Jane the Virgin Review: Chapter Eighty-One (Season 4 Episode 17)

Michael Cordero Jr. is alive.

Yes, Jane the Virgin Season 4 Episode 17, “Chapter Eighty-One,” reveals the man whose last breath could be heard breaking thousands of hopeful shippers’ hearts is very much alive and for many that may not come as such a surprise.

Who hasn’t been holding on to the crazy theory that Michael actually survived his injuries and was recruited by the FBI to go undercover in the back of their minds since his death? Who hasn’t argued countless times to themselves that this is a telenovela and people have to come back from the dead?

The timing of his return, however, is quite shocking because the thought of him showing up amongst a storyline as chaotic as season 4’s just doesn’t seem practical. Which is why seeing Michael alive and sporting the proper beard for someone assumed dead comes as a complete and utter blindside.

And really, none of us actually believe ourselves when we said Michael was alive.

Not only has this twist made us desperate for the next season, it has opened the door for plenty of conflict between Jane and her two loves as she comes to terms with her husband being alive.

Not to mention the drama that will ensue when she has to face the reality of being in a relationship with Rafael. That is sure to be a messy ordeal for the two of them.

Michael will have a lot of explaining to do as well, but where his main conflict will reside is providing Jane with the reason why he would put her family and his through so much pain and grief and why it takes Rafael talking to a bargaining con-woman to bring him back into their lives.

His reason will likely have to do with Rose as she is the one that tells Rafael that Michael is alive. With talk of Jane the Virgin’s fifth season being its last, seeing the series come full circle back to Rose and her involvement in Jane’s life since the pilot seems fitting.

This reveal feels like the start of the true finale for this series as Jane the Virgin gears up to finish the story it set out to tell four years ago. If the end is anything like the beginning than it is sure to be memorable.

What should not be overlooked in the finale’s subtle setup to the big twist is the show’s continuous teasing of telenovela tropes throughout the episode with everything from Rafael being Jane’s brother to Rafael having a long lost brother.

But the biggest telenovela trick of all has always been someone coming back from the dead and we are none the wiser as Jane barges into Rafael’s apartment.

The big reveal that our precious Michael Cordero is okay is such a wonderful, incredible, and shocking moment for the finale that it is hard to talk about anything else– but we’ll try.

Jane has finally had an epiphany about her newest novel and no surprise, the multi-generational story she plans to write sounds a lot like Jane the Virgin.

Much like theories of Michael faking his own death, there has always been a stern belief among fans that the narrator telling Jane’s story is in-fact Jane’s narration of her own story.

So seeing Jane make the connection between her three separate stories and choose to create a novel that spans three generations and the lives of three women is a natural progression for her writing ark in the series. Giving each of her failed novels a purpose in this conclusion is a nice touch as it ties every previous plot from Jane’s career as a writer together quite nicely.

There is a beautiful metaphor here about never forgetting your greatest failures because one day they could help create your greatest achievement.

This also means there truly may not be much left of Jane’s story to tell now that she is working towards a successful writing career.

However, this is not the case for “Chapter Eighty-One,” which has so much going on Alba becoming an American citizen and then promptly marrying Jorge isn’t even the most important thing to happen.

What does take up a good majority of the episode’s time is Petra’s involvement in Anezka’s death.

In another surprise reveal that is far from surprising, Petra did push her sister off the balcony.

Frankly, J.R. overreacts about the entire matter. Petra has been involved in several murder investigations now and she is almost always guilty of something. If you are dating Petra you are spending most of your time at the police station, that is a given.

What is surprising, however, is J.R does not perish at the hands of Petra’s blackmailer. With Rosario Dawson’s original contract spanning 6-7 episodes, it was likely her character would either die or leave Petra by the end of the season.

The fake-out with the gun discharging off-screen is a brilliant direction for the scene to take since it is assumed immediately that J.R. is the one to take the bullet. What should not be assumed is Jane the Virgin’s willingness to contribute to the trope of killing off a gay character after they become involved in a romantic relationship.

This show is the type to expose the flawed writing plots used in shows like The 100 and Buffy The Vampire Slayer, not contribute to them. So it is nice to see Jane the Virgin stick with its morals and bring J.R. back onto the screen holding the gun instead.

Instead of threatening to anger the Twitterverse with a cliffhanger involving J.R.’s fate, the show decides to go a completely different way with the suspense and leave the audience feeling satisfied to see the couple still alive but pondering who the gunman’s identity is.

Forget about who shot J.R. We need to know who J.R. shot.

“Chapter Eighty-One” does everything right.

Each person gets their own kind of ending in this finale and each one of these endings is as exciting and as interesting as the last.

While Xo’s cancer is not the center of the story, her ghostly appearance in the finale is subtle and smart in reminding the audience of her treatment’s severity.

Alba may not be in love with Jorge but her willingness to marry him because she loves him as a friend is a beautiful way to solidify the development her character has undergone this season romantically.

Even River and Rogelio get some closure as they work towards developing their telenovela.

Congratulations to Jane the Virgin for creating a fourth season full of so many storylines and great surprises that never felt like they could come together and yet in the end, they do. This series has delivered a finale that makes the wait well worth it and catching your breath even harder to do.

Jane the Virgin has proven time and time again that this is what good television should look like.

What did you think of this episode of Jane the Virgin? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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

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