An important character from Virgin River could yield several stories in the coming seasons.

Will we see its end? Or new adventures? In addition to the captivating romance

between Melinda ‘Mel’ Monroe (Alexandra Breckenridge) and Jack Sheridan (Martin Henderson),

there are plenty of other characters to pay attention to in Virgin River. One of the first people Mel meets when she arrives in town is Doc Mullins, the local doctor.

Played by Tim Matheson, Doc is initially resistant to change and suspicious of Mel’s presence at the clinic, but ends up liking her and eventually becomes like family to Mel. She encourages Doc to make more connections within the community, establishing relationships that make his work even more enjoyable.

In fact, Matheson points to Doc’s appreciation for the residents of Virgin River as the reason he will never retire.

“Ah, I don’t think he could ever leave the clinic. Because you are taking care of the city, you are taking care of the people. And the reason he went there was to get away from that big city thing where you don’t know anyone and you don’t have a moment to yourself,” Matheson explained during an interview with Entertainment Weekly.

“As Doc gets older, you reflect on your life and want to focus more on the people in your life than your life’s work. So making space for a more personal connection would be really important to him.”

It’s good to know that Matheson doesn’t see Doc hanging up his stethoscope anytime soon, but a retirement story could be an opportunity for the character to grow in new ways.

A retirement storyline for Doc Mullins could bring some interesting developments
Alexandra Breckenridge loves Mel and Doc’s father-daughter dynamic as much as fans do, but she wouldn’t hurt to see the aging doctor take a break after years of faithful service. Mel might need some extra hands at the clinic from time to time, but she would be able to take care of everything in his absence.

Still, Doc doesn’t seem like someone who would be content spending his days fishing or watching television. He likes to be busy and thrives at work, but a retirement storyline would be a much better alternative to what happens to Doc in the books. In book six of the Virgin River series, a novel titled Temptation Ridge, Doc passes away.

It’s no secret that there are a lot of differences between the books and the show, so seeing some changes to Doc’s storyline wouldn’t be a huge surprise. On the show, Doc’s health hasn’t been so good lately, so it would be great to see him retire and live happily with Hope (Annette O’Toole).

Even if Doc decides to step away from the clinic, he can always come back for a visit. His death would be a huge blow to Mel, who finally seems to have her life with Jack on track. There’s more drama in this sleepy town than meets the eye. So viewers will have to wait and see what happens when season 5 premieres on Netflix.