Jane the Virgin, “Chapter 11,” was written by Gracie Glassmeyer and was directed by Joanna Kerns. Like Jane (Gina Rodriguez) in the episode, this is a bit of a breakout for Glassmeyer whose only other credit is Life with Boys. Joanna Kerns may be best known as Maggie Seaver on Growing Pains, but her long list of directing credits include Men in Trees, Army Wives, Grey’s Anatomy, and Pretty Little Liars, so she has plenty of experience with drama, quirky comedy, and soap opera. And of course, she’s got a terrific cast to work with!
I hope people aren’t getting tired of my singing Gina Rodriguez’s praises because once again she delivers a terrific performance. Jaime Camil (Rogelio) is also particularly good in this episode, and hats off to Andrea Navedo (Xo) for dressing down for her date night with Rogelio – sweats, hair not done, barely any makeup and still beautiful! Justin Baldoni is making me love Rafael, but Brett Dier (Michael) just about broke my heart.
This episode sees Jane have to make a choice between teaching and writing after Sister Margaret (Leslie Simms) offers a full-time teaching job and Rafael secures a writing internship for her. In flashbacks, we see that Jane (Montse Hernandez) has never liked conflict and used to diffuse the fights between Xo and Alba (Ivonne Coll) by writing a letter pretending to be Xo apologizing and slipping it under Alba’s door. Jane is determined to get Xo to like Rafael, and she finds it impossible to make a choice between teaching and writing, opting to do everything.
When Sister Margaret first offers her the job, Jane is suspicious that she’s only doing it because of the Jane coins. Sister Margaret assures her it’s because Jane had the highest score on her teacher’s evaluations. When Jane first arrives to intern, she assumes she’s going to be a glorified gopher and happily offers to go for coffee, but Dina (Judy Reyes) asks for her input on the actual script. She’s crushed when they then don’t use her idea, but quickly recognizes Rogelio’s hand in it. Unfortunately, Rogelio told the writers to like her ideas to give her confidence. He then tells her to write him a scene and he’ll tell her whether she has talent or not.
Rogelio could easily just become comic relief as a bit of a self-absorbed buffoon, but the writers don’t squander him in that way – he’s not merely a stereotypical caricature. So it’s Rogelio who actually gives Jane not one but two excellent pieces of advice. When Jane asks him to tell her the truth about the scene she writes, he is brutally honest. We're told it's the first time she's actually sought her father's approval. He tells her that he doesn’t like it. His first criticism is that a pirate wouldn’t talk that way. Jane’s response is a bit petulant as she questions how many pirates he actually knows.
But then he does go on to give her valuable insight. She’s supposed to be writing for a telenovela, and he tells her “telenovelas are all about drama. Yelling, crying, scheming, and there’s none of that in here.” He knows his own medium after all. Rogelio is worried he’s made her angry but while Jane concedes his criticism stings, she accepts it, and decides that it’s best she knows whether she has talent or not. Rogelio tells her that “Every new skill takes time. You can’t expect to be an expert overnight.” And again, it’s good advice!
Jane is ready to quit the internship when Dina compliments her on the scene and tells her she does have talent. Jane goes to tell Rogelio that she isn’t going to quit, and he gives her more excellent advice: “This is a tough business. You can’t look to others to validate you. If you choose to make a living in the financial arts, you must believe in yourself.” And of course, it’s entirely possible that Dina and Rogelio’s assistant Nicholas (David Castaneda) who is also Dina’s lover are scheming and hence lying to Jane for their own ends!
In addition to trying to avoid conflict in her work life, Jane must also try to get Xo and Rafael to like each other. I loved Jane prepping Rafael for the dinner party, telling him that he would have to study hard for it. I loved her asking what his study style was – flash cards or practice tests – and him having no clue what she was talking about. It’s a cute scene, especially how excited Jane is about it, but it’s also a reflection that Jane knows how to study, how to work hard, whereas it doesn’t look like Rafael had to work too hard or study too much, anyway. I liked that Rafael wasn’t worried about the dinner party because parent loved him because he rarely curses and has excellent table manners. Most parents are satisfied with surface appearances.
