“Chapter Twenty-Seven” continues to speed the season’s main plots along, but we are also treated some intriguing character moments: Jane and Petra are semi getting along, Xo and Alba overcome another battle and Michael is having the worst day possible. And with Britney Spears guest-starring, the drama doesn’t die down for an instant.
In the first flashback of the episode, we watch as an eighteen-year-old Xiomara tries to get her mother’s attention, while an adorable baby Jane writes on the kitchen wall with a marker. This scene introduces all the fantasies we see that feature graffiti and the character’s thoughts on a wall. It’s a nice touch—like the glowing hearts and text messages we always see on the screen.
The purpose of this particular flashback is to showcase June 12; not only did Alba’s husband die on this day, but Xiomara was arrested for shoplifting, although she was covering for a boyfriend with a prior conviction. Alba doesn’t want to forgive Xo for this, but when she realizes this happened on June 12, her stubbornness and anger melt away.
As a guest star, Britney Spears encompasses everything we could want from her. While I would have killed for a performance featuring Rogelio and “It’s Britney, bitch,” we did get one kick-ass dance number with Jane and Britney, in a fantasy sequence. Still, watching Rogelio become filled with rage and demand an apology from the entertainer (there was a teleprompter fiasco during the Latin Pop Music Awards ceremony) was hilarious. Jaime Camil’s performance here was a scene-stealer, especially with those random Britney lyrics Rogelio was reciting. But the best part was knowing that the entertainer wasn’t at fault for the problem that ruined the two stars’ friendship—it was in fact, Rogelio, who fudged up. But they patched things up before the episode ended, with Britney declaring they’d be “stronger than yesterday!”
In this episode, we were also reminded of Petra’s confession about Milos to Jane. It was one of those rare instances where we got to see Petra in a sympathetic light, something that actress Yael Grobglas pulls off very well—we don’t want to dislike her character, because her circumstances have shown that she’s constantly given the raw end of a deal, between her con-artist mama and exes. But if there’s one thing she knows how to do, it’ss survive. She works under the knowledge that she’s being bugged by Milos and accepts Jane’s help. While I don’t expect these two to become anything like sister wives, one can’t help but root for their friendship to become permanent. After all, their kids are going to be half-siblings. And Gina Rodriguez and Grobglas should have more scenes together—they’re delightful.
As for Michael, last week I mentioned his 180-degree change from the first season, and his sudden maturity and handling of emotions made him an ace prospect for Jane’s affections. Well, looks like I spoke too soon, because Michael’s world was turned upside down last night. It was bad. In fact, I felt that this downfall was too rushed. What should have taken a couple of episodes to explore completely decimated the buildup that Jane and Michael have been working towards since the beginning of this season. At first, he couldn’t get a moment to speak to Jane since their amazing kiss. Next, his partner received relevant information regarding Nadine, which forced him on desk duty. Being a cop is Michael’s life, so who was the first person he gunned for when an informant came forward? Rafael.
Michael didn’t even give Rafael a chance to pass Mateo to Jane, before he instigated a shoving match that quickly went south, with the baby getting a minor injury. Then he was caught breaking into his captain’s office, while Jane broke things off between them. Just when I thought Michael was going home to a glass of wine and a “Bad Day” playlist, Nadine emerged from his backseat with a gun to his head. Perfect!
And even with all this going on, we’re continuously falling for the perfect love story between Alba and her daughter, Xiomara. When Jane and Xo tried to find the ex-boyfriend, Zed, we found out two things: Zed still owns rollerblades and creates murals. Secondly, he’s a big time drug dealer under the name of Jon Snow. He refuses to vouch for Xiomara despite her conviction’s statute of limitations, but he offers chocolate edibles to Jane. Unfortunately, Xo and Alba eat the chocolate bar and the results are glorious.
Stray Observations:
The Latin Lover Narrator gets it right—all the time.
The reason I barely wrote anything about Rafael this episode is because I’m tired of his selfishness. Yes, he didn’t have a perfect family, but leave Jane alone for a bit. Focus on Mateo, sheesh.
Jane’s creep shot with Britney Spears at the Marbella was something we have all done. At least most of us. OKAY, me. I’ve done it.
When Luisa told Rafael to drop the cancer card to get Jane’s love and affection, my first reaction was to punch the TV screen. My second reaction, however, was that I realized she is a master genius and we should be very afraid.
Best Quote of the Episode
“Did you ever get sick, Jane? When you were pregnant?” (Petra)
“No.” (Jane)
“No, of course you didn’t.” (Petra)
Iris A. Barreto is a writer for Fangirlish, freelance writer for Paste and social media intern for Pink is the New Blog. Heavily caffeinated. Forever lost in Westchester, NY & NYC; all GPS apps hate her. You can follow on Twitter.