{"id":7582,"date":"2020-06-08T13:00:47","date_gmt":"2020-06-08T20:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=7582"},"modified":"2020-06-01T15:35:12","modified_gmt":"2020-06-01T22:35:12","slug":"mark-watches-jane-the-virgin-s01e17-chapter-seventeen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2020\/06\/mark-watches-jane-the-virgin-s01e17-chapter-seventeen\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Jane the Virgin’: S01E17 – Chapter Seventeen"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the seventeenth episode of the first season of Jane the Virgin<\/i>, everyone copes with what it means to love. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Jane the Virgin<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For discussion of grief\/death, anxiety<\/b><\/p>\n

Oh, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, this episode was just stunning. I loved the way that the writers were able to unite FOUR plots all around a single theme while still pushing the narrative forward. LET\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S TALK.<\/p>\n

Is Love Enough?<\/b><\/p>\n

For those of us who experience this type of romantic love, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Chapter Seventeen\u00e2\u20ac\u009d elaborates on a very real conflict. In a general sense: what does love allow<\/i>? What are we willing to tolerate because we are in love with someone? Specifically, though, this story is about Jane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s struggle with motherhood and how her love for Rafael doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t solve the problems she is going through. When you contrast this with the Xiomara\/Rogelio storyline, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s even more glaring: Rafael seems to be using the fact that being in love with Jane will ultimately solve everything.<\/p>\n

As I mentioned on video, I think I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve reached that age where a huge swath of my friends have all decided to have children. Like\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sitting here and counting, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve gotten to NINETEEN pregnancies in my extended friend group. I have also witnessed and assisted many of them through THIS EXACT crisis that we see Jane go through. Do they want a doula? A hospital birth? Breastfeeding? Bottle feeding? All these questions complicate matters, and I actually recall a friend of mine\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwho struggles with depression and anxiety\u00e2\u20ac\u201dtelling me that she wishes there weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ANY resources online. She felt overwhelmed by all the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153answers.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I put that in quotes because she showed me exactly what she meant: A parent-to-be could ask a question about their child, and there would be two completely conflicting answers that were \u00e2\u20ac\u0153backed up\u00e2\u20ac\u009d with science and studies. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not possible for both<\/i> answers to be right, and yet, there was almost no way to determine which one was correct!<\/p>\n

The show has already established Jane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s anxiety, so this episode takes particular care to show how she deals with all these complicated questions. She panics. At the same time, Jane the Virgin<\/i> does not let Jane suffer alone. One of the most beautiful things about the show is how well it depicts family as community and support. Like, I know I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m jumping ahead in the story, but that image of three generations of Latinx mothers sitting on the stoop\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fucking powerful<\/i>. So while Jane is trying her hardest, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve loved that she has historically turned to her abuela and her mother for support. Jane often needs an outside voice to rein her in, to temper some of her worst tendencies and remind her that while it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not bad to care and be thoughtful, she can sometimes veer into harmful territory.<\/p>\n

This is, for me, precisely why Rafael\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s behavior in this episode is so grating and bad<\/i>. This is not something that you can just apologize for and then move on. At almost every key point, Rafael prioritizes the hotel. Yes, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an important responsibility, but what he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s doing is so deeply, deeply unfair to Jane. Again, he tells her a lot<\/i> that he loves her when she brings up his inability to commit time and help to her. He says that they will figure this all out, but look how he figures this shit out here! He puts all the responsibility on Jane. ALL OF IT. He expects her to solve things and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll just approve it from a distance or grant her a little bit of his time. And even that time isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t sacred!!!<\/p>\n

I brought up the differences between Rafael and Jane before, and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Chapter Seventeen\u00e2\u20ac\u009d demonstrates an unfortunate reality: Rafael still believes that there are plenty of circumstances in which his business is more important than this child. He put his business first over and over again, then overextended, then made a bad, bad call, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m worried. I AM SO WORRIED. How can he be a present and supportive father if he keeps thinking that if he covers the financial part, all will be fine? I mean\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 he comes from money. He believes that if he throws money at a problem, he can solve it.<\/p>\n

So, the question is there: Is saying you love someone enough?<\/p>\n

No. You have to demonstrate<\/i> that love, too. And that goes for all types of love, not just romantic.<\/p>\n