Of course, the dinner is hilarious. I loved when Xo turns sweetly to Jane and says in Spanish, “You prepped him well, but I’m not a fool,” and them Rafael responds in Spanish, “Of course, you’re not a fool.” I loved the little smirk on Jane’s face as Rafael gets one up on Xo. Of course, Rafael’s small victory is short lived as he agrees with Xo that Jane should take the internship and follow her dream of being a writer, and then he ruins it all by saying Jane can rely on him for money.
As the Narrator (Anthony Mendez) tells us, “Jane never told Rafael not to mention money because she never thought he’d do something so stupid.” The friendly, if strained conversation degenerates to Rafael saying that he’s the father of Jane’s baby, and Xo replying, “Not on purpose.” One thing about the dinner did bug me, however. Surely, Rafael would have revealed before that moment that he could speak Spanish. Wouldn’t he have spoken to Alba who we have no indication can speak English?
Jane confronts Xo about not giving Rafael a chance, and Xo admits that she just doesn’t see Jane and Rafael together. Xo admits that she feels like she’s being disloyal to Michael because he was a part of the family for two years. Xo also reveals to Jane that Michael really hasn’t moved on. I always love Navedo and Rodriguez together as they have terrific chemistry. Xo does agree to go and apologize to Rafael, however, it doesn’t go quite as Jane hoped.
I love the scenes in which Xo is a fierce Mom – again, it’s one of the things that keep her from becoming a stereotype too. Rafael presses Xo about why she doesn’t like him. She finally admits that she doesn’t think Rafael is right for Jane – “it’s a character thing.” When he tells her she doesn’t know his character, she reminds him that he kissed Jane and then didn’t call and Jane was crushed. All Xo cares about is that he hurt Jane and she’s worried he’ll do it again. Rafael tries to convince her that he’s changed, but she insists that people don’t change fundamentally.
She presses that they are different, they see the world differently. Again, Rafael tries to point out that Xo doesn’t know how he views the world. I liked that the first thing Xo comment on when coming into Rafael’s suite is the beautiful view, and she comes back to it here. She agrees that she doesn’t know how he sees the world, but he sees it from “up here. With this incredible view.” Rafael has lead a life of privilege, above the rest of the world.
Rafael is called away from his meeting with Xo as he tracks down who had the tunnels built under the hotel. Rose (Bridget Regan) wanted to go to the police with her suspicions about Emilo (Carlo Rota) being Sin Rostro, but Rafael convinces her to wait until they have evidence because accusing his father will destroy his business even if it’s not true. Rafael decides to investigate on his own. This leads both Michael and Rafael to end up at the subcontractor’s. Michael takes pictures while Rafael hands over a wad of money. Without being able to hear them, the meeting makes it look like Rafael is guilty.
It did seem a little like fate that Michael would get beaten up and Jane would be in a car accident at that same time, ending up in the same hospital. I loved the scene with Xo and Rafael with Jane while the doctor (Paul Hansen Kim) checks her out. Xo and Rafael once more agree – this time that Jane needs to make a decision and stop doing too much. Xo actually seems to be softening a bit. The best part of the scene, however, is Rodriguez’s face when the doctor tells her that the butterflies she’s been feeling – when her idea gets accepted by Dina and when she was writing the scene for Rogelio – are actually the baby kicking. It’s very sweet to see both Xo and Rafael with their hands on her tummy.
Jane receives a call about Michael being in the hospital before she leaves the hospital because she’s still listed as his emergency contact. She goes to confront him about still waiting for her. He doesn’t deny it: “Of course, I am. I love you, Jane. I love you now and I’ll love you forever, and whatever’s going on with you and Rafael? It’s not gonna last.” My heart was breaking for Michael in this scene and Dier is once again outstanding in it.
