Jane the Virgin, “Chapter Twenty,” was written by the team of Corinne Brinkerhoff and Paul Sciarrotta and was directed by the wonderful Debbie Allen. The episode sees Jane (Gina Rodriguez) come face to face with the fact that she’s going to be a single parent. As always, the entire cast deliver terrific performances, hitting the drama and comedy with equal aplomb. Two magic realism devices run throughout this episode. The first measures people’s reaction to things and is used to good effect. The second provides wrestling style posters for each pair of characters who come into conflict in the episode and they are hilarious!
Both Xo (Andrea Navedo) and Jane are struggling to come to terms with their breakups. Xo looks to Jane for advice on how to move on from Rogelio (Jaime Camil). Jane tells Xo that once Rafael (Justin Baldoni) told her he didn’t love her, she didn’t have a choice. Jane tries to run interference between the two and does learn that Rogelio’s first wife cheated on him and got caught doing it in the media, causing Rogelio embarrassment and heartache.
When Xo is finally able to tell Rogelio how sorry she is and that she still loves him, Camil is wonderful in the scene. His face shows how heartbroken he is, but he still says that he can’t forgive her. The thing that finally makes Xo go to Rogelio and accept that they are through is the thing that had held her back from getting involved with him in the first place: Jane.
We see Jane, Xo and Alba (Ivonne Coll), putting the crib together – all back in the same house and no one with prospects to go anywhere now. Rafael calls, and even though the narrator (Anthony Mendez) tell us he wants to say he loves Jane, he doesn’t, nor is he there helping. Jane informs them that Rogelio isn’t coming because of the tension between he and Xo, causing Xo to realize she has to make it right with Rogelio so that he can be in Jane’s life. She puts her daughter first.
As the episode progresses, Jane goes through a number of percentile changes. She begins at the doctor’s (Susan Ortiz) where she finds out the baby is breech. Rafael says he’s sorry for hurting Jane but it’s only 17 hours after the breakup and Jane isn’t ready to hear it. Rafael doesn’t know what the baby being breech means because he didn’t do the reading Jane asked him to. We’re told that Jane’s anger level is in the 95th percentile! But 2 weeks later at the next doctor’s appointment, Rafael knows what aversion is because he’s done the reading. Rafael asks if he can help, and Jane’s determination to peacefully co-parent is in the 80th percentile.
Meanwhile, Alba has remembered that Magda (Priscilla Barnes) pushed her down the stairs. She is afraid to go to the police as she always is. Tension grows as Petra (Yael Grobglas) has given her mother a job at the hotel in the kitchen and is letting her live with her again. There’s actually a really nice parallel scene at the beginning of the episode when Alba tells Jane not to tell Xo that she’s remembered, fearing she’ll do something crazy, and then Xo arrives with the news that Rogelio has dumped her only to learn about Jane’s breakup. Alba feeds them yummy looking grilled cheese while Magda comforts Petra with pickles. It explains a lot about Petra!
When Jane tells Alba that Magda is working at the hotel, Alba is immediately concerned for Jane’s safety, and tells Xo what’s going on. Alba, like Xo, puts Jane first. They determine that they should go to Michael (Brett Dier) and Jane finally learns what Michael did for Alba when she was in the hospital. Jane goes to Michael and hugs him and thanks him before enlisting him to help get Magda. Petra and Magda alibi each other and when Jane discovers Ivan (Christopher Corbin) in a photograph in the room, Milosh forces Ivan to corroborate Petra’s story that he’s a plumber.
There is a sweet scene between Michael and Jane as he commiserates that it would be hard for her if it was hard to talk to Rafael because he is the father of her baby. He’s clearly hoping that he can get back together with Jane. It’s after this exchange that Michael and Rafael’s eyes meet across the lobby of the Mirabella. Michael looks smug while Rafael looks sad and worried – and we get a wrestling poster depicting the Dangerous Detective against the Hot-elier!
