Jane the Virgin Review: Chapter Twenty-Nine (Season 2 Episode 7)

Oh, Rafael. I’ve never been more disappointed in you.

Jane the Virgin always manages to gut-punch its viewers, and “Chapter Twenty-Nine” is certainly no exception.

While it’s wonderful that Michael wasn’t actually fired and that he’s secretly been undercover this entire time, the pain and tears in his eyes when he sees Jane shopping at Target is completely heartbreaking.

Speaking of Target, the commercials make this episode look like a big Black Friday shopping extravaganza, which is timely and fun, and I like watching people hope with insanity in their eyes. Alba elbowing people in the back for a flat screen television is something I might watch for an entire hour, or at least half of the episode.

Unfortunately, the Black Friday backdrop lasts for about five minutes and pretty much ends after we see Michael.

So where exactly has Michael been these last six months? He’s working the Sin Rostro/Mutter case alone because Nadine hopped in front of a bullet to save his life. (I suppose that’s a goodbye to Nadine? It happens so quickly that I don’t have time to really process it.)

Nadine’s funeral hands us the surprise of seeing Eric Wu once again, who we remember as the man who got Michael “fired” in Season Two Episode 5. His appearance doesn’t have much of an impact…at first. It’s not until the moment we see him talking to Rafael on the baby monitor about being hired to sell out Michael that we all feel as though we’ve been punched in the gut.

Rafael, why? He chose to completely remove Michael from Jane’s life without even giving it a thought. Bad call, Raf. It will take a lot for Jane to forgive him for this, and he’s definitely not looking like a guy who will come out of this love triangle victoriously.

This love triangle stresses me out more than it should. Jane needs to focus on school for a little while, because I need a break from the dating drama.

Jane finally chooses an advisor for her writing, and it was not the author she spends much of the hour trying to impress. While Dr. Bolton may be a fellow mommy who can bond with Jane on many levels, she doesn’t bond with Jane as far as writing style goes.

Surprisingly, Jane decides that the person who understands her style the best is Professor Chavez, the man who has been giving her a hard time as she she returned to school.

I can already see the chemistry between Jane and Chavez, but I sincerely hope that he doesn’t become a new love interest. Again, the dating drama stresses me out. Jane needs to take a break from boys.

Jane’s new BFF, Wesley, has his expose revealed, but it doesn’t matter to anyone. I don’t quite understand what the point of introducing this character actually turned out to be, other than to be the guy who revealed that Luisa’s mother was still alive, and most likely, Mutter. There was definitely an easier way to get that information out there that didn’t need to involve a guy manipulating Jane.

Elsewhere in unnecessary storylines, the entire Petra/Weekend at Bernie’s story plays out like a terrible sitcom subplot. Between Magda’s hook hand and the deja-vu feeling that we’ve seen this story before, I just can’t bring myself to find any humor in this story.

I am sad to see that Jane and Petra’s bromance isn’t happening. At least not for the moment. Part of me would have found the entire story a bit more heartfelt if Petra shared what was happening with Jane and not blown her off. Petra seems genuinely sad that she needs to push Jane away.

Overall, this is the weakest episode of Jane the Virgin this season and honestly the weakest one I’ve seen in quite a long time. I think that the time jump in Season Two Episode 6 amped up the excitement but sped things up so much that big things, like Wesley’s story and Michael not being fired, don’t have the impact that they may have had otherwise.

What did you think of “Chapter Twenty-Nine?” Are you just as disappointed in Rafael? Is Luisa’s mother alive and is she Mutter? Were you glad to find that Michael is still on the case? Sound off below!

Jane the Virgin is taking a few weeks off, but will return on Monday, December 14 for their winter finale!

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Jane the Virgin airs Mondays at 9/8c on The CW.