Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Jane the Virgin 2x05 “Chapter Twenty-Seven” (Insert Britney Spears Pun Here) [Contributor: Connie]


"Chapter Twenty-Seven"
Original Airdate: November 9, 2015

What’s between snowflakes and flower petals? Maybe rain, baby tears? Whatever it is, Jane is in that in between state now. Neither Michael nor Rafael have come away with her affection, because she’s realized she should focus all of that affection on Mateo. Jane is coming full circle from where she was two episodes ago, when she first told Rafael she couldn’t choose between him or Michael. The liquor and clubbing has worn off, the baby hormones have cleared a little, and rational Jane is remembering that it is too soon to get involved with either man because she has a new man in her life that needs her utmost care. And after what happened with Xo and Zed — I mean Jon Snow — Jane sees how decisions you make while high on the drug called "love" can come back and hurt you later on. As much as I am Team Rafael, I am glad Jane chose neither man for the time being, but I am curious to know where Michael is at right now.

As I’ve stated before, the whole Rafael vs. Michael of it all has always been a bit uneven in terms of accessibility to Jane’s affections. Michael has fewer distractions, while something is always eating at Rafael’s time and energy. While I appreciate the attempt to balance things out in this regard, I think there should have been strong build-up to Michael’s violent reaction to Rafael. Of course Michael hates him and has for a long time, but never have his emotions been this physical, especially to the point of hurting not only Rafael, but also being blind to hurting anyone around them. As a police officer, that should always be in the back of your mind, and since Michael is a good one (his infractions have all been in the service of goodness or kindness), he should have been more aware of his surroundings, even as he pummelled Rafael into that vase.

So where does this blind rage come from? The beginnings are, of course, there, but we haven’t seen this side of Michael before, so it’s a bit of a shock. I hope we get more backstory into Michael and maybe we’ll get some clues into where this rage really derives from in the coming episodes. I hope so, because right now I feel like Jane the Virgin came up with a way to make Jane anti-Michael without quite enough warning that this was coming.

On Rafael’s side of things, he actually didn’t blow up like I expected him to. Sorry for being another one who didn’t believe in you this week. Despite being on his side, during my first watch of the episode, I didn’t know if I could completely believe that Rafael had nothing to do with Michael’s troubles. I think that I leaned more toward his side after my second viewing, but that’s still not a great vote of confidence in his character.

I think that this all has to do with the writers evening out the sketchiness of each potential romantic partner, so that we’re unsure of who is better for Jane. This makes it so that neither are “better” for her in the long-run at all. Michael being out of the picture for a little while will certainly give Jane and Rafael time to get to know one another as people (and parents) and gain back that trust they had as a couple. As Mateo grows, we’re going to see them co-parenting and man am I excited to learn how they differ as parents.

But as a friend of mine said on Twitter: Jane Villanueva should be obsessively listening to Hamilton and ignore both boys. 

Real. Pretty sure those Britney dance moves work for at least one of the Hamiltunes.

Side note about Jane unrelated to boy drama: watching her jaunt around the hotel trying to fix problems with the baby in tow is very adorable. From Raf’s apartment to Petra’s rooms down to the lobby and all around, she’d make an awesome super-sleuth. But it’s Jane, so of course she would.

What else happened this week?

Petra got married! Milos convinces her to marry him for at least one year, even though she is pregnant with Raf’s baby. She figures out that he spies on her when he gifts her with the wrong “one of a kind” violin, so she must be careful when talking to people about their arrangement. But also, his job was actually being a scam artist. So clearly the violins are fakes anyway. I refuse to believe Petra ever loved that CREEPY man. Milos used the wedding as a cover to bring in 2,000 HAND GRENADES!

Elsewhere, Xo overcomes a 20+ year old felony charge on her record by threatening her stoner ex-fiance’s precious graffiti wall. Alba and Xo bonding outside of the house, on an adventure, was so fun to watch (added bonus: Alba getting high and got a few steps closer to becoming an American citizen!) Alba stoned out of her mind is a hilarity I never knew I could expect from this show, and then this line solidified the perfection: “Nor. mal. That’s a fun word.” We learn, also, that Alba has a sister named Cecelia, leaving the audience to ponder some questions. Does she still live in Venezuela? Is she alive? 

We also delve a little deeper into Mateo the Former, who died on June 12th and whose absence allowed Alba to feel as though she neglected Xiomara during her teen years. I love that we’re learning more about him.

Rogelio and Britney Spears move past the frayed denim jeans of their relationship to the smooth orange/red leather jumpsuit that brought them together in the first place. The most interesting thing about Britney’s cameo was that the show didn’t try to make her an actor. They literally wrote her as herself. It was so ridiculous that she could only be paired with Rogelio for scenes where she had to speak. 

I must say, though, that the scene where Jane and Britney dance together, I had eyes only for Gina. What can’t she do? She can act, do slapstick comedy, sing (see the little lullaby she sang baby Mateo on Instagram) rap, dance... the list goes on and on. I think that with the high caliber of acting chops this show has all around, they had to exaggerate Britney’s appearance to make any comparisons null and void. Final note about Britney: man, is her troupe of back-up dancers who follow her around everywhere weird? Is that a joke or parody of something? It really just threw me off.

Finally, just as Michael is fired from the precinct and left without his firearm to protect him, NADINE KIDNAPS HIM.

How DARE The Narrator leave us hanging on that moment!

Rattles and Rockets:
  • They keep teasing me with the Narrator being a character, like with a past and hopes and dreams… I know we’ll never get it, but man, those teases...
  • “Good instinct. What I would have done.”  Luisa. I love how Rafael looks to the side, like, “wait, maybe this isn’t the answer.” 
  • Michael’s flips in the graffiti park were REAL. Brett Dier really did them!
  • Petra played violin? I hope we get more of her playing!
  • Petra would also make a good sleuth. That Konner/Guarneri catch was very Encyclopedia Brown! 
  • “The fact that you cared that 2%? Thank you.” So here for Jane softening Petra’s sometimes evil heart. They’re gonna be spending quite of a bit of time around each other with their kids, so it’s for the best if it isn’t hostile. 
  • Also, Jane’s love and genuine desire to help people, even people who have hurt her and manipulated her like Petra, is why she’s such an angel. An imperfect one, but my heart warms when I think of Jane Villanueva. 
  • Jane getting through Britney’s security saying, “it’s a baby thing, don’t worry,” is totally like the “it’s for the bride” trick How I Met Your Mother (and a few other shows since) brought to light. Can’t wait for that one to be used again. 
  • “Immigration laws are constantly changing” #vote #vote #vote I love you, show.

Who is Eric Wu? And what does he have to do with Nadine?

1 comment:

  1. I've always been in favor of Jane being completely focus on Mateo in this first half of the season, and I'm glad she finally did it, but said that, I'm still #teamMichael, this anger seemed quite out of character for him, just looked drama for drama's sake. They just needed to separate them. Neither do I condemn Michael because he thought it was Rafael, this childish fight between the them, It's was always both side. Michael made a mistake, and I hope he learns from it and him and Jane find their way back to each other.
    Rogelio as always, it's the best thing in the show for me.

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