Welcome back to The Young Folks’ Jane the Virgin Season 2 coverage! Click here to read our previous coverage of the series.
When you really boil down the bits and pieces of Jane the Virgin, it’s abundantly clear that the relationship between Xiomara, Jane and Alba is integral to the series success because no matter the absolute craziness that surrounds Jane, and gives the show it’s comedic edge, the heart of the series is these three, empowered women and their relationship which keeps everything grounded.
This week’s episode is about tradition as the people that Jane loves fall into place around her while dealing with their own personal struggles.
Xo and Rogelio are dealing with his ex-wife who left him emotionally crippled, and who he still has major baggage with. This is shaken up further when he does a chemistry test with her for his upcoming “Make Love Week” and they kiss with so much passion that Xo is forced to leave the set, believing she’s witnessed some sort of bizarre reconciliation between the two. Rogelio tells her that he’s shut his ex out, until Luciana arrives on set with some sort of blackmail on Rogelio, forcing his hand in letting her have the role. I love him and Xo, and seeing Xo heartsick makes me heartsick, so hopefully this storyline is all wrapped up neatly soon.
Michael spends the episode taking Rogelio’s advice to be emotionally aloof rather than be comforting to Jane to write down his “wussy” feelings in a notebook. As someone who’s never really gotten on the Michael train (but then again, I’m more a Jane train only-she deserves some single time) this episode really does accentuate the differences between he and Rafael. Michael is Jane’s emotional connection, while Rafael is pure chemistry. No, I don’t love the love triangle, even if it is funny that Michael is now Mateo’s godfather. However, I do love that it shows just how the characters behave when put under this type of pressure, and Michael knows exactly what to do by giving Jane his journal, opening himself up vulnerably to her.
Rafael on the other hand, doesn’t quite get what Jane needs when he kisses her at the end of the episode, even if it seems as a way to rid himself of Petra.
Who, I must say, has possibly my favorite storyline of the episode as she seemingly practically deals with her pregnancy. Petra being pregnant with Rafael’s baby is two things:
a. awful, because this will undoubtedly cause problems that Jane and Rafael definitely don’t need.
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b. fantastic, because Petra is a terrific character. Admittedly, a deeply flawed character, but one who is also often sympathetic and if this means we get more interaction between she and Jane, I’m all for it.
It also isn’t surprising at all that Jane would decide to have her baby in their lives, she wants her son to know her half-brother.
However, the big chunk of the episode goes to Jane, Xo and Alba, as Jane has two big events in her life: Mateo’s baptism and her acceptance into grad school. At first she wants to turn grad school down, worried she’s going to miss some big event in Mateo’s life like him blinking, until both Xo and Alba talk her out of it, telling her that there are some moments she’s going to miss while being a parent, it’s inevitable, but she needs to make sure she is choosing the right path for herself, the one that makes her the happiest, which is grad school.
The other, big emotional wallop of the episode, is the baptism, which brings together the three generation of women. Alba when she baptized Xo made up her own, new traditions, which included a speech that she spoke at the baptism, which she then passed on to a 16 year old Xo, who then passed it on to Jane. It’s a speech conveying love, and wisdom and it’s beautiful as it cuts between the three characters as they all said it at different points in their lives. Gina Rodriguez is particularly effective, as every ounce of warmth rolls off of her in this sequence.
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Have you ever seen a series that celebrated female relationships like this? Where their advice and lives were top priority?
Some of my favorite lines:
“Thanksgiving will never be the same.”
“Make love week (the Shark Week of Telenovelas).”
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“Emma Stone-I heard she can play ANY race.”
You may have already noticed this, but no, I am not Gaby, your regular Jane the Virgin re-capper, who will be back to review the show. Until then, thanks for reading my coverage! Jane the Virgin is one of the best shows currently airing and I’m excited to give my two cents.
Rating: 9/10
“It should be noted that…”Jane the Virgin airs Mondays at 9/8c on The CW.
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