In the twentieth and final episode of the third season of Jane the Virgin<\/i>, the wedding has arrived, but so has a hurricane. AND FIVE MILLION OTHER THINGS. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Jane the Virgin<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Trigger Warning: For grief, nonconsensual drugging<\/b><\/p>\n
Holy shit. What an ending. And what a beginning<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Planning the Wedding<\/b><\/p>\n
Thinking back on this episode, there are so many little and big callbacks to past plots or motifs, which makes sense, given that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Chapter Sixty-Four\u00e2\u20ac\u009d closes one of the major arcs of the show. After three seasons of back and forth, Rogelio and Xiomara are finally married! But prior to this happening, LITERALLY EVERYTHING GOES WRONG. I now understand why<\/i> that is; all of it builds into the theme that destiny and fate can be meaningless. It seemed fated that these two should not be together, but they chose<\/i> to be.<\/p>\n
More on that later, though. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an intense energy throughout this episode that was reminiscent of Jane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s struggle to make her own wedding on time, but it wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the only reference to some of the end of season two. Father Gustavo made a reappearance here when Jane sought him out for advice on writing her parents\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 ceremony. At one point, Rafael and Jane ride the bus (we hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see the bus in so long!!!), and there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an important emotional realization on said bus. Natural disasters and freak occurrences nearly derail everything, but everything comes together at the last moment. Here, though, the context is all different. And for a reason! This isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t Jane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wedding at all, so some of this was challenging to watch. I felt for Jane for all the obvious reasons: she was single and living out a life she didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect to have. And for very obvious personal reasons, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a relatable thing to see! But it was also nice because… she was living. She seemed alive<\/i>. In many ways, Jane was thriving in this episode. She was planning a wedding, adapting to constant last-second deviations, and then that bus ride reminded her of her future: she is going to be publishing a book. Her dream has come true. Yes, it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t look like she thought it would, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still happening.<\/p>\n
This wedding unearthed deeply uncomfortable and difficult emotions in practically everyone<\/i>, but in the end, I think it moved each of them to a better place, or at least the next step in their journey.<\/p>\n
True Feelings<\/b><\/p>\n
Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s talk about some of those feelings! There is, of course, the feeling that nearly derails the whole wedding: Darci\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s re-appearance (I CAN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T BELIEVE I LITERALLY ASKED WHAT SHE WAS UP TO IN THIS EPISODE\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S VIDEO). Darci is… pregnant. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s definitely Rogelio\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s. And even though it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear that Darci wants as little to do with Rogelio as possible, it still brings up so much fear and insecurity in Xiomara. I was reminded of Jane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s conflict in the previous episode: suddenly, Xo was caught in the middle! On the surface, this unfolding drama had little to do with her, and yet, it still affected her perception of the relationship and certainly<\/i> of the wedding. The script itself even refers to the eerie similarities to plots from the first and second season, where Rafael became a sudden father (twice!!!), and no one knew how to deal with the strangeness of these new family structures.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n So, this felt less like a repetitive story and more like a chance for the show to build<\/i> off the past. What I mean is that… well, say the show began right around here, and Xiomara was dealt this plot twist. Without having been through this experience with Jane, Petra, and Rafael, would she have known what to do? What to expect? Would she have embraced the weird chaos of it all because families are work<\/i>? Xiomara knows this intimately! It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s because of her past that she was able to look at Rogelio and realize that it didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t matter how fucking weird this all got. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d already been through weird, and this time? She wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to do it without<\/i> Rogelio.<\/p>\n This finale also digs in deep<\/i> to the love triangle of Rafael\/Jane\/Petra. And wow, it really is<\/i> a love triangle! Well, I suppose one side is missing, WHY WON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T YOU GIVE PETRA\/JANE A CHANCE, YOU COWARDS. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s right there! Anyway, I know in the past that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been critical of love triangles, but here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one (of a number of them!) that I consistently enjoy. Still! I was enjoying it in the first season because it was written convincingly, and it continues to be written that way! What do each of these people offer the other, and is it believable? Is there enough of a different between Jane and Petra that we can understand why those two are so interesting to him and why he can feel such intense emotions towards them? I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d say that the show has more than demonstrated this! All three of these characters are so deeply, deeply complex, and at this point, I understand why Petra is reluctant to stay with Rafael, and I understand why Jane suddenly has feelings (or something like<\/i> romantic feelings) for Rafael, and I understand why Rafael sees hope and potential in Petra. Why? Because this show has spent so much time developing these layered, challenging stories for them.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n So yes, this is all very much a telenovela. But it wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t hit so hard if it didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t also feel so realistic, would it?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Which is also why I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think Chuck is going to last. I just don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel it! There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s less of a connection there. That doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean I think Rafael \/ Petra is endgame either, but I think we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll see the last of him next season.