Jane the Virgin “Chapter Fifty-Five” was written by the team of Paul Sciarrotta and Jennie Snyder Urman and was directed by Brad Silberling. Just as the end of the last episode promised, the show jumped ahead three years. We did get just a brief treat of Brett Dier and Michael in the episode, but he does appear to be really and truly dead. I felt like Michael’s pep talk to Jane (Gina Rodriguez) from his picture – “You got this” – was also to us. And I still feel that this is a great loss to the show, but there’s not much this reviewer can do to change that, so let’s look at where the show has gone.
Not surprisingly, Jane and Mateo (Joseph Sanders) have moved in with Alba (Ivonne Coll). Xo (Andrea Navedo) and Bruce (Ricardo Chavira) are living together. Rafael (Justin Baldoni) has been to prison and is in a new relationship with Abby (Minka Kelly). Petra (Yael Grobglas) is having a steamy affair with the new hotel owner next to the Mirabella, Chuck (Johnny Messner). It felt like there were a lot of new characters to get to know in addition to getting reacquainted with those we did know.
The wedding that was teased at the end of the last episode is actually Rogelio (Jaime Camill) and Darci’s (Justina Machado) – but it’s not a real wedding! It’s just for show for the ending of their reality show The De La Vega Factor. It’s been a huge success. I did think it funny that Xo got dragged into it as the ex-from-hell whom everyone hated! But of course, Darci and Rogelio have also come to hate each other.
In addition to having a new – creepy? – beard, Rafael also has a new, chill attitude. He’s taken a backseat to running the hotel and has let Petra deal with it. Petra has redesigned the Mirabella and has a Grand Re-Opening of “The Second Happiest Place on Earth”! She’s going for more of a kid’s theme, and it’s already a success – booked 6 months in advance.
Petra has also had success with her daughters. Petra is Queen of the pre-school and Anna (Mia Allan) and Ellie (Ella Allan) – changed from Elsa cuz the Frozen thing got old – are model children – in contrast to Mateo who has gone from Sweet-Face to Demon child. Jane gets irritated at Petra every time that Petra tries to discipline Mateo. But we find out at the end of the episode that the two have been helping each other cope for three years – since Jane was widowed and Petra left alone when Rafael went to jail.
It turns out that the Kid’s Clubhouse for the hotel is over the property line with Chuck’s Adult Hotel. Petra tries to get him to sign an easement, but he refuses at first. Petra tries to blackmail him with eating spiney lobsters out of season – but Chuck has connections. It’s Rafael who notices greasy fingerprints on the blueprints. Chuck does sign the easement, but Petra realizes retroactively that he couldn’t have been the one to tamper with the blueprints. She realizes he must have only signed because he has feelings for her. Grobglas is terrific in the scene in which she tells Chuck that the re-model is really the first thing that she’s ever made all on her own.
Darci and Rogelio’s reality series is such a hit, no one wants it to end – except Rogelio. The two hate each other, and it’s driven a wedge between Rogelio and Xo to the point that Alba and Jane stage an intervention. Rogelio promises Xo it’s over, but then they try to bribe him for one more season. If he does one more year of the reality series, he’ll finally get to do
The Passions of Steve – the Americanization of his Telenovela (because Rob Lowe passed on the role!).
Xo has a meltdown when Darci tweets that there’s going to be another season, but Rogelio tells her that he’s not going to put her through another season. Xo finally tells Rogelio that they’re family and that he should go for it – she’s tough and has a thick skin. Rogelio confides in her that there were never any fertility problems. He just couldn’t go through with having a baby with Darci.
Jane’s boss, Chloe (Maya Kazan) turns out to be a psycho to work for. However, Jane does manage to get her to read her book and Chloe gives her a spot in the reading showcase. It turns out that the book isn’t Alba’s story. Everyone has read it and loved it. It’s called Snow Falling and it’s about Jane and Michael – and in the book, they get their happily ever after.
I really did love the scene in which Jane isn’t sure she can do the reading. She texts Rafael and says she can’t do it. Rodriguez is just superlative in this scene. Rafael understands – it feels like she’s giving a piece of Michael away. And then Rafael uses tough love to tell her to pull herself together and get out there! Jane does get through the reading with Rafael’s help.
Jane realizes that she’s not as over Michael’s death as she thought she was. Rafael wonders why she’d think she would be – she is who she is. But Jane also realizes that Mateo’s behavioral problems might be tied to her grief, and she agrees to him having a shadow at school to help him. While we see him acting out throughout the episode, there is one very sweet scene between him and Jane as she puts him to bed one night. It’s also clear that he’s learned to talk! Sanders did impress me, and he must have loved getting to karate chop that cake!
I loved Alba tucking Jane in and telling her that she would do it as long as Jane was there. Jane finally works up the courage to listen to Michael’s last message to her – and it was heartbreaking all over again!
The episode ends with Jane getting a call that a publisher wants to publish her novel and the kid’s counsellor at the hotel uncovers Scott’s (Wes Anderson) skeletal remains! At least the skeleton is wearing a vest and a name tag…
So lots of new characters and lots of changes. What do you think of the new direction of the show? Certainly the quality of the acting from our core characters is as strong as ever. None of the new characters have really impressed me yet though. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
