Jane the Virgin Season 5 Episode 16 Review: Chapter Ninety-Seven
Lizzy Buczak
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The central theme of Jane the Virgin has always been family, but there have been plenty of other themes interposed in between.
One of those themes is crime, especially as it relates to Sin Rostro.
On Jane the Virgin Season 5 Episode 16, the reoccurring theme was embraced as Jane worked crime into her novel, decided to confront Sin Rostro, and then watched her life crumble around in a similar way it did when Mateo was kidnapped.
Jane just cannot seem to shake Rose.
And the series "rose" the stakes with her great escape.
But while Rose finally broke free -- you didn't think she'd stay down for long, did you? -- we're still no closer to figuring out her masterplan.
I have a feeling we won't know until the very last moment. It's possible whatever she's cooked up will even interrupt Jane and Rafael's wedding.
I'd be lying if I said that Rose's escape was anything but electriyfing.
In true Rose fashion, the mastermind used a slew of lookalike's to stir up a commotion while she broke out and made a getaway to meet up with Luisa.
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Don't you just love that the series continues to incorporate elements from previous seasons?
After all these years, they still get me every time they take off those impressively accurate masks.
Rose's only mistake was that she trusted Luisa too much; she failed to anticipate her next, and logical, step.
Many of you guessed that Luisa was going to redeem herself by working with the FBI to capture her girlfriend, and in terms of her story arc, it was necessary.
Luisa always had the potential of being a good sister, but she continuously succumbed to her weakness. Until now.
I am not scared of you anymore, because I am an American now, bitch.
Alba
Unfortunately, Luisa's selflessness will probably cost her her life.
Rose now knows about Luisa's betrayal, she successfully escaped the FBI (they would have definitely had agents waiting outside to capture her, but I'll let that go because this is a telenovela after all), and she'll be out for blood.
There's nothing Rose hates more than being betrayed. She didn't even think twice about killing her side-kick, "Girl."
Considering Rose got access to all of Emilio's hidden cash, I would have assumed she knew the cops were onto her.
Rose's prison break was meticulously planned and thrilling, but man, what a missed opportunity it was not to have Michael under Luisa's mask!
An audible shriek escaped my mouth the moment it all went down followed by a sigh of disappointment.
Related: Jane the Virgin Season 5 Episode 14 Review: Chapter Ninety-Five
But since Rose got away, it's likely Michael will be called in to help in the upcoming episode since he was quite the expert on Rose.
Jane's biggest nightmare got reignited when Rose escaped, but as Jane said, Rose is a sociopath; there's no reason behind her actions meaning there's no point in trying to figure out her next steps.
Not only does all of this put Luisa in danger, but it also puts Jane and everyone she's ever loved in harm's way.
On the plus side, it's comforting to know that Mateo is Jane and Rafael's biological child.
There were plenty of theories floating around that questioned whether Mateo got switched at birth.
It was possible, but not probable. And yet, when Jane got the letter with the results, I had to pause the DVR and take a deep breath.
What if Mateo wasn't their child? It would change the whole dynamic of the series.
Lily: Oh, I've got something good. What if, when the villain kidnaps the baby, she swaps it out for a different one.
Narrator: Oh. Wow.
Lily: Scary, right?
Jane: Yeah, that would be terrifying.
Narrator: Agreed, don't go there Jane.
And I know this is a telenovela and all, but I couldn't bear to see Jane and Raf go through something so traumatic.
Thankfully, we can put those worries behind us because Mateo is 100% Villaneuva-Solano!
I haven't been fond of River Field's storyline for a while now and found myself irritated with how much time we were focusing on her and her daughter Pond when we were nearing the end of our time with the Villaneuva ladies.
Alas, everything that transpired with River, Pond and Rogelio led to the climax: River decided to move production to New York City.
After breaking River, Rogelio did everything to help her patch things up with her daughter, so she'd get her head back in the game, but she wasn't extending him the same courtesy by making this decision.
Will Rogelio take the job?
Rogelio: Today, we are reshooting life.
Narrator: Yes, friends, the line between truth and fiction is getting blurrier by the moment.
Given how much emphasis he's put on family trumping his career, I think he's going to pass on his dream and allow Xo to follow hers.
I mean, look at how happy she was after her first day of nursing school.
The narrator said something about the lines between reality and fiction getting blurred by the minute, and I couldn't help but think it was a clue of sorts.
Maybe we're nearing the point in the series where everything we're seeing is simply Jane's telenovela?
Magda is another character that has dearly overstayed her welcome.
It's infuriating that she's survived this long and still manages to get her claws into Petra's business.
The moment Petra said Clarissa, the investor hoping to franchise the Marbella, reached out to her out of the blue, I knew it was suspicious.
Petra knew better than to get back into bed with the devil, but she still entertained the idea because she wanted to get ahead.
Their confrontation was the only redeeming thing Magda's return.
If you watch Jane the Virgin online, you recognized that staircase as the one that Magda pushed Alba off of causing her to go into a coma on Jane the Virgin Season 1 Episode 10.
While there was a part of me that wished Alba would roll her right down those stairs, that isn't Alba's character.
Having her record and threaten to use that evidence against Magda unless she got the hell out of dodge was brilliant.
There's nothing more joyful than a heroine taking her power back.
River Fields: And while we can't go back in time, I can now say, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you all those years. I thought my Emmy win was the highlight of my life, but reconnecting with you is the real climax.
Pond: This is so crazy. And sweet.
And it significantly made up for how terrible Alba's character has been this season and how much she infuriated me when she refused to let Jane tell her story in the novel.
Had Alba never known about the novel, I would have been more understanding, but Alba knew all along there was a chance this book was going to get out into the public sphere and gave her blessing regardless.
Jane had always anticipated shopping it around to editors. Alba knew that.
Sure, Jorge eventually convinced Alba that it was time to own her truth, and Jane the Virgin even turned the situation into a teachable moment about how illegal immigrants adapt to living in secrecy and putting up walls, but deep down, I couldn't get over Alba's dramatics.
What do you think Rose's master plan is?
Will Luisa die?
Were you convinced Mateo was switched at birth?
On a scale of 1 to 10, how are you enjoying this final season?
Lizzy Buczak was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in June 2021..
