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Where There's Smoke...

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Where There's Smoke... is the first episode of the third season of Virgin River. It is the twenty-first episode of the series overall.

Synopsis[]

Mel attempts to avoid celebrating her birthday, while remembering the past. Doc confirms his troubling diagnosis and begins looking for his replacement.

Plot[]

Jack is rushed to the hospital after being shot and he keeps falling in and out of consciousness. He is rushed to the OR where he requires resuscitation. A montage is shown of the entire town at the bar, presumably waiting to hear news about Jack.

3 weeks later, the town celebrates Ricky’s high school graduation with a party. Everybody eats together and talks. Muriel is shown to still be disappointed at Hope and Vernon’s reconciliation, as observed by the other ladies. They ask Connie and Preacher about Paige, seeing as Christopher is here, but they brush it off, not revealing the whole truth. Outside, people congratulate Ricky and Mel and Doc give him a gift from them as well as Hope, who is not present. Mel is concerned with how Doc is managing being alone but he assures her that he is fine.

Mel goes up to Jack and reminds him to take it easy as it has only been a few weeks since the shooting. The two talk about their plans for Mel’s birthday, with her wanting to keep things low key. Jack’s sister appears and he mentions that their mother called, asking when she would be back home. However, it seems that she doesn’t have any plans to leave Virgin River. Jack is concerned, as she has worked long hours non stop since graduating from law school. Mel remarks that she may just be worried about him and two continue kissing.

Inside, the ladies discuss Hope, whose absence is revealed to be due to her visiting her aunt in South Carolina. Connie explains there is a hurricane expected nearby and Muriel is shown to be slightly pleased. When the rest of the group notices this, she remarks that they are simply friends. As she leaves, Jo Ellen defends her but Lydie questions this, seeing Muriel flirt with Nick. Jo Ellen brushes it off, claiming that Nick is just polite before heading over to the pair.

Outside, Jack is cleaning up when he is approaching by Mike, who reveals that the raid fell through as somebody tipped Calvin off. He tells Jack that he plans to sticking around. After he leaves, Ricky helps Jack, feeling guilty for the way he acted previously and apologises but forgives him and tells him it’s no problem.

Nick, Vernon and Bert sit together and drink whilst discussing Jack. Vernon reveals that he has no memory of the attack and that status is still persisting. The three joke about what they would do if they were murdered.

In the bar, Lizzie attempts to kiss Ricky, who is worried about being spotted by Connie. Lizzie dismisses this, saying that he is just being paranoid.

Jo Ellen and Vernon walk as they discuss plans for the wedding. Seeing Jo Ellen leading the conversation and boring Vernon, Muriel comes to his rescue and manages to distract her. She tells him that if he needs anything, he should call her and he agrees, but says it is not necessary. When she leaves, he starts rubbing his eyes and it is implied that he is struggling to see.

Lilly watches the sunset whilst holding Chloe when she is approached by Mel. The two talk about how beautiful it is here in town when Lilly leaves Chloe with Mel to get a drink. Whilst holding her, Mel has a flashback of the birthday before she was supposed to become a mom, preparing the nursery. She embraces Mark, happy with the life she has. She returns to reality and looks down at Chloe, who is cooing.

Charmaine comes to the bar and talks to Jack for the first time since the shooting. She appears with a man called Todd, with whom she is in a relationship. At that moment, Mel appears and he jokes that he is taken. Charmaine explains that they met a few weeks ago at her salon and reveals that the two are engaged.

The next day, Mel receives a package from her sister from her birthday. Calling Joey to thank her, they talk about Mel’s birthday plans. She is adamant that she doesn’t want to make a big deal out of it but Joey pushes her to enjoy the day. Jack arrives, planning on spending the day together, not having taken Mel’s plan of working seriously. She insists that this is what she wants and Jack complies. A masseuse arrives and Jack offers to cancel, but Mel changes her mind and agrees to relax, at least for the morning.

Preacher takes Christopher to a summer camp but the latter is hesitant to go. Preacher manages to convince him by promising that he will be there to pick him up whenever he wishes. When dropping him off, he questions the camp counsellor if they check ID at pickup and he confirms that they do. Preacher is still worried about and Paige’s situation.

Ricky and Lizzie go swimming together but he is still worried about being seen by Connie and Lizzie being sent home as a result. Lizzie assures that it won’t happen and tells him of her plans to stay in Virgin River. He informs her that he will be going to community college when asked, though it is obvious that the Marines are still on his mind.

