Despite some good character moments, Chapter Twenty-Eight is particularly choppy.
Jane misses Michael.
Michael’s in Mexico with Nadine. Alive, thank god. Turns out he called Nadine himself, to finally track down Sin Rostro by himself. Jane doesn’t know that, though, and her and Rafael go to a meeting to figure out what will happen with custody and Mateo’s trust fund.
But she didn’t realize exactly how rich Rafael was, so she freaks out.
Also freaking out is Petra: she’s being forced to help Milos attempt to sell thousands of hand grenades, and Magda isn’t helping even with face-to-face visits. (She might be cooped up in Litchfield Correctional Facility, given the Russian red-haired cook she mentions!)
Also also freaking out? Rogelio. The Passions of Santos is finally over, and he needs to find a new telenovela to star in… with no crew, because Luciana stole them from him to work with her and his nemesis Esteban. While he freaks out, Mateo burps up on Jane’s shirt, and Rogelio has his wardrobe crew come to the rescue with a cute dress. With a ridiculously-shiny tiger on the back.
It makes Jane late for her grad school orientation and her teacher is obviously displeased.
He’s none other than Professor Jonathan Chavez (Adam Rodriguez), or as I like to call him, Hunky de la [Wolf Whistle].
Too bad he’s hot, because he’s insufferable. “Men have become tools of their tools,” Hunky de la [Wolf Whistle] muses as one of Jane’s classmates uses his phone during Jane Gloriana’s introduction.
Yep, she’s just going by her middle name. It’s probably a good idea, given the whole Jane-The-Pregnant-Virgin-Website thing from last season. Though given Chavez’s dislike of social media and electronics, perhaps it wouldn’t have mattered.
Either way, he “#h8s it”, and that’s something I’m really not here for. Anti-social-media sentiment irks me to no end because there have always been critics of the newest forms of communication, from novels to telephones to Facebook. I hope Hunky de la [Wolf Whistle] tones it down if he’s going to become a regular cast member.
He doesn’t look like he’s going to improve, though. The look he gives Jane when Mateo’s doctor calls? Scathing.
The look he gives her when she says she wants to finish her novel? Eye-rollingly annoyed.
I already have enough to eye-roll at with Rafael, Virgin writers, don’t give me another character to hate!
And so Jane’s kicked out of a class for the first time ever, because apparently this professor prides himself over infants. What a babe.
One month later, and Hunky de la [Wolf Whistle] has given Jane her very first C- grade, saying it seemed rushed.
One month later, and Jane and Rafael are still talking about the trust fund. Jane’s not comfortable with Mateo becoming rich easily, wanting to instill the value of hard work in him, wanting to help him to learn how to value things rather than just thinking he could buy himself out of situations. Naturally, Rafael sees that as a personal insult and— oh my god, this week is just the week of the manbabies on TV between him and Supergirl‘s Winn. Can we get more character development please?
At least Petra is only looking for support. That is, support for Magda to be let out early on parole. Support from the Villanuevas. Oy vey. Jane can’t even think about it, either, because Mateo has a flat head and he needs to be fitted for a helmet and she let him lay down flat on his back for far too long because she was writing and studying for class and—
and PETRA IS HAVING TWINS.
Which means that Rafael has three kids and hasn’t actually GOTTEN any since the show started.
Cosmic payback, baby.
Two months after the episode’s beginning, and Jane’s on a class writing retreat, and Mateo’s wearing his helmet. And she doesn’t get to see, because she’s on a retreat with hardly any signal.
Despite the stresses, though, Jane’s kind enough to help Magda out of prison because of Petra’s twins. Petra’s even started seeing a therapist, which actually seems like a really good idea.
Not so much of a good idea? The writer’s retreat. Jane tries to join the group again and listen in on gossip, but one of the guys in the group—hey look! Another gay character!—won’t have any of it even when the rest of the group calls him out. He feels Jane doesn’t reciprocate in sharing who she is with the class, prompting her to tell them about her troubles.
I love this show, but it’s not exactly good with its gay characters. Luisa’s portrayed as an untrustworthy mental patient, Rose is a drug lord, the other gay man we have is a stereotypical white dude whose name I don’t even remember, and now this guy in the writing class comes off as very much the kind of gay man who hides rudeness behind a “what? I’m just telling the truth!” veneer. While there are men out there who are more stereotypical than others, it’s a little jarring considering the deep characterization of the rest of the cast, even Rogelio.
The good news, though, is that Jane and Rafael have a healthy talk about their feelings once again, and Rafael finally realizes he has to move on from her. It’s nice to see him actually think about it rather than pouting, and even if he continues to be a romantic interest for Jane at least the writers are finally showing us that he has hope for a life even without Jane.
Another month later, and Jane’s not so happy about that. She’s weirded out, because one of the girls in her mommy class has the hots for Rafael, and she vents as much to the Gay Friend, Wesley Masters (Brian Jordan Alvarez). They have a talk about Jane’s life, and how ridiculous the Solanos are; it’s punctuated with a melodramatic scream from Rogelio, lampshading the hypocrisy.
Petra’s happy, at least, because Milos is leaving for a while… but leaving behind Ivan, the man that she and Magda held captive. Well, crap.
Also crap-worthy is that Jane’s on academic probation, because Hunky de la [Wolf Whistle] is furious that she fell asleep during a writing critique. On one hand, I get it; it’s really disrespectful to do that when someone’s reading their work. On the other hand, the show doesn’t do anything to suggest that it’s a recurring issue, and it makes me hope that Chavez either gets some development or is just a guest star for the episode.
A fourth month later sees Jane stressed as hell, and finally sick, with the boob-flu. Mastitis, apparently, because she’s pumping too much and not getting enough rest. Rafael’s been dating the girl from the class for the past month, too, for what that’s worth.
Milos is arrested in Prague thanks to Petra and Magda keeping his files and sending them to the Czech authorities, and Ivan leaves to go to his rescue… leaving Petra and Magda to get rid of the grenades. That is, until Magda realizes one of them is missing its pin. Now she’s down a hand, an eye, and the last of her empathy.
So Petra reaches out to Jane for help on mothering.
And Jane and Rafael come to a decision about Mateo’s trust fund: constant reevaluation, and charity for every dollar he earns.
The episode finally comes to a close with what Jane the Virgin does best: an honest emotional moment. The Villanuevas have Rafael over for dinner, and Jane even invites Petra. Sure, there’s the conclusion of Rogelio’s novela adventure—he can’t make a Spanish-language version of Mad Men due to copyright issues—but we get to see Jane and Rafael talk plainly about themselves. About how Rafael and Mommy Class Jill didn’t work out because he’s still in love with Jane. About how Jane’s going to give him another chance because it’s been a while: a single date, and go from there.
JUST KIDDING THERE’S A CLIFFHANGER:
Michael’s back in Miami.
Wesley’s talking with Jane’s Gay Coworker to dig up dirt on the Solanos.
Milos knows Petra and Magda set him up, and Magda kills Ivan when he tries to blackmail her.
Ruh roh.
