Tell-Tale TV Panel: Jane the Virgin Season 3

What was your favorite part of this season of Jane the Virgin?

Find our what our panel of writers thought of Jane the Virgin Season 3, and be sure to join the discussion by responding in the comments below!

Our panelists are:

• Shabnaj Chowdhury, staff writer for Tell-Tale TV
• Shadia Omer, staff writer for Tell-Tale TV
• Amanda Steinmetz, staff writer for Tell-Tale TV
• Kim Rogers from Head Over Feels

On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the season overall?

Shabnaj: 8. Unlike previous seasons, I think Season 3 definitely had some bumps along the way, but overall it was still pretty great.

Kim: Yeah, I’m going to go with an 8. Any problems I had with Jane the Virgin are problems I’ve always had. I thought they definitely took some bold steps this year and missteps inevitably happen when you shake things up so much. It’s still the heartfelt show I fell in love with though.

Shadia: I will also go with an 8 for this season. It’s been a different season that the first two, that’s for sure.

Amanda: I think we are all in agreement. I’ll give it an 8 as well. This was definitely a season for change, and it took a little while to get used to those changes.

What was this season’s biggest problem?

Shabnaj: I think the time jump worked to the show’s benefit in some ways by giving us a refresher and showing us how the characters are in different places in their lives, but I also think it highlighted some of the show’s flaws in that the loss of Michael has translated into a big piece missing from the show and it took getting used to seeing Jane with an older Mateo.

I also can’t believe that after all this time, we still had to deal with Sin Rostro and Anezka shenanigans. I’m tired of both characters.

Kim: OMG seconding Shabnaj with Sin Rostro. Every time Luisa has shown up for the past two seasons, my first response has been UGH WHY? They have told that same story over and over and guess what…it always ends the same way.

Shadia: The time jump came way too fast for me. I understand it’s supposed to be a big step for Jane’s arc as well as the other characters, but the quickness of it felt rocky at first, especially after the shocking death of Michael.

And I agree with Shabnaj and Kim on the whole Sin Rostro storyline. We get that she was the big bad for majority of Season 1 and some parts of Season 2. But having her show up again reduced her to being a more predictable character and I honestly got bored.

Amanda: Yeah, the continuation of the Sin Rostro storyline seems pointless now. There are a lot of other, more important storylines that keep us invested. Also, the time jump was very jarring when it happened. I, personally, would have preferred to see Jane deal with her grief in the immediate aftermath of Michael’s death than jump ahead and skip over it.

What worked really well this season?

Shabnaj: I really loved the Jane and Michael marriage scenes. The way they fought and worked through problems as a married couple is some of the show’s best scenes. The episode where Jane lost her virginity also was just fantastic and way better than I could have imagined.

I also thought the buildup of Petra and Rafael, and the rekindling of their feelings was a big plus for me. But I am pretty disappointed that they got short-changed again in favor of Jane and Rafael.  

Kim: Gina Rodriguez proved yet again this season what a freaking powerhouse she is. She is such a ROCK on this show. We went through a journey with Jane this season, and she navigated all of it so deftly. I completely agree that the virginity episode was fan-freakin-tastic, as well as all of the episodes with Jane and Michael navigating the early days of their marriage. It all felt real and genuine.

Honestly, the time jump worked better for me than I thought it would have in my initial devastation over Michael. I loved seeing how all the dynamics evolved between all of them.

Shadia: The episode where Jane finally loses her virginity was hilarious to watch, I think how it played out turned out really well. Can’t forget that animated version of Jane and Michael during that scene. Too funny!

Just as much as I enjoyed Jane and Michael being this cute married couple, going all the way to the time jump, I really enjoyed Jane and Rafael’s co-parenting as well. They seemed to be getting along so much better, like they were the best of friends and left everything in the past. It was a nice interaction to watch. Also, I loooved the scuff Rafael had during the time jump. Beautiful.

Amanda: I also loved all of the episodes watching Jane and Michael as a married couple. The writers never made their marriage seemed dull. I also can’t stress how fantastic I thought the writers handled Jane losing her virginity. The sex wasn’t perfect the first time, which is much more true to life. I also think, despite how jarring the time jump was, the aftermath has been handled really well.

What was the biggest surprise of the season?

Shabnaj: No question, it was Michael’s death. I mean, it just broke my heart. I wasn’t prepared for it in the slightest, and sometimes I still can’t believe he’s gone. His absence is so deeply felt.

#TeamMichaelForever

Kim: Agreed. The biggest surprise was Jane the Virgin completely rebooting itself in the middle of season with Michael’s death and the time jump. Looking back, I feel like I should have seen it coming? But I didn’t. At all. I was devastated.

My second biggest surprise of the season was HOW HOT RAFAEL’S BEARD WAS. Sorry. I had to say it. It changed me forever, and I was so sad when he got rid of it.

Shadia: I think we all agree on this one for sure. Michael’s death. I literally did not see that coming, at all. Even when the narrator of the show did give away some sly hints throughout the show saying, “he would love Jane till he drew his very last dying breath” and all. It was definitely a surprise! I still miss Michael. *sigh*

Amanda: Even though the Narrator hinted Michael’s death all the way back in Season 1, I was still not prepared to see that character go. His loss left a big hole in the show, and like Shabnaj, I will be #TeamMichaelForever. And like Kim, the immediate time jump after his death was another shock to the system. The time jump took me by surprise even more than Michael’s death.

What are your hopes for next season?

Shabnaj: You know, part of me wishes they can bring Michael back from the dead because it’s a telenovela, and it can actually work because this happens all the time in soaps.

But, I gotta say that I do I love this idea of Jane’s first love coming into the picture, and I love how they did it. That whole last sequence of Jane reading this beautiful, heartfelt letter by Michael where he explained how meeting her was destiny and was meant to be (a concept she was fighting against all episode) was excellent because it led her to encounter this old love of hers. It’s almost like THAT’s meant to be, and Michael literally brought her here. And like the letter concludes, he just wants her to be happy.

I’m interested to see where this Jane and Adam thing goes next season.

Kim: First things first, I’m going to need Xiomara and Rogelio to stay happy. I’m begging you, show.

Let’s keep Luisa as a full-fledged VILLAIN. It will be so much more interesting for her to go the Sami Brady route rather than this wishy-washy trainwreck that she’s been.

Like Shabnaj, I am super curious about the Jane and Adam thing and I hope it goes well. We’ve seen Jane have her fling; it’s time for her to start exploring something a little deeper. She’s ready now. I think that letter from Michael was the last piece of the puzzle for her.

I hope they really nurture this story because let’s be real…it’s going to be Jane and Rafael eventually. It’s so hard with Gina and Justin’s chemistry cause I was a staunch Michael person, but dammit if I wasn’t getting a little floppy about Jafael in those last two episodes.

Shadia: As a fan of Tyler Posey, I’m excited to see him play Adam, Jane’s first love. We got a snippet of him during the finale, and I’m so curious as to how their interaction and conversations will pan out next season. I do want Jane to be happy. I feel like she has grown and has been through many stages during this time jump, so I hope it goes smoothly for her next season.

Amanda: I’m also really excited to see where this storyline with Adam goes. There was something really poetic about Michael’s letter reuniting Jane with her first love.

Even though it seems Rafael is always going to pick Jane, I would like to see Rafael actually attempt to put Petra first. The woman deserves it, and I always think Petra gets the short end of the stick when she’s being compared to Jane.

What did you think of Jane the Virgin Season 3? Share your thoughts in a comment below! You can also check out all of our other season review panels right here. There are more to come!

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