Jane the Virgin - S2E8 – Chapter Thirty

Previously on Jane the Virgin, ‘Chapter Twenty-Nine’

Calamity Jane

Jane has a temper. She didn’t blow up when she was artificially inseminated. Or when her fiancé deceived her about her baby’s father. Or when she found out Magda pushed Abuela down a flight of stairs. But Rafael snitching on Michael? Oh, Jane’s throwing down and it was fun to watch. She loses it with Rafael and bites Wesley’s head off before she gets C-A-L-M.

Well, calm enough to try couples therapy and my favorite part of this episode. Gina Rodriguez and Justin Baldoni were comedic classics in their role play. I want a spin-off starring Evil Raf with a bag-o-money and a goony henchman. Sadly for this spin-off idea, Jane sees Rafael’s viewpoint and the two make peace.

Angry Rogelio

Rogelio is brokenhearted over the loss of Michael. Unmoored from Michael’s grounding influence, Rogelio sets up his intern with the “Prince William” test and wrongly accuses him of indiscretion. Now he has no Michael and no free intern. Remorseful, he admits to Xiomara his anger comes from the years she kept Jane from him. Jane later tells Rogelio her anger comes from the same source. It’s a very touching scene between father and daughter and nicely brings this episode’s storylines together. Rogelio is always good for some fun farce, but I appreciate when Jaime Camil is given the opportunity to mist some eyes. He does it so well.

Lost Scholarship

Jane loses her scholarship. Well, her scholarship from her once-rich father. If she can win a short story contest, all might be well. So, she tries her hand at the Historical Fiction, Thriller, and Science Fiction genres. She’s terrible at all of them, but lucky for her this was just her (hot) advisor’s ploy to get her to write outside her comfort zone. Just kidding, Jane! You can stick to romance (good thing…you have to work through your feelings about Michael, somehow). Oh, and you can have Wesely’s TA job, as well. There were some cute fantasy scenes of Jane’s attempts at genre, but they felt hastily crammed into this packed episode.

Mothers

• Luisa’s - The hunt for Luisa’s mom continues, leading Michael and his partner (Susanna Barnett…I looked it up) to chase her down. Mutter is too conniving and they end back where they started with nothing to show for it. Well, Susanna could have Luisa to show for it, if she’s interested.
• Petra’s - Petra is heavy and not just with child. The guilt over her mother’s dispatching of Ivan is not sitting well on her conscious. She spills all her secrets to Rafael. Rafael surprises us all by being understanding and supportive. I guess he can relate to the rock/hard place predicament. Sadly for Petra, accessorizing her eye patch has not made Magda any less a pirate. She calls the cops to arrest her daughter for Ivan’s murder. Ho, ho, ho, Petra.

• Xiomara’s – After much awaiting and anxiety, Alma gets her green card. Smiles and tears from characters, and audience alike, ensue.
• Rafael’s – Oh, yeah. Raf’s mother makes a brief appearance as she’s brought in for questioning on the Mutter case. She’s around just long enough to remind us she still exists and her son still hates her.