Jane The Virgin – Chapter Fifty-Three

By starrymag | February 3, 2017

By: Emily Cross

 

One day after Michael (Brett Dier) decided to be a lawyer he is practicing his lawyering in a cute game with Jane (Gina Rodriguez) and Mateo. When researching (classic Jane), Jane finds that Michael could take the LSAT at the end of the month. Jane offers to help him study, but he doesn’t accept: he wants to keep things separate – like church and state (Jane is church, Michael is state). But, of course, he allows Jane to make him a study calendar that corresponds with hers, as long as she schedules in sex as a reward incentive.

Three weeks later, Jane has stayed on top of her schedule and finished a draft of her thesis. Michael; however, doesn’t seem to be as dedicated, which obviously bothers Jane. She brightens when Michael tells her that he has an interview at a local, affordable law school (a/k/a their top choice). She asks him if he is going to study for the LSATs, but he says that watching soccer helps him relax and focus.

Jane goes to Xiomara’s (Andrea Navedo) to give her a draft of her novel, but she’s not there. Rogelio (Jaime Camil) and Alba (Ivonne Coll) are there and Jane doesn’t want to mention her novel to Alba. Instead, she pretends she is there to give Xo a bracelet. Alba offers to give Xo the bracelet and Jane accepts since she can’t hang around. Rogelio is there to invite the family to the last day of shooting ‘Tiago” and also to soak in family vibes before he sees Darci (Justina Machado) again. Apparently, they haven’t spoken in the last three weeks. Rogelio has stamped his feelings down and reminded himself what he’s fighting for: a baby. Then, he shows Jane a composite baby pic that is creepier than cute.

Jane is at her Parents and Me class where she gets anxious about Mateo not talking yet when other babies are. When she drops Mateo off at Rafael’s (Justin Baldoni), she consults with him, even though she already made a doctor’s appointment. He agrees that it’s something they should look into. After Jane asks where Catalina (Sofia Pernas) is (kids aren’t her speed), Rafael says that he is going to end things with Catalina because he doesn’t need the distraction. He also tells Jane about the will and that he is going to probate it (make it legal) so things might change for him financially. Jane is supportive throughout the whole conversation and assures him that everything will work out. Of course, Petra (Yael Grobglas) is watching on the monitors the whole time.

Later, Catalina is coming into the hotel and she and Petra seem cozy. To catch you up, they met about three weeks ago and pretend to be friendly with each other yet seem to be very uncomfortable with each other. However, Petra has a financial proposition for Catalina. She tells Catalina that Rafael is planning on ending things and Jane couldn’t be happier. Catalina accuses her of trying to manipulate her and Petra outright admits it. But she advises Catalina that if a situation isn’t working, you might as well see what you can get out of it. She tells Catalina she could get $10,000 and all she has to do is take Rafael away for one night. Catalina says she’ll think about it.

Jane asks Xo to read the novel soon so she can give it to Alba. Xo is getting a foot rub from Bruce (Ricardo Chavira) while she is talking to Jane. Jane complains about Michael being stressed studying for LSATs. Bruce, a lawyer, laments all the hard work he had to put in from LSATs to law school to starting work saying it’s what tore his marriage apart. With a look from the girls, he quickly backpedals and assures Jane that she and Michael are going to be fine. Jane begins to spiral, imagining the worst-case scenario. Xo encourages her to share her anxieties with Michael so she does. Unfortunately, this ends up stressing Michael out even more and he kind of blows up at her. He apologizes later and decides to sign up for an LSAT prep class.

Jane also needs a way to relax, as she tells Rafael when they’re at the doctors the next day. She decided to try yoga, as she researched it and classes at the Marbella are well-rated on Yelp. The doctor (Ana Dela Cruz) comes in and talks to them about Mateo’s speech. She’s not too worried because kids in bilingual houses tend to start talking later, but if the problem persists they might have to consider bringing in a speech pathologist, which worries Jane. This only makes her believe more that yoga is going to make everything better

When she gets to the “Tiago” set, Xo advises Jane not to show her novel to Alba because of the way Jane describes the family and how sensitive Alba can be. Alba asks what they are talking about and Jane tries to defend taking liberties in fiction without directly saying what she is talking about. Alba thinks they are talking about “Tiago” and admits that she often doesn’t know what’s going on.

