What I’m Watching: Jane the Virgin

Jane the Virgin: Season 1, Episode 10 “Chapter Ten” (B+)

It’s good to hear just from his tone that the narrator is still having fun, and so am I! This show is riding high after giving the CW its first-ever Golden Globe win for star Gina Rodriguez earlier this month, and it’s starting off the year on a great note. I’m glad to see that a “natural disaster event episode” like this didn’t dishonor the nature of the show and take too many leaps in terms of credibility or plot development. It was a terrific impetus to involve the idea of praying, which revealed the sweetness of Alba in teaching Xiomara how to cook so that she wouldn’t embarrass a young Jane at school and cleverly got Xiomara to pledge not to open her legs so that a renewed romance with Rogelio is doubly complicated. Of course, Xiomara knows it was Michael who made sure that Alba wouldn’t be deported, but that’s not something that Jane can know just yet. To his credit, Rafael isn’t being a jerk, and Jane shouldn’t have asked him about who he was going to lay off since it only led to her feeling responsible rather than just powerless. I like that Jane and Rafael ended up in a good place after the layoffs and after Jane confronted him about the passport and money, which he was smart to be honest about (even though that may not be the full story). This plastic surgery cover-up is quite a soapy twist, and I think that Rose has spun one too many webs to be taken at her word that she truthfully suspects that her husband is Sin Rostro. Luisa’s upcoming escape is sure to throw a wrench in the Solano family dynamic, and the impending arrival of Petra’s pursuers will surely make things even messier.