Jane the Virgin: Chapter Eighteen
April 15, 2015 1:22 PM - Season 1, Episode 18 - Subscribe
Jane continues to have doubts about her relationship with Rafael, who is too busy cleaning up the mess of losing the hotel's liquor license to devote any energy to Jane. Michael and Alba are both pursuing new romantic relationships, while Petra is trying to uncover secrets about an old one. Rita Moreno guest stars as Rogelio's mother Liliana, whose obvious disdain of Xiomara stands in opposition to Ro declaring his love for Xo.
The Villanueva women have a rich Easter tradition, each for her own reasons: Alba - The Lord, Xiomara - The Wardrobe, Jane - The Candy. Unfortunately, this year Jane feels obligated to bow out of her family's celebration, after Jane calls out a customer's rudeness at the Marbella, only to discover she is the city commissioner Rafael is trying to convince to reinstate the hotel's liquor license. Jane's absence from the Villanueva festivities leaves Xiomara with only Alba to help her stop herself from telling Rogelio's mother what she really thinks of her, as Xo and Alba have made a deal that Alba will ask out her new crush Edward (played by Cheech Marin) if Xo behaves herself with Rogelio's mother.
Back at the hotel, Jane runs into Michael and discovers that her new friend Andie is Michael's ex-girlfriend, meaning Jane has been unknowingly helping to put the two of them back together, though Jane refrains from revealing this to Michael. Michael is back at the Marbella because Petra told him that she had important information to share with him. Feeling almost certain (but not quite) that Aaron Zazo is actually her old flame Roman purporting to be his twin, Petra sneaks into Aaron's room to find evidence and narrowly avoids a face-to-face encounter by hiding in the closet. She manages to extract a glass from the room, which she gives Michael to test for fingerprints to prove that Roman is, in fact, still alive.
It seems this is not the best Easter for any of the Villanueva women, as Jane discovers Alba's crush Edward is a Catholic priest, who has, nonetheless agreed to go out with Alba. Xiomara's will power is tested when Rogelio's mother Liliana rejects her apology for their past conflicts (Xo killed her cat, and Liliana can't forget the smell), because what Liliana is truly angry about is that Xo never told Ro she was pregnant, when Xo definitely did tell Ro, who told her to get an abortion. Xo confronts Rogelio for lying to his mother for all these years, and when he comes clean, Liliana says she forgives Xiomara. Unfortunately, she follows this up by saying that Xo and Ro should not be together at all, because they are both too stubborn and they don't want the same things---namely that Rogelio wants more children some time in the future and Xiomara is too old. Frustrated and angry, Xo runs out to a bar where she runs into her old boyfriend Marco (from Chapters 7 and 8). After filling Marco in on the up-to-the-minute details of her relationship with Rogelio, Marco says all the right things and Xo kisses him, then realizes she shouldn't have and runs back to Rogelio. Xo does not confess this infidelity to Ro, who has sent his mother home early for her unkind words to Xiomara. He further comforts her by saying that he does not care if her eggs are old, and that his DNA combined with any fresh egg they can get will be enough to make their child extraordinary.
Meanwhile, Jane has performed admirably with the city commissioner, after studying up on her interests and holding her own in a very WASPy conversation. However, the city commissioner is not convinced to forgive Jane, until Jane overhears her conversation with her husband about his refusal to prioritize their daughter's birthday over his affair. Jane is compassionate and the commissioner agrees to help the Marbella, even after Jane tells her that she wouldn't betray the commissioner's secret either way.
After her heart-to-heart with the city commissioner, Jane is noticeably shaken, worried that the commissioner's relationship with her husband is foreshadowing a terrible future for Jane's relationship with Rafael, who has been confronting his own demons. Rafael and Jane had mutually agreed that it was the right decision for Rafael to email his long-absentee mother, because the worst possibility was never knowing what had happened to her. Jane does not know, however, that his mother has replied to him, nor that Rafael has agreed to meet with her. When Rafael sees her for the first time in years, he is shocked and dismayed to realize she has only been 3 hours away since she left. She confesses that his father paid her $10 million to never contact them again, and that she agreed. Rafael storms out, believing this knowledge worse than never knowing why his mother left, and in this state of mind, he tells Jane that they should focus on being parents to their child, rather than on their relationship with each other. Jane and Rafael are over, Jane is heart-broken, and Petra is kidnapped by (yep, now we're sure that's) Roman(!) Zazo.
