Who dies in Virgin River season 3?

In the clip's caption, Netflix revealed that Mel and her friends would be back to face all sorts of troubles: "death, a fire, custody arguments, breakups and more", resulting in a lot of speculation as to whose funeral will feature in season three.

With fans wanting to know which character they're about to shed a load of tears over, we've broken down our predictions as to who will unfortunately die in Virgin River season three. Read on for all the latest theories!

Doc Mullins

As much as we wish this wasn't the case, it looks as though Doc Mullins (Tim Matheson) is the front-runner for the member of the Virgin River cast most likely to die. Towards the end of season two, Doc revealed that he'd received some pretty bad news from his own doctor, while in the season three trailer, we see Mel say to Doc, "So you're going blind?" to which Doc replies, "In a word – maybe."

With Doc and Hope finally an officially item, his death would be a heartbreaking blow for fans – although there's no need to despair just yet. TVLine recently revealed that while Doc's diagnosis "and his new outlook on life has a major impact on his personal and professional relationships in town", he is "arguably featured more than ever" in season three.

While showrunner Sue Tenney told the publication that Doc is "going to rise to the challenge" when it comes to his medical ailments – so hopefully, season three won't be the end of Doc.

Jack

While Jack would be an obvious pick for the character most likely to die this season based on the season two cliffhanger alone, those who've seen the trailer will know that he survives his gunshot wound and makes a full recovery, going onto develop his relationship with Mel and spend time with his sister Brie, a new character on Virgin River.

That doesn't rule him out from being the show's death however, as we know someone wants him dead, we just don't know who shot Jack in Virgin River. In the trailer, we see a stressed-out Jack shout at the officer investigating his case, "What do you want me to do? Sit around at home waiting for the shooter to turn himself in?", before throwing one of Calvin's men, a potential suspect judging by the trailer, up against the wall.

We also see Jack and Mel flee a huge blaze that's engulfed the cabin and judging by the number of enemies Jack has, it wouldn't be a huge leap to assume this was a targeted case of arson.

Jack clearly expects whoever shot him to come back and finish the job, which unfortunately makes him a likely candidate for the Virgin River death – but without Jack, is there really a show? It would seem so unfair for Mel to lose yet another partner after the death of her husband, so fingers crossed the funeral isn't for Jack.

Spencer

It's possible that Virgin River's season three funeral will be for minor character Spencer, one of Calvin's former men who informed the police about his marijuana farm.

Towards the end of season two, Calvin gave Brady an ultimatum: either he killed Spencer for him or left the organisation. While it initially seemed as though Brady had carried out the horrendous deed, we discovered in the finale that Brady actually faked Spencer's death and helped him and his family escape town.

In a sneak-peek clip from season three, we see Calvin threaten Brady, revealing that he knows that Spencer is still alive and that Brady failed to kill him. If Spencer has for some reason returned to Virgin River, Calvin may set out to finish the job himself and so Spencer could be the death Netflix is referring to.

Lilly

While we don't have a huge amount of information to go on for this theory, some fans are certain that poor Lilly, Connie's friend and local farm owner, is set to meet her demise in the upcoming season.

In season one, we discovered that she'd secretly had a baby six months after the death of her husband and whilst suffering with postpartum depression, abandoned the baby on the front porch of the Doctor's surgery. While we now know that Lilly decided to raise the baby and had begun to feel better, season three will see the arrival of her daughter Tara (Stacey Farber) and many viewers are convinced she'll be visiting Virgin River to look after the baby after her mother falls ill.

• For the latest news and expert tips on getting the best deals this year, take a look at our Black Friday 2021 and Cyber Monday 2021

While this is all speculative, in the first-look images of season three, Tara does look rather somber when stood beside her mother and talking to Doc Mullins. But we'll have to wait for the series to arrive to find out for sure.

Learn more about where Virgin River is filmed and how to read the Virgin River books in order.

Virgin River season 3 arrives on Netflix on Friday 9th July. Check out our lists of the best series on Netflix and the best movies on Netflix, or see what else is on with our TV Guide