Jane the Virgin Review: Chapter Ninety-Eight (Season 5 Episode 17)

Jane the Virgin’s penultimate episode sticks the landing with beauty, grace, and plenty of Rose’s face.

Yes, Sin Rostro made her grand return as the big bad on Jane the Virgin Season 5 Episode 17, “Chapter Ninety-Eight,” and she did not come to disappoint.

Just when the show has lulled us into the comfort of Jane’s newest book drama and convinced viewers we are crazy to think an evil drug lord would be bothered enough to visit lame Jane (the twins’ nickname, not mine), the deviously pretty Rose reappears to reak havoc.

This explosive climax is a defining moment for a season that has faltered from seeking out all the wrong kinds of confrontation. But there is something that feels right and final about seeing Jane and Rose come face to face.

I don’t love how we got here, but the moment Rose steps out from behind Jane’s front door with a cat, I no longer seem to care about the logistics.

Bridget Regan’s portrayal of Rose will always be a highlight of the series. She plays the classic telenovela villain with such class and cunning.

Sin Rostro is still very much a two-dimensional character but what Rose lacks in backstory and emotion she more than makes up for with her diabolical, soul-crushing plans and ageless skin.

She is a stone-cold killer who doesn’t care much for redemption or men, and it is that complete dedication to her evil tendencies that makes her feel like a cartoon villain from a Disney show in all the best ways.

Sometimes we don’t need the bad guy that has remorse and eventually seeks redemption for their actions — sometimes we just need a bad guy that likes being bad and Rose is one unapologetically bad woman.

But the Rose we see emerge from the shadows of Jane’s living room is something better. She is Rose in her fully realized form.

There’s always been a stopping point for the villainous character, a line even she can’t cross. It’s as if the show always knew they needed to hold back something for her big showdown with Jane. To see Rose at her absolute worse before now would have spoiled the big surprise — and what a surprise this was.

Seeing Rose hold nothing back as she becomes Jane’s worst nightmare, pushes our protagonist to her ultimate breaking point and that wouldn’t be possible without some restraint. Rose truly left the best for last and we have to commend her for that.

Jane The Virgin — “Chapter Ninety-Eight” — Pictured: Gina Rodriguez as Jane — Photo: Kevin Estrada/The CW — © 2019 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 

Gina Rodriguez manages to wow us with a heartbreaking performance as she attempts to show Jane at her absolute lowest moment — a moment we have seen the character desperately trying to prepare herself for since Season 1.

It is Jane’s inability to keep her emotions in check that makes this scene really hit home. Jane has always been a crier and so, to have her be any less emotional when faced with her greatest fear just wouldn’t be practical.

Jane is a fighter in so many ways and yet when faced with her biggest challenge she turns into a whimpering mess. But that doesn’t make her character weak — it makes her painfully human. A writer from Miami isn’t going to be a trained fighter and we know Jane isn’t one for confrontation anyways.

Seeing Jane work up the nerve to speak back to Rose is the thrilling cherry on top to an emotionally charged episode that grabbed viewers by the shirt and refused to let us look away.

This episode does a wonderful job of allowing Jane the Virgin’s core characters to be haunted one last time by their exes. So while Petra deals with J.R. and Luisa with Rose, Jane has to revisit her life with Michael one last time.

While nothing has felt enjoyable or organic about Michael’s resurrection this season, his final goodbye to Jane feels much more like a proper farewell for the character and for the viewers.

His engagement to Charlie may not come as a surprise to fans that kept up with Brett Dier’s personal life but seeing Michael happy and devoted to giving Charlie everything he had with Jane is certainly heartwarming. I’ll rest much easier knowing this new version of Michael gets some kind of happy ending after all he has been through.

The Michael/Jason storyline has been one hell of a ride from it’s exhilarating first moments to its disappointing end in Montana.

Jane’s writing career, on the other hand, is something Jane the Virgin has been rather successful with in the back-half of the season.

From Jane’s kick-ass new agent, played by Umbrella Acedemy’s Emmy Raver-Lampman, to the twists and turns her novel has created for Jane in her final days, this writing journey has been worth every second.

When Jane is offered 500,000 for her novel, it genuinely feels like we won the money ourselves. We have gotten to witness how hard Jane has worked to bring her story to life and so it is easy to share in her overwhelming joy.

Jane isn’t just a published freakin’ author, she’s a published and freakin’ rich author. That character development is enough in itself to leave this story feeling satisfied by what Jane the Virgin has given us. 

Well, friends, our time with Jane the Virgin has almost come to an end.

With “Chapter Ninety-Eight” having done an incredible job tying up many of the major loose ends and leaving us with a sense of relieve, saying goodbye doesn’t seem as impossible as it once did.

To go on is to wish Jane more grief and conflict — it’s time we let our girl rest with her giant wads of cash.

With one last ‘to be continued’ left, start preparing yourself for the end of Jane the Virgin — if such a thing is even possible!

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

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The 2-hour series finale of Jane the Virgin airs Wednesday at 8/7c on The CW.

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