{"id":7618,"date":"2020-07-27T13:00:15","date_gmt":"2020-07-27T20:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=7618"},"modified":"2020-07-19T12:24:01","modified_gmt":"2020-07-19T19:24:01","slug":"mark-watches-jane-the-virgin-s02e16-chapter-thirty-eight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2020\/07\/mark-watches-jane-the-virgin-s02e16-chapter-thirty-eight\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Jane the Virgin’: S02E16 – Chapter Thirty-Eight"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the sixteenth episode of the second season of Jane the Virgin<\/i>, future plans cause chaos, and Petra breaks my heart into a million pieces. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Jane the Virgin<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For extensive discussion of postpartum depression, abuse.<\/b><\/p>\n

This was too emotional, HELP ME.<\/p>\n

The Upcoming Wedding<\/b><\/p>\n

There are two motifs across \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Chapter Thirty-Eight,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d both of them rooted in the conflict over Jane and Michael\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wedding. (Which I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m guessing is going to be in the season finale!) There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the hilarious Biblical narration and framing device, which gave us two of my favorite things in the whole season. (Petra the saint and the wrath of Alba.) But there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a more emotional one as well: What are these people willing to compromise to guarantee a better future for Mateo? For the people in their lives that they love? What does compromise actually look<\/i> like?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Compromise is not an easy thing to accomplish, and this episode is designed in a way so that each \u00e2\u20ac\u0153side\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of the multiple conflicts has a justified reason for feeling how they do. Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s start with the wedding, though, since that unearths complicated feelings between Rogelio and Xiomara, too. Understandably, Rogelio is a lot<\/i> here. Not only does he want to throw a lot of money at creating the perfect wedding for his daughter, I think Xiomara is ultimately right. Rogelio missed out on so many important moments with his daughter, so why wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t he want to go all-out now that he has the opportunity? But that clashes with Jane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s desire for a small, intimate ceremony. She doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want a thousand random celebrities or industry folks at this celebration. She doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even know<\/i> them. My take on this was that Jane saw this as another manifestation of Rogelio\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ego. He always goes big, and he wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t thinking of what Jane wanted, but rather what he<\/i> wanted.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And to an extent, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s true. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a personal, selfish interest in this. But how can both<\/i> parties get what they want here? What are they each willing to consider? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Xiomara who helps both Jane and Rogelio realize how they can come to satisfy their own desires while still accommodating someone else who truly, truly means well. But even that<\/i> is complicated! In the wake of her breakup with Rogelio, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s difficult for Rogelio to even be around Xiomara. Which is now something I deeply understand myself. But how can there be a compromise with something so deeply painful and awkward? Admittedly, this is something that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll continue to be messy and difficult, but at least Rogelio has come to a place where he can be around Xiomara for family reasons. Look, moving on from a serious relationship, romantic or not, can be a devastating thing to experience. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no easy way to make the feelings go away, so I get why Rogelio initially wanted to maintain his distance. Wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it be easier for him that way?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what the future holds for Xiomara and Rogelio. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard watching this because I really wanted them to end up together, but at this point, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just not plausible or fair to either of them. So what will they look like in the future? How many times will they need to revisit the compromise they come to in this episode? And is all this going to be complicated when Xiomara watches her daughter get married before<\/i> she does, despite how much older she is? Because I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m actually expecting that to be an emotional touchpoint in a future episode, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M WORRIED. At the very least, though, Rogelio and Xiomara came up with a BEAUTIFUL idea for Jane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wedding ceremony and the reception afterwards. (That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s totally the actual set Jane the Virgin<\/i> films on, right?) And if Charo is guest-starring already, and<\/i> if my guess is right concerning when the wedding actually happens, can I expect other cameo appearances in the season two finale???? I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M NOT READY.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A Home for Mateo<\/b><\/p>\n

I am about to begin the process of finding a more permanent place to live here in New York City (preferably Brooklyn, so if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got the connect on a studio\/one bedroom literally anywhere in Brooklyn, let me know!), so this episode was just… well, I had a reaction to it. If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not familiar with the Faustian loops you have to jump through in order to get an apartment in this area, it might shock you. Because holy shit<\/i>, even just getting on an existing lease as a roommate\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwhich is what I did this past January for the place I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m in now\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwas NIGHTMARISH. I had to have my agent AND my editors write these weird letters to prove my income; I had to have my twin write a letter basically saying I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a good person? I had to provide TEN YEARS of my rental history. Oh, and the last five YEARS worth of my tax returns. And an in-person interview. And 1099s. And like fifty other documents and I am pretty sure I had to promise my first-born child to someone just to rent a place, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all on top of the OBSCENE fees that most rental agencies used to be able to charge because you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t go direct to most owners anymore; you have to go through brokers, who, until this year, were able to charge hundreds of hundreds of dollars just to be able to APPLY for an apartment.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So yeah, watching Jane and Michael write that one letter and that being the hardest part of the process was… a lot? It was a lot. I remember how much easier it was to rent an apartment in California! Do you know that the apartment I last had in Los Angeles was achieved ON A FUCKING AIRPLANE. I literally had the rental office send me photos of the inside of it and I applied and signed my lease while I was flying somewhere for an event. It cost $30. I am pretty sure that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s impossible here in NYC.<\/p>\n

