Virgin River on Netflix: Doc, Buck, Nick… Who Could Be Mel’s Father?

Warning, the following paragraphs contain spoilers for Virgin River Season 5. If you don’t want to know anything, move on!

On September 7, Virgin River returned to Netflix for a fifth season that was rich with emotions and twists. While Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge) and Jack (Martin Henderson) are now engaged and looking forward to the happy event, the young woman is about to face a terrifying ordeal that will change her forever.

And if in the final minutes of the last episode she finally finds a semblance of normalcy with the man who will soon become her husband, she gets a call from her sister, who once again turns everything upside down.

A new mystery in Virgin River

While Mel and Jack prepare their house for the Christmas holidays, a young woman receives a call from her sister, who confides that she found love letters that belonged to their mother.

An exchange of letters that seems to suggest that she was having an affair with a man in Virgin River and that this stranger might be Mel’s father. It is on this unexpected cliffhanger that the first part of season 5 ends.

And according to the trailer for the two Christmas special episodes, which immediately hit the Internet, that mystery will be at the center of the intrigue as Mel tries to lift the veil on the identity of her mother’s lover. But who could be the nurse’s father?

Who is Mel’s father?

Given Mel’s age, in his 30s, the three Virgin River natives could be old enough to be his father. The first and most obvious is Doc (Tim Matheson), who has an almost paternal relationship with the young woman.

But for a character who has already discovered the existence of a hidden son (and grandson) in previous seasons, there’s little chance the writers will decide to add an illegitimate child to her.

Another potential lead is Nick Montgomery’s (Keith McKechnie) character. Jo Ellen’s husband really showed up more in Season 5 of Virgin River. He would be old enough to play Mel’s father and never had children.

Speaking of Season 5, Jo wonders how Ellen will react if she finds out Nick had a secret child…pre-dialogue?

Finally, a third possibility that would go in the direction of Season 5 intrigue would be Buck, Lily’s late husband. A hypothesis that arose from the special bond Mel has with Lily’s family.

During this season 5, he developed a very strong friendship with Tara, the eldest in the family. And in the final episode, he convinces Jack to buy Lily’s family farm, which was burned down in a fire, so he can build their family there, as he’s always dreamed of.

Knowing the writers love to keep the suspense going for as long as possible (remember, it took 2 seasons to find out the identity of Jack’s shooter), this question probably won’t be answered in the two Christmas episodes that will air. Online November 30 on Netflix.