Jane the Virgin, “Chapter Twenty-Eight,” was written by the team of Corinne Brinkerhoff and Micah Schraft and was directed by Melanie Mayron. Schraft’s other credits include The Tomorrow People, The Secret Circle and Jessica Jones. This episode’s big gimmick was to list milestones as the show moves forward significantly in time. Recall that the show picked up this season right where last season left off – with Mateo’s birth – so this just brings us up to current time: Thanksgiving.
They say that time heals all – though I think I’d dispute this – but the time jump allows us to move through the episode from Jane’s (Gina Rodriguez) pain over breaking up with Michael (Brett Dier) to a place in which she can say yes to a date with Rafael (Justin Baldoni). But a lot happens between those two events!
The episode begins by showing how quickly time passes as we watch Jane go from baby to mother. We then see that the first milestone for Jane is her first day without Michael. Flip to Michael on a road trip with Nadine (Azie Tesfai). It seems the two have teamed up to go after Sin Rostro who Michael blames for ruining his life – and rightly so! We actually only see Michael at the beginning and end of the episode when he reappears in Susanna’s (Megan Ketch) office! What did they find out? I love how the show keeps coming up with twists and cliffhangers!
Jane and Rafael learn to be parents and friends as the episode unfolds. I loved all the little touches that showed that Rafael has been paying attention to what Jane needs. When they meet with the Estate Planner, he says he’ll take all the guess work out, and Rafael remarks that “she does like to be prepared.” When they find out that Mateo will need a helmet to correct his flat head, Rafael assures her that they will talk it over and do the research.
Jane is shocked to learn that Mateo will inherit $40 million! I loved her imagining “Baller Mateo” and then Oliver Twist Mateo when Rafael asks if she like Mateo because she wants to keep his inheritance from him until he’s 50! Of course, Jane being Jane, she comes up with the perfect two part solution. In part one, they re-assess periodically, and in part two, for every dollar Mateo spends, he has to donate $1 to charity! And then we have “Philanthropist Mateo” – too bad every millionaire doesn’t go this route!
Jane has many milestones at Grad school. She’s late for her first day after Mateo throws up on her and she has to change. To make matters worse, her new Professor – Chavez (Adam Rodriguez) – feels like a semi-failed writer with a chip on his shoulder! Rodriguez is an excellent addition to the cast – I’m going to love hating him! At least until Jane wins him over.
We know he’s a bad guy because he believes social media is killing language – what would Rogelio (Jaime Camil) think! He chews out one student for looking at his phone, right before Jane gets a message from Mateo’s doctor’s office! Of course she has to take it – and Chavez locks her out of the classroom for it. Just an fyi? When Chavez puts Jane on academic probation for falling asleep in class? He’d never have the authority to do that – and I’m hoping Jane will protest it and find that out!
We also learn that Jane isn’t using her real name but going by Jane Gloriana because of her significant google problem! Jane ends up with a C+ on her first assignment and is then pressured to go on the writers’ retreat weekend. She’s already missing taking Mateo to his baby classes – but Rafael steps in and does a great job at them – he’s clearly finding his own stride and enjoying being a parent. It’s so much fun to watch Baldoni with the baby, knowing he has a little one of his own at home too!
While on the writer’s retreat, Jane finally makes friends with the other students – or so she thinks. Wesley (Brian Jordan Alvarez) is horrible to Jane in order to get her to share all her secrets. The other students tell him he’s being rude, but Jane feels better after unburdening herself. It seems that Wesley is her new BFF – coming over to write with her even – until the end when we see him interviewing Scott for dirt on the Solanos! Clearly, he’s out to make a name for himself with a tell all book!
I loved Jane running through the ‘jungle’ looking for cell reception! The retreat, however, is another milestone when she forgets part of the pump for her breast milk and when Rafael shows up with it, she discovers that Mateo has weaned off the breast. The two discuss the trust fund again, and Rafael says that he wasn’t screwed up because of his money but because of his family. He tells her that’s why it’s so important for him to keep this family together. When he moves in for a kiss, however, Jane tells him she’s not over Michael yet.
This leads to the milestone of Rafael realizing he has to move on. When Jill (Briana Henry) from the baby class asks him out, Rafael checks with Jane, who says it’s ok, and says yes. It’s not clear how many dates the two go on… However, about 2 months after the retreat, Jane is still pumping, trying to make homemade baby food, and write, which leads to her getting sick with mastitis.