<\/p>\n Derailment and Choice<\/b><\/p>\n As I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve talked about in recent reviews, Jane the Virgin<\/i> plays with fantasy and specifically in the notion of fairy tales. There were fairy tales at work here, but this finale derails many of them. In one case, it is actually for the better, while the other two close up existing plot threads and introduce very surprising new directions for season four. The first one\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand easily the biggest story here\u00e2\u20ac\u201dis the re-appearance of Darcy. I cannot possibly predict what her story will look like next season, but holy shit, what a chaotic twist here! I already spoke about how this affected Xiomara and Rogelio, but I want to also acknowledge the beautiful ramification of that. Jane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s words at her parents\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 ceremony really hit the nail on the head. At almost every step of the way, it has seemed like the universe has been trying to tear Rogelio and Xiomara apart. In a rejection of that, those two chose<\/i> one another. They didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t leave their lives up to fate or destiny, and they have worked so hard to be together. And this was also in a season where both of them saw other people!!! Xiomara almost got married to someone else! (I still feel bad for Bruce.)\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Ultimately, what I loved about this is that it says a good, strong relationship is work, not chance. After years apart, they found one another, then split again<\/i>. Now, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re back, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so clear to me that they are willing to do the work to keep this relationship going.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In a odd and unexpected parallel, I now have to wonder… was<\/i> Rose actually trying to do work to be better in her relationship? I kinda always assumed she was behind all the mess at the Marbella because… well, it wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be the first time. It is admittedly very hard for me to feel anything good about Rose because of the awful things she has done to people, which definitely concludes her manipulation of Luisa. Because of their history, I just assumed the worst about her. Now, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t say all this to suggest that she has made amends for the awful things she has done, but look. Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. I did not expect this episode to reveal that Rose really didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/i> have anything to do with Scott\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s death. Eileen did it!!! Which then makes me consider whether or not Rose was also<\/i> telling the truth about trying to change who she is so she could actually be a good person.<\/p>\n Now, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think she succeeded at all, and in the end, I hope this means that Luisa and Rose will remain separate for good. I say that because Luisa makes a very important choice here, one that will create a mess for Rafael but might help her find her own way. I get why she was so furious at her brother that she used that addendum to the will to kick Raf out of the Marbella. But is that the path for healing for her? Fuck, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know! I know she has<\/i> to do a lot of healing to properly get over Rose and to start believing in herself so that she doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t sabotage any growth. But will she do that at the expense of Rafael\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s future? She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lashed out at Rafael and claimed a place in the hotel, but what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m most interested in seeing next season is how she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll cope with this. Will she be overwhelmed by running the hotel? What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s gonna happen when Petra finds out? OH GOD, WILL SHE FIND OUT?<\/p>\n Seriously, I hope Petra is okay. The situation she is left in at the very end of this episode is a mess. One the one hand, I understand why Anezka is so furious with Petra, furious enough that she threatens her life. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to pull the trigger, for the record. Still, this is just… oh, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bad. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think that drugging Anezka was a good solution, nor does it make her and Petra \u00e2\u20ac\u0153even.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d That eye-for-an-eye stuff is an ethical nightmare, especially here. Like… did Anezka forget that she drugged Petra for weeks on weeks???\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Probably, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not really the point. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s true that Petra is very dismissive of her sister, but that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t justify what might happen. And I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what the end result here is, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. I hope that Anezka doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t fire on Petra. Right??? I also think Anezka deserves to be treated better in general. THIS IS ALL A MESS.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Destiny and Fate<\/b><\/p>\n I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think<\/i> I have heard about Adam before this episode, but maybe he was referenced and I just didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t catch on to it? Anyway, looping back to the letter… oh shit. I WAS NOT READY TO HEAR IT READ ALIVE. The presence of Michael in this episode broke my heart a little. When I was unpacking my apartment at the end of last month, I found a card Baize wrote to me, and there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something particularly gutting about reading the words that someone who died wrote long ago. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a remarkably easy way to hear their voice again, so I loved the touch of having Brett Dier come back to provide the voiceover of the letter. The whole episode, I thought that was what the show was leading to: Jane coming to understand that fate only led her to one person: Michael. It wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to do that again. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what I thought the letter was for!<\/p>\n Oh, I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ready. I WAS NOT READY FOR FUCKING TYLER POSEY<\/b> TO APPEAR ON THE SHOW AS ADAM. Look, Jane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a romantic, and what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more romantic than this? She will probably see this as the universe leading her back to Adam, who was apparently her first love. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m guessing we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to see more of that in season four, but holy shit, Tyler Posey??? On Jane the Virgin<\/i>? I SUPPORT THIS.<\/p>\n