Lizzie

Elizabeth
Name	Elizabeth
Occupation	Waitress
marital	Denny Cutler (boyfriend) Ricky Sudder (ex-boyfriend)
Family	Deidre (mother) Unnamed father Connie (aunt)
Status	Alive
Actor	Sarah Dugdale
First Appearance	The Morning After

Elizabeth "Lizzie" is a troubled young woman living in the town Virgin River, she's Connie's niece. She moves to Virgin River under the guardianship of Connie after she becomes too much trouble for her parents. She quickly takes a liking to Ricky and the two engage in a sexual and romantic relationship, much to Connie's dismay.

In S5 E07, Hope offers Lizzie a job as the Chief of Staff to the Mayor of Virgin River.

History

Moving to Virgin River

The situation regarding Lizzie's move to Virgin River is unclear, however Connie makes it clear that Lizzie was too troublesome for her parents to handle following a shoplifting offence. Lizzie quickly becomes prominent in Virgin River, but is forced to begin working at Paige's Bakery by her aunt to calm her down.

Lizzie quickly takes an interest in Dan Brady and the two share a drink together and almost kiss at the town's fundraiser. When Brady rejects her after finding out her age, Lizzie begins to rebel and sets her sights on Ricky. Initially, Lizzie begins taking advantage of Ricky and his position in Virgin River. Lizzie invites Ricky to a party on the premise that he will bring tequila, given that he works in Jack's Bar — this leads to Ricky stealing from the bar and getting into trouble with Jack. Days later, she asks Ricky to take her to the shopping center, despite him not being able to drive Lydie's car outside of Virgin River. When he refuses, she emotionally blackmails Ricky and he eventually takes her.

After spending some time together, the two initiate a romantic relationship and begin spending more and more time together. The two eventually have sex with one another and both lose their virginity. Connie catches them moments after, and bans Lizzie from seeing Ricky.

In season 4 she becomes Hope's aide and the two get closer. Lizzie starts feeling like home in Virgin River. She prepares goodbye surprise for Ricky when he is about to join the Marines.

After becoming Hope's aide, she becomes more involves in town's events. Lizzie helps Hope with her speech for town counsel meeting after Hope is unable to do it. Unfortunately, Hope does not have a chance to say anything because she sees that the council wants to drop her as mayor. Lizzie and Denny read over Hope’s argument against the council dropping her. Lizzie has some constructive criticism but Hope doesn’t listen, claiming that it’s perfect the way it is.

Lizzie suggests she and Hope pack meals for the first responders off tackling wildfires. This will be a good way of showing the community that Hope still cares. Lizzie and Hope head off in Connie’s food-truck but Lizzie’s mum Deidre tags along. Lizzie lashes out at her mum, who has organized for her daughter to go to college. Lizzie refuses but just as things escalate, they take a turn for the worst when Connie lets slip that Jo Ellen told Nick about Hope’s car accident. The latter is livid and believes this is the reason she’s no longer Mayor. When a news crew shows up outside, Hope does the selfless thing and steps aside so Lizzie can take the credit for her sandwich idea.

After the situation with wildfire is resolved, Lizzie attends spa day with Hope, Connie, Lydie, Muriel and Jo Ellen which further establishes her place in Virgin River.

At the carnival, Hope thanks Lizzie for what she’s done pulling all of this off. In exchange, Lizzie hands over a mug and thanks her for believing in her and giving her a chance.

During Christmas Hope gives a rousing and encouraging speech to Lizzie about how good she’s going to be as a mum and Lizzie’s mother happens to be standing right behind them. Lizzie sits down with her mum and admits she’s made her decision. She wants to have a baby and live happily. Her mum agrees to do her best to come around and be happy.

Lizzie takes an active role in preparing Mel and Jack's wedding.

Relationship with Denny

In season 4 she takes interest in Denny, Doc's grandson. Connie is suspitious of him from the beginning. Lizzie and Denny go for a hike together, where Lizzie admits she used to date Ricky. Lizzie is clearly not cut out for hiking but the pair end up going across a large bridge, where Lizzie encourages Denny to get involved in the Renaissance Fair. but he says it’s not his thing and walks away. Lizzie takes part in Romeo&Juliet play with Ricky with Danny watching their performance. After that he kisses her.

Denny speaks to Lizzie, where he continues giving her mixed signals. However, Lizzie believes it goes deeper than conflicted feelings and is concerned that he could be hiding something from her. Lizzie ends up over at Denny’s place, where she spies a bottle of Klonopin. She doesn’t say anything though and stuffs it back in the cupboard. Lizzie confronts Denny about his hot/cold behaviour toward her but he refuses to tell her what’s going on. In the season finale, he admits having Huntington's disease, which is fatal.

Denny apologies for keeping his diagnosis from her and tells Lizzie he wants to be friends. In reply, Lizzie rushes over and kisses him. She’s thought about him not having a future and wants to focus on the here and now instead. They finally start dating.

During wildfire in Virgin River, Lizzie and Denny decide to try and evacuate the elderly. They drive to Lydie’s house and see her packing up her car. Lydie makes it to Jack's Bar but Lizzie and Denny get trapped by the fire in their car. Fortunately, Bert saves them. This accident makes Denny come clean about his feelings to Lizzie, she admits she loves him too.

Lizzie tells Denny that she’s not thinking about going to college in the fall and will stay in Virgin River. During the community clothing and food drive, Denny shares with Lizzie that he’s got some job opportunities, and in turn Lizzie admits that she’s told her mother about not going to college. Luckily, Hope offers her a promotion from personal aide to chief of staff to the mayor, which Lizzie gladly accepts.

When Denny's grandma comes visit him, she convinces him to leave Virgin River. Just before asking if Lizzie wants to come with, she suddenly reveals that she’s pregnant. At Christmas, they reveal they expect a baby girl.

In season 6, Lizzie convinces Denny to think about asking Vernon to hire him as an intern at the clinic to get experience since he is interested in emergency medicine.

Lizzie and Denny are uncertain about their future. Denny does not want to burden Lizzie by his care. Lizzie and Denny hit a rough patch as he keeps bringing up the future and how to plan for when he won’t be there. He wants to test the baby once she is born, but Lizzie feels differently. After fighting for days, Lizzie and Denny find common ground about what to do with their daughter. They agree to test her after they get to know her. Denny takes Lizzie to the clinic to do an ultrasound. They decide to name the child after Denny’s late mother.

Personality

Lizzie is "a powder keg of cunning, beauty and unbridled impulsivity, who blows into the small town of Virgin River like a tornado after her parents ship her off in the wake of a shoplifting bust. She claims she doesn’t give a damn about her family’s rejection, but beneath the cynicism is a young woman with a bruised heart that masks pain with brashness."

Trivia

• In Rumor Has It, she and Brady share a drink and almost kiss.
• She and Ricky have sex and both lose their virginity in Hazards Ahead.
• Lizzie is 19, placing her birth date around 2001.

Appearances

Lizzie appears in the following episodes:

Virgin River appearances	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Season 1 episodes
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Season 4 episodes	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Season 5 episodes	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Season 6 episodes	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