What I’m Watching: Jane the Virgin (Season Finale)

Jane the Virgin: Season 4, Episode 17 “Chapter Eighty-One” (B+)

Well, there’s a whopper of an ending! After making it seem throughout the episode that Rafael might be Jane’s brother, or maybe her uncle, both my wife and I were completely floored by Rafael’s miserable revelation on the night after he was supposed to propose that Michael is still alive. That’s crazy news, one that changes everything we know about this show since Jane was so unbelievably unhappy after she lost him and there’s no way she will ever be able to forgive him for apparently faking his death. Why Rose knew that he was alive is a mystery, but I think he’s the one who’s going to have to do some explaining first. I’m sure that’s going to be a big focus of the show’s final season, with only one real other major problem to address at the moment. JR was furious at Petra for lying to her about the fact that she killed Anezka, and just as she went to walk right out of her life, we got the news that Krishna wasn’t in fact the blackmailer, but that someone else, whose identity we still don’t know, was about to kill Petra, only to be interrupted and killed in self-defense by JR, forever linking her to Petra. Honestly, she got over the biggest hurdle in their relationship, which was that she didn’t like kids, and now she just has to contend with her lack of warmth towards Jane. I’d be curious to know if most viewers got the #JRshotwho reference since most are likely too young to have watched “Dallas” (as I am). Alba finally getting her citizenship was great, and marrying Jorge to give him a green card was a nice development that hopefully won’t cause too much trouble for them in the future. And River understands Rogelio a bit more, which should make them filming together in season five a bit more docile. I’m looking forward to another season of this great show, which hasn’t lost any of its originality and entertainment value since the beginning.

Season grade: A-
Season MVP: Gina Rodriguez as Jane