Jane the Virgin Review: Not So Stuffed Judgements

Jane the Virgin

Jane the Virgin loves advancing the heroine, but it’s also a good idea to give some love to the male perspective from time to time. The early draft of Jane’s novel provides the backdrop for this week’s recognition to all of the men in her orbit. Of course, Michael’s memory will always loom large in everything Jane does. It’s important for her to pay attention to the present, especially when there are so many wonderful men in her life. They have just as important a place in Jane’s life as any of the women she looks up to after all. All of the women need to have better appreciation for their male counterparts.

 

For the first time in, perhaps ever, Petra is in a relationship with someone who doesn’t have a hidden agenda against her. Which of course means she is destined to screw it up. After some bumps, Petra finally works up the courage to tell Chuck she moved Scott’s body to his hotel’s property line. He, of course, walks out on her. The good news is that Petra’s horrible relationship skills didn’t transfer over to her skills as a parent. She’s the one helping Jane acclimate with the other moms, which Jane especially needs after she accidentally yells at the director of the preschool.

It’s not as if Jane shouldn’t have defended her child. Plenty of children have aides, it’s not some black mark that will scar a child’s prospects for life. Though making that point would probably been more effective if Jane hadn’t raised her tone. Not even Petra’s influence getting Jane to cover at their children’s preschool fundraiser helps, at first. What Jane learns is that the moms don’t just talk about her child, they talk about everyone. Because so much of this gossip is porported by Mateo’s inept aide, Jane promptly fires her. It’s a win-win because Mateo gets a qualified (male) aide and she bonds with another mom who has a hard time with her eldest son. It’s all about perspective.

Rogelio requires the expert services of Donnie Sharpiro, an A-list celebrity lawyer who promises to help Rogelio out of his suit. It would be easier if Rogelio didn’t clearly violate his contract. The whole thing promises to turn into fodder for the public unless Xiomara can talk Rogelio out of it. With Bruce by her side, Xiomara is more safe and confident than she’s ever been. Though we didn’t get to see the three years of his and Xiomara’s building relationship, we can definitely appreciate where they are now. Bruce is so great that he is able to successfully mediate peace between Rogelio and Xo for the sake of their family. Rogelio is so impressed and grateful that he asks Bruce to be his attorney when Donnie amps up the case to leech more legal fees from Rogelio. The fact that Rogelio makes this request on bended knee is really beautiful, considering that’s Bruce’s move 30 seconds later with Xiomara! Xo gets her happy ending, but does Rogelio?

Jane’s new editor is not at all what she expected. He’s very…monosyllabic in his descriptions of what he wants from Jane’s novel. Basically he wants Jane to add in even more obstacles to her and Michael’s re-imagined love story. Jane is very uncomfortable with the whole process, especially since she seems to be taking tips from a college frat boy. However, Rafael does have a point that Jane has a tendency to only respond to female authority figures. Jane’s editor is actually much more encouraging of her natural process, encouraging her to embrace her main character’s love triangle as the pivotal internal struggle which produced her happy ending. Loving Rafael enriched Jane’s perspective once she got back together with Michael. Plus Jane and Rafael’s friendship has come such a long way, and I have to believe it’s because they never lost the love they had for each other, even if it evolved from romantic to platonic.

Which brings us to Rafael’s present-day love predicament. We finally see more of Abbey than her normal two minutes of agreeableness per episode. To make a long story short, she’s pretty awesome. Any woman who can handle both of Rafael’s exes and his kids is as close to an angel as humanly possible. So why is Rafael so resistant to moving in with Abbey? She’s not the one. The relationship is sweet, but there’s no passion. Rafael is happy with Abbey, but it’s more contentment than excitement. Don’t feel too bad about Abbey post-breakup, because she’s no different than any other woman scorned after more than a year into her relationship. She knows things about Rafael and Petra they would rather keep hidden, namely a little (salmon?) book that Scott kept of dirt on everyone he hated. She may not be aware that Rafael either knew about or planted it in Petra’s room, but either way she gets even.

Who else loved this week’s shout-out to the Jane the Virgin men?

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