As I said when I wrote up my post about season 3 of Virgin River…
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Back we go to the fictional town of Virgin River, California, a gorgeous place somewhere in Humboldt County, with beautiful rivers, mountains, and forests, quirky townspeople, amazing baked goods, and a teensy little problem with drug runners.
But romance! Especially romance!
Four seasons in, I can’t deny that I’m invested and care about these characters’ lives… and at the same time, absolutely nothing happens on this show!! Or so it seems most of the time.
Season four has 12 episodes, each about 45 minutes, so that’s plenty of opportunity to move the plot forward in a meaningful way, right?
Well, let’s take a look at the timespan of the show, shall we? Season 1 (which initially aired in 2019) included the announcement of an unplanned pregnancy at the end of the season. So here in season 4, the babies should be in preschool, right?
Nope. The pregnant character from season 1 is STILL pregnant, and according to a comment in the final episode of season 4, she’s 5 months pregnant at this point. FIVE MONTHS.
In terms of season 4 itself, as far as I could tell, it all takes place within no more than 4 weeks. So, those babies from season 1 will be born… I don’t know, season 7 or 8, maybe?
The bummer about this timespan weirdness is that all of season 4 takes place over no more than a month (possibly two), and guess what? It’s apparently not sweater season! (For context, one of my absolutely ridiculous obsessions with earlier seasons is drooling over main character Mel’s amazingly big and cozy sweaters… but this time around, they were sadly missing.)
Onward to talking about season 4. SPOILER ALERT!! I’m going to be discussing plot points from the season, so if you haven’t watched, you may want to look away!!
Season 4 continues shortly after the end of season 3, in terms of story chronology. Season 3 ended with Jack trying to propose to Mel, who interrupts so she can inform him that she’s pregnant, and he might not be the father. This would have been much more shocking if we viewers didn’t already know that she’d gone to a fertility clinic in LA while she and Jack were on a brief break and had her and her late husband’s embryos transferred. (Don’t get me started — the process is so ridiculous and unrealistic, but that’s a season 3 issue).
Jack, of course, is supportive, loves Mel no matter what, and insists that this baby will be their baby, no matter who the biological father actually is. But, he doesn’t want to do a paternity test — he’s afraid that a definitive answer might affect how he feels about the baby, so he’d rather not know.
In case you’re keeping score, that makes Jack the expectant father of three babies!
Meanwhile, he continues to struggle with PTSD from his Marine days, and seems be in denial about a drinking problem too. Also lingering is the question of who shot him (at the end of season 2) — his former Marine buddy is in prison for attempted murder, but Brady has been shown to have a heart of gold (thanks to his relationship with Jack’s sister), so we know it wasn’t him!!
What else? Other plot points this season include:
- A kidnapped child
- Ongoing drug business
- Recovery from a traumatic brain injury
- A surprise grandchild showing up in town
- A new doctor at the clinic
- Mel’s sister getting married to a guy she’s known for one month
- A local teen leaving his girlfriend behind to join the Marines
- Aikido lessons for Preacher (and a new love interest)
- There’s a Renaissance Faire!!
And on and on. There are dramatic reveals set up as cliffhangers at the end of various episodes (OMG, the pilot of the small plane is having a heart attack mid-flight!) which get resolved neatly and easily as soon as the next episode starts (the pilot is fine, Jack landed the plane, everybody is good!).
There are weird developments –a young couple eating at Jack’s bar mention how excited they are about a glamping getaway in an Airstream, and within minutes, Jack has decided that his new side business will be… buying Airstreams to set up a glamping business! Way to jump in with zero research, Jack.
There’s a hugely over-the-top baby shower (for Charmaine, mother of Jack’s unborn twins — due sometime in 2026, perhaps?) that looks like the most painful and boring event of all times. Maybe it’s supposed to look like how rich people would throw a baby shower, but to me, it looked like a super awkward business event that’s trying to be fun. Give me baby Pictionary and silly games with balls of yarn in someone’s living room any day!
Shows with small town settings like this seem to be required to include (a) nosy residents who love to gossip (b) a sewing or knitting circle and (c) a festival or fair of some kind. Check, check, and check! The Renaissance Faire is very fun to watch while also being totally goofy. Of course, everyone has amazing costumes! They even get the new town doc to dance around the maypole, and naturally, Jack gets to play a knight in a mock sword fight. It’s awesome.
To be fair, a few plot points do get somewhat straightened out by the end of the season. Again, SPOILER ALERT, because this gives away some big reveals:
- The kidnapped child is saved!
- The kidnapper is also Jack’s shooter, and it looks like he’s finally been caught!
- And….
- … the biggest reveal…
- Jack is NOT actually the father of Charmaine’s babies! Dun dun dun….
My biggest complaint about the show overall is that I absolutely hate the drug smuggling plotline, but it doesn’t appear to be going away any time soon. And now there’s a new crime boss in town with a surprising connection to one of the local families. You know this can’t be good. I really, really, really can’t stand any aspect of this storyline, which seems completely unnecessary to an otherwise nice show about people in a small town — but I understand that this plot is from the books, so I guess we’re stuck with the awful drug running stuff for a while longer.
Why do I keep watching this show, when clearly I have issues with it?
Because it still has enough good stuff, like…
- You guessed it, the amazing scenery! I want to LIVE in this town, wander through the woods, and sit and gaze at the rivers.