Just as Michael got the wrong impression about Rafael with negative consequences, Nadine gets the wrong idea watching Michael and Jane. Thinking that he is spiraling out of control in a vendetta against Rafael – and with, no doubt, a good bit of jealousy thrown in – she calls Lieutenant Armstrong to report what Michael’s really been up to. Ironically, this is going to be what kills their relationship.
Meanwhile, Xo and Rogelio’s relationship experiences a surprising twist. Xo is determined to stick to her vow of chastity – much to Alba’s delight. Alba doesn’t want Xo to simply avoid Rogelio though and urges Xo to tell him. She gives Xo excellent advice – if Rogelio isn’t willing to wait for Xo, he isn’t the one. Navedo is excellent as this storyline plays out. There’s plenty of humor from her wearing sweats and no makeup and smothering her pizza with garlic to keep Rogelio at bay to simply not letting their pelvises touch! I also loved when they do fall in bed only to have Alba “magically” join them and they both end up screaming! But there’s also some bittersweet moments when she reveals to Alba that she thinks all she has to offer is sex.
Once again, Rogelio surprises us in this episode. He tells Jane, when she seems less than thrilled about her internship that as an actor, he can read people’s emotions. It often seems that he is completely oblivious, but he does make the effort for Jane and Xo, so he knows something’s wrong when she won’t let their pelvises touch. Nothing has put him off – he doesn’t mind kissing someone with garlic breath, her sweat suit is sexy and with no makeup, she looks exactly the same as when they met in high school – like no time has passed at all. When she tells him about her vow of chastity, his face and reaction – “What?!” – are hilarious, but he immediately tells her that she’s worth sticking around for… though he does wonder about a rough time frame…
One of the things that he remembers drew him to her when they met is that Xo always laughed at his bad jokes. Rogelio and Xo are from the same background even though he’s very successful now, and they have a shared history. These are both things that Xo doesn’t see between Jane and Rafael that worry her. In the initial scene between Michael and Nadine, we see that she doesn’t laugh at his jokes the way Jane did and that’s a good indication that they aren’t a good match either. Once again the writers do a great job weaving the themes throughout the episode’s story lines.
Petra’s (Yael Grobglas) love life is also in turmoil. She wants to turn to Lachlan (Michael Rady) for help, but Magda (Priscilla Barnes) doesn’t trust him. Lachlan seems sincere in offering to take a position in another city and putting Petra and Magda up in one of his secure penthouses after Petra tells him the truth and voices her concerns over Milosh coming after her. Of course, she is the one to tell him about Milosh’s yellow tulip calling card and Lachlan is the one to leave them in her bathroom. Is Lachlan just getting revenge in terrifying Petra? Does he have another motive? Is he actually working for Milosh? It’s hard not to feel sorry for Petra at this point!
Finally, my favorite magic realism moment from the episode! I adored the scene when Rogelio offers Jane the internship and she imagines him jumping out of the poster to confront Sister Margaret. Rogelio tells her to think of the glamor, of the scenes she’ll write! Sister Margaret argues that she’s offered her a terrific position and tells her to think of all the lives she’ll touch! It’s her dream! Dreams don’t pay the bills! Hilarious! I also love that the show never shies from laughing at itself with lines like “who doesn’t want to work in tv?” and Rogelio’s description of what a telenovela is.
The show continues to walk that fine line between being a parody of the genre and a sweet version of it. It couldn’t do it without such terrific acting and writing. What did you think of the episode? Do you think that Lachlan is a danger to Petra? Is it clear now that Rafael definitely isn’t Sin Rostro? Can we cross Rose off the list too? Do you think Jane should definitively choose writing over teaching? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
About the Author - Lisa Macklem
I do interviews and write articles for the site in addition to reviewing a number of shows, including Supernatural, Arrow, Agents of Shield, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Forever, Defiance, Bitten, Glee, and a few others! Highlights of this past year include covering San Diego Comic Con as press and a set visit to Bitten. When I'm not writing about television shows, I'm often writing about entertainment and media law in my capacity as a legal scholar. I also work in theatre when the opportunity arises. I'm an avid runner and rider, currently training in dressage.