I loved the through line of the “lovey.” Jill tells the story of leaving her baby’s at home and him freaking out about it at baby class. This leads to Rafael buying 10, which Jane sees as an excessive use of his money. But, when she’s sick, she almost takes Alba’s (Ivonne Coll) head off because she can’t find a lovey for Mateo! So, while Jane is sick, Rafael stops by with it on his way to a charity gala with Jill.
I loved this whole new side to Jane that Rafael sees, but even better was his reaction to it. Xo (Andrea Navedo) and Alba tell him she’s always bitchy when she’s sick! He comes to check on Jane after the gala and they laugh about her being like a mean drunk. They discuss Jane’s pumping, and Rafael says he just wants to see her feel better. He also points out that she wanted to nurse for a year, not pump for a year. Jane is so relieved, and this is their first major parenting decision together. It also leads - a month or so later – to Rafael confessing that was the night that he realized he’d rather be with her sick than Jill. Rafael asks her out on a date, and Jane is ready to say yes!
Of course, the other characters also have a number of milestones pass. Petra (Yael Grobglas) discovers – along with Rafael – that she is having twin girls – just like Rogelio! She has a terrible pregnancy too. She does manage to convince Jane to take pity on her and help get Magda (Priscilla Barnes) released from prison. Petra has been trying to get rid of Milos’s (Max Bird-Rednell) grenades, but he seems reluctant to sell! Once Magda is back on the scene, she is able to drive Milos away. Unfortunately, he leaves Ivan (Christopher Corbin) with them to make sure nothing happens to the grenades! Petra and Magda work together to make sure that Milos is arrested for Internet fraud while in Europe, and Ivan leaves to get him out.
Once Ivan is out of the way, Petra and Magda take the grenades out to see, but Magda ends up getting slightly blown up, losing an eye and a hand – which comes in handy. Ivan returns and tells Magda that Milos knows about she and Petra turning him in. He also tells her that Milos will forgive Petra but not Magda and he indicates that Magda is hiding something else from Petra! Magda uses her hook to kill him and hilariously realizes she’s “on the hook for that one!”
I’m glad they are making Petra a bit more sympathetic. When she picks Magda up from prison, she tells her she’s seeing a therapist! I also loved the scene between Jane and Petra when Petra forlornly asks Jane how she learned to look after Mateo. She’s clearly lost and has no one to turn to. Finally, the lovey comes into play again when Jane just happens to leave one in Petra’s office on Thanksgiving. The Narrator (Anthony Mendez) tells us that, in fact, since the mastitis incident, Jane has THREE lovey’s in the house! She clearly planted the one in Petra’s office so she could get her to the house and invite her in for dinner!
I loved them going around the table and saying what they were thankful for. This is also a nice throwback to Jane imagining what Thanksgiving was going to look like with a blended family – it seems to have turned out ok so far! Rogelio hilariously is thankful for health and hair, but Xo has been inspired by him and how hard he works to really kickstart her own music career! Rafael is thankful for family. Sweet.
Rogelio is also experiencing a number of milestones. His Passions of Santos has ended as all telenovelas do. Luciana (Kate del Castillo) has the last laugh on him at the last episode filming when she announces that she taking his entire crew with her to her new telenovela, starring – of course – his arch rival Esteban (Keller Wortham)!
Rogelio pitches his own project to a Senior Network Executive (Cate Cohen). She knows it’s a terrible idea but determines to let him run out his budget before “Heather Locklearing” him! Rogelio’s idea is Don Juan Drapper – and it does seem awful. After the Executive pulls the rug out from under him, Rogelio seems like he might give up until he sees he’s being made fun of on television - on Luciana's new show. Then he determines to find private funding.
Surprisingly, the private funders love the project – though they think it’s supposed to be a comedy and even compare him to Desi Arnez – and Rogelio doesn’t know who Desi is! Unfortunately, when Matthew Reimer gets wind of the project, as the creator of Mad Men, he sends a Cease and Desist letter! What will Rogelio do now?
I thought this was a really interestingly structured episode that was beautifully structured to move the plot along into new territory. It seems Jane and Rafael are opening a new chapter, but how will Michael’s return affect it? Both Xo and Rogelio seem to be heading into new career challenges. And what of Petra? Just when she seems to be in a better place, Magda complicates matters even more! What did you think of the episode? 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, Agent Carter, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, The X-Files, Defiance, Bitten, Killjoys, and a few others! I'm active on the Con scene when I have the time. 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.
