Virgin River Season 6’s cliffhanger put Charmaine’s life in jeopardy. But while we’ve got no idea what’s actually happened, three obvious theories work.

Let’s face it – Charmaine isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. She’s been ruffling feathers since Season 1, taking out Jack’s poor communication on new arrival Mel. Fast forward to Season 5 and she’s had the second-longest pregnancy on TV.

This came with its own twist, as the father of her now-born twins was revealed to be Calvin, who was previously assumed dead. Keeping up? Well, now Charmaine has even more on her plate thanks to Season 6’s ending.

In a nutshell, she’s disappeared, but nobody has a clear answer as to why or where. Virgin River Season 7 is bound to tell us, but there’s three plausible options while we wait.

Virgin River Season 6’s brutal cliffhanger explained

After Calvin’s daddy bombshell in Season 5, he’s on the warpath. Charmaine gets full custody of the twins in Season 6 Episode 3 and he’s angry, even threatening Jack with “being eliminated” after encouraging Charmaine to strike out on her own.

Brie and Jack then advise she get a restraining order, but things come to a head before anything can happen. Charmaine never turns up to Mel and Jack’s wedding, even though she’s supposed to be doing bridal hair and make-up. Jack visits her house the next day, and it’s been ransacked.

Jack hears the sound of a lullaby coming from upstairs, walking into the nursery with a look of horror. Before we can see what’s waiting, the screen cuts to black. What comes next is technically anybody’s guess.

Theory 1: Charmaine is dead

Okay, so this first option isn’t exactly a desirable one. If Virgin River wants to go for shock factor, they’ll kill Charmaine in cold blood. Worst case scenario, Jack has just walked in to find her body on the floor.

There’s got to be enough of an immediate shock for Jack to be pulling such a horrified face, and Charmaine crumpled on the floor would easily achieve that. If I’m right and actress Lauren Hammersley has been disguising a real-life pregnancy, it’s the easiest out showrunners can give her.

However, there’s plenty of evidence to suggest this isn’t the case. Not only is pregnancy not a great reason to kill off one of your cast members, but Virgin River has never done this before. Hardly anybody has died, with the exception of Lilly – and that was thanks to a horrific disease over a long period of time.

Really, it’s just not in the binge-worthy TV show‘s nature to be killing people off so coldly. Look at Calvin… they can’t even properly bump off actual criminals.

Theory 2: She’s been kidnapped

A more likely scenario is that Charmaine is alive, but Calvin is holding her and the twins hostage somewhere. This means Jack has walked into an empty room, the lullaby merely a recording to keep the babies peaceful in her absence.

We know Calvin’s main objective is to have the kids back in his care, meaning Charmaine is the main obstacle in his way. Eliminate the obstacle, eliminate the problem… as the saying goes.

This would also give Season 7 enough scope to unfurl a new plotline over a lengthier period of time. It arguably wouldn’t be as satisfying to follow Calvin while he’s on the run for first-degree murder, and we’ve just had a similar trial with Preacher.

It’s not yet clear how the twins are faring in all this, either. Since their birth in Season 5 Part 2, they’ve not been onscreen since. We either have to suspend belief and imagine they’re caught up in the fury, or Calvin is purely gunning for Charmaine.

Theory 3: She’s fine, but not at the house

The third theory is the most timid of the bunch. Charmaine is fine but not in the house… likely having taken the kids to safety with her family out of town.

It’s far from unfeasible, but it is a bit boring. An empty bedroom with no Charmaine or kids isn’t exactly enough to illicit Jack’s shock – unless there’s something else altogether.

It could be a note or Calvin in a sorry state on the floor, anything that dramatically indicates Charmaine and the kids are fine.

We know Charmaine’s mom is no longer alive, but a number of unaccounted relatives could be in place to bear the brunt of Calvin’s actions. Virgin River loves revealing long-lost relations later down the line (just look at Everett), so let’s not rule the simplest explanation out.

Virgin River Season 6 is on Netflix now. Check out our Season 6 review, what Ricky’s return means for Lizzie’s pregnancy, and what Everett had to tell Mel.