Jane the Virgin, “Chapter Five,” was written by Josh Reims and directed by Ed Ornelas. Reims lengthy resume includes Mistresses, Witches of East End, Undercovers, Brothers & Sisters, and Felicity. Ornelas has also directed Star-Crossed, Private Practice and Grey’s Anatomy, making both well-qualified. This episode is all about honesty – or a lack of it. It was heartbreaking to see Jane (Gina Rodriguez) not speaking to Xo (Andrea Navedo) and actually leaving home. The other theme of the episode was the mother-daughter relationship, so it was very satisfying to see Xo and Jane back together by the end of the episode.
Once again there were just so many great performances in this episode! My heart broke for Michael (Brett Dier) and Xo. We got to see so many different layers to Rogelio (Jaime Camil). And we also got to see more of Petra (Yael Grobglas). All four actors play both the comedy and the drama perfectly and bring real nuance to their characters. There may be melodrama and outrageous coincidences but these still feel like real people – and at the end of the day, you can’t help but root for all of them!
The episode is cleverly structured with several parallel scenes. We see Jane leaving home. Xo tells her she made a mistake, and Jane is clearly angry at her diminishing what she did – A mistake is losing your keys – you kept me father from me. Then we see Rafael (Justin Baldoni) tell Petra he’ll pay her to get out of their house. She also maintains she’s simply made a mistake, and Rafael calls her on it – A mistake is a parking ticket – you screwed my best friend. Bad parking Petra!
The episode begins with Jane leaving home and ends with her coming home. We see her taking the bus both times (no car for her!), texting with Michael. In the first instance, we see him understand Jane, but also try to get her to make up with Xo – he does know her, and knows how close she is to her mother. It’s a little thing, but Dier smiles as he reads Jane’s text, and it’s just one example of the small touches that go into the performances. We don’t even cut to him when he reaches out to Jane at the end of the episode because she doesn’t respond to that one.
The episode begins with a flashback. We see that Jane has had to take on the “role” of mother – as the narrator (Anthony Mendez) so helpfully tells us. Even at a young age, she’s been forced to look after everyone else. Her expectations of her father is someone who can/will take over that role. I loved that she cast Jimmy Smits in the role! Fingers crossed he makes a guest appearance at some point! It’s interesting that her actor father thinks in similar terms. For his first meeting with Jane, he tells his people he’s preparing for the “role” of father. We then see that scene play out.
It was hilarious when Jane arrives at the studio to be met by Nicolas (David Castaneda), who has been told to bow, and then he leads her to her father’s grand entrance. Again the narrator helps us – “maybe a little too grand.” I was waiting for poor Rogelio to fall down half of those stairs! Their first meeting does not go well – though not as horribly wrong as what Xo imagines! I loved how the scene begins and then spins out of control – you know it’s not real as soon as Jane pulls out the doll. I adored Rodriguez’s evil laugh!
Jane leaves the first meeting, complete with Rogelio’s unauthorized biography to help her get to know him, thinking that she has nothing in common with her father. She sees him as shallow and vain. Of course, he is these things, but has he been challenged to be otherwise? Camil gives another wonderful performance. He has a childlike quality, but we see more of him in this episode. He goes to Xo for advice after the first meeting. I loved him getting distracted in the middle of a sentence by hearing and seeing himself on tv. But he quickly brings his attention back to Jane and Xo. He is upset that she is upset. He tells her that he never intended to affect the relationship she has with Jane. In fact, it’s his concern for Xo that ultimately torpedoes Jane’s attempts at a better second meeting.
There are several instances in which Michael steps in to act as parent for Jane. Something we know she’s looking for. After her first meeting with Rogelio, she wants to talk to Xo, but won’t, so Michael offers to play “mom.” He’s the one who suggests a second, more low-key meeting on her own turf. This is really in line with what Xo tells Rogelio – that Jane is not impressed by money or power – she likes going to the movies and shopping at Target. I was a bit disturbed by the product placement in the episode because we later see Jane unpacking Target bags – bit heavy-handed for me after we’re told with a screenshot at the beginning of the episode that Target is a show sponsor.
When Rogelio insists on taking the conversation where Jane clearly doesn’t want it to go, Michael valiantly tries to derail him. Michael is also the one to look after Rogelio after Jane storms out. I loved the wordless scene in which Rogelio asks to have his glass filled after refusing it at the beginning of the meal. Michael even thoughtfully notices that Rogelio likes the cashew chicken best when packing up a to go box for him.