Anyway, not really the point, but I wanted to yell at all of you about this. This plot was genuinely complicated, and I understood why it was so hard for either party to get on the same page. I knew that Rafael would have problems about not being as present in Jane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life anymore, and it was completely understandable that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be freaked out by the distance between the Marbella and Mateo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s potential new home. At the same time, Michael and Jane were trying to plan a more permanent place for Mateo, one that was also affordable for them. In many ways, that home, while far from where they currently live, was a dream come true. A yard, jets in the tub, a washer\/dryer (THE TRUE DREAM), extra space… but at what emotional<\/i> cost? It might have been in the budget, but would it have placed strain on Jane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s relationship with Mateo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s father? Would Rafael have come to resent Jane for moving so \u00e2\u20ac\u0153far\u00e2\u20ac\u009d from him? Would Jane or Michael come to resent Rafael if they took him up on his offer to pay the difference on a more comparable place that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s closer to the Marbella?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

See, this is all a MESS. So many things could have gone wrong. I did love seeing how<\/i> each of these people came to understand compromise. What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so fulfilling about that is that each party is, at one point, willing to do what was best for someone else in good faith. They assumed the best of another person in doing so! Even at the end, just seconds from signing a lease, Jane has a change of heart that Michael immediately accepts, which was so damn cool to see. For me, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a sign that both Jane and Michael are much more mature and willing to work with one another to do what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s best for their relationship and for Mateo. Their relationship is in such a better place than it was prior to the breakup last season! The solution to this problem, however, is gonna be addressed in another section, since it so heavily involves another character. MORE IN A SECOND.<\/p>\n

Derek<\/b><\/p>\n

Okay, is it bad that I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t trust Derek because of how he dresses in the Miami heat? SORRY, IT DISTRACTS ME SO MUCH Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL. How is he wearing so many layers in all that humidity? I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even say it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s because of the overcast weather either, since he dressed like that when he first showed up. THIS IS THE WEIRDEST REASON TO DISTRUST HIM BUT I WON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T LET IT GO. Okay, but in actuality… I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t trust him. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something else going on here. I say that both because I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m watching Jane the Virgin<\/i> and characters like him are just ripe<\/i> for hidden agendas or secret pasts. Also, does he even look like someone who would just up and hike the Appalachian Pass? Absolutely not. I think his story is just a story, and there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an ulterior motive here. Will it be discovered through the wiretaps? Maybe. But I also have a suspicion that Derek has anticipated this. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not gonna say anything damning in the Marbella, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m guessing.<\/p>\n

Alba & Pablo<\/b><\/p>\n

Well, I had hope. I really did. So yeah, I was crushed<\/i> when I, too, found out that Pablo was cheating on Alba IN THE SAME HOTEL SHE WAS STAYING AT. The nerve! The disrespect! I did love how much of the show\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fantastical edge was used in this plot, like the bad weather, the curse, and the Biblical narrative device. But the thing I loved most about Alba\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s plot? The show allowing an older woman to express sexual desire openly and without shame. Alba might have complicated feelings on when<\/i> sex should happen, but she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s allowed to vocalize those feelings without being criticized or made fun of. I love it so much, especially that scene where Alba is comforted by her daughter and granddaughter. Just… ugh, I love this family so much.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Good riddance, Pablo.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Petra & Motherhood<\/b><\/p>\n

I saved this one for last because it just… whew. This was a journey<\/i>. Turns out I was<\/i> right about Petra experiencing postpartum depression, and seeing it manifest as it did was so difficult. As I said before, I had a friend dealing with one thing we see here: not connecting with their children. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s already so much stigma for mental illness, but then there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the immense pressure for performing parenthood in a specific way, so that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why Jane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s offer to take Petra to that class for new mothers was so damn important. This world\u00e2\u20ac\u201despecially in America\u00e2\u20ac\u201dspins narratives of what a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153good\u00e2\u20ac\u009d mother should be, and that made Petra\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s struggle with postpartum worse<\/i>. Was she a bad mother because she lacked this connection? Because she was having difficulty being a new mom? No, not at all<\/i>, and she needed to hear that from other people. Understandably, the experience was also triggering for her, and I get why she thought she was being \u00e2\u20ac\u0153judged.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Look, Petra doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like feeling \u00e2\u20ac\u0153handled.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d She craves independence!<\/p>\n

Which is also why her conversation with her mother sent her down such a dark path. I know that the doctor that Petra spoke to had no idea what awful advice it was to ask her to speak with her mother. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a reasonable thing to request in a neutral context! But Magda is not neutral, and her toxicity poisons everything<\/i>. Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, my heart. MY HEART. Because look, this is the same episode where Petra genuinely defends Jane. Where she buys a house so that she can rent it to Jane and Michael secretly!!! LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PETRA EXISTS OUTSIDE THE TOXICITY OF HER MOTHER. She does such good<\/i> things, and watching that growth has been one of the most satisfying arcs on Jane the Virgin<\/i>.<\/p>\n

That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s precisely why it was so heartbreaking to see Magda push Petra down a dark path because of her gross negativity and abusive language. At any point, Magda is willing to denigrate and manipulate her daughter into feeling less than a person, and she took that opportunity here by telling her that it would be best if Petra gave her daughters away. Ugh, no, she fed right into Petra\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s worst fears! I HATE IT, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M SO UPSET, Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL. So what does this mean<\/i>? Where is Petra going???<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Chapter Thirty-Eight\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":"