In the fourth episode of the first season of Jane the Virgin<\/i>, truths finally come to light. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Jane the Virgin.<\/i><\/p>\n
Fantasy<\/b><\/p>\n
I really enjoyed that this show is tackling the thorny, complicated weirdness that is sexual attraction, fantasy, love, and lust, because LORD, for those of us who experience this sort of attraction and emotion, this shit is CONFUSING. Is what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m feeling an infatuation? Is it a fantasy because I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t met the person in the physical space? How do we construct imagined perceptions of people in our minds, and what happens when they aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t that version of themselves in real life?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Jane, in this instance, feels particularly trapped. Her love for Michael is never under question, for what it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s worth. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s always<\/i> here throughout \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Chapter Four,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d yet that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t negate or cancel out the other emotions swirling in her. Is it just hormones? Maybe. Is it all chemical reactions? Perhaps. Or are her feelings for Rafael real<\/i>? Whatever they are, this episode felt so real<\/i> because it treated this struggle as a real one, even though this sort of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153drama\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is exactly what we see so much of in soap operas and telenovelas. Yet Jane the Virgin<\/i> remains grounded in the truth: this shit is messy as fuck. Jane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s (possible) growing attraction to Rafael is mixed up in her upcoming marriage. And her job. And the lawsuit she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s opened against Rafael\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sister. (Who has seemingly disappeared?) It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s… a lot. Somehow, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re only on the fourth episode?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The point being: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Chapter Four\u00e2\u20ac\u009d does a fine job of showing us just how overwhelmed Jane is. Just a couple episodes ago, she was certain that she could keep most of her life exactly the same as it was before. Yeah, literally none of that was possible. Okay, maybe not none<\/i> of it, as Jane struggles with her lust over Rafael as Michael (for his own reasons) continues to behave strangely around his fianc\u00c3\u00a9e, which is what she eventually figures out is the key to all of this. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll talk more about Michael\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s arc specifically in a bit, but I empathize with Jane so much. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so difficult to feel like you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going it alone when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in a relationship. It is almost as if it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s defeating the purpose of one, right? We are with the people we love because there is an expectation that we will feel safe and heard and loved and seen. What happens when they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not providing that?<\/p>\n For what it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s worth, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad that she was finally honest with Michael, too, as I think that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to be absolutely crucial going forward. Is this arc resolved between Rafael and Jane? Perhaps not. (Well, especially when I think of the final scene.) But Jane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life is endlessly chaotic, and she needs honesty to keep her sense of stability.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Michael\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Worst Fear<\/b><\/p>\n So, my therapist is having me do this thing where I keep track of my emotions throughout the day. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a mood chart in two-hour increments, so every two hours, I have to stop and check in with how I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m feeling. I tend to let an emotion\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwhatever it might be\u00e2\u20ac\u201doverwhelm me. That is particularly the case if I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m having an anxiety attack or a depressive episode. They just take over my body and my brain. The idea here is that if I think about what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m feeling and name it, I can begin to interrogate why<\/i> my body is having this reaction. I hit the anxiety category often, too, and within that, my therapist asks me to go to the final conclusion. What is it that truly worries me about something that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s triggered my anxiety? And more often than not, as I leap from conclusion to conclusion, either spoken aloud or written down, I find out what the worst part of that anxiety is. What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the thing I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m most afraid of happening?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And is that thing either as bad as I think it is or is it even possible?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Michael\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s anxieties and fears are understandable. This is CLEARLY a weird situation, though he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s certainly not making it any better with all the decisions he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s making regarding Petra. But I hope that this episode is a turning point. Up until now, Petra has been able to hold a couple things over him to continue her manipulation. One of them is… well, I truly don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know how he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to get out of tampering with evidence. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a fireable and<\/i> federal offense. She also knows that Michael needs Rafael and Petra to stay together, or else his worst fear will come true: Jane will keep the baby.