Spoilers ahead for Virgin River Season 4!

Virgin River may be a sleepy little town, but it’s anything but boring — there’s always someone rolling in to shake up the local folks’ lives. In Season 4 of the Netflix drama, that someone is Denny (Kai Bradbury), an enigmatic newcomer to town who was first introduced at the tail end of the previous season. Denny claims to be the long-lost grandson of Doc Mullins (Tim Matheson), and at first he’s welcomed with open arms by the doctor and his wife, Hope (Annette O’Toole). Soon enough, though, everything Denny encounters goes astray, and everyone is left wondering, “What’s wrong with this guy?” And, “Is Denny really who he says he is?”

As the season progresses, so do the shady circumstances Denny finds himself in. Not only is he caught stealing medicine from Doc’s clinic and photographing his medical files, he’s also spotted transferring a large sum of money. While it could be said to be sweet that Denny falls into a romance with Lizzie (Sarah Dugdale), his wildly inconsistent behavior soon draws suspicion from his new friends and family — especially when Lizzie finds a secret stash of prescription drugs in Denny’s bag. Is Denny really Doc’s grandson, or is he just a con artist ready to take advantage of an old man? 

Perhaps predictably for a town as full of twists and turns as Virgin River, the answer to the question of “Who is Denny?” is a complicated one. Perhaps most importantly, yes, Denny really is Doc’s grandson — that isn’t a con. But why is he making such a large money transfer? The answer is surprisingly sweet: Denny is using the money — an insurance payout following his own father’s recent death — to pay off his grandfather’s clinic’s debt. The story behind Denny’s secret stash of medicine doesn’t have such a happy ending though. He needed the drugs because he has Huntington’s disease, a fatal genetic brain disorder. And it’s Denny’s tormented feelings around his diagnosis that leads to tumult with Lizzie: He can’t bear to fall in love when their fate could be so tragic. 

The season ends with Denny explaining everything, but his story doesn’t finish here. Next season will see the denizens of Virgin River come together to support him, in any way they can. 

Virgin River Season 4 Trailer