- We get to watch Tim Matheson! He remains a delight as Doc Mullins, and I love every moment he’s on screen.
- Mel… well, I’m on the fence. I’ve loved her up to now, and I do love seeing her in action as a highly skilled, highly compassionate medical professional. Unfortunately, she spends a lot of this season moping and being sad — often with good reason, but it’s just not very much fun.
- Bree, introduced last season, gets more screen time, and I enjoy her a lot too. Yay for another strong woman in town!
So, for now, I’m sticking with it! But if those babies don’t start getting born in season 5, I may finally reach my breaking point.
What about you? Who’s still watching Virgin River? What do you think of season 4?
And still the lingering question — should I give the books a try?
Bookshelf Fantasies 
OMG, this is the funniest review! I actually have been thinking about starting this series but your review makes me want to watch it even more because of all the silliness. The whole baby thing is making me LMAO🤣
Thanks for writing what I’ve been thinking for a while. Namely that the plot line is so sloooooooow. Did I say that it drags on and on and on? I like Mel, Jack, Bree, Preacher, Paige, Christopher and Mike. Too many plotlines to keep track of too. Happy that Jack is the father of only one baby – but who knows how many seasons that it will be before it is born.
Haha, yes, how many season?? I’m glad about Jack and the babies too, but I do wish they’d pick up the pace!
I hope you watch… because I’m putting my selfish wishes first and want to hear what you think!! 🙂
Yeah, I kept thinking thru seasons 1-3 that Charmaine is expecting twins and she’s not even showing yet. Couldn’t figure that out. But now in season 4 she is still not that big…? Besides that, I do love the series and love the scenery and Mel’s commitment to her patients.
The books are so much better. There are more characters and the story in my opinion is more interesting. I understand when movies are made they are based on the book series and want drama, but fir anyone who hasn’t read the books, there is a lot of drama. I also feel the story line was alot more interesting. Truthfully, I skipped a few shows because they are boring and repetitive. Characters were completely changed. I’m losing interest.
Sounds like I really should check out the books!
Yes, I thought Charmaine must be at least in her 8th month because of the baby shower, but I guess not! I agree, Mel’s commitment to her patients and how she’s so absolutely competent and totally compassionate is really amazing and wonderful.
I’m on episode 5 and I keep falling asleep!
Haha, I guess it’s not just me! I had to play games on my phone during certain episodes to keep myself alert. 🙂
I love watching this show and I hope they make a lot more of them because I will go back and watch it over and over again it’s so addicting.
I’m glad you’re enjoying it!
I absolutely LOVE Virgin River. It’s the best series I’ve ever watched & that says a lot b/c I’ve watched a lot of them. Are you thinking 4 seasons is supposed to be 4 years? I don’t think that’s how they’re doing it & I never thought that either. I just went with every season basically being every month. That only makes sense. Again, I love every single thing about Virgin River.
That’s great, I’m glad you’re loving it! I didn’t have specific expectations about timing (a month or a year per season, for example) — but this just strikes me as slower-moving than practically anything else I’ve ever watched.
I read and have all the books of Virgin River. Loved every one only wish there were more. It’s nice to but a face to the characters you read about but it takes away the use of your imagination. Also the series is a little different than the books. Hurray for both books and series.
Great to hear that you love the books so much! I know I have at least the first one, so maybe I’ll pick it up soon. Thanks!
I love the show and look forward to each season. Keep them coming, can’t wait till next season (5)!!!
That’s great to hear! Despite my issues with it, I will almost definitely still watch season 5!
This was so fun to read and made me laugh at both you and myself! However – I binged Season 4 the day it hit Netflix and couldn’t turn it off. I loved how the writers caught us up on the characters and within 15 – 20 minutes I knew where everyone was. I thought the writing quality improved as did the filming. I am hooked! Cannot wait for Season 5. I do agree the drug understory could be eliminated and there would still be a good show. Thanks for your review!
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Speaking of filming, it seems like they expanded their outdoor shots to give us more/different views of main locations (outside the cabin, Jack’s bar, etc), which was fun to see.
The thing about the pacing that bothers me is that it’s bizarrely inconsistent. Half the show creeps along at a snails pace… while other parts gallop at a mind boggling rate. When those sewing circle ladies get an idea in their head, get out of the way! People fall in love and get married, divorced, pregnant at an alarming rate. Jack gets a new business going in a matter of hours. Meanwhile will those twins ever be born? And when they’re done with a plot… Preacher making it big in San Francisco, it simply disappears. And when they decide to keep beating a dead horse an identical twin psycho mysteriously appears. This is a show where you really have to suspend disbelief.
Haha, great points! Yes, the pacing of Jack’s new business is crazy — he goes from an idea to having a beautiful glamping set-up in about a day and a half, it seemed like! And yes, I was wondering about that plot with Preacher… it just never gets mentioned again.
Way too many plots jumping all over the place and going nowhere. Kind of reminds me of a soap opera. Your review was great (and funny) and you’re right about Season 4 taking up about one month in Virgin River. I could go on and on about plot and character craziness but won’t. My grade: C
I see that there are a ton of fans who think the show is perfect — but the pace really is the main thing that drives me batty. I agree with you, that it’s very soapy in many ways, but somehow I’m still interested enough that I’ll probably watch the next season too. 🙂