Jane the Virgin Review: Chapter Ninety-Six (Season 5 Episode 15)

Jane the Virgin Season 5 Episode 15, “Chapter Ninety-Six,” sets out to prove that Jane’s career as an aspiring writer still has potential — while the twins continue to prove they are a terrifying force of nature.

With Jane’s recent engagement to Rafael and all the commotion that came before, one might forget that Jane will now be the stepmother to Rafael’s two twin daughter from The Shining.

Yes, if you’re keeping track, that means the same twins whose origin story started in Petra’s turkey baster are now calling Jane their stepmother — wild right?

Regardless, this newly defined stepmother dynamic strongholds Jane into some less than ideal situations with the terror twins that relieve some stress of this storyline in its final days and rightfully so.

We’ve been down this “Jane’s a published freakin author” road before and sure, it was uplifting and insightful for anyone fascinated by the honest portrayal of a writer’s career. But it was also a complete and utter lie orchestrated by Rogelio’s wallet according to the season that can’t leave things well alone.

So in one of Jane the Virgin’s final attempts to revisit a moment from Jane’s past, we see our girl give writing a novel one last chance and while the sentiment seems somewhat empty due to repetition, it is relieving to know Jane’s life long dream is happening for real this time.

Revel in the fact that no one can take away Jane’s published freakin’ author status now because there’s simply not enough time. So while this series may be ending and that’s a bummer, it’s kind of great to know there are no more take-backs of any kind.

For the first time since the premiere of its final season, Jane the Virgin is finally all in on Jane’s writing career and love life. What an exciting time to be alive!

With Jane’s life falling into place, it would seem the only thing left to do is let Rose bring it all down with a wrecking ball.

However, the longtime nemesis of Jane’s family doesn’t exactly come off as threatening with a bizarre plan that involves way too much stalling and look-a-likes to possibly be clever at this point.

And while it is likely Luisa is working with Rose to double-cross her, that doesn’t make her tense exchanges with Rafael any more meaningful.

This diabolical Rose storyline feels like something the series could have gotten away with in Season 1, but Jane the Virgin has grown into a more grounded telenovela since then and while it occasionally resurrects people from the dead, this newest attempt seems rather cheap.

Not to mention, Rose’s plan is quite literally something out of a Harry Potter movie.

Although the build-up to Rose’s big diabolical plan is underwhelming, the build-up to the narrator reveal has been one satisfying journey.

“Chapter Ninety-Six” puts the narrator in the most compromising position yet as the iconic voice-over hints at future relationships with more tongue in cheek references than ever before. And when the hints aren’t coming from the narrator themselves, Mateo is blurting out the first 3 words of Jane’s newest novel which happen to be, “our story beings”.

Yes, the same 3 words the narrator first uttered at the beginning of the pilot episode.

It’s safe to say this tidbit confirms Jane is our narrator and Jane the Virgin is the novel she finally managed to publish. Kudos to this show for sticking with the obvious choice for narrator despite it being the more predictable move — because as the first half of this season has shown, unpredictability isn’t always a good thing.

Sometimes the most obvious choice is still the best and having definitive proof of something we’ve known all along is so much more satisfying. Jane’s story coming full circle in such a meta way is all we really need from this show in the final stages and if Jane the Virgin does throw a narrator curveball our way, it better be worth giving up this incredible arc.

Petra, who has been a standout all season long, continues to impress as one of Jane’s closest confidants. Although she has to take a few steps back to allow Jane the opportunity to bond with her daughters, Petra’s minimal presence is still a force to be reckoned with.

After watching Petra kill it solo without some crazy murder plot or family member to hold her back, the thought of having her mother back in her life seems concerning. However, Petra turns an interpretive hospital scene with her dying mother into another defining moment for her character.

Instead of joking about the situation or crying over a mother she never cared for, Petra chooses to go a different route and be honest. She doesn’t feel anything for her mother and she shouldn’t have to just because she is dying. It doesn’t make her a worse person, it just means she is learning to care about the people who really matter to her instead.

She makes this statement with Jane and Rafael by her side and while Petra’s mother doesn’t end up dying, it does feel like Petra is able to say goodbye the part of her that tolerated the terrible things Magda had her do for the family.

If only every character on television could have such a profoundly unique journey as the one Petra has had throughout this series.

“Chapter Ninety-Six,” is no standout episode but it is brimming with standout moments as Jane the Virgin looks to close an important chapter in the book of Jane’s life.

This series started with an accident, but this episode is here to let us know that Jane’s journey has hardly been one of chance. There is a clear beginning, middle, and end to this book.

With only four more chapters to go, it’s now or never for a show that has always been hesitant to commit. Show us what you’re capable of Jane the Virgin!

Top Lines From “Chapter Ninety-Six”:

Narrator: The day Jane turned 30 years and 6 months old. The day her life changed forever.

Rafael: What business thing?
Narrator: A none-of-your-business thing.

Jane: I want to make sure everything is equal, so the girls feel as important as Mateo.

Elsa: Snitches get stitches.
Anna: And end up in ditches.
Elsa: We don’t hang out with narcs.

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

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