to sleep.

Our Thoughts

We can feel how Mel enamors jack by how he looks at her and how he protects her. We’re all for them being together, but well, we don’t want them to hurt Charmaine, so we hope they can sort things out. We have long known that Jack still has issues from his time in service, but in this episode, we see how much he still suffers, and by the looks of it, he might need professional help. At last, we know why Hope seems to hate Charmaine and why things between Doc and her ended, but we’re sad that they might go through the divorce. They look good together, and it’s clear that they still care for each other deeply. We hope they’ll change their minds!