What I’m Watching: Jane the Virgin

Jane the Virgin: Season 1, Episode 16 “Chapter Sixteen” (B+)

This show has continuously managed to take what could become simple sitcom plotlines and turn them into something much more effective and entertaining. Petra and Rafael taking care of the dog was the best example in this episode, since it could have been a visual joke to have them running after the dog but instead did more, forcing them to focus on that while other more pressing things were happening in Rafael’s life and then resulting in a big sigh of relief when the big star’s assistant revealed that it was actually her dog and not her boss’. Petra goes from being not at all likeable to one of the show’s most sympathetic characters every ten minutes, and I love that. This was a rare opportunity for Rafael to be mad at Jane, and they managed to move past it after some uncertainty, and I like that the episode ended on a note that felt very much with “Desperate Housewives,” with Rafael waiting for the big answer to a question just asked: who is his mother? Jane critiquing her writer’s workshop classmate also turned into something much more complex than it could have been. Alba objecting to Xiomara moving in with Rogelio is definitely going to leave an impression, and Jane will no doubt be eternally caught in the middle. I enjoyed Rogelio’s ridiculousness as he proved to be the most obnoxious shadow ever invented, plaguing Michael’s time on the job. I like that even Michael gets another love interest, and the fact that she and Jane are very similar people is sure to make things especially interesting in the coming weeks.