'Virgin River' Season 4 recap: What to remember before Season 5

Season Four of "Virgin River" premiered in 2022, which means we've been in cliffhanger mode for over a year.

With Season Five on the way, you might need a refresher on the events that went down in the sleepy California town last season — which is never actually that sleepy. The Season Five trailer indicates that wildfires are encroaching, along with other progressions.

Want to catch up on the last season but don't have time to watch it again? We're recapping some of the major plot points for you.

Mel finds out the identity of the father of her baby ... at last!

Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge) is thrilled to be pregnant, but also nervous for two reasons. To start, she doesn't know who the father is. It could be Jack (Martin Henderson) or it could be her dead husband Mark (Daniel Gillies), since she used one of their embryos in the hopes of getting pregnant during a brief breakup with Jack.

Mel gets a paternity test and the father is Jack — and they're having a baby girl! He's thrilled even though he initially said he'd prefer not to know who the father was.

Mel and Jack get engaged.

These two have been through everything — or close. In Season Four, they promise to keep going through life together. Jack proposes to Mel.

"I want to spend the rest of my life making you the happiest woman in the world," he says. Mel tearfully accepts.

Jack numbs his PTSD with alcohol

Jack continues to struggle with PTSD from his time serving and turns to drinking to cope. The habit gets out of hand when he misses his Mel's sister's wedding since he was out drinking and passed out.

On another occasion, Mel experiences some pregnancy pains and wakes up to find Jack passed out from drinking. She's concerned that he's unable to be there for her at this critical moment but she gets them to the clinic safely and everything is OK with the baby.

Charmaine reveals that she’s pregnant with twin boys - and they're not Jack's

While talking with Jo Ellen (Gwynyth Walsh), Charmaine (Lauren Hammersley) accidentally announces that she’s having twin boys and asks her not to tell Jack. When Jack finds out, he is understandably angry that she kept that essential information from him.

Despite that, Jack is still a standup guy and he shows up to their baby shower (her husband is noticeably absent).

In the season finale, Charmaine calls Jack in a panic and says she thinks her husband is cheating on her. He and Mel head over to Charmaine's house and she reveals that she thinks her husband is leaving her. Then she lets it slip that the twins aren't really Jack's.

There’s a new doctor at the practice

Things get a little too cozy at Doc’s medical practice when Cameron (Mark Ghanime) arrives. The handsome doctor instantly attracts attention from the women of Virgin River but he seems to have his eyes on one who’s already taken: Mel.

They grow closer while going on runs in the woods and Cameron gets a little too honest with Mel when Jack doesn’t show up to her sister’s wedding, telling her that he’s unreliable. Mel doesn’t appreciate the comments and their working relationship is never the same.

Due to the new tension at work, Cameron gives his notice and says he plans to leave the practice. In response, Mel gives her notice and says she’d rather Cameron stay since he can help Doc (Tim Matheson) more than she can. After all, she has a high risk pregnancy and she could be out of work for quite some time if things go wrong.

Doc gets to know his grandson, Denny

Denny (Kai Bradbury) first made an appearance at the end of Season Three of "Virgin River" and revealed that he was Doc's grandson. In Season Four, the two get to know each other and quickly grow close.

However, Denny seems a bit suspicious throughout the first part of the season. He gets caught breaking into the clinic's medicine cabinet and also goes through Doc's financial records. Then there's the fact that he's really hot and cold with Lizzie (Sarah Dugdale), despite their great chemistry.

As it turns out, Denny has a degenerative hereditary condition called Huntington’s Disease. The diagnosis explains some of his seemingly shifty behavior.

He takes klonopin from Doc's medicine cabinet to manage his symptoms. He sifts through Doc's financial records so he can pay off the clinic's debt using his late father's insurance payoff. Lastly, he doesn't want to hurt Lizzie by starting a relationship when he doesn't think he has much of a future.

Brie works to clear Brady's name

Brie Sheridan (Zibby Allen), Jack's sister, decides to stick around Virgin River. She's determined to clear Brady's (Ben Hollingsworth) name — he's in jail for shooting Jack — so she teams up with police officer Mike (Marco Grazzini).

Their chemistry is evident but Brie seems to only have eyes for Brady.

Meanwhile, Jack has doubts that Brady's the person who shot him. Eventually, he realizes it was Vince (Steve Bacic), the same guy who kidnapped Christopher (Chase Petriw).

Brady gets released from prison but his troubles are far from over. He desperately wants to leave a life of crime in the past, but he agrees to continue doing some shady business when Brie's life is threatened.

Calvin (David Cubitt) gets demoted by the new lady in charge, Melissa (Barbara Pollard), and Brie and Mike watch his boat explode with him on it. The next day, Melissa visits Brady and says Calvin is dead and he'll be taking over the drug business.

Elsewhere, Brie's abusive ex calls her out of the blue and demands that she rescind her statement that he sexually assaulted her because it's holding him back from getting a promotion at work. She turns him down and then he shows up outside of Jack's bar looking for her. Refusing to be intimidated, Brie tells him to lawyer up and says she intends to file a police report since he raped her.

Preacher finds romance with a new woman and an old flame reenters his life

When Preacher decides to give martial arts a try, he meets the class teacher, Julia (Lucia Walters), and sparks fly.

Later in the season, Paige (Lexa Doig) returns and learns that Vince kidnapped her son Christopher. Paige exchanges herself for Christopher and Preacher goes looking for her, only to find that Vince is threatening to harm her. He distracts Vince long enough to save Paige then she grabs a gun. Vince knocks Preacher out but he gets back up and knocks him to the ground.

Doc and Hope adjust to life with their medical challenges

Hope struggles to cope with her brain injury and has mood swings. She also forgets that her best friend Lily is dead, which makes for an awkward moment when Lizzie accidentally mentions that she's gone.

Hope asks Lizzie if she's willing to keep her company and help out around the house. At first, Lizzie is worried that seeing Denny around the house constantly will be awkward since he's made it quite clear that he doesn't want to pursue a relationship with her. Eventually, she takes the job after Denny explains why he's been acting so weird.

Hope is stubborn as ever and goes driving one day when she's not supposed to and gets into a car accident. Luckily, she's just shaken up, not hurt.

Ricky heads off to Marines boot camp

After enlisting in the Marines last season, Ricky (Grayson Maxwell Gurnsey) prepares to go to boot camp in Season Four. Ricky lets Jack know about his plans and he tells him he’s proud of him.

Things are still awkward between Ricky and Lizzie after their breakup. He encourages her budding romance with Denny.

Later on, Ricky leaves for boot camp but the town prepares a sweet sendoff for him first, organized by none other than Lizzie.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com