Before the filming starts, Rogelio gets up to make a speech about “Tiago” ending. In the middle of it, he realizes he can’t end “Tiago” on the exact same set it began and instructs the writers to rewrite the entire script. Xo suggests Jane take Rogelio to yoga with her, as he clearly needs the stress relief.

Petra walks into her office to find Scott (Wes Armstrong) who is there to talk about Anezka. He begs her to not send Anezka away, but she’s already gone. Petra also tells Scott that it was her in the alley and she knows about him and Rafael’s plan. But we quickly find out that Scott is harboring Anezka as he tells her Petra thinks she is gone. All they have to do is get some leverage on her so that they can take their relationship out in the open.

Rogelio and Darci meet for the first time in a while and he admits he is still attracted to her. She tells him it’s a no-go on the kid, at least for now. So, Rogelio asks her on a date to see where it leads. She agrees to one date and lets Rogelio kiss her, after he asks her.

Jane goes to a yoga class on the beach, in which she tries to inhale to picture her worries and exhale to let them go. Soon one of Jane’s worries (Catalina) joins the yoga class, wanting to talk. Catalina asks Jane point blank if she said she would be happy if Catalina and Rafael broke up. Jane eventually admits that she would be because Catalina has done nothing but lie. She then loudly calls Catalina a liar and is asked to step away from the class. Catalina visits Petra and tells her she’s in for Petra’s plan.

Jane finds Alba outside the studio where “Tiago” shoots. Alba tells Jane that she has read her novel and she loved it. She thinks Jane is an incredible writer and that if she had to go through the tough times with her family so that Jane could write this novel, it was all worth it.

The family and Darci gather around the “Tiago” set, now a spaceship, but Rogelio announces they will not be filming the finale. He tells Dina (Judy Reyes) that he doesn’t like the idea he agreed to because it’s not good enough. After he storms off, Dina asks Xo to talk to him. Darci doesn’t seem happy about this.

Two days before her deadline, Jane is printing out her novel again because of a few typos and Michael is on edge because the printer is loud and disrupting his studying. The tension builds until an hour and a half later when Michael angrily leaves to go study at a coffee shop while Jane sits on the floor, frustrated marking up pages.

At the Marbella, Catalina visits Rafael and the narrator (Anthony Mendez) encourages him to “drop her like she’s hot.” However, before he gets the chance Catalina breaks up with him first. She then suggests one last adventure together, no strings attached, and Rafael agrees

Rogelio and Darci are on their date. Rogelio comes on too strong for Darci and she’s being very critical. She wants to cut to the chase, to see if the relationship is worth it. If she’s going to be this critical, Rogelio isn’t interested and he begins to rethink the whole baby arrangement, too.

Michael returns from the coffee shop to see Jane is restructuring her entire novel. She has some essential oils the yoga teacher recommended to chill her out. Michael takes some and conks out, but Jane isn’t so lucky. We get a peek into Jane’s anxious thoughts and her imaginings of what life will be like five years from now. She thinks she is going to have to learn to deal with her anxieties herself, without any help from Michael. She tries to think more about Mateo and imagines a scenario ten years from now where he is only just starting kindergarten. She tries to think about her novel and imagines that she still isn’t finished her thesis twenty years from now. She’s going to need something stronger than essential oils.

The next morning, Jane wakes up, finally having fallen asleep. She looks over at Michael, who has had an allergic reaction to the oils on the day of his law school interview! She takes him to the “Tiago” set where Rogelio’s makeup team works its magic. She asks how the date went and Rogelio seems sad. Jane is confused because Darci was excited when Jane saw her.

After the makeup team is done, Jane tells Michael that Rafael isn’t answering his phone so Mateo has to come with them. She tries to stay positive and encouraging for Michael, hyping it up as their first family road trip.