The Villanueva women have a rich Easter tradition, each for her own reasons: Alba - The Lord, Xiomara - The Wardrobe, Jane - The Candy. Unfortunately, this year Jane feels obligated to bow out of her family's celebration, after Jane calls out a customer's rudeness at the Marbella, only to discover she is the city commissioner Rafael is trying to convince to reinstate the hotel's liquor license. Jane's absence from the Villanueva festivities leaves Xiomara with only Alba to help her stop herself from telling Rogelio's mother what she really thinks of her, as Xo and Alba have made a deal that Alba will ask out her new crush Edward (played by Cheech Marin) if Xo behaves herself with Rogelio's mother.
Back at the hotel, Jane runs into Michael and discovers that her new friend Andie is Michael's ex-girlfriend, meaning Jane has been unknowingly helping to put the two of them back together, though Jane refrains from revealing this to Michael. Michael is back at the Marbella because Petra told him that she had important information to share with him. Feeling almost certain (but not quite) that Aaron Zazo is actually her old flame Roman purporting to be his twin, Petra sneaks into Aaron's room to find evidence and narrowly avoids a face-to-face encounter by hiding in the closet. She manages to extract a glass from the room, which she gives Michael to test for fingerprints to prove that Roman is, in fact, still alive.
It seems this is not the best Easter for any of the Villanueva women, as Jane discovers Alba's crush Edward is a Catholic priest, who has, nonetheless agreed to go out with Alba. Xiomara's will power is tested when Rogelio's mother Liliana rejects her apology for their past conflicts (Xo killed her cat, and Liliana can't forget the smell), because what Liliana is truly angry about is that Xo never told Ro she was pregnant, when Xo definitely did tell Ro, who told her to get an abortion. Xo confronts Rogelio for lying to his mother for all these years, and when he comes clean, Liliana says she forgives Xiomara. Unfortunately, she follows this up by saying that Xo and Ro should not be together at all, because they are both too stubborn and they don't want the same things---namely that Rogelio wants more children some time in the future and Xiomara is too old. Frustrated and angry, Xo runs out to a bar where she runs into her old boyfriend Marco (from Chapters 7 and 8). After filling Marco in on the up-to-the-minute details of her relationship with Rogelio, Marco says all the right things and Xo kisses him, then realizes she shouldn't have and runs back to Rogelio. Xo does not confess this infidelity to Ro, who has sent his mother home early for her unkind words to Xiomara. He further comforts her by saying that he does not care if her eggs are old, and that his DNA combined with any fresh egg they can get will be enough to make their child extraordinary.
Meanwhile, Jane has performed admirably with the city commissioner, after studying up on her interests and holding her own in a very WASPy conversation. However, the city commissioner is not convinced to forgive Jane, until Jane overhears her conversation with her husband about his refusal to prioritize their daughter's birthday over his affair. Jane is compassionate and the commissioner agrees to help the Marbella, even after Jane tells her that she wouldn't betray the commissioner's secret either way.
After her heart-to-heart with the city commissioner, Jane is noticeably shaken, worried that the commissioner's relationship with her husband is foreshadowing a terrible future for Jane's relationship with Rafael, who has been confronting his own demons. Rafael and Jane had mutually agreed that it was the right decision for Rafael to email his long-absentee mother, because the worst possibility was never knowing what had happened to her. Jane does not know, however, that his mother has replied to him, nor that Rafael has agreed to meet with her. When Rafael sees her for the first time in years, he is shocked and dismayed to realize she has only been 3 hours away since she left. She confesses that his father paid her $10 million to never contact them again, and that she agreed. Rafael storms out, believing this knowledge worse than never knowing why his mother left, and in this state of mind, he tells Jane that they should focus on being parents to their child, rather than on their relationship with each other. Jane and Rafael are over, Jane is heart-broken, and Petra is kidnapped by (yep, now we're sure that's) Roman(!) Zazo.
