Netflix viewers who watched Virgin River Season 3 can tell you that the series pulled out all of the stop for the season finale, leaving fans with a lot of major questions, including us still not knowing who shot Jack, which was left over from the Season 2 finale. With all of the surprises, though, there was one which really seemed to come out of nowhere, and that was the reveal that Doc Mullins seems to have some family that he doesn't know about. Now, the showrunner is opening up about how Virgin River will explore his character more if they come back for Season 4.
Among all of the shocks that were delivered in the Virgin River Season 3 ending, I bet that few fans were expecting to see a young man arrive at Jo Ellen's bed and breakfast on a rainy night and declare that he was looking for his grandfather, and then tell his wide-eyed host that said grandpappy was none other than one Dr. Vernon Mullins. Sue Tenney, Virgin River's showrunner, has opened up to TVLine about giving viewers more of Doc's story and explaining how he could have a 19-year-old grandkid he doesn't know about, and said:
We haven’t really dealt with Doc’s past. We’ve only talked about his medical background. All of your questions [about Doc] will be answered in Season 4. It’s a really interesting addition, another outsider in Virgin River. He’s carrying a secret that will come out [if the show is renewed for] Season 4. It’ll be interesting to see. It’s worth the wait!
OK, so far all we know about Doc's past is that he and Hope have been married forever, and that about 20 years ago he had an affair with Charmaine's mom, which led to him and Hope being estranged and not living as husband and wife until their recent reunion. Seeing as how we know who he had that affair with, and that it wasn't long enough ago for him to have a grown grandson, if this kind-faced young man is correct that Doc is his grandfather, then it means he either had a much earlier affair that Hope doesn't know about, or that he had a romance that resulted in a secret baby before he met her.
Either way, as Sue Tenney noted, it brings up several questions. Did this relationship happen in Virgin River and was Hope aware of the woman? Or, was Doc living somewhere else (maybe during his time in college / med school) when this happened? Also, why did this mystery lady love not tell Vernon about their child? And, did his grandson have to pry the info out of his grandmother / mom, or did he just do his own research to find him?
According to what Sue Tenney said, though, while Doc might not know about his grandchild specifically, he is holding on to a big secret of some sort that's connected, and will likely impact his impending vow renewal (and the rest of his romantic relationship) with Hope.
As noted, Virgin River hasn't officially been renewed by Netflix just yet, but the show seemed to have begun filming on Season 3 well before it was announced, so all hope (see what I did there?) isn't lost. You can revisit all three seasons of Virgin River on Netflix right now, but for more to watch in the coming weeks, check out some shows like Virgin River you can dive into immediately, and our list of upcoming romantic TV shows.
