Jane the Virgin, “Chapter 3” (1.3) - TV Review

October 27, 2014, 9:00 PM (EST), CW

Jane made a huge decision this week. She wants to have sex with her fiancé Michael. The show begins with another flashback to a wish she made as a young girl to have boobs one day. She also hoped that a boy would want to touch them. Her first boyfriend dumps her after she informs him that she wants to wait until marriage to have sex. When she reflects on her decision to wait, Jane realizes that she was terrified of ending up as single and pregnant like her mother. My cynical side saw some obstacle preventing her from losing her virginity before the episode was over, but I must give the show credit for slightly subverting my expectations. The journey to that outcome was worth it. What I’ll need to remember for this show is that it’s about characters reacting realistically to unrealistically dramatic situations. Their humanity trumps the absurdity.

At this point in her pregnancy, Jane suspects that her hormones are at fault for her unpredictable decision-making and reactions. She blames her racing heart when in close proximity to Rafael on her pregnancy hormones. It’s pretty obvious that she’s attracted to him, but she tries to hide this from herself. He knows something about her no one else does (that she wants to be a writer) and that serves to deepen their connection. She admits to him that she can be judgy, which he finds to be a positive trait.

After she stumbles onto Petra lurking around the crime scene, Jane is concerned that Petra has a drug addiction. What starts out the awkward moment Petra catches Jane snooping in her stuff turns into an opportunity for Jane to gain more by telling the truth than by lying. Petra calmly explains that she has occasionally taken prescribed xanax but that she doesn’t’ have a problem. She takes the opportunity to show Jane the nursery and Jane’s hormones force tears in a genuinely sweet moment. Petra still prizes her own interests above everyone else’s as evidenced by her blackmail of Michael in order to conceal her presence at the crime scene.

Jane’s dad Rogelio and Xiomara have continued their renewed fling. It’s clear he genuinely wants to meet his daughter for the right reasons, but Xiomara is still worried that Jane has too much going on to handle the bombshell. Rogelio goes behind Xiomara’s back and tracks Jane down himself. When Jane sees him, she’s completely star struck and asks to take a selfie. Meanwhile, he lavishes his affection on Xiomara and Jane’s grandmother with his effortless charm and generic gift baskets.

In one of the funnier sequences of the episode, Jane attends church with her mother and grandmother right before she meets Michael to have sex for the first time. She promised Michael that she wouldn’t tell her what they were going to do, but in a hilarious fantasy sequence, Jane imagines the choir, priest, and congregation urging her to “keep her legs closed.” Jane values her grandmother’s opinion so strongly that she doesn’t feel comfortable hiding her decision to sleep with Michael from her. She blurts out her plan right there in the church, even though she knows her grandmother will try to talk her out of it.

When Jane arrives at the hotel, she runs into Rafael again. He asks her to dance and her heart starts beating out of control again. Michael is very sweet, trying to make her feel comfortable for her first time. She’s made her decision to go through with it, but it’s clear she has reservations. Thankfully, the fire alarm goes off and she’s offered an out. Michael suggests moving the wedding date up, so in a weird twist, it looks like they’ll be getting married next week!

Jane the Virgin deserves praise for building a show around such a warm, sweet, kind character who thoughtfully considers her options and tries her best to make good decisions. It’s refreshing because so many shows these days relish the opportunity to make fun of sincerity and optimism. This show finds a wonderful balance between over-the-top comedy and grounded character moments.

The Roundup

• “Let’s have sex.”
• “I hope the baby’s judgy.”
• Rogelio’s codename on his film set is Antonio Bandaras.
• “Did you know that his hair is real?”
• The doctor/Rafael’s sister is still having hot sex with her stepmother
• “No fireflies were hurt in the making of this episode.”