What I’m Watching: Jane the Virgin

Jane the Virgin: Season 4, Episode 7 “Chapter Seventy-One” (B+)

I was cheering throughout this episode, since anyone who’s followed my reviews of this show since the beginning knows that I’ve always been #teamrafael, and now it finally looks like it’s going to happen again (though I was convinced that the last scene was just something she imaged happening). The disastrous book tour, filled with video-captured crying and a lackluster review, was helpful in allowing all three Villanueva women to realize something important about themselves. Having all of the reminders about Adam was extremely distracting for Jane, but I think that, in this show’s history, he’s going to be just a blip in Jane’s romantic life, far eclipsed by Michael and Rafael, the two men for whom she’s fallen hardest. I enjoyed the bonding time we got between Rogelio and Rafael since we rarely see those two interact, and Rogelio attributing some of that to Rafael being a playboy when they first met and he was dating Jane was insightful. I was concerned when Rafael convinced Rogelio to be mad at Xiomara for running away, but fortunately it helped the relationship and is now sending them into couples counseling, which should prove entertaining as Rogelio tries to resist it. Alba dashing away from Jorge’s proposal led her to an important realization, but then for some reason she changed her mind at the last minute! Jane reconnecting with Michael’s mother was important and cathartic, and now she really can move on to the next chapter of her life. Petra, on the other hand, won’t ever be rid of her sister, even if she managed to make sure that she’s really dead this time, though we didn’t see the nametag so we can’t know for sure.