<\/p>\n So is this where he changes? Is this how he finally starts pushing back against Petra? Because if it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no longer a fear of his that Jane keeps the baby, then he can stop interfering with HIS OWN investigation into Zaz\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s death.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n WHICH IS BAD. THIS IS NOT GOING TO END WELL, MICHAEL.<\/p>\n Xiomara\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Worst Fear<\/b><\/p>\n As I mentioned before, lies and betrayal are part of this sort of storytelling, yet as dramatic as this all is\u00e2\u20ac\u201dHOLY SHIT, IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S SO FUN TO WATCH\u00e2\u20ac\u201dJane the Virgin<\/i> doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel exploitative. I never feel like the writers are putting these characters through the ringer just for the sake of it. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s because even when these dramatic twists happen, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still an immense emotional weight placed upon them.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Look, I have a lot of fun laughing at Rogelio de la Vega, at how silly Alba is around him, at all the brilliant comedy we see in this subplot. But the narrator warned us: Jane would not expect heartbreak when it arrived, and truthfully, neither did I. And I should have! Because there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s actually a whole lot here I recognize as someone who spent most of their life being lied to about their biological parents. Granted, Jane is not adopted, so I know it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not the same thing. Yet there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so much that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s similar. At this point, I probably won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ever be able to separate out fact from fiction when it comes to my biological parents. Drug use damaged my bio mom\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s memory, and she passed away just under a decade ago, so there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no hope there. The stories I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve heard from my own parents and other siblings all seem to contradict one another, so I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s true anymore either.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When something is so normal for so much of the world, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easy to feel broken and incomplete when you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have that. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easy to feel betrayed when a person built up a lie for years and years. And seriously, I know Xiomara was looking for the right time, but CLEARLY, this was one of the worst possible. As is the case with the other characters, though, I understood Xiomara\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s motivations. Her worst fear ironically ended up being the same as Michael\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s: that Jane would leave. That Jane wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be in her life. And thus, in a roundabout way, Xiomara wanted to protect her daughter, though in the end, Xiomara\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s problem was that she was trying to protect herself.<\/p>\n I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe that any situation would have ended with Jane smiling, accepting this news without being upset, and Xiomara could breathe a sigh of relief. But I expect that some relief will come soon, as the truth is now out in the world. Jane knows. And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the first step to repairing their relationship… if that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what Jane wants.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Petra\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Manipulation<\/b><\/p>\n I KNEW THERE WAS SOMETHING MORE TO PETRA. This episode reveals TWO important facts about Petra. First, that she was engaged to Lachlan, Rafael\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s father\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s right-hand man, and that she called off the engagement so she could marry Rafael. I thought I had this shit figured out: Petra was trying to be as selfish as possible. Perhaps she couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t resist betraying people in her life??? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know. But I wonder if instead<\/i>, Petra manipulated Lachlan because she believed it would win Rafael over to her side. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not exactly a terrible plan. Like… morally terrible, yes, but in terms of a manipulative technique, it might have worked. Except Petra didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even realize just how much she told on herself by trying to act like she was only vaguely interested in Roman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s death. RAFAEL KNOWS SHE CHEATED ON HIM WITH HIS BEST FRIEND, OH SHIT, IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S ALL GOING DOWN.<\/p>\n Except… Natalia<\/i>? Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, what sort of life did Natalia escape from? Who was that man in the car? Why is this the secret she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s willing to go down over? Oh my god, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, I NEED MORE. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more to her story!!! I want it!<\/p>\n The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Chapter Four\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n – You can now pre-order my second YA novel, Each of Us a Desert<\/i>, which will be released on September 15, 2020 from Tor Teen!<\/a> In the fourth episode of the first season of Jane the Virgin, truths finally come to light. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Jane the Virgin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[705],"tags":[706],"class_list":["post-7556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-jane-the-virgin","tag-mark-watches-jane-the-virgin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7556\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n– Not only that, but my very first pre-order campaign is now live for North American readers! If you submit proof of pre-order, you can get a limited edition print that comes with the book<\/a>.
\n<\/strong>– If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"