Source: CW Network // Jane The Virgin
Sometimes, when a show makes a makes a huge change, it ruins it. The magic leaves and nothing new takes it’s place. I’m sure many people (especially Michael fans) were nervous that Jane 2.0 would falter with this three-year time jump, but in my opinion, it flourished.
We flash forward to see some very big changes in the lives of our favorite characters: Jane has adjusted to life without Michael–she still gets sad everyday, but she’s living with it and back to her old self, mostly. Rafael returned from prison more zen and with a beard–some of his rougher edges have smoothed out, and he’s in a serious relationship with Minka Kelly (well, her very forgettable character, anyway). Petra is now a super-mom: she’s raising Annie and Elsa as perfect little angels, she’s head of the PTA, and she’s rebranded The Marbella as a pirate-themed kid-friendly hotel. Smart move. Rogelio is still involved with Darci–not romantically though–with their reality show The De La Vega Factor Factor. it’s a ratings giant which portrays them as a couple madly in love and *accidentally* portrayed Xiomara as the crazy jealous ex. Xiomara’s dance studio is thriving, she’s living with Bruce, but she’s not adjusting well to being one of Buzzfeed’s 10 ten worst reality show villains. She and Rogelio aren’t on speaking terms.
Now that reintroductions are over, let’s get a little deeper into this week’s storylines.
We learn quickly that Mateo can be quite the terror. Jane internally blames herself, when there are probably many factors leading to his behavior, including a relatively unstable home life. He’s not behaving well in preschool, so the teacher suggests that Jane and Rafael hire an aide for Mateo. Before agreeing to that, Jane and Rafael attempt to control his behavior in other ways (including Tae Kwon Doe) to no avail. Jane also is still working for the publisher who we thought was really nice but is actually a raging bitch. Some good points can be thrown her way for accepting Jane’s novel for a public reading. The biggest surprise here was Jane wrote a new novel…a romance novel called Falling Snow about her and Michael. Only, this novel has a happy ending. At the end of the episode Jane gets a call from a publisher who wants to release her book. Quite possibly the most interesting development in this three year time jump is how close Jane and Rafael are now. Of course, it seems pretty likely that Jane may end up with Rafael now because Michael’s gone. The writers made a smart choice in not forcing a romantic connection right away. Jane and Rafael are best friends. More specifically, she seems to rely on him for everything. As a diehard #teamraf fan (sorry you know I have to say it every week), I found all of their exchanges incredibly romantic in the most nuanced ways. And I’m totally on board for their love blossoming pretty slowly.
Source: Jane The Virgin // CW Network
Petra is even more awesome that she was before, she basically runs whatever part of Miami they live in (it seems). Rafael is a little too zen now to be too involved with the business of The Marbella, so Petra does everything. Including fight with the next door adults only hotel owner (who she’s also having an affair with). But, bad luck follows Petra, Rafael, and The Marbella no matter what. So when Scott’s body was found on the beach at the end of the episode, it was no real surprise. The question now is, was Petra involved with that?
Finally, Rogelio hates working with Darci, but the network loves the ratings and offers him The Passions of Steve if he holds out for one more season. At first, he says no because he’s eager to patch things up with Xiomara (it’s clear he still loves her), which she appreciates. Then, Xo realizes that she’s strong, and shouldn’t stand in the way of Rogelio’s dream (starring in The Passions of Steve), especially when he helped her with her dance studio, so she tells him she can handle one more season of hate. Their relationship seems to be on the mend.
Overall, an exciting start to a new age of Jane! I cannot wait to see what’s to come. Michael will be missed, obviously, but it feels fresh and fun, and I’m ready for more!
