Well, folks, Season 2 of Virgin River did not disappoint when it came to delivering some tear-jerking twists, intriguing turns and major shocks to keep our brains occupied as we await word on whether or not the series will be gifted a third season. Much like with Season 1, the Virgin River Season 2 ending gave us everything we could hope for when it comes to answering lingering questions, bringing the romance, leaving us to wonder what, exactly, is happening with some characters, and also totally dropping us off of an emotional cliff.
So, we thought it best to explain all of the major developments from the Season 2 finale of Virgin River by going through the biggest surprises from the episode. Before you dive in, know that Several Big, Fat Spoilers Lurk below this paragraph, and if you haven't finished the second season and don't want the reveals to be completely and utterly ruined for you, back out now, fire up Netflix and wrap up this romantic, small town drama before continuing. OK, we all set? Good. Let's do this!
Jack Got Shot!
There's no way I could even consider beginning this odyssey into the biggest surprises from the Virgin River Season 2 finale and not open with this. After an immediate attraction to Mel when she first set foot in Virgin River, she and Jack spent all of the first season dancing around each other and trying to figure out a way forward with all of their heavy emotional baggage. The second episode saw them finally become residents of bone town, and the finale featured yet another foray into that titillating territory for the twosome. But, within what couldn't have been more than an hour, Mel finds Jack bleeding out on the floor of his bar.
I don't want to blame Mel for this, but if she'd had more than frozen peas in her fridge Jack wouldn't have had to offer to grill some steaks for them at the bar when she noted being too hungry for a second round of fireside sexytimes, so... At any rate, a big question now is who shot our hero and why. Jack put even more effort into bringing down local drug kingpin Calvin, and visibly caused a lot of trouble for his operations. This means that pretty much anyone in Calvin's camp could be to blame, but we also have the possibility that at least one other, non-drug-dealing culprit, might be to blame. Starting with...
Charmaine Is Vengeful!
You guys? Charmaine is the undercover villain gift that just keeps on giving in Virgin River Season 2. We already knew that she's 100% in love with Jack and very determined to stay with him, while also being very determined to blame Mel for Jack not wanting to be with her, but this pregnancy has made her even more vengeful in Season 2. Charmaine had already given Mel a bit of an ultimatum last season, telling her that she and Jack wouldn't be able to successfully co-parent their new baby bundle if Mel stuck around, and when Mel came back to town in the season opener, Charmaine's retaliation was just as swift and petty as we'd imagined.
But! Here's why I think Charmaine may have actually lost the few remaining mental crackers she has left and actually shot Jack. Her aunt and uncle, aware of the coming bambini, invited her to move in with them in Portland, which she was considering, even though it would seriously hurt Jack. In the finale, Jack finally announced to her that he was in the process of buying a house, so there would be room for the kids, but Charmaine assumed (immediately!) that he means they're back together and kisses him.
When he pushes her away, trying to explain again that he's not in love with her, she claims he's making her seem crazy and tells him that she wants a husband and that man will be the father to her children, noting that she'll just "have to see where he fits in."
Preacher Is Going To Raise Christopher!
Moving away from the Jack / Mel / Charmaine revelations of the finale, the last episode of Virgin River Season 2 held a lot of surprises for Preacher. After being courted for his delicious food by San Fransisco resident Jamie, Preacher decided to leave Jack's bar behind and take a job at a fancy restaurant in the big city. Of course, some of that decision was based on the fact that Preacher helped cover up Pagie's accidental killing of her ex-husband, Wes, and now he's been reported missing. So, Preach figures it's best to just get outta Dodge.
Just when Preacher is attempting to leave Virgin River behind, though, he's confronted with a strange woman, Sally, who says she's a friend of Paige's and that Wes' brother tracked Paige's cell number down. Then, a very happy / scared Christopher runs out of her car and hugs Preacher, asking if he can stay with him, to which Preach quickly agrees. This situation with Wes is probably going to get worse before it gets better, and it will be interesting to see what Preacher does next, because there's a big problem with Wes' brother...
Paige's Dead Ex-Husband Has An Identical Twin!
Man, I could feel this twist coming, and while it's nice (so very, very nice) to be right, this is not what Preacher, Christopher, or Paige need right now! I can't be the only one who thought it was way too easy when Wes suddenly showed up in Season 2, only to struggle with Paige soon after and end up falling his dumb, woman-beating ass down her stairs. While Preach took care of disposing of the body and Wes' truck, and also handled things back home so that Paige and Christopher could pull up stakes and hide again, no way was it not going to come back to haunt them.
When Vince (I believe that's the name he gave Preacher) showed up at Jack's bar, he gave Preach quite a fright. While he, thankfully, isn't Wes returned from the dead, he seems to be just as scary as his brother and determined to find out what happened to that super shady individual. Obviously, this is very bad news for Paige (remember what Sally said), Christopher, and Preacher. Even though Preach did his best to evade Vince's questions and not give anything away, the evil twin to another evil twin made it clear that he's already found out how close Paige and Preach were, so he'll definitely be keeping an eye on our culinarily-inclined friend.
Doc Mullins Is Sick!...?
Alright, this is me assuming that he's sick, because we were left with a big ol' cliffhanger here, as well. Hope and Doc had spent much of Season 2 cementing their re-commitment to each other, as Hope pushed him to date Muriel so that they could keep everyone out of their business. We all know this was stupid, and it only served to waste time and make Hope jealous, even though it was her own crackpot idea. And, once they finally came clean and told everyone, nobody had anything bad to say, and basically the whole town is on board with them having a ceremony to renew their vows.
But, while Doc and Hope were on the mend big time, it was clear throughout the season that he was dealing with something. He'd fully made amends with Mel by the end of Season 1, but had several moments where he was the old, cranky doctor with her again this season. Plus, as time went on, we could see some physical symptoms developing. He finally went to a doctor in Eureka (likely to keep things quiet) and was about to tell Hope the findings (which didn't appear to be good) when they were greeted by a surprise party to celebrate them getting back together.
Basically, all of our favorite characters are going to be in some tight spots when (I'm speaking from a place of faith here, people) we finally hear that Virgin River Season 3 is on the way, and that's exactly how we like it!
What was the biggest Virgin River Season 2 finale surprise for you? Let us know in the comments below!
