Jane the Virgin Series Finale Review: Chapter Ninety-Nine / Chapter One Hundred (Season 5 Episode 18 and 19)

Well friends, Jane’s final chapter has been written.

The 2-hour farewell event gave us a beautiful send off with Jane the Virgin Season 5 Episode 18, “Chapter Ninety-Nine,” and a heartwarming goodbye with Jane the Virgin Season 5 Episode 19, “Chapter One Hundred”.

The finale did not disappoint with a clever conclusion to the narrator mystery, an emotional wedding, and lots of crying. Our final moments with the telenovela feels like a satisfying ode to the colourful world Jane introduced us to five years ago.

Bravo to this show for giving everyone a small slice of happiness in their final moments — including us.

Jane the Virgin couldn’t go out without orchestrating its biggest twist yet. That “twist” involved promoting the finale as a 2-hour spectacular that was really just a 1-hour clip show and a regular 1-hour episode.

“Chapter Ninety-Nine,” is Jane’s send-off and while it’s is essentially a filler episode to get Jane the Virgin to that momentous One-Hundredth episode, this hour of reflection gives fans the chance to celebrate all the best parts of this show.

Resurrected husbands and nasty breakups have cast a grey cloud over most of this final season and so it is very cathartic to relive all the great moments over the years that have made this series such a standout in modern-day television.

With so many great moments of comedic charm, magical realism, and overwhelming romanticism that are easy to forget after five years, this walk down memory lane feels like a necessary part of saying goodbye to all of Jane — from the good to the bad.

“Chapter One Hundred” is when the real show begins — and is it ever a show.

Jane the Virgin doesn’t save the big explosive moments for the end, because even at it’s craziest this show can still struggle.

This series has always shined it’s brightest in the human moments where we see this telenovela stripped down to its raw and incredibly passionate roots.

This show is done with the tricks and twists, a proclamation it makes early on by declaring that the last big secret the narrator has withheld from us about Rafael’s parents isn’t special, nor is it particularly exciting.

Rafael’s parents had a normal life and while that sounds disappointing, a harmless mundane secret is all we could ever want in this show’s final moments.

Jane the Virgin, you have never shied away from the big moves, killing off our favs and artificially inseminating Petra with a turkey baster. But you chose to give this series a quiet ending and that might have been the best decision you ever made. It allowed these emotional goodbyes the opportunity to be heard without interruption.

This final chapter devotes a large portion of it’s time to the three women who started this all and we wouldn’t want it any other way.

The Villanuevas won us over on that porch of tears, so it feels only right that they would spend their final morning together on that same porch swing watching the sunrise, holding hands, and of course, crying.

However, that’s just one of the many wonderful scenes we get with these three women.

Alba secretly calling Jane and having her come bursting through the door to talk some sense into Xo speaks to the loveable chaos and passion that fuels this family’s love for one another. I also adore that Alba gets her own moment alone to reminisce over the three generations of memories that have lived and breathed in the hallways of her home. She played a big part in not only making Jane and Xo feel welcome in her home but us as well.

These three have always been the heart of the show and I am so happy we got to have a proper homage to the three generations of women that have inspired us with every episode.

Now let’s talk about the wedding of the century and no, I don’t mean the royal wedding.

The wedding is a scene viewers should be encouraged to watch over and over in order to properly take in every integrate detail of this momentous event.

From Rita Moreno serving up looks that will surely be immortalized in gif form to Petra reuniting with JR, there is plenty to make your heart glow.

Having the narrator’s tone change as Mateo realizes he has a future as a voice-over actor is such a sly way of revealing the narrator’s identity to the audience.

It’s a quick reveal for a mystery that has over-shadowed this show since the pilot, but Mateo’s set up makes the moment feel incredibly fitting for a voice that has stolen the spotlight more than once with his clever observations.

Seeing those younger versions of Jane walk down the aisle as the narrator echoes one of his first lines from the series is such a sweet touch to the ceremony as well. But not nearly as sweet as Jane and Rafael both bursting into uncontrollable sobs as they try to read their vows out loud — that takes the cake.

A lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into making this wedding happen over the last five years and not once did the outcome disappoint.

It’s really no surprise this season’s scene-stealer, Petra, almost runs away with the entire wedding when she rushes into the arms of JR and kisses her deeply.

Jane the Virgin really gave us a strong businesswoman who was able to find redemption, success, and true love against every obstacle thrown her way.

I know we are supposed to be rooting for Jane here, but Petra has been such a delight throughout this final season that seeing her get rewarded like this means so much for fans that invested in this relationship.

Petra started off as a man-eater who would step on anyone that got in her way and ended her journey as a mighty bisexual dragon who channels her drive into protecting her family instead of pushing them away.

Petra is Jane the Virgin’s biggest success story and so it only seems fitting that she get the happily-ever-after she deserves as our reigning telenovela queen.

An ending can make or break a series and in Jane the Virgin’s case, it makes these last five years worth every single moment.

The final realization that Jane’s novel is the basis for this telenovela isn’t shocking, but the way in which this series chooses to break the news to the audience is so true to the Jane the Virgin way it hurts my heart.

Everything from Jane resting in Rafael’s arms to her very meta wink to the camera at the end is a perfect conclusion to a show that has teased it’s ending since the very beginning.

This ending is simple and clean despite the pressure years of build-up has put on this scene to be so much more.

In the end, Jane’s story didn’t need to go out with a bang. All it needed was a wink to win us over.

Jane the Virgin has managed to do something truly wonderful with its five years on the air.

Jane gave Latinas a sense of home and comfort while also introduced so many white households to Latina culture through the rich, wacky world of telenovelas. This show gave a group of people that normally would be ignorant of these cultural aspects the opportunity to welcome this diverse family their homes every week and that’s so incredibly important.

To watch a show where white characters are a minority is rare but with Jane the Virgin this is not necessarily meant to be a statement of exclusivity.

 

Families like Jane’s exist everywhere and their representation should not only be more common in television, but their representation shouldn’t be treated with any more emphasis placed their skin colour.

Jane the Virgin told Jane’s story properly by infusing it with human stories and over the top plot lines first and foremost. This show aimed beyond its Latin ethnicity while promising to never forget it in the process.

I want more than anything to see more of these stories on television. What’s the point of television if not to tell stories that are different and unique? That starts with more diversity and more inclusion. That starts with shows like Jane the Virgin.

Saying goodbye to Jane the Virgin feels like saying goodbye to a close family member. But we say goodbye knowing this show’s radiance and life will continue to consume viewers for years to come.

This final chapter has managed to capture every way in which we managed to fall in love with this series and its characters.

Just like any family, we learned to love this series for its flaws and celebrate it for the accomplishments.

Whether you were Team Michael or Team Rafael, you have to admit seeing Jane find ever lasting happiness was worth it regardless of the man she ended up with.

Jane Villanueva may have started this journey as a pregnant virgin but this series has always been the true miracle!

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

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

Creator Michael Schur on Ending ‘The Good Place’ After Four Seasons [Video]