Season two of Jane the Virgin has brought about a lot of changes for the show, but what’s clearest in “Chapter Twenty-Three” is that creator Jennie Snyder Urman and her team know exactly who these characters are, and how they relate to one another and the world that Jane the Virgin has created.
The legacy that is left in the wake of Emily Owens, MD’s demise could be found in Jennie Snyder Urman’s follow up television series Jane the Virgin. Urman wanted to fit her sensibility into a medical drama template but was limiting her creativity by playing too closely to the format. Her vision of an Ally McBeal-esque tone did not come through in Emily Owens, MD as one could imagine she had intended, as Jane the Virgin is much clearly Urman embracing her unique writing style without restraint. This show is still a very good effort by Urman as it is skillfully written and presented, yet the flaws exist mostly for being too generic to be noticed, which is mistake that Urman has certainly not repeated.
I grew up with telenovelas. I lived in Mexico during my formative years, and telenovelas were appointment viewing, with my friends and I faithfully gathering after school to watch the latest episodes. They had wonderful and outlandish names and dealt with cheating spouses, long-lost siblings, lucrative business deals, and a whole lot of evening gowns worn inside …
While the plot hasn’t suffered, the recent run of Jane the Virgin has turned the attention mainly on how the characters relate to each other, whether it’s seemingly unconnected people like Rogelio and Michael or duos with a bitter history like Rafael and Petra, and the show has benefited from it.