Jane The Virgin Roundtable: Chapter Eighty-One (Season 4 Episode 17)

The Jane The Virgin Season 4 finale astounded viewers when it revealed that Michael Cordero is seemingly alive and well.

It’s a classic telenovela move!

Just when we thought Jane was finally moving on with Rafael, the show brings Jane’s dead husband back — and the whole love triangle along with him.

Now that we’ve had a few days to sit in our feelings, we can rummage through them and try to figure out what is actually going on, and how it’s going to change things for our dear Jane.

Tell-Tale TV writers Caralynn Lippo, Alicia Gilford, and Shabnaj Chowdhury discuss the twist below.

• Caralynn Lippo (@caralynn_marie)
• Alicia Gilstorf (@AliciaGilstorf)
• Shabnaj Chowdhury (@Shabnajwrites)

1. What was your initial reaction to seeing Michael, alive and well, in the final moments of the final?

Shabnaj: You guys might not believe me, but I not only suspected that Michael was coming back this episode, but sat in agony anticipating it throughout the hour. Days leading up to the finale, critics warned viewers on Twitter to watch the finale live, and it reminded me of the same rhetoric used last year in the episode that Michael died. I just felt like there was a connection.

I was beyond thrilled when it actually happened. I missed Brett Dier so much on the show. But, probably not as much as his co-stars. 

Alicia: I didn’t see Michael’s return coming at all. And that is saying a lot because I’m that person that believed firmly in the FBI undercover theory and have eagerly waited for him to just show up alive all season.

So, kudos to Jane The Virgin for keeping this under tight wraps because, even when watching for it, I was so oblivious to the set up in the finale that it made this reveal such a gasp out loud moment of pure joy. I’m glad I didn’t see Michael’s return coming because it made for one incredible reveal. 

Caralynn: At first, I totally fell for the red herring that Jane and Raf were secretly siblings. That was my #1 guess for the big twist (because it’d been heavily previewed by the cast and people who’d watched a screener that there was a twist).

Then, when Rafael shot that down, I knew it was going to be Michael. It was the only other possible twist big enough to warrant all the hullabaloo. Beyond that, I didn’t see it coming at all — like earlier in the season, it didn’t at all cross my mind! 

2. Do you think he’s really Michael? What are your theories?

Caralynn: The way I see it, there are only two real possibilities here. The first is that he’s just some random guy that Rose changed the face of in order to mess with Jane and Rafael — for what reason exactly, I don’t know. Maybe just to be evil and cruel, since she can’t have Luisa?

The second option is that it is Michael, and he has amnesia.

At the moment, I’m sort of leaning towards the amnesia option. I don’t buy any of the theories I’ve seen that Michael is Michael, and he was deep undercover or whatever to keep Jane safe. I just don’t think the writers would screw over Rafael like that, and it’s almost too simple to have him come back exactly as he was before.

At this point, I’m convinced Jane and Rafael will wind up together in the very end, which means that there needs to be something that prevents Jane and Michael from reuniting. I have no evidence for this other than just a gut feeling, haha. 

Alicia: The only theory I choose to believe is that this is the real Michael, and he was forced to go undercover with the FBI or into hiding after Rose took interest in him. Anything other than that man being Michael is cruel and unforgivable. Integrity wise, it’s bad enough to bring someone back from the dead, but it is worse to parade around someone with a similar face. That scruffy-bearded man is Michael. It has to be Michael. 

Shabnaj: Alicia, I’d be heartbroken if your theory comes true! I can’t stand the idea of Michael putting Jane through all that grief. I don’t want him to have any part in this. It’s gotta be that he was taken against his will and that Rose orchestrated the whole thing.  

I’m thinking along the same lines as you, Caralynn. I think Michael is probably suffering from amnesia — you can even notice the lack of recognition on his face the moment as she enters the room. He doesn’t even look happy to see her!

Something’s definitely up, but I’m certain that he’s truly Michael. Jane’s life could only be affected if it really is him, otherwise, there’d be no point.

3. How do you think this is going to change things for Jane moving forward?

Caralynn: Oh man! There’s going to be so much soapy goodness. I’m a huge fan of soap operas (shout out to General Hospital!), so this kind of twist is right up my alley. In fact, General Hospital did something quite similar to this recently.

Gina Rodriguez is always amazing, so I’m sure we’re going to see plenty of award-worthy performances from her in the upcoming season, as she grapples with the return of Michael and her feelings for Rafael.

Knowing Jane, she’ll feel like she needs to support Michael and bury her feelings for Rafael, so that’s going to result in a lot of angst and tension. I’m all here for the amnesia storyline because that’s, like, the angstiest soap move of all time.

