Jane the Virgin Season 2 Episode 8 Review: Chapter Thirty
Amanda Steinmetz
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The holidays are a time for love, family, and some good old-fashioned yelling.
As Mateo's first Christmas approached on Jane the Virgin Season 2 Episode 8, Jane and Rafael couldn't stop arguing even as they took their son to get his picture taken with Santa Claus. Elsewhere, Petra's anxiety got her seeing ghosts, and Rogelio missed his BFF.
Before this review gets into full swing, we must congratulate Gina Rodriguez for getting her second Golden Globe nomination, as well as the series, Jaime Camil, and Gina for getting Critics' Choice nominations. Now back to the arguing!
The saying "Keep Calm and Carry On" clearly never worked for our dear Jane. Not that I blame her. Her outrage over Rafael's lying was completely justified. Although, the talk of lawyers got me nervous about a potential custody battle.
Thankfully, their time in therapy gave Jane the opportunity to see the situation from Rafael's perspective. She may hate what he did to Michael, but at least she understands why now.
One of the great aspects of this episode was the visual representation of rage. I laughed out loud as Jane's and Rafael's fingers began to smoke as they angrily typed to one another.
While they were eventually able to put aside their differences in time for Mateo to have a peaceful Christmas, I don't think that means there will be smooth sailing from here on out. Rafael was hurt by Jane's willingness to keep Michael's secret about Nadine. That feeling isn't going to go away, especially if Michael becomes a fixture in Jane's life again.
Jane's romantic thoughts are never far away from Michael as we saw him dressed as the knight in dirty armor in her romance story. There was also the matter of Michael repairing the angel that needed to be put onto the Christmas tree.
There was someone else who couldn't stop thinking about Michael, and that certain someone was Rogelio. The man was missing his bromance with Michael hardcore and even stalked him at his favorite coffee place.
Rogelio's attempt at testing his intern's loyalty was pretty funny. I like the idea of the Prince William test. Unfortunately, it only pushed his intern/potential new friend away. At least Rogelio was able to discover how talented that kid was when he read his script.
Elsewhere in the episode, Petra was seeing dead people. Her anxiety and guilt over Magda killing Ivan caused her blood pressure to rise. That's a big no no while pregnant.
I could have done without the ghostly Ivan, but at least it provided a catalyst for Petra to finally reveal everything she had been keeping from Rafael. Even as all the weight was lifting from her shoulders, Petra still couldn't help but think Rafael would see her as a horrible person.
Petra: Do you hate me?
Rafael: No, if anything I think I finally understand you and everything that's been going on.
Turns out Rafael has a lot more understanding and compassion than she realized. Petra's a stubborn woman, and maybe things would have been different in their marriage had she just been honest with him. I loved how Rafael didn't blame Petra, but saw her confession as even more reason to finally get Magda out of her life.
Too bad Magda beat them to the punch and got Petra arrested for Ivan's murder. I hope Rafael is able to help Petra get out of her dilemma soon. She needs someone on her side, and mommy dearest is obviously not that person anymore.
Leftover Thoughts and Questions
- Luisa's mother faked her death and swapped identities with a woman in a special care hospital. This is all well and good, but I want some more movement on the Mutter front. Why did she fake her death and become a drug kingpin?
- Alba finally got her green card, and those aren't tears in my eyes... nope... I was just chopping some onions over here.
- Jane's professor helped her out by pushing her to expand her writing for the competition and even got Wesley kicked out for his expose so Jane could take the T.A. position. Are these two going to be a "thing" or what?
So over to you guys! What did you think of the mid-season finale? Will Rafael be able to clear Petra's name? Should Jane reach out to Michael? Will Rogelio turn his intern's script into money?
We won't find out until 2016, so sound off below, and don't forget you can catch up on any missed episodes when you watch Jane the Virgin online via TV Fanatic. Happy holidays!
Amanda Steinmetz was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She went into retirement in June of 2027. Follow her on Twitter.