At the clinic, Vernon talks to a doctor, who reveals that he has wet age related macular degeneration. He is aware that it could lead to permanent blindness depending on the treatment he chooses to take. The physician advises him to find a replacement and Vernon informs him that he is meeting a recruiter in a moment. The headhunter, Julia, arrives and Vernon plans to find someone new as soon as possible. He also wishes to keep it confidential, which will make things even harder as medicine is competitive and people are looking to live in cities.

Mel is sitting on the deck when Jack arrives with sushi to surprise Mel. Shocked as she was unaware of a sushi restaurant anywhere ready, Jack reveals he had it flown in by helicopter from Grace Valley. The two talk about their different experiences with celebrating birthdays whilst eating the food. Jack is surprised at Charmaine’s relationship with Todd, stating that he is not what he would have expected for her. Mel remarks that they seem happy but Jack is determined to keep him distant from the twins, at least for now as he barely knows him.

At Emerald Lumber, Brady is running the company as a legitimate business, seemingly away from Calvin and his dirty work. The latter unexpectedly arrives, having suspected that Brady was behind the raid but he denies it. He reveals his knowledge of Spencer being alive and taunts Brady. When the latter tells Calvin to kill him if that is his plan, Calvin says that if the time comes, he will make sure to do it properly. Before leaving, Calvin remarks that Brady did it to make amends with Jack but at the end of the day, law enforcement will leave and he himself will stay.

At the store, Mel runs into Lilly, who wishes her a happy birthday. Mel tells her about her lack of celebration on birthdays but Lilly remarks that she was the same before marrying Buck, who convinced her it was a blessing and something to be grateful for. Mel has a flashback of herself during her pregnancy talking with Joey about meeting her daughter. She comes back to the present.

At the clinic, Jack is being examined by Doc, who informs him that he is doing pretty well other than his persistent memory issues. They talk about Mel and the birthday plans, with Doc hinting that she may not want to burden Jack.

Jack’s sister, Brie, is at the bar drinking when she receives a phone call and becomes visibly agitated. She ends it in frustration and Brady enters the bar. He spots Brie and sits next to her, unaware of her relation to Jack. They smile at each other and she asks him if he is meeting anyone. Brady responds that he is looking for Jack, the owner of the bar. Brie responds that she knows who Jack is because they used to live together. Brady is curious and questions her on it, with her joking that she is irresistible. As Jack enters from the back, he witnesses their interaction. Brady is intrigued and offers to buy Brie a drink but before she can respond, Jack tells him no for her and asks Brady to leave. Brie is annoyed that he is speaking for her and Brady walks over to the office to speak to Jack. He questions if Brady being here has anything to do with Calvin but he responds that the two are done and asks Jack how he is doing. The latter simply replies and asks him to leave again.

Preacher picks up Christopher from camp, who reveals that he hated the experience and never wants to go back. Preacher is taken aback by this statement.

Outside Connie’s house, Lizzie and Ricky are making out in his car but his fear of Connie is still there. Lizzie becomes angry at the fact that their whole relationship has become centred around Connie. Ricky remarks that she wasn’t the one being caught in her underwear. Lizzie furiously gets out of the car and storms off.

At the cabin, Mel is in a robe when Jack arrives, dressed for the date he planned - a moonlight dinner cruise in Eureka. Mel is surprised as she wasn’t expecting it and feels guilty that Jack is doing so much. He reveals his worries and she tells him that’s not the case, promising to let him know if she ever wants something.

At Hope and Vernon’s house, the latter is eating dinner alone and attempts to call Hope but is unable to reach her. Muriel comes over, having made him dinner. He invites her to eat with him but she insists that she will not disrupt his alone time.

Preacher reads a bedtime story to Christopher but seeing that something is wrong, asks him if he is alright. Christopher confesses that he was made fun of for not knowing how to play video games. Preacher suggests they learn together and Christopher happily thanks him. He also convinces him to give summer camp another go, citing that he could connect with someone who has similar interests and become friends. He agrees to do so before going to sleep.

At Jack’s house, Mel is having a bath when Jack enters with her promised coconut cupcake. He climbs in and the two sit there together, embracing. Jack is upset that he was unable to change Mel’s mind about birthdays but she thanks him for all the effort he put in trying. She confesses the reason behind her not celebrating birthdays is due to the fact that her mother died a week before she turned 11. He comforts her and the two kiss intensely. All of a sudden, Mel smells burning and the two realise that the house is on fire. As they escape, the house is shown to be fully submerged in flames and once outside, they watch it fall apart to the ground.

Cast[]

Main Cast[]

Guest Cast[]

Co-Starring[]

Trivia[]

Gallery[]

Promotional stills[]

Videos[]


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References[]

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