Jane the Virgin Season 1 Episode 17 Review: “Chapter Seventeen”

Jane the Virgin

Jane is back and motherhood is approaching fast in this week’s new episode of Jane the Virgin. Not to mention the friendships are fast becoming extremely strange; let’s see which one ranks as the strangest.

“There are no hard and fast rules to being a mother, but there are opinions, lots and lots of opinions.” No truer words have ever been spoken. Jane is learning that other mothers always have something to say, especially with the hundreds of classes, websites, mom chat rooms, and different ways of giving birth (I’m an aunt five times over–I know things I shouldn’t know). Nowadays, becoming a mother means you have to study like it’s a college final. Visions of Jane’s future child screaming at her aren’t helping either. Because Jane is thinking in facts and doesn’t yet know that her maternal instinct will kick in and give guidance, she decides to try her hand at babysitting. Here’s where the first weird relationship of tonight’s episode starts. Jane is unaware that Andy is Michael’s ex, and Andy is unaware of exactly the same. Or is she? It turns out Andy has been very sneaky and apparently does know all about Jane.

One of the many reasons Jane is panicking is because Rafael is busy trying to rebuild the Marbella and isn’t as available to her these days. The stress from work is getting to Rafael, and instead of making more of an effort to be there for Jane, he gets drunk and yells at her, then apologizes and says they will get a nanny if things get tough when the baby arrives. In a Latino family, that is the wrong answer and an even more disturbing apology. Luckily, both Alba and Xiomara have been through this before and know how to be there for Jane, whether or not Rafael decides to be a hands-on parent.

It is because of the Marbella that Petra and Rafael are weirdly professionally connected. Petra seems to be the queen of weird relationships since her other new best friend is Aaron. Though Aaron shows some interest in Petra, he is the first to notice that Petra is not over Rafael. That is made more evident when Petra ignores her business judgment when she and Rafael throw an event without the proper permits and get shut down and slapped with a fine. She realizes Aaron is right, that she is not over Rafael. Those feelings have to be put on hold however, because the closer Petra gets to Aaron, the more she realizes that the man she has been spending time with is not Aaron but Roman. This identical dead twin thing is getting complicated.

Another weirdly connected pair is Rogelio and Michael. When Jane tells Rogelio that their friendship is just a tad uncomfortable for her and Rafael, Rogelio looks like Jane just asked him to break up with the love of his life. So, over mani-pedis, Rogelio is supposed to end his friendship with Michael, but instead accidentally tells Michael about Rafael’s discomfort. Of course, Michael takes that knowledge and runs with it, convinced that he and Jane will one day be together again. This is where Rogelio shows some major maturity setting Michael straight. Rogelio knows that regardless of how Rafael and Jane’s relationship develops, the fact is they are having a child together and Michael is doing nothing but torturing himself. So Rogelio tells Michael what needs to be said, that Michael, at least for the moment, needs to let Jane go and “#MoveOn.”

One relationship that is wrong this week, but for a completely different reason, is Xiomara and Alba. Xiomara and Alba are still on the outs since Xo moved in with Rogelio, and neither one want to concede defeat. So rather than stress about her mother’s disapproval, Xiomara is stressing about the fact that she and Rogelio have not exchanged “I Love You’s” yet. Eventually, Xo makes the first move, and Rogelio hesitates. For once, he has a perfectly logical reason for this bonehead move. He has only ever said those words to three women in his life, his mother and his two ex-wives, and he doesn’t want to say them again without it being real. In order for that to happen, Xo needs Mama de la Vega’s stamp of approval. Therefore, next week we will finally meet Jane’s other grandmother, played by the dazzling Rita Moreno.

Who else is excited for Rita Moreno’s guest spot as Rogelio’s mean mama next week?

[Photo via The CW]

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