Virgin River on Netflix introduced the character of Denny toward the end of season 3 in its signature style of twists and turns. When Denny first showed up at Doc’s door, claiming himself to be his grandson, everyone was shocked since Doc (Tim Matheson) and his wife Hope (Annette O’Toole) never had any children together and thus the prospect of a grandson never arose.
However, Denny then reveals that he is Doc’s college girlfriend Rose’s grandson. While the couple broke up before Doc went to medical college, Rose was pregnant with Doc’s child by that time. Doc never knew anything about it and it is with the arrival of Denny that he comes to know that he had a son all along who just passed away a month ago.
As if all this information was not enough to shock the viewers, Denny’s character seems to be having something wrong with him as he is seen taking pills. It is gradually revealed in Virgin River Season 5 finale that he has Huntington's Disease, a genetic and degenerative illness that affects a person’s cognitive and physical health.
This revelation explains a lot of his mysterious behavior on the show. Let us now explore Denny’s character and his disease in detail.
Denny has Huntington's Disease in Virgin River
Denny’s behavior with Lizzie with his constantly pulling away and coming closer sometimes made him seem like a dubious person. However, the season 5 finale of Virgin River finally offered an explanation for his behavior by revealing that Denny has Huntington's Disease.
As per the definition provided by the Huntington’s Disease Society of America (HDSA), the disease
"causes deterioration in a person’s physical, mental, and emotional abilities"
and there is nothing that can cure it. It is a genetic disease so it can be assumed that Denny got it passed down from his father, which also explains what happened to his father before he came to meet Doc.
With this revelation, Denny’s questionable behaviors like breaking into the clinic and using his father’s prescription to get hold of some Clonazepam make complete sense. It also becomes clear why Denny behaves the way he does with Lizzie as he thinks with the condition that he has, they really do not have a future together.
However, as shown in the Virgin River Season 5 Part 1 finale, Lizzie informs Denny that she believes she is pregnant with his child, which worries Denny a great deal because the type of Huntington’s Disease he has, is very likely to get carried down to his offspring as Neurotherapeutics mentions that it is the paternal genes at work behind most of the juvenile cases of Huntington’s Disease.
While the pregnancy does worry Denny and others in the family, including Lizzie’s mother, season 5 part 2 of Virgin River shows everyone accepting it gladly and that creates a warm and welcoming atmosphere for both the mother and the child to be born.
Who plays Denny in Virgin River?
Kai Bradbury plays Denny's role in Virgin River. He started his acting career in Vancouver as a local teenager. However, from there, his growth has been astounding and besides Virgin River, he has a number of famous projects under his belt.
Some of Bradbury’s projects include shows like Warigami, Altered Carbon, The Boys, Motherland: Fort Salem, The Terror: Infamy, Lucifer, The Imperfects, etc.
Virgin River can be streamed on Netflix.
Trending
Stay tuned to SoapCentral for more updates on shows!
Reply
