- You're the only one that calls me a writer, do you know that?
- — Jane to Rafael
Chapter Three is the 3rd episode of Season 1 of Jane the Virgin.
Summary[]
A TANGLED WEB — Jane (Gina Rodriguez) considers making a life-changing decision about her and Michael’s (Brett Dier) relationship. Alba (Ivonne Coll) is disappointed in Xo’s (Andrea Navedo) handling of Rogelio (Jaime Camil), so Alba takes it into her own hands to stop Rogelio from trying to see Jane. Meanwhile, Jane continues to question whether Petra (Yael Grobglas) will be a fit mother, and her pursuit of the truth leads to an unexpected change in their relationship. Michael’s on-going murder investigation leads to an unexpected discovery.
Plot[]
Jane's hilarious journey in losing her precious flower began with a flashback to childhood, when she caught a firefly and made two wishes. 1) That she would grow boobs and 2) That someone would want to touch them. At 16, she had boobs and someone almost wanted to touch them—that is until Jane confessed to her teen boyfriend she was "saving herself for marriage."
In any other show about a virgin, this might be the preachy plot point, but in Jane, it’s a teachable moment, made snack-size: Jane learns the importance of telling the truth because as abuelita tells her, little lies can spiral into "BIG BALLS OF EVIL." Ah, yes, Hispanic parenting at its best—there’s nothing quite as scary as the fear of God drilled into you at a young age. As it turns out, twentysomething Jane decides not to wait much longer. She has a man and she’s already pregnant, so why wait any longer to do the deed?
You can literally hear the angels singing when Michael hears the news. But Jane’s not going to start humping in the backseat of the car—though, for the record, Michael has no problem with that—and promptly begins to plan the perfect night of romance at a suite at the hotel where she works. It will be perfect—until it’s not, because throughout this episode Jane finds herself really into Rafael, most notably at the start of the show, where she bumps into him right near the scene of Zaz’s murder. I mean, can you imagine a more romantic setting? But no mind: She’s a gal on a mission and during a scene where she’s about to check out her potential love nest, she spies Petra popping a pill just as Michael finds her and the two head into an elevator together.
Michael is trying to fan any suspicion away from Petra, but Petra isn’t helping matters by having left a necklace at the crime scene. She also has a half-baked alibi about being in her hotel suite when Zaz was impaled. Jane, of course, has no knowledge of any of this—when she confronts Michael and Petra, they say they’re convening to chat hotel security—and arranges to meet with Petra later in the day, where they’ll meet over coffee for a bit of a bonding session. Petra’s pill-popping though disturbs Jane and with that in mind, Jane snoops around in Petra and Rafael’s suite to see exactly what kind of drugs Petra is addicted to.
Petra sneaks up on Jane but then sets her at ease, telling her she took a Xanax, her third in two years. They’re strictly reserved for high-anxiety situations—like when Rafael was diagnosed with cancer or when he underwent surgery—she tells Jane. She then shows Jane the nursery she’s decorated for the baby gives her the key to the presidential suite for the evening. So with her doubts about Michael and Petra pushed aside, Jane can focus on the task ahead: losing her virginity. That is, right after she goes to church with abuelita.
The scene that unfolds next is a heavy dose of magic realism that only Jane could get away with: The priest seems to be directing his message solely toward Jane, the choir regales us with the chorus “don’t have sex!” and even the Virgin Mary sings a little ditty about keeping her legs closed. It feels ominous and decidedly Catholic—so much so that Jane breaks under the pressure and tells her grandma in the church that she’s decided to break her childhood vow and have sex with Michael.
Jane heads back to the hotel where she encounters Raf. I understand that he’s the manager of the hotel, but it seems like his job consists of lingering around hoping to bump into Jane. The two share another pitter-patter-hearts-aflutter, salsa-music fueled moment, but Jane’s on a mission and she’s going to have sex, damn it. Except it seems that she wasn’t meant to pop her cherry just yet: as she and Michael fool around in bed, a white flower arrangement just happens to remind her of her commitment to God and her abuelita. Then a video of Raf ominously welcoming guests to the hotel starts to play on the television screen, and then the kicker? Luisa — who has just been rolling around naked with her stepmom — has stepped out for a post-coital snack from the vending machine and after spotting her dad in the hallway, pulls a fire alarm to derail her father from finding out that his daughter has been canoodling with his wife. Everyone evacuate the premises! And with that, any chance Jane might have had to be transported to the heavens (well, maybe: rumor has it Michael could be a crier-upon-release type) goes up in flames.
But something seems to really be bothering Jane—something much bigger than the fact that her all-important evening plans have been ruined. Even Michael—who doesn’t seem to be the most intuitive of men—can tell something is up. But he assumes Jane’s suffering from guilt over the fact that she was thinking about having sex while still unmarried, so to alleviate the issue, he suggests they get married ASAP.
