Mel's medical scare was just that, a minor scare and some cramping.

But the incident prompted Mel to address her genuine concerns with Jack and his drinking on Virgin River Season 4 Episode 7. And that's overdue and a natural progression for these two to explore.

Yes, the couple is in it for the long haul, but there is nothing easy about their relationship right now.

Things got scary for Mel when she needed to call Doc and seek help from him and stated that Jack was passed out drunk during this emergency.

It put some things in perspective for Mel, and if she was willing to overlook some of her concerns about Jack before, the scare changed that.

Jack is one of the most reliable people, but his drinking makes him the opposite to her, and they spend the rest of the hour addressing this issue between them.

Jack doesn't believe he has a problem, but every moment Mel witnesses him drinking, the tension between them only thickens.

Jack: At least everything is okay now.
Mel: You think everything's okay?
Jack: Yeah, that's what Doc said.
Mel: He was talking about the baby.
Jack: And you were talking about...
Mel: You were passed out.
Jack: I was asleep.
Mel: Jack, I thought I was having a miscarriage, and I thought I would have to drive myself to the hospital.

• Permalink: Jack, I thought I was having a miscarriage, and I thought I would have to drive myself to the...

She was genuinely upset when she walked into the bar to speak to him and saw him with a beer while serving other people. And it's true that traditionally bartenders don't drink in the middle of their service.

But all of that culminated in an argument and her bluntly asking him about his drinking when she got home, and he was nursing another one.

Because of this vice of Jack's and his refusal to deal with his issues, Mel is starting to feel like she's alone, and the thought of that terrifies her when they're expecting a baby, and she's such a high risk.

She has to routinely avoid stress for her and the baby's safety, but there's no getting around the fact that she's stressed out about Jack.

She wants him to go to therapy or talk to someone, but he's in such deep denial about needing any sort of help, and it's a routine argument between the two at this point.

The love between them is there, and it's doubtful that they'll fall apart again, but the tension between them is tense and concerning, and it rarely looks pretty.

They ensure that Mel and Jack are never out of the woodwork regarding the precarious state of their romance. It always feels like their challenges are astronomical. But Breckenridge and Henderson are so damn good at serving us every facet of these characters and their relationship that we remain invested through every hiccup.

Jack needs to hit some kind of rock bottom before he makes some of the changes necessary for himself, but he hasn't yet, and that's enough to make a person nervous.

And Mel seems like she's at a breaking point with him, his stubbornness, and his denial.

Her lack of interest when he expressed his airstream idea and how quickly he could get money in for them to have their own house was telling.

It's a perfect idea, and I love that Nick and Preacher are game for it, too. It could also bring a slue of interesting people to Virgin River. And Jack needs this, especially when he constantly feels like he's competing with Charmaine's new husband when preparing for the twins.

As an aside, the lack of Charmaine is surprising but not entirely unwelcome, but there are some lingering things about her arc that could have been explored without her being a nuisance.

Jack: At least everything is okay now.
Mel: You think everything's okay?
Jack: Yeah, that's what Doc said.
Mel: He was talking about the baby.
Jack: And you were talking about...
Mel: You were passed out.
Jack: I was asleep.
Mel: Jack, I thought I was having a miscarriage, and I thought I would have to drive myself to the hospital.

• Permalink: Jack, I thought I was having a miscarriage, and I thought I would have to drive myself to the...

Her husband seemed like the controlling, emotionally abusive type, and the season could explore that a bit more without settling on making Charmaine the villainess or nonexistent.

And when exactly are these babies due? It feels like she's been pregnant for a decade! The timeline on this series is bananas -- Mel has only been in Virgin River for roughly a year! Anyway, they've opted to give us Charmaine in small doses, and as lovely as Lauren Hammersley is, I can't say I'm upset about it.

But back to Jack and Mel. A meddlesome Mel isn't without her faults either, and Joey's arrival with her big news highlighted that.

Mel always feels that she knows best when it comes to other people. She can be judgmental in her own way, too. And sometimes, it's as if she looks for reasons to be unhappy.

We see a lot of the latter with her relationship with Jack, and it's something Joey knows about her sister and implied when she stated that she didn't want to wait to get married because she's not afraid of love.

It wasn't so much a dig as it was an astute observation, and Joey isn't wrong about that regarding Mel, and we see it often with her complicated pathway with Jack.

Jack indeed has his fair share of problems, which need to be addressed, and he needs help, but on the flip side, it can read as if Mel is always looking for another problem within their relationship instead of learning how to be happy.

Mel got super worked up about Joey getting engaged to Nate and wanting to get married the next day, but as protective as she is of her sister, it's not her place.

All she could do was support her sister on this and hope for the best.

