Jane The Virgin, “Chapter Two,” was written by Jennie Snyder Urman and directed by Uta Briesewitz whose other credits include Orange is the New Black, Suburgatory, Weeds, and Hung. The show continues to charm and Gina Rodriguez continues to delight as Jane. She manages to infuse the character with innocence while still being an old soul.
Ordinarily the overly formulaic and dramatic elements might be too much but the show really does a wonderful job in playing those elements for humor and they come across as a wink and a nod. The Narrator (Anthony Mendez) and the typed glosses (O! O! O!) also contribute to the artifice of the genre, but they also provide an interesting link to the main story. Rafael (Justin Baldoni) asks Jane what she wants to write, and she admits that she wants to write romance. I wonder if her own story might be her first publication?
This episode once again plays with time and perception. We see that Jane is really used to planning everything and taking control – leaving nothing to chance. We see a flashback to her Quinceanera. She’s planning everything down to the last detail, but in the end she can’t control everything, and Xio (Andrea Navedo) embarrasses her by performing “My Milkshake Brings All the Boys to the Yard.” We are mortified along with teenage Jane (Montse Hernandez). But by the end of the episode, this entire episode has been turned on its head. We find out that Xio was just trying to protect Jane from seeing her Superfly date (Jordan Diambrini) was actually cheating on her. I adore the chemistry between Rodriguez and Navedo which clearly brings the love between mother and daughter to life.
It’s interesting that Jane chooses to refer to the baby as a milkshake rather than calling it a baby – after all that wasn’t a good memory. For Jane it was the memory of her mother letting her down and something she couldn’t control. Her theory is that she’s not going to think about it as a real person – it’s just a thing, just an inconvenience. It’s also interesting that her milkshake does bring at least two boys to her yard – Rafael and Michael (Brett Dier). Of course, as soon as she sees the heartbeat, she can no longer think of the baby that way. Given the caring family she is a part of, it would be really surprising if she could have been that callous toward her own baby. After all, she has not only Xio but also Alba (Ivonne Coll) who care about her.
In this episode, it seems that every relationship is complicated. Rafael tries to get Jane to take money rather than sue Luisa (Yara Martinez). Jane is shocked to learn she’s his sister and hurt that he thinks she can be bought off. In the end, Rafael shows that he does care about Jane, and even tells her to sue his sister – without telling her that he could very likely lose the hotel when she does because he had to pay for his sister’s malpractice insurance because of her addiction issues. Meanwhile, Luisa has a passionate afternoon with her former lover – and now lawyer – Rose (Bridget Regan). We’re introduced to Rafael and Luisa’s father, Mr Solano at the end of the episode. I was thrilled to see him played by Carlo Rota, who is a terrific actor. Rose is the trophy wife of Luisa’s father!
Michael has Zazo (Alano Miller) under surveillance because of his involvement with Sin Rostro and sees that he is having an affair with Petra (Yael Grobglas). Michael tells her to end the affair so that Jane will give up the baby. Zazo coaches Petra on how to win back Rafael, telling her she needs to cry, but it’s only after she seems to have been frightened by Zazo that she manages to work up that one tear. I almost felt sorry for her. Of course, the episode ends with Zazo’s death – shocking! – as he falls out a window and is impaled on the marlin ice sculpture – hilarious! Petra’s relationship with her mother, Magda (Priscilla Barnes) is also nicely contrasted with that of Jane and Xio. Magda has apparently been physically hurt as a direct result of her daughter. She may not have an eye patch, but she does seem to have other witch-like qualities – though I loved it when she was just playing solitaire when Petra berated her for playing with her Tarot cards!
Jane’s father, Rogelio (Jaime Camil), appears not to be either very bright or very brave, but he does appear to at least have a good heart. He clearly only plays a Presidente on tv, but he is willing to step up to be a father in real life. He also proves that like Rafael, he remembers Xio's dreams and her voice. It was a nice touch for him to show up at the house with a bouquet of the white flowers that we’ve seen symbolize Jane’s virginity. It was hilarious to see Alba catch them in bed together!
Two scenes really stood out for me in this episode. When Jane and Rafael hear the baby’s heartbeat and when Jane tells Xio about it were both brilliant. We learn that Rafael went through a very bleak time because of fear of failure. It’s this feat that is holding Jane back from committing to becoming a writer.
Xio tells Jane that she gets to be selfish now and put herself first. It’s heartbreaking when Xio tells Jane that she thinks of herself as a screw up but Jane doesn’t deserve to have this happen to her. Of course, we know that she’s not a screw up and the flashback shows just how much she is willing to sacrifice herself to protect her daughter. Jane then tells Michael that she isn’t going to quit her job as he’d asked. Michael apologizes – very sweetly. So it would seem that Rafael and Petra and Jane and Michael are both back together by the end of the episode.
One always wonders if the series will stand up to the pilot – often we hope that the series will get better! But in this instance, this show is just getting better. What did you think of the episode? Who do you think killed Zazo? I’m waiting for everyone to be a suspect! Do you think that Jane is going to be able to give up the baby? Are we starting to break into Michael versus Rafael teams? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
