Virgin River season 5 recap guide: All 12 episodes explained

Season 5 episode 8 recap: Full Moon

In the previous episode, Mel was left on a rather somber note with the prospect of Jack wanting to try for another pregnancy, but in the opening of episode 8, she’s dancing it all out to some catchy pop music in her kitchen. Jack walks in on her dancing and brings her coffee and flowers. He’s surprised when she tells him she’s going fishing with Doc. But she’s also got a packed day of sewing club with the ladies and girls’ night with Brie. Before she heads out the door, he brings up “trying again,” but she pushes it aside for a conversation later.

Following their almost altercation over Brie, Brady and Mike clear the air about Sacramento, but Brady still asks why Mike didn’t tell him he was with Brie. (It honestly doesn’t seem like Mike and Brady are close enough for Mike to have to run that by him.) Mike refocuses Brady on taking Melissa down, which could help him get Brie back. Nevertheless, Brady gets his wire with the hopes of getting her to admit to laundering drug money through the glamping site. Brady’s getting antsy because he doesn’t want to keep lying to Jack and Brie.

Before Hope and Lizzie get started as an official team, Lizzie and Denny share a sweet moment together. He made her a campaign-style sticker that says “Hope and Liz mean biz.” While they all embark on new journeys, Doc and Mel take it slow on the lake, fishing and talking. He asks Mel to come back to the clinic whenever she’s ready to start working again, and she immediately reaccepts her role alongside him and Cameron.

Brady discovers Lark has been living in one of the trailers on the glamping site with her daughter since they have nowhere else to go after the fire. The elementary school with fellow evacuees wasn’t working out. Jack arrives on the site and hears about the situation. He allows them to remain in the trailer on the site, which Brady lightly protests, knowing what he knows that Jack doesn’t. Ironically, Melissa pops in right after their conversation. She agrees to Jack’s idea of allowing evacuees to stay at the glamping site during construction. She tells him she’s asked Brady to handle the books, a minor knock on his pride, but she assuages him by calling him family. (Jack later has doubts about Brady organizing the books.)

Preacher makes Kaia breakfast and he broaches the topic of her ex-husband not being over her. She brushes it off and focuses instead on the plans she has for them, which entails riding dirt bikes through the woods. After their ride, they talk to get to know each other better, and he explains how he got the nickname Preacher from his mother. She said that when he talks, people listen. He jokes that his given name is Engelbert, but it’s actually John. That evening, she shares how she met Jay and what ultimately led to their divorce.

Mel rejoins the sewing group at the bar, and she gets back to work on the baby dress with a bird patch. She explains that her mother gave her the pet name of her “little bird.” The group gives Mel support and gets her mind off of things with a bit of town gossip. Cameron drops by the bar and pulls Mel aside, officially apologizing about what he said about Jack last season now that they will be working together again. The hatchet has been buried.

Before girls’ night with Mel (and Ava, who Mel invites to tag along), Brie watches baseball with Mike, and despite the casual spirit of the hangout, it’s clear that there’s something between them. She asks him to sub in for her company softball team, who lost a player to a broken leg. Obviously, he agrees to join the team, as if he would ever turn her down. While he grabs another round of beers, Brie ignores a text message from Brady.

Brady checks on Lark before leaving the site for the night, but she invites him to stay for a beer. They commiserate over their parents: Brady’s mom taking off and Lark’s abusive father she stabbed in the leg. They aren’t the only ones connecting under the full moon. Cameron and Muriel share not only dinner but a kiss. Because they work together, they agree to keep things professional moving forward.

Girls’ night at Brie’s house includes wine, talk of the Brady breakup, and Ava’s guilt over what happened during the fire. Since there’s a full moon and they all have things they want to let go of to free their minds, Ava gets the idea to write down what’s troubling them, toss it into the fire pit, and manifest positive energy for the future. Ava and Brie are both able to go through with the ritual, but Mel struggles with letting go of her fear of trying to have another baby and experiencing more loss. This time, because it was supposed to be her hopeful “next time,” hits her harder with grief.

Even though Denny’s job interview with Bert didn’t go so well, he’s looking forward to staying in Virgin River and being around Doc. But he has to break the news to his grandpa that his Grandma Rose wants to come to town for a visit after being worried during the fire. There’s bad blood between Doc and Rose, because she didn’t tell him he had a son for 50 years, but Doc agrees to the visit from Rose for Denny’s sake (in spite of Hope’s supportive distaste for Rose).

As Brady calls it a night, Gene waits for him by his motorcycle and casts doubts about his loyalty. They’ve caught wind that Jack wants to see the books, and it’s spooking the higher-ups. Gene asks Brady to lift up his shirt, suggesting he’s wearing a wire. When Brady lifts up his shirt, there’s no wire.

Back at home, Mel and Jack talk about their days, and she informs him she’s going back to work. Of course, he brings up trying to get pregnant again in relation to her renewed role at the clinic. Finally, she breaks the news to him that she doesn’t want to try to get pregnant again. She’s honest about how she’s been feeling, that she’s tired of having her “heart ripped out.” It’s a tough conversation, and Jack appears to feel equally as heartbroken.

Written by Reed Gaudens