For Season 5, I’m predicting we’ll get at least half a season of a return to the triangle, and then the second half will transition into Jane getting her happy ending — with whom, I have no idea. But I think I read somewhere that Jennie Snyder Urman said all telenovelas end with a wedding, and therefore Jane will be getting married again to somebody. 

Alicia: It’s definitely not going to change things for the better, that’s for sure. Jane has gotten to a place in her life where she’s finally worked through her grief over Michael’s death. Later in the season, she openly talked about Michael without crying and was ready to take that step forward with Rafael into marriage. That was huge for her.

Then she walks in and sees Michael alive, gah it breaks my heart just thinking about how she must feel! It’s going to come down to whether or not she can still love Michael after all this and that’s going to make for some high strung drama between Jane, Michael, and Rafael.

Honestly, we’ve never had to see Jane involved in the crazier side of this telenovela, so it’s hard to say just how much this will change her story going forward. 

Shabnaj: Yeah, as a soap fan, I’m pretty happy that they’ve finally done a big back-from-the-dead storyline. Granted, it’s become so overplayed on soaps that we groan about it now. But, when done right, a story of this nature has the potential of being engrossing, emotional, and surprisingly grounded.

What if Michael doesn’t remember Jane and has to fall in love with her all over again? What if Rafael backs away from Jane, but she chooses him anyway? No matter which way this goes — this shifts Jane’s love life into high gear, and some huge, intense storylines are coming.

Jane will be reevaluating everything, and if this is the final season, it’s going to be incredible.

4. What do you want to see happen? Are you Team Rafael or Team Michael?

Caralynn: Before Michael died (or “died”), I was Team Michael. But only by a slim margin — Jane The Virgin is one of the few shows where I was totally fine with either romantic option. That’s a byproduct of the writers and actors making both men so fully-formed and so darn likable.

I’d read a few interviews with Jennie Snyder Urman regarding the love triangle where she basically says that a different man can be the right one at different points in a woman’s life.

When Jane married Michael, he was the right man for that Jane. But she’s changed, now, and Rafael might end up being the right choice for her going forward. Even though I was initially Team Michael, I think the writers did a fantastic job of giving her space to grieve Michael, move on organically, and then rebuild her connection with Rafael.

I was 100% rooting for Jafael before Michael returned with that extremely attractive beard. Now, I’m conflicted — just like Jane. But I think I’m in a good position because, unlike some of the more steadfast Team Rafael/Team Michael fans, I’d probably be happy with either outcome… so long as the story is great and told well.

Alicia: I have always been Team Michael, even now knowing how much pain his reappearance will cause Jane. There’s just something about their first and final moments together that is so beautiful and romantic.

That being said I have never been a strong supporter of the team format for this show, essentially because each man has been right for Jane in certain moments of her life.

When Jane and Rafael were first together, they brought out the worst in each other. In this newest season, they learned to become co-parents first and a couple second. They’re growth together and apart is reflective of the excellent writing and realistic relationships we expect from Jane The Virgin at this point.

While I would love to see Michael and Jane’s relationship defy death, I would not be surprised nor upset to see Rafael and Jane end up together after everything they’ve gone through together raising their son.

I think Jane’s choice will make for realistic storytelling going forward considering she is likely just as lost as I am when it comes to choosing the right man. They are both so darn likable.

Shabnaj: I’m gonna come out and say that I’m a Michael and Jane purist. By that I mean, I never really could ship Jane with Rafael, and I know many, many people have shipped both pairings at some point on the show.

I personally would love for Jane to choose her husband.

Of course, like Caralynn, I want to see the angst and the drama. I don’t want it to be an easy journey for them, and obviously, it won’t be. But, I think ultimately, Michael still has a significant place in her heart (I mean, she did write about him after being in bed with Rafael). I would love to see them find their way back to each other.

And if they don’t, won’t that just suck? To have Michael back, it feels like a gift to Michael and Jane fans. It’s going to hurt like hell for him to return only for Jane to not choose him.

And I know that Jane and Rafael have been the central love story of this show, but wouldn’t it be great if the writers just subverted their whole destiny thing, and decided that it was Michael all along?

I don’t know. No matter what, I trust that Urman will deliver a story that’s emotionally honest, that feels true to the characters, and that feels right.

But yeah, Michael and Jane, man. I’ll go down with this ship.

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What did you think of Michael’s return on Jane The Virgin? Respond to our roundtable questions with your own answers in the comments below!

You can also catch up with our review of Jane the Virgin Season 4 Episode 17, “Chapter Eighty-One,” here.

Jane The Virgin will return for a fifth season on The CW.