Jane The Virgin – Chapter Thirty Three

By: Jennifer Verzuh

“Jane the Virgin” is a show that’s consistently full of surprises and plot twists and that’s part of its charm. Beginning with the show’s zany and unconventional premise the series has time and time again subverted our expectations and this week’s episode was no exception to that rule, with several developments that the most devoted fan wouldn’t see coming.

The episode opens with Jane (Gina Rodriguez) preoccupied with her writing advisor Professor Jonathan Chavez (Adam Rodriguez [no relation]) after having a sex dream about him. She has trouble hiding her crush as he gives her advice on her writing, and even accidentally calls the romantic lead in her story by his name while at a reading. Yikes!

While Jane worries it’d be unprofessional to make a move and a romance is unlikely considering he’s a professor and she’s a student, Xiomara (Andrea Navedo) encourages her. Watch for signs that he’s interested, she tells her. He’ll become more familiar, touch her, lean in. Then, she advises for Jane to respond in turn and let him know you’re open.

Jane has the chance to scoop out her chances with Chavez when he asks her for a tour of the set of Rogelio’s (Jaime Camil) soap opera for his mother (who’s naturally a huge fan) and him. He seems to be giving all the signs and when he looks like he’s leaning in while they’re outside her car she goes for the kiss – only to face rejection in the most embarrassing of ways as he actually leans in to open the car door and she winds up kissing his sweater. Poor Jane. Mortified by misreading the signs and making him uncomfortable she finds herself unable to write freely and ultimately tells Professor Chavez she needs a new advisor.

Xo is facing her own problems, both in her relationship with Rogelio and her career. Rogelio is working on a big party for Xo’s 40th party, an event she herself doesn’t seem too keen about. If anything it only serves as a reminder that she isn’t where she wants to be in life, giving dance lessons to children rather than performing herself. When she’s offered a last minute spot to sing at a bar the night of her party she says yes, upsetting Rogelio who had a big surprise planned for her. The surprise? He was going to propose. But fear not, he shows up to her performance, apologizes, and gets down on one knee there.

It’s a moment viewers have long anticipated and the writers and actors play the sweetness up, with Rogelio quoting “my friend Ryan Gosling” in his proposal. He can’t wait to spend his life with and raise children with Xo he tells her. Naturally, we’re expecting Xo to say “yes,” as they’re more in love than any other current couple on this show. But she doesn’t say yes, even though she desperately wants to. She confides in him that doesn’t want any more children because she wants to be able to focus on herself, which she hopes that isn’t a deal-breaker. This makes complete sense to me. Xo was only sixteen years old when she had Jane, and as a result, she had to postpone a lot of her own goals and dreams unlike Rogelio. It’s not selfish that she wants to pursue those goals now. Rogelio, unfortunately, may not see it that way though and has to think about it.

While all this is developing, Petra (Yael Grobglas) and Rafael (Justin Baldoni) continue to grow closer as they work to keep the hotel afloat and we get a peek at the earlier stages of their relationship, when the two were legitimately in love. With the media revealing that the hotel is associated with not one, but two drug lords, business is suffering. When they learn a prominent couple is canceling their planned wedding there, they take steps to change the bride-to-be’s mind. Rafael, who knew her in his former player days, is confident he’ll be able to charm her. This is a suggestion Petra balks at, until he reminds her he was able to charm her when she herself was a newly engaged woman. At this, we’re shown a flashback revealing how the exes meet: at a dinner party announcing her engagement to another man. Afterwards, he flirted with her and pestered her for a date until she agreed.

Petra and Rafael show up at art event for the prospective bride, only for her to reveal she cancelled because she realized who the hotel’s management was, Petra specifically. She doesn’t even remember meeting this woman, but the artist does. She was a barista at a coffee shop when Petra had her fired for spilling coffee. The event even inspired her piece “Trophy Wife.” Throughout the episode Petra tries hard to get the high profile wedding back to The Marbella and prove she’s more than just somebody’s trophy wife, which she ultimately does.

Rafael is impressed and with thoughts of happier moments of their relationship in his mind, he goes to kiss her. Petra turns away though and tells him they can’t, though she’s clearly still in love with him. When he asks why not, she asks if he’s over Jane. Of all the characters on this show, Petra is the one who’s probably gone through the most development. She went from being portrayed as a mere villain and shrew at the beginning of the series to becoming a complicated, multi-dimensional character who occasionally can and will do the right thing.

The biggest bombshell of the episode comes from Susanna (Megan Ketch) and Michael’s (Brett Dier) investigation. Thanks to aging technology and a photo on the chip Michael recovered, his team is able to figure out that Elena (Fabiana Udenio) may be Rose’s (Bridget Regan) stepmother. As if this show didn’t have enough family drama! They ask Luisa (Yara Martinez) to make another attempt at contacting Rose, this time through a driver she recognized as Rose’s from the same photo. She agrees and in the process makes a very convincing plea to the driver that Rose reach out to her because she’s still waiting for her. Susanna, who Luisa has been flirting relentlessly with, is listening and later comes over and resists her advances, telling her she’s still clearly not over Rose, and now’s not the time for them. Rose doesn’t bother contacting Luisa, instead she shows up far away at Elena’s hideaway to determine how they’re going to get the chip back. And, honestly, I can’t wait to see what they come up with.

As for Jane, her embarrassment and awkwardness may have actually been worth it in the end. Now that he’s no longer her advisor, Professor Chavez (or Jonathan) can reveal that he too has feelings for Jane, and asks her on a date. Good for her! Honestly, it’s nice to see Jane interested in someone other than Michael and Rafael and if she’s going to reevaluate her decision to wait until marriage, he’s not a bad choice.