This episode ended with me crying and hugging my cat.
I'm never a fan of mom vs. girlfriend storylines - they are so gross, but Rita Moreno is a treasure, and I kept thinking "yeah, so that's where Rogelio comes from!"
Jane making hoity-toity conversation made me laugh so much.
posted by missmary6 at 5:12 PM on April 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'm never a fan of mom vs. girlfriend storylines - they are so gross, but Rita Moreno is a treasure, and I kept thinking "yeah, so that's where Rogelio comes from!"
Jane making hoity-toity conversation made me laugh so much.
posted by missmary6 at 5:12 PM on April 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
I loved that Jane did her research!
I knew that they would have to break up Jane and Rafael for the sake of drama at some point. I'm just glad it was so well-handled--there is a real reason for the breakup even if we are sad about it.
I think the love triangle on this show is so interesting (not my usual feeling about love triangles). I don't expect her and Michael to get back together, especially considering the foreshadowing about Michael in an earlier episode, but they continue to have a pretty good relationship.
posted by chaiminda at 7:27 AM on April 16, 2015 [3 favorites]
I knew that they would have to break up Jane and Rafael for the sake of drama at some point. I'm just glad it was so well-handled--there is a real reason for the breakup even if we are sad about it.
I think the love triangle on this show is so interesting (not my usual feeling about love triangles). I don't expect her and Michael to get back together, especially considering the foreshadowing about Michael in an earlier episode, but they continue to have a pretty good relationship.
posted by chaiminda at 7:27 AM on April 16, 2015 [3 favorites]
Of all the dangerous elements on the show (murderers, acid-throwers, impersonating evil twins), I'm most terrified of Andie. She'll probably turn out to be mostly harmless, but I really don't know.
And have I mentioned lately how much I love the clip that this show reveals things. Yes, it is totally soapy that Andie would by Michael's ex. But that she knows who Jane is and that Jane figured it out sooner rather than later makes it feel more believable and doesn't rely on contrivance or character-stupidity to keep the plot going.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:33 AM on April 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
And have I mentioned lately how much I love the clip that this show reveals things. Yes, it is totally soapy that Andie would by Michael's ex. But that she knows who Jane is and that Jane figured it out sooner rather than later makes it feel more believable and doesn't rely on contrivance or character-stupidity to keep the plot going.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:33 AM on April 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
Yes! I love that the show lets its characters be intelligent. It's so different from shows where there's only a big reversal of fortunes once or twice a season.
Also, I love that there are so few really villainous people on this show. Petra has become one of my favorite characters.
posted by chaiminda at 9:41 AM on April 16, 2015
Also, I love that there are so few really villainous people on this show. Petra has become one of my favorite characters.
posted by chaiminda at 9:41 AM on April 16, 2015
Oh, no, Petra!
Which is crazy, because Petra was so nasty in the first few episodes, and now I'm all Team Petra. This show! So good at making you change your mind!
I also think Rafael is being kind of hard on his mother. Yeah, she took $10M to leave him alone; but if she'd fought for custody, does he think she would have won? No way! Clearly his father would have beaten her into the ground, and Rafael would still have had no relationship with his mother.
All that said, where the heck are Luisa and Rosa? Are they together???!!!
posted by suelac at 9:43 PM on April 17, 2015
Which is crazy, because Petra was so nasty in the first few episodes, and now I'm all Team Petra. This show! So good at making you change your mind!
I also think Rafael is being kind of hard on his mother. Yeah, she took $10M to leave him alone; but if she'd fought for custody, does he think she would have won? No way! Clearly his father would have beaten her into the ground, and Rafael would still have had no relationship with his mother.
All that said, where the heck are Luisa and Rosa? Are they together???!!!
posted by suelac at 9:43 PM on April 17, 2015
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posted by jenfullmoon at 4:30 PM on April 15, 2015