Hazards Ahead

"Hazards Ahead" is the ninth episode of the second season of Virgin River. It is the nineteenth episode of the series overall.

Synopsis
Mel searches desperately for Jack, who has stumbled upon disturbing news. Jamie makes Preacher an enticing job offer. Hope questions Doc's loyalty.

Plot
Jack drives through the woods on his way to see Spencer after his radio silence, but finds a man named Adrian in the road asking for help. Jack calls Mel asking for her to meet him at the practice for a medical emergency. Upon inspection, it is found that Adrian has a broken arm and is dehydrated, both of which Mel tells him that she will fix. Mel gives Jack advice on the Spencer situation, telling him to call the Sheriff and get help, but Jack fears that this will make situations worse.

Hope tries to talk with Vernon once more about the situation with Jack and Charmaine, but once again Vernon tells her to stay out of Jack's personal life and instead find someone else to deliver the news of Charmaine's decision. He leaves shortly after for what Hope believes to be a medical conference in Seattle.

Hope arrives at Jack's Bar and tells Mel about the situation, therefore passing the baton to her; Hope pleads with Mel to tell Jack, but not reveal the origins of the news. Meanwhile, Hope begins questioning Vernon's loyalty and behaviour when it is revealed that he may have lied to Hope about his reasons for being in Seattle. This is made worse when Hope finds out that Muriel is also in Seattle.

Mel visits Charmaine looking for Jack, but finds that he isn't there. She asks Charmaine for help navigating to Calvin's farm, but Charmaine is reluctant to help given Mel's vulnerability; she doesn't want Mel mixing with Calvin and his men, but opts to help her find someone who can help. Charmaine tells Mel that they will need to visit a bar in order to attain help on the situation, much to Mel's disbelief and surprise at Charmaine joining for the journey.

Jack arrives at Spencer's trailer, but is surprised to find it completely abandoned. Moments later, Brady arrives and Jack questions him on Spencer's whereabouts, but Brady is reluctant to comply with Jack. Jimmy hits Jack over the head seconds later, knocking him unconscious and taking him to see Calvin.

Lizzie manages to convince Ricky to come over, citing that she heard a noise and is scared. When he does, she admits that she was lonely, and the two end up having sex shortly after. Connie returns home ahead of schedule and catches Ricky, finally understanding what the two have been up to.

Charmaine and Mel drive to find Charmaine's friend. On the car journey, Charmaine tells Mel about the offer she received from her aunt, and the difficulties she is having in deciding what to do. They are able to track down Charmaine's friend and bar owner, who is reluctant to give any information to the two. She remarks that her brother works with Calvin and if he found out that she told the two, her brother would most likely be killed. Charmaine promises that they will not tell anyone about the information or where it came from, which is enough to convince her to give up the information.

Preacher becomes increasingly anxious when the Sheriff arrives at Jack's Bar, but is quickly relieved when it turns out that he was wanted for a totally different, unrelated reason. The Sheriff tells Preacher that they have limited resources and given the fact that Wes is now a wanted man, they will not be pursuing the issue any further. Preacher is distracted moments later, however, when Jamie arrives with a job offer for him from a famous chef back home. Preacher is ecstatic, but faces difficulty when Jamie tells him that he must decide within 24 hours if he wishes to take up the offer.

Meanwhile, Vernon has returned home from Seattle and prepared a romantic night for Hope at her house with candles and sparkling wine. She is surprised, but Vernon sits her down and tells her that he has loved her since he met her and always will until the day he dies. With this, he asks Hope to marry him once more, but she tells him that they need to talk about the voicemail Muriel left him and the meeting they had in Seattle. Vernon is furious that Hope listened to his voicemails, but she walks away, reluctant to hear his explanations.

Mel tracks Jack down and questions him about his whereabouts for the day, but he remarks that Spencer is dead at the hands of Brady. The two talk about their relationship and feelings for one another, and both eventually admit that they are in love with one another. They embrace moments later and begin kissing passionately.

Main Cast

 * Alexandra Breckenridge as Melinda Monroe
 * Martin Henderson as Jack Sheridan
 * Benjamin Hollingsworth as Dan Brady
 * Colin Lawrence as John Middleton
 * Lauren Hammersley as Charmaine Roberts
 * Annette O'Toole as Hope McCrea
 * Tim Matheson as Vernon Mullins
 * Grayson Gurnsey as Ricky
 * Sarah Dugale as Lizzie

Guest Cast

 * Teryl Rothery as Muriel
 * Nicola Cavendish as Connie
 * Lynda Boyd as Lilly
 * Carmel Amit as Jamie
 * Gwynyth Walsh as Jo Ellen
 * David Cubitt as Calvin
 * Ian Tracey as Jimmy
 * Steve Bacic as Wes

Co-Starring

 * Lane Edwards as Sheriff Duncan
 * Trevor Lerner as Bert
 * Marilyn Norry as Bea
 * Jesse James Pierce as Adrian
 * Javier Lacroix as Carlos
 * Philip Prajoux as Phil

Trivia

 * Lizzie and Ricky sleep together for the first time.
 * This is also the encounter in which they both lose their virginity.