Broken hearts and broken spirits can plague this delightful community.

We had a quintessential Virgin River event with the Renassaince Faire on Virgin River Season 4 Episode 6, and all the fun, endearing, and charming moments came with that.

But despite the frivolity of it all, there was some heaviness during this hour.

The Virgin River events are always so much fun, and I love how invested everyone is in them. Did you see those costumes? They were all perfection.

Jack was absolutely dashing in his and was donning the accent, which was lovely on the ears.

And the sword fighting with him and Preacher was so much fun and quite the show. The two of them could bring in quite a crowd at Medieval times.

Cameron seemed out of his element, but he appeared to enjoy the charm of this small town. Although, is anyone surprised by how underutilized he is?

But the light moments didn't overshadow the darker ones.

Jack is long overdue for exorcising his demons. He never deals with his past traumas and everything weighing him down. He only buries them and tries to keep pushing through as he slowly tears apart at the seams.

Chris' young brother, Tim, showing up the day of the fair, fresh off of that disagreement with Mel that sent Jack in a tizzy, proved to be a trigger.

Jack's somber turn as he slipped into the darkness full of guilt and pain was brutal, and, of course, Henderson did so well with that heavier plot point, evoking how burdened and hurt Jack was as he attempted to mask it all.

At his core, Jack has simply not been able to move beyond the scars of war and what his time and the service have done to him, and there have been little things that keep triggering that, tugging at that particular thread and stirring up some stuff for him.

He and his father's conflict about military service is one. Jack learning that Ricky enlisted has also gotten to him, and Cameron's polite, casual disdain for the military infrastructure is another thing.

Brady always seems to be a trigger for Jack in that regard as he fails to see that Brady isn't okay either, partially because of his own experience, and that has manifested itself in ways that Jack hasn't approved of but is harshly judgmental of when he hasn't dealt with his own shit either.

He and Brady are more alike than either of them care to admit.

Tim: That night you called looking for my mom and dad  I realized how much guilt you were still carrying. 
Jack: I told them I'd bring him home, and I didn't. 
Tim: I wanted you to hear it from me. Chris wouldn't have blamed you. Neither did my family.  I thought reading this letter would help you let go of some of that guilt.

• Permalink: I wanted you to hear it from me. Chris wouldn't have blamed you. Neither did my family.  I...

But Tim's appearance was the straw that broke the camel's back, looking the spitting image of his brother and bringing a letter that Chris wrote to his parents that had nothing but high praise for Jack.

No matter how many times and ways people tell Jack that Chris' death isn't his fault, he can't believe it or let go of the guilt. And while Tim felt like Jack hearing it from him could make a difference, or reading that letter would, it's doubtful that it had the desired effect.

As we heard the letter, it felt like something that would only make Jack feel worse about not being able to protect this kid who had all the faith in the world in him.

It was suitable that the combination of seeing Tim's face, who looks so much like Chris and flashing back with Ricky serving as Chris caused Jack so much grief.

It's apparent that there are parallels to Ricky and Chris for Jack; he cannot bear it if something happens to Ricky, too.

Sadly, only Mel and Preacher were attuned enough to Jack to know he was struggling, but he's the most stubborn man in the world and refuses to get the help that he needs.

But at least Mel mentioned something about the drinking. It's only getting worse, and he goes for the booze every time he's stressed out, which is a lot.

Jack thinks he's wallowing and that the alcohol eases some of that, and he can just get over everything when he chooses to, but we all know that isn't the case.

He needs to see someone, a therapist, a group, something. He barely talks to anyone, and it's simply not healthy.

Plus, as time goes on, it is concerning that he has children on the way, and he can't take the necessary steps to sort himself out a bit.

Mostly, it just hurts to see him in so much pain. He's carrying way too much, holding on to too much, and it's wearing him down. At some point, he won't be able to come back. He's like a powderkeg.

His guilt will only be compounded when he finds out that Mel had a scare and he wasn't around. One can only assume he fell into a deep, drunken sleep outside by the fire or something to that effect.

