Who is Mel’s father in Virgin River?

❘ Published: 2023-11-30T17:00:36

Alexandra Breckenridge as Mel in Virgin River

Netflix

Virgin River Season 5 Part 2 has arrived, and now we finally know who Mel’s father is.

Patrick Sean Smith took over the role of showrunner from Sue Tenney for Season 5 and beyond of the beloved romance drama Virgin River, and to great effect. The first part of the new chapter nabbed first place in Netflix’s Top 10 chart, and now fans are busy poring over details of the new Christmas specials.

As we said in our review: “Packed with holiday spirit, enough festivities to rival a Hallmark Christmas movie, and some ominous twists, Season 5 Part 2 concludes a standout season.”

Amid the release of the new episodes, you might be wondering: who is Mel’s biological father in Virgin River? We have the answer. Warning: Spoilers ahead!

Who is Mel’s father in Virgin River?

As is revealed in Season 5 Part 2, Mel’s father is a man named Everett Reid – a Virgin River resident and winner of the 1976 Lumberjack Games.

The hunt for Mel’s father dominated much of her and Jack’s storyline in the two Christmas specials after Mel’s sister Joey found a series of love letters between their mother and a mystery man.

When Joey comes to visit for the holidays, they go through the letters and Mel decides that she wants to find out who her biological dad is. But all the details they have to go on are his nickname “Champ” and his PO box.

“So you wanna find him?” asks Joey, to which Mel replies, “I mean, yeah, I think I do. I want to know more about what happened. Maybe he still wants me to be in his life.”

After asking Hope who the local postmaster was when the letters were written, she directs them to Lydie, who tells Mel and Jack that a man named Chip Cooper (whom she still speaks to on the reg) was on duty back then.

They find Chip at his work as a Santa Claus at the Clear River community center, and he opens up about how he and his colleagues were peeking at the postcards between Mel’s father and mother, and they were enamored by the “romance he was having with this mystery woman.”

But eventually, the letters stopped coming and Champ stopped paying for his PO box. However, Chip is able to give them a crucial detail: Champ was the proud winner of Virgin River’s 1976 Lumberjack Games.

After a quick spot of internet sleuthing, Jack and Mel find a name: Everett Reid. But when they can’t find any more details about him online, they seek the help of Preacher, who asks the PI who helped him find Christopher.

It’s not long before they discover that Everett still lives in Virgin River. After obtaining his address, Mel and Jack head to his home and she knocks on the door. Initially, Everett tells her he’s not the man she’s looking for – but when he pops in the house quickly, she spots his trophy for the 1976 Lumberjack Games and realizes that he just doesn’t want to be in her life.

In the Season 5 finale, Mel makes peace with the decision, especially as she has good ol’ Doc to stand in as her surrogate father. She even asks him to walk her down the aisle when she gets married to Jack, and of course, he was honored to say yes.

But in the final scene, Everett shows up to Mel and Jack’s home to explain himself. “You look so much like your mom,” he confesses. “Seeing you just broke my heart all over again. I don’t know what to say.”

Everett explains how heartbroken he was when Mel’s mom died, before saying: “I am your father, and I’m here now.”

But this is Virgin River, of course, so their interaction ends with a cliffhanger, as he says: “Also, I’ve got something important I need to tell you.” The episode finishes there, meaning we’re going to have to wait until Season 6 to find out what that “important something” is.

Virgin River Season 5 is available to stream on Netflix now, and you can check out our other coverage below: