In the eighteenth episode of the second season of Jane the Virgin<\/i>, everything is still a lot. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Jane the Virgin<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Trigger Warning: For discussion of abuse (particularly parental abuse), trauma<\/b><\/p>\n
Holy shit, this was somehow even more<\/i> uncomfortable than the last episode?<\/p>\n
Anezka<\/b><\/p>\n
Normally I save the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153big\u00e2\u20ac\u009d stuff for last, but I have to start here because HI. HELLO. HOLY SHIT, Petra has a twin sister named Anezka, which was foreshadowed back when Magda was finally arrested for killing Ivan. Now we know why she told Petra, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Wrong choice.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d All these years, Magda lived with that secret: that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d given birth to twins and left one of them in an orphanage in the Czech Republic. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d made the choice based on which baby she thought would turn out best for her<\/i>, which is a NIGHTMARE of a means of choosing a child, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. But as fucked up as it is, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s weirdly in-character for someone like Magda? Of course she wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t actually<\/i> care about the well-being of her own child. It was all about which child would be better suited for her life.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fascinating to me is that while Yael Grobglas plays these characters so drastically different from one another, there is a commonality in them. They both had deeply dysfunctional upbringings because of Magda. Anezka\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s was because Magda abandoned her, and her character clearly experienced a lot of trauma growing up. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s self-deprecating in an extreme sense, often reiterating that she doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t deserve forgiveness, kindness, basic necessities and the like. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s actually pretty sad to see? In a different context, Petra also has demonstrated a belief that she doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t deserve similar things. We know she is currently dealing with postpartum depression, but even prior to this, Petra was shown to be deeply insecure, someone who believed at heart that she wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a good person, that she couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be a good mother or have friends. So, Anezka\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s appearance in her life has brought up a lot of those elements in Petra again. How much does Petra see in Anezka that reminds her of her own journey? I feel like that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s part of the reason she confronts Magda as she does. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a defiance: This woman cast out her daughters like pawns whenever it suited her. Petra makes a commitment: she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not going to do what Magda did to her. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to keep Anezka around.<\/p>\n Which is easier said than done.<\/p>\n The Deal<\/b><\/p>\n There are two intersecting arcs within the Fairwick deal. First, Anezka\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s behavior\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwhich I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m assuming is based on the trauma she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s experienced as an orphan\u00e2\u20ac\u201dnearly derails the deal to buy the Fairwick Hotel. Which means Lachlan failed! WHAT A GREAT TWIST, LOVE THIS FOR LACHLAN. So, I worry just a little bit that there are moments in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Chapter Forty\u00e2\u20ac\u009d where Anezka inches a little too close to how Luisa was portrayed in the past. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s certainly more subtle here, but Anezka has clearly gone through some sort of trauma, and there are moments where I felt like the show wanted us to laugh at Anezka? Admittedly, this is a subjective thing, but I do want Anezka treated with respect. At the same time, I also know that the show is playing with the concept of doubles, something that even Dina points out is a common trope in the world of telenovelas. So I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mind Jane the Virgin<\/i> poking fun at that! I just want to make sure we, as the audience, know what is intended here. And I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t quite tell yet?<\/p>\n Things are much more clear on Rafael\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s part in this, though. Turns out that maybe I was completely and utterly wrong about Derek setting up Rafael. I suppose that could still be possible, but it looks like we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re about to get a story of regret. Rafael ends up using the money for his drunken insider trading to be able to afford the Fairwick Hotel. I mean… it seemed like an awful idea, and then the Narrator just flat-out confirms it by saying Raf will come to regret it. OH NO. No!!!! Ugh, and he did it while thinking it was the right choice, that it was helping him guarantee a legacy for his children. UGH. Now I have a new thing to be worried about!<\/p>\n Writing to the setting<\/b><\/p>\n Look, Rogelio is ridiculous, and some of his worst tendencies are on display in this episode. You know, the whole being rude thing? Not taking advice from people? Not listening when someone is… like… talking? That whole way that he made like a thousand different terrible assumptions about Dina because she was a writer? So, he still has a long way to go, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like to see him get checked more on some of this stuff. But y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. I must admit that I was SHOCKED by his resolution to the extra \u00e2\u20ac\u0153set\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he had built for Jane. Dina played a part in that, but it was fascinating to see his idea come to fruition and ACTUALLY FUCKING WORK! It worked<\/i>!!! Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also acknowledge that Dina was the one to make it work within the Tiago<\/i> show, because Rogelio hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t planned for that part at all. Very typical of Rogelio, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll say.<\/p>\n Jane the Virgin<\/i> also has really interesting things to say about writing, too! I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll talk about Professor Donaldson later, but I related to Dina saying that she couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really write a whole story just based on a location. BECAUSE I DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T DO THAT EITHER! In every<\/i> story I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever written, plot and characterization comes before setting. I might have a vague sense of a city or place something is set, but I always build that stuff out later. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m starting to do interviews for my next book (AHHHHHHH THAT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S SO EXCITING TO TYPE) and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had quite a few shocked reactions when I tell folks that I built the setting\/worldbuilding stuff for Each of Us a Desert<\/i> last. I knew the book was always going to take place in a desert, but… that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s it. Everything else came in last. I need to know emotional motivations and plot twists and endings before I can even start thinking of the details of setting. I guess that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s weird for fantasy? But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s how my process works, so I related to Dina balking at Rogelio\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s insistence that she just write a story about a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153normal\u00e2\u20ac\u009d home. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s too broad!!! I would need so much more direction!!!!<\/p>\n The Fear of Separation<\/b><\/p>\n I admit that I thought that this episode was going to dig deeper into the reasons why Xiomara is the way she is. And while it does in the sense that we do get more of both her feelings and Jane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s while they argue, the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153resolution\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of this fight went a direction I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a poor resolution, either, and the more I think about it, the more I like it. Because this wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to be solved overnight. Jane and Xiomara were fighting over an issue they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d had for years<\/i>. You can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect progress on that in a day or two. Instead, Rogelio, with Dina\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s help and guidance, realized he needed to show Xiomara and Jane that there might be another reason why they were so unwilling to even attempt<\/i> to reconcile with one another.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n So, my take on this: this wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a solution to Jane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s problem with her mother. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve gotten angry before, but usually, they were willing to try to talk to one another. Not this time, and perhaps that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s because of Jane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s impending move. What if they were speaking from a place of fear? Of hurt? What if they were so afraid of the fact that they were about to finally live separately that they let it exacerbate their existing problems? Again, this doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t solve<\/i> their problems, but at least Rogelio\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s plan gets the two of them talking to one another again. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a step in the right direction.<\/p>\n Dada<\/b><\/p>\n And I see two steps in the right direction, one for Michael and one for Rafael, and yet… I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m worried. Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, how do both<\/i> of these guys get more time with Mateo? Rafael isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t out of line for asking for an extra day with his son, especially since Jane still gets him the majority of time during the week. And it makes sense after Mateo finally speaks and calls Michael<\/i> \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Dada\u00e2\u20ac\u009d that Rafael would want to make sure he was around more. But how does this work if Michael wants to be more heavily involved in parenting Mateo, too? And isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t that going to make matters more complicated with Rafael? I DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T KNOW THE ANSWER HERE, FOR THE RECORD. But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear that at least for the moment, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re all going to try<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Professor Donaldson<\/b><\/p>\n So, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s talk about writing some more! I sympathized with Jane here because there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a challenge she has to face that is not all that fair to her. I have an issue with Professor Donaldson because I wonder if she cares if Jane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s book is good for its genre\u00e2\u20ac\u201done she outright hates\u00e2\u20ac\u201dor if it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just good enough for her<\/i>. And there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a HUGE difference between the two! To write a story to please one<\/i> person is… oh, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t recommend it, especially not in this context. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s different for like… okay, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure some of you have done this, but writing fic to delight a friend is a wonderful thing! But this isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a matter of joy. Donaldson fundamentally seems to only be interested in romance if it challenges the genre, which… okay. Is she the same with all other genres and age groups? Probably not, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m guessing!<\/p>\n But there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no way around this. If Donaldson didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like Jane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s manuscript, then she wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be invited back to the program. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a wonderful environment to be in creatively! However, I think back to how Professor Chavez pushed Jane in a way that made her writing stronger. And does Donaldson do that? Yeah, she does! Not in the best way, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d argue, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not even sure she wants<\/i> Jane to be an author??? She seems to hate every single part of Jane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life!!! But guess what Jane discovered? She could write a romance novel that still falls within the genre but gives the story an anchor outside<\/i> of just the romance. And I like that! I like that it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t fundamentally change the story Jane wanted to tell, but merely pushes her in a new creative direction.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I say this all having been through a similar experience for an editor on a project that I did not vibe with. Which is an understatement, but the point I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m getting to is that it became apparent through edits that this editor didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want me to write the best version of the story, but one that they<\/i> wanted. They kept pushing me into directions that actually made it a completely different story!!!! It was so frustrating! It also didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help that they did not like young adult fiction. THEN WHY ARE YOU FUCKING EDITING\u00e2\u20ac\u201dnevermind. Because look, I still tried to learn. I still tried to see things from their point of view, and while I stuck to the story I wanted to tell, I got to do so in a way that made it better<\/i>. Professional writing is often a partnership, since that work is filtered through an editor. So I think that ultimately, Jane will learn from this. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll learn how to be flexible; she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll learn how to be loyal to her creativity; she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll learn to be a stronger writer because of it.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And I think by the end of the show, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to have a novel out in the world.<\/p>\n The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Chapter Forty\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 eighteenth episode of the second season of Jane the Virgin, everything is still a lot. 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-7620","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\/7620","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=7620"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7620\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7620"}],"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":"