It’s clear that Petra is going to try to get Rafael back. We see her interest level at the 85th percentile on hearing that Jane and Rafael broke up and it shoots up the 100th when Rafael says he’s not trying to get her back. Jane’s anger scale breaks the counter when she sees Magda in the locker room and Magda threatens to reveal Alba as an illegal. This leads to her telling Rafael about Magda and Alba. I loved the wrestling match that we get between the Cold Warrior and the Pregnant Punisher – and of course, the baby is the secret weapon! Rafael is still concerned for the baby and the stress that Magda is causing Jane has to stop, so he does force Petra to fire her. Unfortunately, Milosh also forges new medical papers for Magda so that Rafael moves from believing Alba to believing Magda.
The reason behind the wrestling posters is Luisa’s (Yara Martinez) return with her new girlfriend, Juicy Jordan (Vanessa Vander Pluym). Luisa returns a new woman, very much in love, and ready to assume her responsibility as a third owner in the hotel. Rafael and Petra attempt to woo her to their side, but when Luisa suggest weekly wrestling events, Rafael finally loses it. In the end, Luisa agrees to his plan and also becomes his sister and sounding board again. She tells him that if he chose the Hotel over Jane he made the wrong choice. We see that Rafael hopes to try again with Jane once the hotel is stable, but Luisa tells him that people don’t wait, they move on. She certainly seems together now, but will it last? Petra also comes to support Rafael’s plan to seek more loans. As Rafael get closer to his sister and Petra, he seem farther away from Jane than ever.
Rogelio may have been hurt by Xo, but his professional life is getting back on track. I love the opening scene in which he’s all dressed in green-screen green spandex because he’s been reduced to playing a severed head! Dina (Judy Reyes) comes to see him with Rogelio cupcakes to try to bribe him to come back to The Passions of Santos as their ratings have dropped since losing him. She even offers him an executive producer credit! I loved him playing it cool and telling her he loved the current show, especially the challenge of acting only with his face – and hair! Camil is wonderful as he just touches his hair as he says it – hilarious. He acts coy with Dina but as soon as he gets the door closed, he does a silly dance to celebrate. I loved how he was concerned about how they bring Santos back and wants to avoid the overused evil twin – and we immediately get a shot of our own evil twins – Roman and Aaron.
Jane continues to try to do things on her own. When the Moxa she’s burning to try to get the baby to turn almost starts a fire when she falls asleep, Jane finally breaks down. She tells Alba that she’s just trying to do everything herself because she’s a single mother and she hadn’t ever planned on that and didn’t see it coming. Rodriguez and Coll are both terrific in this scene as we finally see the strong Jane get to be the child.
The strong Jane is front and center the next day. Rafael comes to see how she is and she tells him the baby finally turned in the night. Rafael is clearly still used to Jane texting him and talking to him at all hours and he’s hurt that she didn’t let him know right away. He tells her that Magda won’t be working at the hotel anymore. Jane then wants to know when he’s getting rid of Petra. When Rafael tells her he can’t do that, Jane finally realizes that she has to put her baby first as Xo and Alba did for her. Jane quits her job and when Rafael points out that the baby is going to be spending time with him and Petra at the Mirabella anyway, Jane decides she’s going to sue for sole custody. She draws her inner circle close, and asks Alba and Xo to be there to help when the time comes, and of course, they enthusiastically agree.
Meanwhile, Alba’s love life seems to be blossoming as Xo and Jane’s seen to be stalled. We see Alba go to confession with Father Edward (Cheech Marin). He assures her that he just wants to be friends and asks her out for lunch. Alba tells him about Magda. We see Alba speak for the first time in English! She tells him, “If this did not happen, I would not have met my new friend.” This lovely thought is responded to by Marin who tells her that he doesn’t think he can “just be friends!” I’m dying to know what the explanation is going to be here!
So we end the episode with all the couples facing tough decisions. Both Rafael and Rogelio still have feelings for Jane and Xo, but can they overcome their obstacles to reunite with them by the end of the season? Meanwhile, both Michael and Petra are ready to swoop in! And what about Magda? Is she simply going to get away with attempted murder? Will we see Milosh show up and fight for Petra?
What did you think of the episode? Do you think Jane should just stick it out on her own? Should she go back to Michael? 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.
