Justin Baldoni, Ivonne Coll, Gina Rodriguez
Jane the Virgin, Season 1, Episodes 19 to 22
Created by Jennie Snyder Urman
Airs Mondays at 9 pm ET on The CW
A combination of factors, most prominently Rafael’s discovery that his mother took a bribe to cut off communication with him, led Rafael to break off his relationship with Jane, leaving the latter single for the first time since her pregnancy, at a time when the baby’s arrival is precariously close. The last few episodes of the season explore how Jane deals with trying to be a single mother, asserting her independent character while focusing on the importance of family relationships to several individuals, in a solid finish to a strong first season for the series.
The show’s focus on family relationships over the past few episodes has been a great way to reinforce one of its key strengths. It’s nice to see Rafael and Luisa reconcile their sibling relationship, and it helps emphasise why Rafael put up his hotel as collateral to for Luisa’s insurance in the first place. Similarly, Jane’s anger at Rafael coming about due to the lack of punishment for the crime committed against her grandmother helps reinforce the most important relationships in Jane’s life. As her high school nemesis points out, Jane’s weakness is her mother, and along those lines, it’s clear that Jane would rather see herself get hurt rather than see her mother or grandmother hurt. The vengeance with which she goes after Magda nicely underscores that fact, and lends legitimacy to Jane’s anger, rather than making it seem frivolous. With the baby now finally here, it’ll be interesting to see how the addition of a new family member affects things. Jane has proven, time and time again, that she’s willing to do whatever is necessary to ensure the well-being of her family members, but the baby presents a unique situation. Dealing with Xo and Alba’s problems require a different mindset than dealing with the baby’s issues, and it’s inevitable that she’ll have to consult with Rafael and Luisa on the best courses of action. At the same time, the Sin Rostro situation adds credibility to her earlier doubts about how being around Rafael affects the baby’s well-being. How she navigates motherhood promises to be an exciting aspect of next season.
Jaime Camil, Ivonne Coll, Andrea Navedo
The development of Jane’s personal life over the past few episodes has also made for a compelling watch. Jane’s concerns about the baby and motherhood defining her life are quite understandable in light of the fact that this pregnancy was unplanned, in every sense of the word. Since then, however, while she has coped with the curveballs thrown her way, the baby has increasingly become a dominant part of her life. This fact that was only emphasised with Rafael’s breakup and Jane scrambling to cope with the idea of being a single mother, and all the sole responsibilities that would entail. Thus, it’s been nice to see that Jane, rather than buckle under the pressure, has managed to maintain her composure, leaning on her mother and grandmother for support while still sorting out her feelings towards both Michael and Rafael, and deciding on her future and grad school. Jane’s continuing independence and character development will be worth watching for next season. Her concerns about not being defined entirely by her motherhood are likely to get exacerbated as the baby demands more attention or ends up in peril, as he does at the end of the season finale. This means Jane will have to walk a very fine balancing act, one that is only going to get more difficult with time, and decide on factors that affect her own life, like her professional ambitions and her romantic entanglements. While her family will be able to help her with those, her resources for raising a boy will be limited to Rafael, Michael, and Rogelio, and these wrinkles will not be easy to sort out for the new mother.
Overall, this has been an entertaining end to a very strong first season for the show. Rogelio’s character arc is perhaps one of the best demonstrated strengths of the show. While Rogelio has been portrayed as someone with an inflated sense of self-importance, that has not been his defining trait, nor has it been the source of more than gentle ribbing by the writers. Instead, his insistence on being a good father to Jane and do right by Xo has superseded his self-centered impulses, and the season finale is a nice reminder of where his priorities truly lie, no matter what he might say. Seeing Alba engage in the beginnings of a relationship has also been heartwarming to see, especially in light of what the audience has learned about her relationship with Xo’s father. Petra and Michael continue to be compelling figures. Michael’s work with Sin Rostro has been a great way to demonstrate his professional capability, as well as ensure someone was fighting against the threat that was throwing a shadow over most of the characters. Similarly, Petra’s involvement with Roman and her subsequent struggles with Rafael and her mother have been a great way for the writers to add dimensions to the character, and make her actions understandable, if not sympathetic. Far from being the easily settled villain of the piece, Petra has been turned into a resourceful character whose character motivations go simply beyond wanting to hurt people. The first season has been a deft handling of strong character work and emotional beats with a wonderful comedic touch, and how the show threads this needle in season two will definitely be worth tuning in for.
– Deepayan Sengupta