Jane’s biggest issue in the episode centers around people being honest with her. Rafael tells Jane right away that he and Petra are getting a divorce. I loved him being nervous around her this episode and her being completely oblivious to it. I was a little disappointed that Jane didn’t have a halo for him though! Lina (Diane Guerrero) has been lying about dating Michael’s brother, Billy (Ryan Devlin) – or at least she wasn’t saying. Lina tells Jane, “At first you’re gonna be a little mad about it, but then it’s going to be ok,” which pretty much sums up Jane throughout the episode.
We learn that Michael has told Jane about his past, and he immediately tells her about Billy asking for the $2000 to stay away from Jane. Michael is smart enough to tell Jane what the thinks Billy is going to tell her – that his past contains “illegal” bad things and that he let his brother go to prison for them. Can we believe Michael that this is the extent of it though? I loved that he admitted he wasn’t proud of his past, and Jane insists that she doesn’t need him to be proud, she just needs him to be honest. I have to admit that I thought she was a bit hard on him when she discovered that he knew about Petra’s affair. He admits that he was wrong and stupid but also tells her that he was scared and his feelings changed about the baby. He’s not perfect – but then no one is. Dier is brilliant in this scene and it’s clear to see his love for Jane. I particularly liked the touch of him grabbing her and her pulling away and then him holding up his hands, seemingly shocked that he’d almost physically hurt her.
This is a nice contrast/parallel to Petra and Rafael’s story. Petra tries to win Rafael back by reminding him of happier times and then seducing him – her mother, Madga’s (Priscilla Barnes) advice. It doesn’t work, however. Another great scene is when Magda seemingly lovingly suggests moisturizing Petra and then she punches her in the face! The plan is to break the prenuptial agreement by accusing Rafael of hitting her. This is clearly going to have a really negative effect on Rafael’s determination to have custody of the baby. In fact, I though Rafael was a bit pissy in the scene when Jane tells him that she and Michael will be seeking to keep the baby. So, I’m afraid, my sympathies this episode are still with Michael – though I am feeling for Rafael being seriously manipulated by Petra!
The best “gimmick” in this episode had to be the subtitles for the conversation that was really taking place between Michael and Rafael in the elevator – hilarious! Especially the Jackass/Douchebag to finish! I also liked the typewritten comments that got re-typed so that Michael goes from “doesn’t like” to “friggin’ hates” his brother.
Meanwhile, there is a murder to be solved! I loved the scene in the car when Jane thinks she’s found the clue to break the case open – and maybe she has! – and Michael calls her Veronic Mars. This leads us to the suspect of disgusting Tom (Skylar T Adams) – who becomes Really Disgusting Tom by the end of the episode when he is murdered too! He isn’t quite really dead when Rafael and Rose (Bridget Regan) find him and manages to whisper Sin Rostro before he dies – the drug kingpin, the “man without a face.” My money is leaning towards Magda being Sin Rostro – she’s not a man, so she wouldn’t have a man’s face!
We have three examples of mothers in this episode. The narrator tells us “It’s true. Sometimes you really need your mother.” Magda forces Petra to live up to her promise to look after her, while Xo is there for Jane when she needs her. I have to admit that seeing Petra in the flashback, looking happy and supportive of Rafael, and before her miscarriage, as well as seeing her abused by her own mother, really had me sympathizing more with her character. We also see Alba (Ivonne Coll) comfort Xo. It’s hard not to sympathize with Xo, even if she clearly wasn’t the sort of responsible Mom Jane might have wanted.
Jane learns something from both of her parents. Xo tells her that she didn’t tell her about Rogelio because she loved Jane so much that she was afraid that Rogelio would make demands and even possibly want to take Jane away. Third time was the charm for Rogelio. The picture he gives Jane is horrible, but he does finally give her what she’s been looking for – commitment. He tells her, “I didn’t know about you, but know that I know about you, I’m not walking away from you even if it’s not perfect.” She suddenly recognizes what they have in common. She’s not walking away from her own baby.
Another solid episode of this show. It’s got a difficult time slot on Mondays but it’s not to miss tv for me. What did you think of the episode? Do you think Jane will forgive Michael? Was he somewhat justified in keeping the information from her so as not to compromise the investigation? I loved him having to use that line on her so soon after having said the same thing to Rafael. Do you think Michael has been completely honest about his past? Do you think Jane will believe Rafael capable of hitting Petra? Anybody else feeling more sympathy for Petra and Rogelio after this episode? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! And don't forget to spread the word about this show!