The subject of marriage was front and center tonight with the possibility that Raf and Petra may not be able to make their marriage work as per last week’s recommitment. Zaz’s murder put the brakes on that—though Raf seemed sincere in his desire to focus on Petra, tonight he began to suspect he might not be able to have a happy ending with the wife he once loved. Why, exactly? It’s because one of his biggest pet peeves is dishonesty—and when he begins to suspect that Petra is lying about the extent of her relationship with Zaz (she accidentally lets the name of Zaz’s brother slip during the evacuation when earlier in the episode she didn't know he even had a brother), you can practically see it in lights: GAME OVER.
Do you know what else seems to have hit its expiration date? Michael and Petra’s uneasy agreement to put a lid on Petra’s connection to Zaz.
Up to this point, little is known about the circumstances surrounding Zaz’s death. We know he fell from the balcony of a room at the hotel, but nothing is known about what he did leading up to the time of his death or who was with him. There seem to be few witnesses (our Jane was one of them since most of the hotel guests seem to have been face-deep in their champagne goblets when Zaz was impaled on the ice sculpture) and lack of motive. That is until Michael finds out that a key card issued to Petra’s mother was used to access a back stairwell with access to Zazo’s room just minutes before his murder. With no security camera footage of the stairwell, it’s up to Michael to figure out who used the card. Was it Petra’s mom? But she’s in a wheelchair.
That leaves Petra as the primary suspect. She could go to jail, threatens Michael. But if anyone goes to jail, it’ll be Michael—so she says, because Michael tampered with the crime scene when he retrieved Petra’s necklace from the sofa cushions (it fell off her neck during her last "romp" with Zaz). So as it stands, could she have been the one to push Zaz off the balcony?
Murder mystery aside, there’s the matter of Jane’s father, Rogelio. In any other series, their reunion might be saved for a teary season finale but Rogelio’s patience is wearing thin—especially since it seems like hooking up with Xio only serves to remind him that he’s yet to even see his daughter. So our leading man drops by the hotel under the pretense of renting a room and as only seems to happen in TV land, "happens" to see Jane in the lobby. She totally loses it (Basically the way I would if I ever met my teen idol, Ricky Martin). But Rogelio understands. "It’s very hard for normal people like you to believe it when they see me in person."
She asks to take a selfie and when her mom and abuelita see it online, they naturally freak out. Abuelita decides it’s up to her to clean up the mess and she marches right over to the telenovela set to give Rogelio a piece of her mind. But in the presence of Rogelio’s well-gelled hair and bronze tan, her well-intentioned reprimand comes out more like a meow of disapproval. Abuela returns home with a huge smile and gift basket that’s just like the one that Rogelio had delivered to Xio days prior. You know, the usual swag: an autographed DVD, pistachios, chocolate-covered pretzels, and spicy salad dressing. It seems like a smile and a gift basket can earn Rogelio points with most women, but it’s a reminder to Xio that she hasn’t yet had her happy ending.
Xio is confused about the direction of her life: her dreams of becoming a singer are going nowhere and neither are her relationships with men. She’s clearly invested in Rogelio—or at least, the idea of finding her fairy tale ending (security, money, love) with her baby daddy. But, as her mother reminds her in a later scene, there’s still a possibility that Xio could find her happily ever after if only she’ll keep her legs closed long enough. Latin mom zingers! But who knows: As Xio digs for yummy carbs in the gift basket, she finds something she had previously overlooked: a gold bracelet. The inscription “Always and forever XO.” Could it be a sign of true love? Xio certainly hopes so.Starring[]
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Trivia[]
- Jane caught a firefly on October 27, 2000, and wished to grow boobs and that someone would touch them.
- At 16, Jane had a boyfriend, who dumped her because she was a virgin.
- Michael's brother Billy is crashing at his house.
- Petra is under suspicion for the murder of Roman Zazo.
- Zaz was Rafael's college roommate.
- Rogelio usually checks in at hotels with the name Antonio Banderas.
- Rafael holds a memorial for Zaz.
- It is revealed that Jane has feelings for Rafael.
- Jane and Michael try to have sex, but fail in the attempt.
PRODUCTION
'Secrets'[]
- Zaz has a brother.
- Rafael suspects that Petra had an affair with Roman.
Locations[]
- Miami
- Villanueva Home
- Michael's car
- Rafael's penthouse
- Miami Police Department
- Zaz's room
- Church
Music[]
- desde que te fuiste | COSME
- 16-year-old Jane asks her Abuela and Mom how she will know the right guy/Jane and Rafael dance and Jane's heart glows
- tranquila | COSME
- Rafael's memorial for Zaz at The Marbella
- lela | GUSTAVO SANTAOLALLA
- michael and jane are interrupted/luisa and rose post-coital
- coyita | GUSTAVO SANTAOLALLA
- Jane listens to her voicemail from Abuela
- jardin | GUSTAVO SANTAOLALLA
- Jane catches a firefly and wishes not to have feelings for Rafael
- carnival percussion | KEVIN KINER
- Jane tells Michael she wants to have sex
- claps and stomps | KEVIN KINER
- Jane meets Rose and Emilio for the first time at work, with Luisa
- sentimental guitar | KEVIN KINER
- Jane tells Michael they got the presidential suite
Photos[]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Rodriguez IG. (August 2014)
- ↑ Averill Tweet. (August 2014)
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| 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 |