Chapter Forty-Three is the 21st episode of Season 2 of Jane the Virgin.
Synopsis[]
IT'S A PARTY – Jane (Gina Rodriguez) has made big plans to celebrate Mateo's first birthday, but things start to fall apart when she learns there might be an issue with her wedding venue. Rogelio (Jaime Camil) faces a challenge on set that could jeopardize Jane's big day. Jane is excited when Alba (Ivonne Coll) gives her a lead on a book publisher but soon begins having doubts about her writing. Jane and Petra (Yael Grobglas) try to help Rafael (Justin Baldoni) figure out his troubles, but they have differing opinions on how to handle the situation. Meanwhile, Michael (Brett Dier) is convinced that Derek (guest star Mat Vairo) is really in cahoots with Mutter (guest star Fabiana Udenio) and has a plan to prove it.
Recap[]
Twists and turns and all manner of topsy-turvy craziness were set into motion at the top of the hour as Jane planned two big life-changing parties: her wedding to Michael and Mateo’s first birthday. And as in real life, just when Jane thinks she has everything under control, everything — I mean, everything! — falls apart, namely when the entertainer Jane had booked for Mateo’s party falls through and the crew on Rogelio’s telenovela threatens to strike. Uh oh.
On the other hand, school is surprisingly going great: Professor Donaldson absolutely loves Jane’s most recent work. Seriously: No ball drop here as Jane has turned a real curve in terms of creating fully fleshed-out characters that do justice to both literary tradition and feminism. Just in time, too, because Alba wants to connect Jane with a woman she met who works in publishing. Although Jane is skeptical — Alba’s so-called “networking” has never paid off for Jane — this contact seems to be the real deal. A Simon & Schuster VP? This could be the beginning of something really, really good for Jane. I can see it now: Jane Villanueva, best-selling Simon & Schuster author!
There’s just one hiccup. Professor Donaldson says Jane’s work isn’t quite ready for outside consumption. “It’s grad school ready, not publisher ready,” she says, not altogether harshly. Needless to say, this isn’t what Jane wants to hear, especially when she bumps into Beverly Flores, the Simon & Schuster VP, at the Marbella. Beverly says she’s ready to be “wowed,” which sets the bar really, really high. That said, who better to give Jane’s draft a read then Michael? Unfortunately for Jane, the guy passes out while mid-read. “Jane, it’s not the writing,” says Michael. “It’s great. But romance, it’s not my thing.”
NEXT: Michael’s “thing,” revealed
But you know what is Michael’s thing? Police work. A light bulb goes off in his head when Jane says she wants to “dig deeper” in her writing before submitting anything to the publishing VP. Could there be something underneath the Fairwick? Maybe that’s why hotel ownership is so important to Derek: There could be money, or secrets relating to Mutter, stashed there!
As it turns out, Michael’s gut feeling steered him in the right direction. With Susanna as backup, he heads over to the Fairwick, where they find Mutter bound and gagged in the basement. As for Derek? He’s sitting pretty in on a plane, sipping from a glass of champagne, having effectively foiled Petra and Rafael’s fake FBI raid. (Note to self: Never, ever kid a kidder — even if your fake setup is really, really good.) Where’s he headed? Does Mutter know…and will she provide answers to all our burning questions?
Meanwhile, Rogelio is doing his best to cozy up to the crew because were they to go on strike, it would mess up Jane’s wedding plans. (Remember, she’s planning to get married on the Tiago set.) As it turns out, gift baskets filled with gaffers tape and beef jerky won’t do any good: The crew wants Rogelio to know what it’s like working at a job where the days are too long and the pay is too low.
“You have no idea what this crew goes through every day,” says the crew lead. “You wouldn’t last a day.” Rogelio strikes a deal: If he lasts a week, the crew will postpone the strike, and if not, he’ll become the face of their movement. A handshake seals the deal, which prompts Rogelio to offer this gem: “Can I recommend a paraffin treatment?”
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Surprisingly, Rogelio doesn’t suck at manual labor. With Jane’s wedding as his motivation, Rogelio gamely dons cargo shorts and gloves (in chic lavender, of course) and does all sorts of heavy lifting. (Literally: One of his jobs involves lifting and arranging thick, heavy cables.) The gig isn’t all that bad — heck, Rogelio is even burning calories, which is always a plus in his book — until Esteban snaps a photo of him mid-drudgery. “All’s fair in the battle for sexiest telenovela star,” Esteban sneers, posting the photo to social media. A photo of Rogelio looking less than super-sexy? You know that definitely hurt.
