Spoilers for Virgin River season 7 ahead.

As if by magic, another 10 episodes have been and gone. Virgin River season 7 needed to answer the unhinged season 6 cliffhangers we were left with during Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge) and Jack’s (Martin Henderson) wedding… and boy has Netflix delivered.

Last time around, we learned that Brie (Zibby Allen) needed to decide whether she wanted to marry Mike (Marco Grazzini), while Brady (Ben Hollingsworth) wanted to get his money back from mysterious Lark (Elise Gatien).

Doc (Tim Matheson) might have his surgery taken away from him, and Charmaine (Lauren Hammersley) disappeared off the face of the earth.

On top of all this, Mel and Jack are propositioned when Mel’s surrogate patient, Marley (Rachel Drance), turns up at the cabin after her wedding – the parents that the pair have been working with all season long are backing out of the adoption. The surrogate wants Mel to have the baby, leaving her stunned.

Just a normal day in a small town, then… but where are we left now? Thankfully, Virgin River season 8 has already been confirmed, so let’s break down the Virgin River season 7 ending to try and guess where we’re heading next.

In short, yes… but it’s not quite that straightforward. Mel refuses Marley’s proposition initially in episode 1, instead wanting to help her find suitable adoption replacements while focusing on the house build.

This changes halfway through the season as Mel and Jack tentatively get their hopes up, hosting Marley in the Airstream on their land while she finds her feet. We learn that the baby’s dad is her ex-boyfriend, whom she ran away from… until he comes to find her.

Again, the story changes at this point. Marley has always wanted her baby boy to have two loving parents, and being reunited with her boyfriend changes her view on whether she needs to adopt at all.

Episode 10 confirms that the young lovers have decided that they’re not ready to be parents, intending to head back to university after Mel and Jack officially adopt the baby. Everything is going swimmingly until Marley feels suddenly unwell at the Founder’s Day picnic.

Thanks to help from Doc and the Grace Valley medics (more on that later), the group learn that Marley’s baby has a serious congenital heart defect that means he will need surgery as soon as he is born, and many more after that.

Marley emotionally apologises, but Mel is fixated on getting the baby into the best shape possible before she can think any further.

In season 7’s final shot, we see Marley successfully give birth, with Mel and Jack piling into the back of an ambulance with baby boy, ready to be taken straight to a nearby children’s specialist center (which is conveniently headed up by Mel’s ex-lover).

Yes! They move into their gorgeous new house, get a few more horses thanks to Roland (John Ralston), and have a dreamy honeymoon in Mexico.

They’ve also hired newbie Clay (Cody Kearsley), who has almost exactly the same storyline trajectory as Yancy (Jack Schumacher) in Ransom Canyon.

Think seemingly troubled yet hot outsider who has a strained relationship with his family, but a heart of gold underneath. He even rides in a rodeo to win money to pay off debts.

Does Brie agree to marry Mike?

No. This one gets ironed out pretty quickly in episode 1, with Brie revealing to Mike that as much as she wants to love him, her “heart will never get there”. Ouch.

To make matters even worse, the pair then have to work together to try and find Charmaine, as Brie assumes the role of her lawyer after a frenzied phone call begs for help.

Thankfully, as the two sides eventually draw the same conclusion, a truce wins out, with Mike and Brie learning how effectively they can partner together platonically.

So this is brilliant news for Brady and Brie, surely?