Joey explained how things with Nate came to be, and it doesn't sound nearly as bad as Mel is making it out. Nate isn't some complete stranger that Joey only just met. He's her high school sweetheart.

She dated him in high school and knew him well then, and they got back in touch and picked things up where they left off. Nate is someone that Joey feels comfortable with, he clearly still had feelings for her since he reached out when he learned she was divorced, and so far, he treats her right.

After what Joey went through with her ex, she deserves that. And she could wait a bit to walk down the aisle with the guy, but she doesn't want to, and that's okay.

Mel is worried that Joey is too reckless and making an impulsive mistake, but she also acknowledges to Hope that Joey doesn't make decisions lightly and handles her life fine.

Mel needs to trust Joey and support her the way Joey always does for her. But first, she'll have to square things away with Nate since he called the wedding off thanks to Mel blabbing her mouth about him being the cause of her and Joey's fight.

When you consider how quickly Mel and Jack have become serious, Mel isn't in the position to question Joey's choices. Hopefully, Joey will get her wedding with Mel by her side. Nate seems like a nice man.

Hope had great advice for Mel, but she should've let Jo Ellen drive. It was cute how the Sewing Circle tricked Hope into taking over an event. She was starting to feel like her old self again because of it.

Mel: I just want you to ask yourself why you're in such a hurry?
Joey: I already know the answer. Love doesn't scare me.

• Permalink: I already know the answer. Love doesn't scare me.

Doc will flip out when he hears about her fender bender, though. He was too preoccupied with that strenuous hike to help the residents in the middle of the woods. Cameron got his feet wet with that Virgin River life with that one.

But we still haven't seen Doc sit down with Denny and have a chat. Denny is staying with them at the house now, and he had good intentions of making them dinner, creating a dish close to his heart.

He has seemingly turned a new leaf, assuming there is even a leaf that needs turning, but we still don't know about the drug cabinet incident. I can't say I understand why they're drawing it out.

Denny invited Lizzie over for dinner, and he got along with her well enough while she helped him in the kitchen. He wasn't being so hot and cold with her that time.

But she discovered his medicine in his drawer, and that's the sort they prescribe for anxiety and panic. Could he have been searching for more of that when he broke into the drug cabinet?

Maybe he suffered from anxiety after his father passed away. It could also explain his mood swings, maybe?

Unfortunately, something tells me neither Hope nor Doc will make it for his special dinner, and who knows how he'll react to that when it happens.

Have you recalled someone who fumbled the bag as much as our beloved Preacher? He's such a gentle, kind man, and while most days he gives excellent advice, other times he's totally aloof to things.

Julia finally asked him about Paige and Christopher. Because of how cryptic he was when he answered her, she was put off and went back to treating their relationship professionally.

He doesn't have to get into all the details of what happened with Paige and Christopher, but he should've provided some context so that Julia doesn't feel like she's impeding on something, wasting her time, or whatever else.

They're sweet together, and Preacher deserves this love and happiness.

And whether anyone else believes it or not, Brady and Brie deserve the same.

Mike needs to get over himself about Brady and Brie. It's ridiculous. He doesn't even know Brie well enough himself to constantly imply that she deserves better than Brady.

Who is he to decide things like that? And he can never miss an opportunity to make some sort of dig or attempt to rile Brady up or put him down when it comes to Brie, but he never makes those types of comments to Brie.

Everyone wants Brady to cut Brie loose as if she's not a grown woman with her own agency and ability to make choices for herself.

And we can honestly see that their relationship mainly works for them, and Brady is a different, better, improved man when he's with her, and he genuinely makes her happy and feel good.

Mel: Why are you drinking?
Jack: I'm stoked about the airstream.
Mel: No, when I came to the bar earlier today, you were drinking a beer.
Jack: Oh, okay, so what are we keeping track now? Is that what we're doing?
Mel: No, I'm not keeping track, okay? Last night was absolutely horrible awful, and you swore that wouldn't happen again, but then I come home and you're drinking.
Jack: I honestly didn't think that having one or two drinks was a problem.

• Permalink: I honestly didn't think that having one or two drinks was a problem.

They're not some imbalanced relationship where only one of them gets something out of it.

However, Brie will probably be in some danger because of this Emerald Lumber mess, but because of how Jack factored into it, I'm not sure she'd have been excluded even if Brady wasn't a factor.

And for all of Mike's disdain for Brady, he sure as hell needed his help. He couldn't even ask that the proper way. Brady knew the perfect way to get under Jimmy's skin and prompt him to take the deal.

But it does feel like Brady is playing a dangerous game with this deal he struck with Calvin.

The pathway to taking this man down and unraveling the larger mystery of how Vince factors into all of this continue, and hopefully, we'll have some form of a resolution by the end of the season.

Over to you, Virgin River Fanatics.

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.