In the eleventh episode of the second season of Jane the Virgin<\/i>, Jane struggles with possibly inappropriate thoughts; Rogelio babysits; Michael gets closer to the truth; and Petra must reckon with her past self. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Jane the Virgin<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Trigger Warning: For discussion of consent, racism.<\/b><\/p>\n
Forbidden Romance<\/b><\/p>\n
I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think this is necessarily the first time I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve brought this up in this context, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m enjoying that while Jane the Virgin<\/i> toys with telenovela tropes and patterns, it really excels when it\u00e2\u20ac\u201dto use an unfortunate turn of phrase from Professor Chavez\u00e2\u20ac\u201ddigs deep into what those tropes actually mean in the real world. The idea of the forbidden romance\u00e2\u20ac\u201dof crossing the line of what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s appropriate\u00e2\u20ac\u201dis a staple of romantic fiction and CERTAINLY of telenovelas. And while I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m starting with Jane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story, this motif appears across the board: What counts as appropriate? Inappropriate? When should we behave a certain way, and when are the power dynamics too overwhelming or insurmountable?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n So, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s jump into this, because… well. Jane. And her professor. I appreciated that the show didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t try to obfuscate how potentially inappropriate this was. Jane spells it out directly, so there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no subtlety here, but I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think there should<\/i> have been. The fact that Jane is so open about this is what makes this compelling. There is a fantasy at play\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthat of the hot, intellectually challenging professor. And we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve all seen that fantasy in some form, and maybe some of us have actually entertained it. But the line here deals with power dynamics: Is it ethical for Jane to pursue a romance here with someone who is in charge of her education? Is it ethical for Professor Chavez to entertain that, too? Who is it worse<\/i> for? Who has the power?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s interesting is that there is a brief line (I believe from Xiomara, if memory serves me) that mentions that as long as it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s between two consenting adults, then everything should be fine. And while that may be the case on a superficial level, a deeper examination makes this a lot more comfortable, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why I liked that this did not go as the fantasy dictated. Because if this was just a strict telenovela, there would have been a torrid affair that unfolded… exactly like Jane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dream, right??? I also understand Xiomara\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s enthusiasm and why she didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem at all<\/i> bothered by the notion of Jane dating her teacher. Sometimes, we have things we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see in a negative light, and Xiomara saw Jane being interested in a stable, handsome man, and I think she got excited! She wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t thinking of the ethical conundrum so much as she was thinking of Jane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s potential to be happy. Thus, Xiomara helped Jane feed into the fantasy. TO AN EXTENT. Because while this goes to a DEEPLY, DEEPLY uncomfortable and awkward place, I still have to wonder about Professor Chavez\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s physical affection: Was that not meant as a sign from his point of view? If so, maybe… don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t touch your students? At all?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Look, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to blame Jane entirely for the missed signals because part of having power in a given social situation means accepting that your behavior can be interpreted a certain way. It means that you have to think about the ramifications of what you say and do\u00e2\u20ac\u201das well as the things you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/i> say or do. And I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expecting perfection here! If anything, I found this fulfilling because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about how Jane really fucked up with that attempt at a kiss, and how she came to accept that her actions crossed a line she could not uncross, not matter how much she apologized. It was agonizing to see her ask to have another advisor, but given what happened, that truly felt like the best ethical choice. Creative, too! Because how can you write romance in a situation like this? Jane had<\/i> to free herself from this situation if she was ever going to grow as a writer.<\/p>\n I admit I feel weird about Professor Chavez asking her to dinner anyway. I think an unnamed aspect of this that could make this more uncomfortable concerns his side. Has he ever done this before? Because if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in a position of power and you view people lower on the hierarchy of power as potential dating options… that is bad. Like, very bad. Consent matters, but I think we should also consider what kind of pressure a person is under to consent. In this dynamic, would a student feel compelled to date a professor because they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re afraid of a bad grade? Could a professor be objective when teaching that student or would an unconscious bias develop? I get that this is all from Jane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s perspective, but I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to lose sight of someone who is a position of power both because they are a teacher and<\/i> because they are a man.