Brady is alive!

While it would've been unthinkable for the series to kill off its bad boy with a heart of gold, it didn't make things any less stressful headed into Virgin River Season 4 Episode 2.

And we got one of the sweetest Brady and Brie scenes, so maybe that shanking was worth it.

Brie has her work cut out for her trying to get Brady out of prison soon. She and Jack know the truth, which does wonders, but Brady's past makes things harder for him and those he loves.

The Sheridan siblings were beside themselves when they learned of his stabbing. You could tell both of them were wracked with guilt for various reasons.

Jack couldn't get past the fact that he believed his brother tried to kill him, and no amount of comfort from Mel could make him feel any better about it.

I can't wait until he has a moment with a Brady face-to-face. Maybe after all of this, they can mend fences and set the tension between them aside.

Fortunately, Brie got to flex her legal skills to finesse her way into the room, and she gave Brady the heartfelt declaration of love that we were robbed of when he got hauled away.

Brady and Brie are one of the most unexpectedly delightful pairings. Hollingsworth and Allen have such amazing chemistry, matching that of Henderson and Breckenridge. One can't wait to delve into their love story further as the season progresses. It indeed is facing its fair share of tests.

Brie has a few reasons she'd like to stick around in Virgin River despite her father's reservations, but Brady is a huge factor.

The downside to committing herself to Brady is that she's dragged into trouble with him. Calvin confronting her at her car was disturbing, and he wasted no time laying down some threats, not only to Brady but to her life.

Calvin wants Brady to keep his mouth shut and get the lumber company up and running for his gang. It's like Brady has people coming for him on all sides, and there's no way of knowing how he can get from underneath all of this.

Everything goes back to Vince, but they haven't provided any new leads on him as of yet. Jack is preoccupied with a million other things, and despite Preacher's concern, he can't do anything but sit on his hands and take some Aikido lessons with that beautiful instructor.

Preach is deserving of a romance. He's this fantastic man and one of Virgin River's most eligible bachelors, and Lawrence is so criminally underused, particularly in that regard. We've been waiting ages for him to find happiness and love. The timing is a bit weird, though.

Preach seems oddly unfazed by Vince taking Christopher, and his portion of the storyline feels the most disjointed from where things were left with him. Now, we're possibly sailing into romance territory, which is what we've been holding out for, but it's not flowing with ease.

Brie: Remember when you told me you were falling in love with me? I didn't say anything because I was too scared to tell you that I was already in love with you. Then last night happened, and I didn't think that I would get the chance.and ...
Brady: You don't need to cry. I'm right here. Everything is going to be okay.
Brie: I'm going to get you home. I promise. I love you.

• Permalink: I'm going to get you home. I promise. I love you.

They are handling Hope's recovery process from her TBI beautifully, though. TBIs are complex, and the damage can be long-lasting. Hope is not the same person that she was, and it's something she's struggling with in a very realistic manner.

Hope doesn't feel as sharp as she used to be, and she can't seem to control herself, words, moods, and how she expresses things. On top of all this, she's still grieving Lilly, and it's fresh for her.

In many ways, it's like life has carried on in Virgin River, but Hope is still stuck on Lilly's death as if it happened yesterday. It was probably too soon for her to interact with the rest of the Sewing Circle because of how triggering it could be.

But Tara's addition to the circle was too much for her. It's lovely that Tara can spend time with her mother's best friends and feel like she still has this piece of her. It's simply beautiful and meaningful for her and her respective grieving process.

Mel: You're going to have grandkids running around soon, so... the twins.
Mr. Sheridan: You're pregnant with twins?
Mel: I'm not pregnant with twins. Charmaine.
Mr. Sheridan: You got Charmaine pregnant?

• Permalink: You're going to have grandkids running around soon, so... the twins.

On the flip side, you can also understand how difficult that is for Hope to see Tara, every bit her mother's daughter, sitting where Lilly used to be.

Hope has to adjust to so much that I wonder how she'll handle Denny. It doesn't seem like Doc has any reservations about introducing them to each other or talking about this woman he impregnated many years ago.