Another dig comes later, when Rogelio is asked to change a light bulb. Aside from prompting the joke #HowManyRogeliosDoesItTakeToChangeALightbulb, the sequence acts as a way to see the more vulnerable side of Rogelio as he faces his greatest fear. Although Rogelio would move mountains for Jane if he could, he just can’t seem to move once he’s on the scaffolding, where he’s stuck for two hours until Jane appears to give him some tough love. And it works: Rogelio overcomes his fear, walks the catwalk, and changes the light bulb. (As for the light bulb joke, turns out it takes one Rogelio and one very determined daughter.)
NEXT: Break out the tissues ‘cause feels are around the corner
Having earned the respect of the union, it seems Rogelio has dodged a major bullet when it comes to needing to reschedule Jane’s wedding. There’s just one issue: Network execs inform him that they plan on firing the crew, which 1) will definitely will cause Jane major wedding-related stress and 2) will leave the crew unemployed. The news crushes Rogelio and not for reasons that you might think: He truly bonded with the crew, whom he now considers his friends. Although he didn’t lose the bet, will we see him take up their cause as the face of their efforts, after all?
As it turns out, this is hardly the last of the drama to be seen this hour: Mateo’s wheezes and sneezes have turned serious, and following her set visit, Jane heads to the hospital with Mateo. There, with Rafael by her side, Jane cancels Mateo’s birthday party (which she admits was more for her than for him) and muses on what motherhood has meant to her over the course of the year.
“It feels like just yesterday,” reflects Jane of her son’s birth. So many tears, so many feels. With this, she reaches for Rafael’s hand — but not in the way he would have liked. However much has changed in the year since Mateo was born, his feelings remain the same: Rafael loves Jane. #TeamRafael fans, could this be fodder for some ultimate declaration of love during Jane’s wedding? Although Petra wouldn’t be thrilled about that — she has deeper feelings for Rafael than she’d like to admit — it would be the ultimate twist in the roller coaster love triangle that is Jane, Rafael, and Michael.
Speaking of twists, a fun one comes the next day, which finds Mateo feeling better. That calls for celebration, a birthday celebration in his honor in the hospital. Sweet, right? Also adorable? Michael gamely trying to sing “Happy Birthday” in Spanish, a nod to how he’s always fit in with the rest of Jane’s family.
While one family is gathered, another one is, too: Petra is seen visiting her mom in prison, reflecting Rafael. “I think Rafael has feelings for me again,” she tells her mom, giggling. Giggles? Feelings? Is Petra delusional? It turns out she’s not, but Anezka definitely is, having dressed up like Petra in a blond wig to concoct further details on a scheme that she and Magda have been cooking up for a year. WAIT, A WHOLE YEAR? This revelation means that Anezka didn’t just “suddenly” show up and that Magda’s story about choosing one twin over the other wasn’t necessarily true. Excuse me while I pick my chin up off the ground, y’all.Starring[]
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Trivia[]
- Mateo turns One! This is Derek’s last appearance on the show.
- Rogelio's set is not unionised!
- Susanna returns in this episode.
- The flash drive contained 200 criminals who'd had face changes, for which they each paid Sin Rostro/Mutter 1 million dollars.
- For some reason Susannah tells Michael that the $200 million are unaccounted for, although it wouldn't make any sense that Sin Rostro wouldn't have the money when that was her whole operation, nor would it make sense to think that Mutter is suddenly involved when there is no information connecting her to that enterprise and the Narrator has hitherto called them warring crime lords.
- Derek tricked Mutter and left with 200 million dollars hidden under the Fairwick Hotel.
- Mutter was trapped at the Fairwick Hotel.
- Jane decides not to publish her grad thesis.
- Mateo has to go the hospital, where Jane and Rafael stay with him and reminisce about the year they've had with Mateo.
- Rafael is still in love with Jane.
- CONTINUITY
- In a flashback, Jane mentions that Mateo's birthday is 14 May. However, in the season 1 finale, when Mateo is born, the date May 12 can be seen at the hospital.
'Secrets'[]
- Derek is working with someone else.
- Magda set up the plan with Anežka a year prior, so around Mateo's birth.
Locations[]
- Miami
- The Marbella
- The Fairwick Hotel
- Hospital
Music[]
- son | SLEEPING AT LAST
- jane and rafael think about their first year with mateo
Photos[]
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| 1 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 |
| 2 | 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 |
| 3 | 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 |
| 4 | 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 |
| 5 | 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 |