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Xiomara\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Future<\/b><\/p>\n Within Xiomara\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story is yet another subversion of the expected telenovela trope: the dramatic proposal. There are shenanigans (and heartbreak) within this story, from Xiomara finding Liliana\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ring in Rogelio\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s apartment, to the CRUSHING reveal that Rogelio intended it for Jane, not Xiomara, to Xiomara discovering that the bar owner who she had a professional relationship with did not believe she was committed to being a singer. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot of emotional volatility, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. (I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sticking with the metaphor I came up with on camera: This episode was like watching twenty car crashes in a row.) But this is also something that the show has been building up to! We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen Xiomara struggle with not being where she wants to be professionally or creatively, and as she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s certainly made strides, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also been held back by various factors. So I completely understand why she turned down going to her own fortieth birthday party over playing this gig. She needed to prove that she was serious about her work, and the timing was just so awful.<\/p>\n Look, I also understand why she turned the proposal, despite how heartbreaking it was. In that rejection was an acknowledgement: Rogelio and Xiomara had not spoken about what kind of family they wanted. Rogelio wants more children, and Xiomara wants to focus on her career. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think this problem is insurmountable or impossible to solve. Ultimately, I believe Rogelio will understand someone he loves wanting to pursue a creative life. But that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make this sting any less. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still so damn painful. WHY MUST THIS SHOW HURT ME SO.<\/p>\n Good Dads<\/b><\/p>\n The same goes for Rogelio\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s babysitting subplot! Holy shit, this got SO fucking uncomfortable once Jane was in the hospital and let loose on her father, criticizing him for the whole \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Mateo ate a diamond thing.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Like, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s genuinely scary! What if it had caused Mateo internal damage? Or he had choked on it? There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a very terror in what happened, and that fear influenced how Jane criticized Rogelio. What I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect was the brutal introspection from him, the internalization of the message inherent in what Jane said: What if Rogelio is<\/i> a bad father? This relates to his plot with Xiomara, of course, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also so damn revealing. Because Rogelio wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t there for Jane! So it makes sense that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be so critical of himself after this. How much of that feeling is based on guilt and shame?<\/p>\n For what it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s worth, I think Rogelio, if he does<\/i> have children, will certain struggle with fatherhood, but… everyone does! And he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s had some experience, since he has stepdaughters with his ex-wife, right? So it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not like he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s completely without skill. But no one knows EVERYTHING about being a parent before they become one, and they still don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know everything even after they do. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a learning curve, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen with three generation of Villanueva women; I think we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d see it with Rogelio, too.<\/p>\n Mutter and Sin Rostro<\/b><\/p>\n Hi, holy shit, WHAT. WHAT<\/i>. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know how to deal with this??? Sin Rostro is Mutter\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s step-daughter<\/i>? THIS FAMILY IS SO FUCKED UP, I CAN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T HANDLE IT. For a while, I wondered if Mutter and Sin Rostro were in competition with one another, but this… yeah. I did not see it coming. I admit that I like this plot less for the story itself\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwhich can be fun at times\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand more for how it intersects with the other characters. Like… what the fuck are Rafael and Luisa going to do in the long run with this information? How is it going to affect Luisa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s complicated relationship with Rose? What of Rafael\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s already complicated notions of what it means to be a family? And what about Michael\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s case? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know how long this specific subplot can last at this point, but it was exciting to see Rose in a (slightly) new face here. WHAT ARE THEY PLANNING.<\/p>\n Susanna Bennett<\/b><\/p>\n Hey, wow, my queer feelings are CRUSHED. I am liking Luisa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s writing more and more this season, especially as the writers are giving her a chance to round out. She isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t used for comedic relief nearly as much. But the sheer gay ANGST of this plotline was so much? Because this, too, fits within the motif of crossing a line. Luisa is a witness in a case that Susanna is working, so it is unethical for her to pursue any sort of personal relationship with her. And while this also fits a telenovela\/romance trope, the writers decided to shoot daggers into all of our hearts with some much-needed honesty. I noticed during the scene where Luisa was wired and speaking to Rose\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s old driver that Susanna was having an emotional reaction, which seemed very out of character for her. Why did she care so much?