The First Time<\/b><\/p>\n

This episode got me thinking about my first times. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve told friends I love them quick, and I have a pretty low threshold for that. But I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m like Rogelio, in the sense that telling a romantic partner that I love them is a BIG deal for me. It still is. I have only said that to four men in my whole life, and the first one\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 in hindsight, that wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t love at all. It was infatuation.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It also means that like Xiomara, I have a lot of anxiety around when<\/i> to say it. Generally speaking, I tend to take a long time to fall in love with a person; I go years in between relationships; I am a very picky person and I have high standards for myself about who I am vulnerable with. (Except on the Internet, I tell y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all EVERYTHING lmao.) There are exceptions; I fell for Baize three months after the end of my previous relationship, and I told him I loved him in a grocery store two days before I left for that big-ass tour I did in Europe for a month. I had a different anxiety about that one, though: I was afraid that if I told him too soon, he would be scared away.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m very thankful that wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the case.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a complicated dance, and those of us who have dealt with this know how fraught it is. While Xiomara is not exactly averse to conflict, I find it very fulfilling that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s written as someone who is loud, sure of herself, and confrontational\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 sometimes. She has areas that frighten her, that make her so uncomfortable that she can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t speak them aloud. So she goes the passive route with Rogelio, trying to get him to say what she wants without being direct. Rogelio is\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 not the most observant person on the planet??? That feels like an understatement, ha! But he does not pick up what other people put down unless they spell it out, which is why Xiomara\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s game fails so spectacularly.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At least Rogelio was honest about his feelings, though. As much as it hurt for Xiomara to not<\/i> hear \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I love you\u00e2\u20ac\u009d back\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand I had that happen to me once, IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S REALLY HARD\u00e2\u20ac\u201dat least there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a path forward. And y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 I just HAVE to see Rogelio\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mom. What is she like? Is this gonna be one of those situations where as soon as I meet her, Rogelio will make complete sense? I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M SO EXCITED.<\/p>\n

Moving On<\/b><\/p>\n

The other half of this episode contains subplots on the notion of love, but the two are post-relationships. What do you with love that lingers beyond the end of a relationship? HI, HELLO, I FEEL ATTACKED BY ALL OF THIS. Like\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 welcome to my last two relationships! In Michael\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s case, his love for Jane has been established firmly since the break-up. His fling with Nadine isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t based on a romantic desire, and the truth is what he expresses to Rogelio directly: He doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think Rafael and Jane will last, so he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just waiting it out.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As someone who spent most of 2019 waiting\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 hi. No. Nope. Do not recommend. Zero stars on Yelp. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s painful, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s harmful<\/i>, and maybe it was wrong that Rogelio didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t tell Michael his true feelings about Rafael. At the same time, Michael did<\/i> need to hear that waiting for someone to fall back in love with them was a bad, bad idea.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, this is all complicated by the presence of Andie. Initially, I just thought that this was an unfortunate coincidence, one that would be very uncomfortable once Jane and Andie put two and two together. Except\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 Andie knows exactly<\/i> who Jane is??? WHAT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S GOING ON HERE?<\/p>\n

Staying Put<\/b><\/p>\n

I admit that I am really<\/i> starting to warm up to Petra as a character. Separated from the drama of her mother, without the specter of Milos hanging over every scene (where the fuck is he???), Petra is trying her best to forge a new life. Yes, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a new life in a place overflowing with memories of her past relationship, and that shit is TOUGH. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m finally in a place of my own, and I still feel taunted by the past. I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t imagine the challenge of having to work so closely with your ex like this, to have reminders everywhere. But Petra is trying!<\/p>\n

One thing I appreciate about this episode is that it gives Petra the space to come to a sad but necessary conclusion: She is still not over Rafael, and that means she can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t try to be with another person romantically. Hi, again, I feel deeply called out. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be honest with y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all: This is me. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m still in love with my ex, and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not even alive anymore. I tried dating last year, and I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do it. My heart wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t in it.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And in Petra\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s case, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not like she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in a new town or job, and she can start to create new memories and associations and attachments. This is all mixed up in the past, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad she was honest with herself about that. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard to turn down affection or sex when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re lonely and single and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something you want. But Petra is putting her mental and emotional health first, and I really liked the depiction of that.<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also why the big twist at the end is so clever. Petra is in a place where the past is too close to home, and so, the writers give her a temptation that is LITERALLY the past. BECAUSE THAT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S NOT AARON. IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S ROMAN. I genuinely do not understand what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going on here??? Did that mean that Aaron<\/i> was murdered at the party???? HOW. WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING?<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Chapter Seventeen\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>
\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":"