‘Jane The Virgin’ Review: "Chapter Fifty-Six"

Ivy Sears ’19 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

Spoilers ahead!

Jane The Virgin fans are still reeling from Michael’s (Brett Dier) death a few episodes ago. From here on out fans are with Jane (Gina Rodriguez) on a journey of her grief and her recovery. His death is not easy for any die-hard fan of the show to stomach, but in typical Jane the Virgin fashion, they are making us smile while getting through the pain.
Chapter Fifty-Six opens with Jane in therapy a month after Michael’s death. She hasn’t been coping well (who could?) and has been having severe panic attacks. We jump forward to the three year mark where Jane is breaking up with her therapist, feeling that she has gotten to a good stage with her anxiety. Her panic attacks are not so far behind her, however, as soon Michael’s old work friend, Dennis (Christopher Allen), enters Jane’s life again.
Dealing with a death as serious as Michael’s isn’t easy for any show to take on, and especially one as fun and flashy as Jane the Virgin, and yet they manage to do it. The three year time jump has allowed them to keep the positive energy that fans have come to expect, while still acknowledging the pain. It allows them to have fun with Jane’s fear instead of having the show bogged down by it. It lets us relive Jane’s trauma without it consuming every inch of the episode. When Jane sees Dennis for the first time and slaps him, we don’t focus on everything he’s done wrong; we are intrigued to find out more. As the episode progresses we see why Jane feels so betrayed by Dennis, and why she isn’t ready to talk to him, even about Scott’s death. Dennis and Jane had become close in the time after Michael’s passing. As they got closer and she trusted him more Dennis started snooping through Michael’s things, trying to clear his name in the Sin Rostro case. Jane doesn’t know this, however, and feels that Dennis took advantage of her. By the end of the episode Jane and Dennis have mended fences, and there is a crack of light in Jane’s continued pain.

On a lighter note–well maybe not lighter, but different–the Marbella is dealing with yet another possible murder. This one, however, seems to be going a bit better than the others. The body was discovered directly outside the Marbella property line with a little help from Petra and the end of a broom stick, and they found a way to get some good press. While the Marbella may be free and clear from Scott’s death, it’s not clear if that is going to be true for Rafael (Justin Baldoni), who we see very happy about the fact that Scott’s death was ruled as an accident.
On an actual lighter note, Rogelio (Jaime Camil) seems to have come to terms with the fact that his fake life on The De La Vega Factor Factor doesn’t make him happy. After sending about a million apology baskets, he finally talks to Alba (Ivonne Coll) who reminds him that he is hurting those he loves for a life he doesn’t want. He quits the show in the hopes of pursuing something better than reality stardom. However, this leads to him being sued to the tune of 10 million dollars for breach of contract.

This episode, like most episodes of Jane the Virgin was packed full of wit and wisdom, going from funny to sad to mysterious. The coming chapters will undoubtedly be packed full with new and fresh leads and story lines. It will be interesting to watch where the show takes us in the coming episodes.

Jane the Virgin airs Mondays at 9/8c on The CW

Overall Grade: A-