Jane the Virgin, “Chapter Twenty-Five,” was written by Corinne Brinkerhoff and was directed by Robert Luketic. This episode featured everything that makes this such an endearing show: humor, great acting, and real moments that touch you. At the heart of this episode, is Mateo’s baptism. This is one of the best scenes this year from the standpoint of really underlining how much the show, like life, is about relationships – to those we love and to the past.
The episode begins with a flashback to Xo’s baptism and we get a very sweet scene with a young Alba (Rosie Garcia) and we get our first glimpse of her Mateo (Dennis Mencia). Alba is sad because they are all alone and can’t honor their family traditions. Mateo comforts her by telling her that they can start their own traditions. I loved that we get to see how the tradition becomes a part of their family. Kudos to Catherine Toribio who plays teenage Xo for absolutely capturing Andrea Navedo’s portrayal!
Teenage Xo of course doesn’t like the dress when it comes time for Jane’s baptism but utterly melts at the note that Alba wrote. In the present, they are planning Mateo’s baptism. When Mateo was kidnapped, Rafael (Justin Baldoni) asked Michael (Brett Dier) to be Mateo’s godfather. Jane (Gina Rodriguez) still wants Michael to be godfather, and Rafael agrees again while distracted. The end result, of course, is that Michael will always be a part of Mateo’s life now.
I loved how we finally get Alba’s note via all three Villanueva women. It would seem that writing is actually a Villanueva tradition as well! Alba’s words are beautiful and moving. Alba wishes – and Xo and Jane follow her – that her child be bold and brave and loving and joyful and kind. And da*n you Gina Rodriguez for always bringing such genuine emotion to a scene that you can’t help but feel those emotions yourself.
Alba goes on to wish her daughter carry the vitality and spirit of the previous generations. Whatever you dream, may you summon the strength to follow that dream. May you always let your faith be greater than your fear. May you never forget, through all life’s adventures, through every moment of every day that I walk beside you, cheering you on. Hoping for you, praying for you, loving you. And may you one day love your own child as deeply as I love you. It’s a beautiful scene and really underscores the substance of this show that is often hiding just under the surface of fun.
That’s not to say that there wasn’t lots of humor and fun in the episode too! Jane comes face to face with the challenges of following her dreams. She finds out she’s gotten into grad school – and yeah for Jane happy dances – this time with Mateo! And just as an aside, could this baby be more adorable? But juggling all her responsibilities is suddenly complicated by this tiny person. Jane attempts to bring Mateo to class but that’s a dismal failure. This is not a unique problem. Virtually every mother has had to go through the trauma of separating from her baby and missing things.
Jane decides that she can’t miss those things, only to find out that she’s already missed Mateo’s first blink! Xo confesses that she missed Jane’s first steps, but Alba saw them, which was a balm for her because she missed Xo’s first steps! This touches on Alba’s remarks about the link between the generations. The Villanueva women have always relied on each other and shared with each other. It’s a beautiful system.
Both Xo and Jane are having to deal with crazy ex-wives! Rafael tells Jane about Petra’s pregnancy. I loved the church bells covering her actual reaction! Petra gives them three scenarios: 1. Abortion – and she knows neither Jane nor Rafael will choose this. I have to admit that I was surprised when Xo weighed in in favor of this option, but then she always seems to stand for the non-traditional Catholic view. I like that the show was brave enough to bring this option into the discussion. The second option was a Russian oligarch. Jane is tempted by this one but recognizes not only that it wouldn’t be fair to Rafael but also that it wouldn’t be fair to Mateo – I loved her musing about a future her at a book signing and Mateo confronting her about his hitherto unknown sibling.
The third option is co-parenting. Petra clearly wants to use this to get her foot in the door with Rafael. She also doesn’t appear to have any real feelings about the baby, but of course, we know from the last chapter that she really did want a baby in the past. I wonder how Petra might change after the baby is born. Petra certainly doesn’t want to be a single mom. I loved Jane pointing out that Magda (Priscilla Barnes) wasn’t single, she was evil. And of course, there’s the big difference between Jane and Petra. Petra will have no support system once she has the baby. Jane realizes this as she fantasizes about having family dinners in the future… Rafael is prepared to go with number 2 and only see his baby occasionally. After saying she didn’t want to have an opinion – wise choice Jane! – she does finally weigh in in favor of #3. Seems this crazy ex-wife is always going to be a part of Jane’s life!
Meanwhile, Xo is trying to help Rogelio (Jaime Camil) get over his own crazy ex-wife, Luciana (Kate del Castillo). As always, Camil is hilarious and provides a lot of the comic relief, but there are also a lot of underlying issues here too. Rogelio has an entire storage locker dedicated to this woman! And then there’s his not-diary, diary! I loved all the banter about the diary throughout the show. Such as as soon as you can’t read it, it’s a diary! Rogelio does open up and share the diary with Xo – and it’s about as deep as you’d expect. However, Xo does convince Rogelio to let go of his baggage with Luciana so that she holds no more power over him.
This might have worked if Rogelio’s co-star hadn’t needed to be replaced during Make Love Week – the Shark Week of telenovelas! Naturally, Luciana is invited to audition. Xo goes to the audition to offer Rogelio support but after he clearly gets carried away during the kiss at the end of the scene, Xo storms off. Rogelio really does show his love for Xo by offering not to hire Luciana even if it means hurting his precious show! However, let’s never forget that Luciana is cray-cray! She returns and blackmails Rogelio into offering her the part – I adored our “cliffhanger”!
Rogelio and Michael also continue their bro-mance. Dier and Camil are hilarious together! Rogelio advises Michael to be stronger in front of Jane in order to win her back – and even sets him up with a non-diary – in lavender of course! Naturally, this backfires pretty spectacularly. Camil deserves all the awards for his willingness to look and act ridiculous. I’m thinking of him perched on a ladder for his cliffhanger, but mainly that spray tan scene was hilarious! Best hashtag yet? #AmbushSprayTan!
Jane is hurt and confused about Michael’s behavior until Rogelio spills the Macho-Macho plan. She tells him that one of the things she likes best about him is how easy he is to communicate with. Michael leaves his non-diary for Jane to read. He tells her he “speaks sad Jane.” He revisits all of the conversations they haven’t had over the last few days. He reminds her of how hard she worked to get into grad school. He also tells her that he’s had some experience with the whole surprise-insemination-pregnancy scenario and admits he handled it all wrong. He tells her to embrace it. Jane decides to go back to grad school.
Meanwhile, Luisa (Yara Martinez) is still being held captive. When she tries to escape and is gently retied to her chair, she decides that the person responsible is psychotic but also romantic so must be Rose! However, her captives soon become rougher and she realizes that it’s not Rose holding her captive! Is it Denise/Heidi Von Ocher? Michael identifies this woman through the wine clue he got from Jane last week. While Rafael is disappointed that Luisa didn’t come to the baptism and he’s a little worried she’s fallen off the wagon, he isn’t worried about foul play.
There were a number of balls thrown in the air to watch for in the coming chapters. Why does Petra take that picture of Jane kissing Rafael after getting back into grad school? Who is the mysterious Denise/Heidi Von Ocher? Is this Rose? Or could this be Luisa’s kidnapper? What will Xo do when she finds out new Exec Producer Rogelio has hired Luciana? What did you think of the episode? Favorite scene? Line? What do you think Rafael should have picked from Petra’s list? 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.