Michael is worried about Rafael so the narrator takes us to find out. It turns out he and Catalina are at some sort of Indian ceremony in a sweat lodge. Rafael gets too hot and passes out. While Rafael is recovering, Catalina starts talking about rebirth and forgiveness and it all hits Rafael a little too hard. He tells Catalina about his newfound adoption and how much it is affecting him. Catalina encourages him to trust him, but we know better. As Rafael and Catalina are bonding more, Petra is in Rafael’s suite at the Marbella looking at the addendum to Emilio’s will. She takes the addendum when she leaves, which Scott sees.

Michael and Jane are stuck in traffic on the way to the interview. He gets really frustrated and calls to cancel. However, things continually get worse as no one answers the call and Mateo starts crying. After looking on the internet, Michael learns that the highway is going to take three hours to clear. He sees a sign for a campsite up ahead and wants Jane to pull off. Jane hates camping. He insists because his camping gear is in the trunk and Jane, annoyed, gives in.

Since Rafael revealed something deep about himself, he pushes Catalina to do the same. She admits that she can’t have kids and she’s been pulling away from his kids because she didn’t want to get attached. As Rafael and Catalina nearly kiss, the narrator tries to warn him that she’s playing him. He can’t hear, obviously.

Michael observes and directs as Jane tries to put up the tent and she eventually bursts. She admits that he is stressing her out, even if he’s not supposed to, and she doesn’t know how they’re going handle it when he’s in law school. He reveals that she doesn’t have to worry because he’s failed every one of his practice tests.

Rogelio confronts Darci about pushing him away. She admits that she likes him, but she doesn’t want to get involved because he is too close to Xo. He admits that he is, but it bothers her because something clearly happened in her past. He is in the middle of telling her there will always be outside forces and they can’t be like Adam and Eve when he has an idea for the “Tiago” finale.

Now a bit calmer, Jane asks why Michael didn’t tell her about the tests. He says it’s because he knew the information, but had trouble once a time limit was imposed. His worries spiral into ending up in a lot of debt and homeless so Jane reassures him that’s not going to happen. She encourages him to worry about real things, but she also admits she’s guilty of the same thing They do an exercise where they actually picture the worst-case scenario and it’s something they can deal with. Michael admits he was wrong to push her away and they need to figure out how to deal with stress together. Even in the worst-case scenario, they will always have each other. Mateo starts saying tent, and they are all happy.

Catalina and Rafael are back from their trip and Petra is watching on her monitors. Catalina is in the main room and she’s talking to Rafael, who is in the shower. Petra then gets a knock on the door. It’s Rafael, who wasn’t in the shower. He knows there are cameras in his room. Catalina apparently told him about what Petra said and he quickly finds Petra’s monitors and she is very upset with him. Petra launches into a monologue about how being paralyzed has ruined her trust in people. With the cameras, she can rewind and she can make sure what’s real is real. Then, she reveals she destroyed the will to protect her daughters. They had only started to bond when Anezka paralyzed her and now they don’t know her. However, she can protect them with money and that wouldn’t work if Rafael lost his money. In a sweet moment, Rafael hugs Petra and assures her it’s going to be okay.

Michael and Jane lie under the stars, feeling more secure and relaxed.

Rogelio is finally filming the “Tiago” finale, based on Adam and Eve. They are lucky to have a clean slate to begin their love. Darci came to the filming and agrees to try again.

Rafael tells Catalina that Petra is asleep. Catalina apologizes and says that she agreed to help Petra before things changed between her and Rafael. Rafael thanks her for her help, but he still wants Catalina to leave. She sadly agrees.

Catalina visits Jane to say goodbye and apologizes for how weird things got. No one is sad to see her go. Jane gets a text that Michael did well on his practice LSATs and she tells Xo she sent in her novel. She remarks that change is on the horizon.

Rafael tells Petra that he found a psychologist for her to see. Petra agrees to go, as long as he doesn’t bring up the addendum again.

Cut to Anezka and Scott, who have clearly just been married. Scott has found and taped together the addendum and calls it their ticket to freedom. The narrator laments that poor Scott doesn’t know the events he is about to trigger…