Yes, you read that right! Ricky has returned to Virgin River after enlisting in the Marines – meaning the future of Lizzie’s baby could still hang in the balance.
Ricky’s really gone from boy to man in the blink of an eye. With the help of Jack, he set off on the new adventure of Marines boot camp, much to the dismay of grandmother Lydie.
This was back in Season 5, but he’s returned home to some real changes. Ricky had no idea Lizzie was even pregnant… and now she’s around 8 months.
The two have a heart-to-heart in Virgin River Season 6 that leaves them on good terms, but is that all there is to the story of Lizzie’s pregnancy? Warning: spoilers ahead!
Who is the father of Lizzie’s baby in Virgin River?
Officially, Denny is the father of Lizzie’s baby. However, there’s still good enough reason to be suspicious of this, given Ricky could easily be the father.
Virgin River really skirted around a potential plotline with Ricky and Lizzie, instead spending most of Season 6 focusing on Denny’s health frustrations, leading to many arguments.
However, there are two details weaved into the series that suggest we could see a shocking baby daddy reveal later down the line. When the pair reunite in Episode 3, Ricky congratulates Lizzie on her pregnancy… with Lizzie congratulating him right back.
On top of this, the subject of testing the baby for Huntington’s – which is an incurable neurodegenerative disease Denny has – in Episode 6. We know it can be inherited, but Lizzie doesn’t want to deal with the fallout yet.
It’s one of the main reasons the two come to blows in new episodes. Denny wants to plan for his long-term care so he’s not a burden to Lizzie and the baby when the time comes, but Lizzie is much more concerned with planning for the moment. As a result, testing is put on hold.
Despite this, it’s going to come up at some point. The question is, what will we learn when it does happen? If the baby does have Huntington’s, Denny is definitely the father. But if it doesn’t – and we get more paternal data – Ricky could be in the mix.
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Why? Because he was intimate with Lizzie just before he left the binge-worthy TV show. Thanks to Season 5, there’s some crossover in the Ricky-Denny timeline, even though Lizzie wasn’t officially with Ricky anymore.
The Virgin River books mean we can also double down on our predictions. Originally, it was Ricky who had a baby with Lizzie, even though they ran into complications along the way. ‘Paradise Valley’ holds an alternate story for the pair, and even though the TV series doesn’t stay completely true to source material, there’s enough there for speculation.
Will Ricky come back in Virgin River Season 7?
We currently don’t know, but it’s going to depend on whether he comes back from his deployment to the Middle East (not to be a Debbie Downer).
When Ricky ships out, he reveals to Jack that he’s being deployed to the Middle East. Ricky’s so scared that he’s become an alcoholic during his time offscreen, with Jack trying to talk him through the anxiety. Jack tells him a good marine is one who can act in the face of fear, and by the time he leaves, Ricky does seem changed.
Privately, Jack isn’t quite as cool as he seems. Lydie is worried sick that he’ll never come home, with Jack saying they have to believe he will. Even he doesn’t know if Ricky will survive his time at war, and it’s clearly something that keeps Ricky up at night.
The reality is that Ricky might not come back, which completely changes Season 7 alongside Lizzie’s future. So far, deaths have been few and far between in the TV show, so having such an unexpected exit would be quite the shocking twist.
However, as morbid as it sounds, Ricky’s death could act as a springboard for Jack. Settling into his new marriage doesn’t fill us with jeopardy, so being thrust back into bad memories of his own time at war could change that. He’d have to live with the guilt of helping Ricky enlist… is he strong enough for that?
But we’re just guessing at this point! We’ve got a number of questions that need answering in Season 7 first, and none of them relate to Ricky’s future. In short, he’s low down the pecking order, so we might be waiting a while.
Virgin River Season 6 is on Netflix now. Find out what Everett had to say to Mel and the rundown on the 1972 flashbacks. You can also check out more TV shows streaming this month.