Nevertheless, it's a lot to adapt to, and there's still so much about Denny that we don't know. It was shocking to hear that his father had died. Based on how recent that death was, a lot must have come out after his death, and that's what prompted Denny to track down Doc.

But what are his motives? When will we learn more about Rose and all the secrecy?

It would make some sense that she didn't want to ruin Doc's life or prevent him from completing medical school by telling him she was pregnant, but what about all the years since then?

Denny is holding back, and there has to be more to why he's there.

It seems we may be in some love triangle territory, too, now that he and Lizzie are connecting with each other, and Ricky could be shipping out away from home sooner than he hoped.

The Ricky and Jack bond is as sweet as ever, and despite all of his worries, Jack is nothing but supportive of Ricky and his choice to enlist.

Having Jack be so supportive and loving of his pseudo-son juxtaposed well with Jack's father coming to town and digging into why things are so tense between the two.

What's with the series jumping past Mel meeting Jack's family members? They did it with Brie first, and now we learn that she and Jack's father had also met before when he was in the hospital.

Mr. Sheridan is a difficult man to enjoy. Right off the bat, he seemed hypercritical and judgmental. You could understand why Jack wasn't enthused when he learned Mr. Sheridan was there and hated that he didn't have Brie as a buffer.

Mr. Sheridan doesn't seem to understand the charm of Virgin River or any of Jack's choices. You can tell that Brie is the favored kid. Their dad clung to Brie spending time with them and resented that she had become distant since she relocated to Virgin River.

In Brie, he saw a child who lived up to her potential, whereas he didn't feel Jack did the same. Mr. Sheridan made it seem like Jack ruined his life by enlisting in the Marines and that Jack only did it to spite him instead of realizing that his son was only following his passion.

The two of them were long overdue for a talk, and the timing was probably better than ever, with Jack on the cusp of fatherhood himself.

Although, one of the most cringeworthy moments was when Mel casually shared that Charmaine was having Jack's twins. Mel, I love you, but what the hell is going on with you?! The series was guilty of contrived writing to generate drama with that one.

Given Jack's relationship with his father, even if Mr. Sheridan did know about Charmaine and the twins, it wouldn't be a pleasant subject. It was a total face palm scene.

Mr. Sheridan: So you can honestly say that you're satisfied with your life here?
Jack: Yes, I can. And I wish you could accept that there's more than one way to live a life.
Mr. Sheridan: You're not the first person to tell me that.
Jack: Well, it might be something to think about.

• Permalink: So you can honestly say that you're satisfied with your life here?

Mr. Sheridan is old-school. In his mind, Jack should've married Charmaine and raised a family together. He didn't associate marriage with happiness, which should've been the first sign that things weren't well with him and his wife.

It doesn't matter how old you are, sometimes, learning that your parents are divorcing can rock your entire world, and that seemed to be the case when Jack's father made that announcement.

Jack isn't the only one who takes issue with Mr. Sheridan being stuck in his ways and feeling only he knows best. It must be one of the root causes of his divorce, too.

Perhaps Jack's father will stick around for a bit and do some soul-searching.

Although the longer he stays, the more awkward things will get when he learns that Mel is pregnant, too!

Jack is such a doting, future dad. He's doing everything he can to ensure Mel is healthy and safe. He worries and frets over her every move. It's all so cute.

He has such genuine fear that bad things could happen and given their track records with things, his concerns aren't unfounded.

Mel has been the one who is taking all of this in stride and being cavalier about her pregnancy when it comes to worrying too much.

However, the reality sank in when she helped Lee Ann deliver a stillborn child. Goodness, that was utterly gut-wrenching to witness.

That poor couple was devastated. Cameron seemed awkward and helpless until he called the time of death. And it definitely triggered Mel and burst her optimistic bubble of denial regarding what she could face.

The only silver lining in that storyline was that the couple learned they were having twins. They have a beautiful child they didn't expect, like a little miracle.

But they'll still have to process the loss of the other twin.

Mel didn't even have the heart to tell Jack about her day and what happened. It would further stress him out.

We knew these two having a child together wouldn't be an easy road, but the stress is already too much.

Over to you, Virgin River Fanatics. What's your impression of Jack's father? Did you love that Brie love declaration? 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.