Jane the Virgin Review: Chapter Eighty-Three (Season 5 Episode 2)

Jane the Virgin Season 5 Episode 2, “Chapter Eighty-Three,” does the unthinkable by taking all the beautiful memories we have of Michael and replacing them with Jason. 

If you are trying to hurt us Jane the Virgin, congratulations you’ve done it — and in quite deceptively brilliant ways I might add.

Our favourite telenovela is certainly keeping things interesting by integrating Michael back into Jane’s life this way. Instead of getting the love of her life back Jane gets a full-time babysitting job and we get some immensely great comedy to enjoy in the process.

“Chapter Eighty-Three,” is the kind of episode to admire and fear, as the introduction of an exciting new character is one to appreciate, however, the cost of a beloved fan favourite is not.

This second episode of the final season has the same wild and unsympathetic presence as the premiere and that is something to commend.

What’s even better is the cruel yet admittedly clever way Jane the Virgin has managed to reimagine loveable goofball Michael as the skeevy and sarcastic Jason from Montana.

His general lack of enthusiasm and emotion leads to some of this episode’s cringest and weirdly enjoyable moments with Jane. Jason actually asks Jane for the money back that she got for his car after he passed — I don’t know whether to laugh or cry in response to that.

But Jane’s not having it and she gives this Michael imposter just as much sass in return, which inevitably makes their banter even better to watch.

Now one episode of watching Jason be a dick is not going to tear down everything Michael has built up as the perfect husband, but Jane the Virgin is trying so hard to do so that I’m genuinely scared for the resentment forming when Brett Dier comes on screen now.

There is no denying this Jason twist is a formidable barrier for Jane to overcome in her final season. She has to try and move forward with Rafael while being reminded of the fact that the love of her life is still alive every day — it’s the perfect storm of storylines really.

That being said, there are times during “Chapter Eighty-Three,” where Jason’s lack of emotion or empathy towards the situation makes this amnesia storyline feel cold and calculated.

I get that right now this character’s purpose is to make the audience feel as frustrated as Jane and I admire that but eventually, Jason and Jane’s dynamic has to evolve from that.

There is a level of fanfare that was expected in the wake of Michael’s return that does not trickle over into this episode like it necessarily should.

Instead of more concern and grief, it feels like everyone has just accepted that Michael is gone and Jason isn’t worth the fuss of getting emotional over.

Jason may have amnesia but he is still a person and while the concept of having him act the complete opposite of Michael is interesting if his character doesn’t begin to develop into a more fleshed out character he’ll be nothing more than an irritating telenovela trope for us to resent.

Petra is noticeably absent from the majority of this episode which is, of course, a disappointment, but thankfully Rogelio is present and eager to introduce the world to his new American telenovela. To no surprise, he steps comfortably back into his role as the heart of this show’s comedic relief.

Jane the Virgin also reintroduces Jane’s religion as a topic of discussion rather comfortably.

Despite all that has happened to Jane she is still very much Catholic and reminds Rafael of that when he asks her to divorce Michael. But she is still willing to take a step back and ponder why Michaels “death” was random when there is suppose to be a plan for everything.

It’s nice to see that being Catholic is still very important to Jane despite her crazy life and it’s also refreshing to see Jane have another open discussion about her faith.

“Chapter Eighty-Three,” is proving this season can go bigger and bolder than any others with the return of Michael.

Jane the Virgin crafts a clever plot that guarantees to entertain and devastate us with the promise of Michael’s memories returning and the fear that they won’t.

Going forward it will be interesting to see how this amnesia storyline climaxes to a big plot twist — because we know it will. I don’t think Michael would be cruel enough to fake his memory loss but I do believe he will start to remember things that he will ultimately keep to himself to save Jane further heartbreak.

If not it would be interesting to know why keeping Mateo from Michael is such an important point of the season so far. Maybe Mateo is the key to Michael’s memory relapse?

Regardless, this episode is certainly a delightful surprise and we all know how much Jane the Virgin loves to surprise us!

Top Lines From “Chapter Eighty-Three”:

Jason *reading Jane’s book*: You’re messing with me, right? There’s no way Michael liked this book.

Jane: Trust me, he needs that dog because he is not a people person.
*Michael laughing while talking to Jorge*
Petra: Maybe he’s just not a Jane person.

Jane: You know, maybe I can go to the used car dealership and get your car back. Oh, I’m sure they’ll remember me since I was the one sobbing while I handed over the keys to my dead husband’s car.

Michael: What’s a… telly-novela?
Narrator: *Gasps*

Jane: My guilt’s not because I’m Catholic. It’s because I wish he [Michael] never came back.

Rafael: I think plan or no plan, it’s [religion] has been a force for good in your life. It has made you into the woman that you are. The person I fell in love with.

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

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