But we know he'll be kicking himself for not being there when Mel needed him, and he can't afford any more guilt.

Until now, they haven't discussed with anyone in Virgin River that Mel is pregnant, so Mel calling Doc will open the floodgates to the news breaking in some capacity. And that should be interesting, too.

There is so much loss in this series, especially regarding women and babies, children, and so forth. I don't know if I'm emotionally prepared for Mel to face another loss or severe complication.

Hopefully, this scare is something minor.

She spent the whole day worrying about Jack and telling Doc the truth about Denny.

The series' frustrating habit of leaving us on this cliffhanger and then carrying on as if nothing happened until addressing it halfway through the installment is maddening!

Apparently, Denny explained away his going into the drug cabinet as him looking for aspirin and somebody leaving it open. It's as unlikely as it gets, especially when the town has an addiction issue because of Calvin.

But Mel thought she was protecting Doc by not telling him the full story, and the issue was too serious to skirt around the truth.

Mel: Just because we don't agree on something doesn't mean it has to be a fight.
Jack: I'll try to remember that.

• Permalink: I'll try to remember that.

Fortunately, Doc called her out on "managing" him with something so important. Sure, he has his hands full with Hope, but you cannot beat around the bush when it comes to narcotics and all. Doc and Denny are long overdue for an extensive talk.

Ironically, Denny was behaving totally differently. It's hard to say if he was acting that way because he was trying to distract from his incident and wanted to give off a good impression, or maybe it was something drug-related, but it was noticeable.

And after being so wishy-washy with Lizzie, he finally shared with her that she's all he thinks about, and they kissed. However, now it's impossible to know if he's genuine about that or lying and using the poor girl.

Dammit, Denny. What is your deal?!

Poor Ricky thought he made some headway with Lizzie and was putting himself out there and trying, but seeing that kiss set him back.

At least Doc made some headway with Hope, though.

Connie came through with the sage advice and an excellent callout. Hope is lashing out at Doc so much, and it hasn't been fair. We always take everything out on the people closest to us.

But Hope is so angry about Lilly's death and not getting the chance to say goodbye to her, and while everyone knew about it, it's Doc who faces her ire.

Ever since I got back from Iraq, I've been trying to get him to respect me. But no matter what I do, he treats me like some dumb kid.

Brady

• Permalink: Ever since I got back from Iraq, I've been trying to get him to respect me. But no matter...

Hope needed that reminder that Doc is grieving and going through all of this with her. He's also devastated about losing Lilly, and Hope's accident had him in shambles.

She had to stop punishing him for loving her.

Their talk was genuinely moving and hopefully effective, and I love to see their love.

No good was coming from Hope punishing Doc by not taking care of herself, so thankfully, she agreed to go to her doctor's appointments and all.

But now they have to figure out the Denny situation since she invited him to stay at their home, but we don't know if he has a problem or not.

Meanwhile, Preacher is so problem-free at the moment that it's hard to trust it.

He and Julia are continuing to hit it off, and they're such a sweet if underdeveloped pairing. She didn't bring up the drawing she saw, but she looked enamored by Preach when he helped her niece with archery.

It makes you wonder what would happen if Paige or Christopher came back.

More importantly, when will Vince show up again! Obviously, he's connected to everything with Calvin in some way, so we need all the details.

Brady and Brie's plan is disconcerting, and is it sanctioned?

I'm worried about Brady heading back into the lion's den with Calvin if he doesn't have the proper backing to protect him if things go awry. We already suspect that Calvin has pull and at least some authorities in his pocket.

All of this feels so dangerous for both Brady and Brie.

Over to you, Virgin River Fanatics.

Do you think Jack has a drinking problem? What are your Denny theories? Sound off below.

Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching way too many shows and binge-drinking way too much tea. Her eclectic taste makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for complex characters, diverse representation, dynamic duos, compelling stories, and guilty pleasures. You'll definitely find her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Follow her on X.