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n BECAUSE. Her attraction is real! She actually can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t stop her feelings for Luisa, and I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even imagine the conflict she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going through. But the same issue as we saw in Jane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s plot pops up here: What line can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be uncrossed? What power dynamic is at play, and how does that make this inappropriate? So I fully expected to see Susanna turn down Luisa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s advances because of that power imbalance, especially since we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen how much Susanna hates to break the rules. That is precisely why I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect Susanna to admit that the reason largely had nothing to do with that. It was because Susanna believed Luisa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s declaration that she still loved Rose. That moment was like a punch in the chest, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. ANOTHER CAR WRECK. So, there goes THAT potential!!!!<\/p>\n Petra\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Past<\/b><\/p>\n That moment also has a parallel here between Petra and Rafael, though the context leading up to the same motif is drastically different. But I want to talk about another aspect of this story as I lead up to that. The show doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t explore it at all, but I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ignore the subtext: Petra, an upper class white woman, once yelled at and insulted a brown woman working as a barista. That act was completely unforgettable for Petra; at no point in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Chapter Thirty-Three\u00e2\u20ac\u009d does she ever recall what she did to Izzie. For Izzie, it was a moment that was memorable enough that she created a piece of art born of that act of cruelty. Izzie never<\/i> forgot what Petra did. And classifying it as a grudge is really not what the incident deserves. This was an aggressive, racist act, with undertones of classism, too. Izzie was beneath<\/i> Petra, and thus, Izzie violated Petra\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s understanding of how the world worked for people like her. It doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t matter the spilling coffee is a benign act most of the time. To Petra, her right to a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153perfect\u00e2\u20ac\u009d experience was violated, and so she lashed out.<\/p>\n All of that is of course bullshit, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s how people like Petra think. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d say that Petra has grown since then\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand she has in some ways\u00e2\u20ac\u201dbut didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t we just<\/i> see her mistreating people who worked for her in the previous episode? I understand the emotional reasons behind her rejection of the nurses, but that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean we should ignore the ramifications of how whiteness moves throughout the world. The show doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do it at all, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m certainly going to.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Still, at least Petra tries to make amends, though even then, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re for selfish reasons, since she needs Izzie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wedding to happen at the Marbella. I only tangentially felt that she was trying to be a better person for the sake of it or because she hurt someone all those years ago. What I wanted to see was pretty simple: What was Petra willing to give up? How was she willing to do something so that Izzie would feel that Petra was genuinely trying to make it right? That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why Petra\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first attempt was so disastrous! She did it without consulting Izzie, and she only made matters worse. It was only when she presented a solution to Izzie\u00e2\u20ac\u201done that would absolutely cost the hotel a TON of money, since weddings there cannot be cheap\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthat Izzie was finally on board. Petra was willing to give up the ENTIRE fee for the wedding and some of her own dignity by allowing that art piece based on her to stay in the lobby. Yes, this still might work longterm for the hotel, and that waters down the act in a way, but at least Petra tried here. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hurt a lot of people over the years, and I felt that ultimately, this was a better way for her to approach that.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And then, of course, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s that last punch in the gut, that last car wreck. Rafael and Petra, after this whole thing is resolved, have a lovely, emotional conversation, one that reflects on what is<\/i> good about Petra, and they KISS. They actually kissed! I was shocked by that, but not as much as I was by Petra asking Rafael if he was over Jane yet. BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW THE ANSWER IS NO. HE ISN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And just like that, the fantasy is over.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Chapter Thirty-Three\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 eleventh episode of the second season of Jane the Virgin, Jane struggles with possibly inappropriate thoughts; Rogelio babysits; Michael gets closer to the truth; and Petra must reckon with her past self. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark … Continue reading
\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>.
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