S05.E05: Chapter Eighty-Six

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

With everything that has been going on, Jane reluctantly agrees to let Rogelio throw her a big 30th birthday party. Jane's mentor gives her some important advice that may help her start writing again. Meanwhile, Petra thinks she and JR are finally in a good place, until she realizes that JR might see things differently.

Promo:

Original air date: 4/24/19

Edited April 25, 2019 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Lady Calypso]

And the award for Worst Parenting goes to...Rafael! Congratulations! Oh, wait, also Jane? Because of them enabling Mateo's spoiled behaviour? I miss baby Mateo. This Mateo is a literal brat. And what's worse is that Rafael keeps enabling him, Jane keeps enabling him, and Mateo gets away with these temper tantrums with no consequences. See: Jane laughing with Mateo instead of punishing him for the awful things he said to her. Rafael let him get away with it because he TAUGHT him that it was ok to treat Jane like dirt. 

It doesn't help that Rafael spends no time with his other two kids, who seem to be strangers to him besides us hearing about Rafael occasionally going to visit them. So...yeah, no wonder Anna and Elsa are way better behaved. Their mother actually doesn't let them get away with being brats. 

I can't say I care much about Esteban or Darcy, but I didn't hate it. 

Poor Michael gets not even five minutes of screentime this time around. I guess I should give up on hoping that he'll get an actual arc. 

I don't think I could ever root for Rafael/Jane now. I used to be fine with them, but this season is the actual worst. It has ruined characters. 

Petra/JR got some nice stuff and got to work through some of their issues like adults, so that was nice.

[cardigirl]

What an awful awful episode. Ugh. Why why why do they insist on portraying Mateo as such a brat? 

I guess they really want us to believe that Jane and Rafael are broken up. 

It just felt to me like the writers couldn’t quite figure out what to do with these people,

are we ever going to get to see Michael and Rogelio together?

thumbs down. Hope next week is better. 

[MajesticMariposa]

This episode pissed me off in a way I haven't felt about a TV show in a long time, so...kudos for that? Unlike Jane, I am not in a mood to write, so I'll just list a few points.

• Did someone else takeover as a writer or producer? First, we get a weird new set for abuela's house and now everyone is acting insane.
• Enjoyed seeing Justina Machado! Only high point for me.
• I hate Mateo.
• I don't care about Raf.
• Why is the insurance company the only person* that cares about Michael's return?
• Why didn't we get a Michael and Rogelio reunion?
• Why will no one discipline Mateo?
• When will we get some acknowledgement of what Michael went through?
• Why are all the characters not acting like themselves?
• Will add more later...

[nilyank]

I cannot believe how much of a child Rafael is and his behavior only encourages Mateo to be an even bigger brat.

But for all that my biggest problem with today's episode was the fact that Jane apparently only received $40k in insurance from Michael's death. He was a detective who was shot by the biggest criminal in the state and essentially died from the aftereffects of said shooting. Prior to this, Michael was a young man in good health. His insurance should have been more than 40k and Jane should have also been receiving his pension as his widow.

Edited April 25, 2019 by nilyank

[miasth]

Well, this episode was painful. Rafael enabling Mateo's spoiled disrespectful behavior to Jane just because he was mad was just beyond pale.  I give him credit for acknowledging that he was being a bad parent, but the fact that he even went there made me feel like his character just took one too many steps backward.  The end narration makes me wonder if they will trash Rafael even further to ensure Jane picks Michael. 

IMO, that is not necessary because based on her actions, I feel like subconsciously Jane has already picked Michael.  After tonight's episode, I have to wonder if it is the family unit that Jane has with Rafael that she is really trying to hold onto not necessarily Rafael himself.  Before tonight's episode I felt Jane loved Rafael whole heartedly, but now I am not so sure.  I felt like I was watching the earlier seasons all over again which made me wish once again that they had resisted the classic trope of bringing the dead spouse back to life.

I am really surprised JR/Petra did not break up again.  JR does not trust her and the disbarment will always be a reminder of Petra's lies.  I think irreparable damage has been done and at some point Petra will have to wake up and face that.  Some things cannot be fixed.

Edited April 25, 2019 by miasth

[tennisgurl]

I have tried super hard to be fair to Rafael, but he is just making it SO hard! Even when he tried to say sorry, he was such a massive prick all episode long. Not bad enough that he kicked Jane out of their house because she couldn't commit to him over her returned from the dead husband and coldly rebuffed her every attempt at reaching out, and worst of all, seemed to be enjoying that Mateo was as pissed at Jane as he was, and encouraged his bratty behavior. This renewal love triangle is just a hot mess, its making this show so depressing, maybe even more depressing than when Michael died. well, it was a different kind of depressing. This just makes almost everyone look bad, or like no one cares about them.

Speaking of, so glad they brought Michael back so he could be a plot device who has a couple of scenes a week to create more Raf/Jane drama. Seriously, the only person who seems to be really happy to see him or has any interest in him is his insurance company. And could someone, just maybe, ask him how he is feeling about losing years of his life, being kidnapped, tortured, and brainwashed, as part of some convoluted scheme his murderer came up with? Not worth a "hey, how you doin?" His book commentary was really cute though. 

Glad that Petra and JR are moving forward, although they still have a long way to go. They have understandable trust issues, and that wont be easy to get past. I loved Petra going to check on Jane, then running off to deal with her own stuff soon after. Oh Petra. 

Mateo has become such a little brat, and Jane and Rafael just enable him over and over. They need to figure out how to deal with his behavioral problems now while he is still little, or it will just get worse.  

Its kind of hard to tell at this point why all of this is happening. Is Michael back to throw a wrench into a Jane/Rafael for some last minute drama before the end, or is it making Rafael look bad so they can hook Jane and Michael back up again to end the show? Why is this happening!?

[Snapdragon]

I feel like this is going to be How I Met Your Mother all over again, where the last season and finale are so terrible that they ruin the entire series.  I just don't get what the writers are going for this season.  Do they want us to hate Jane?  Because that's where I'm at right now.  

I have thoughts on all the rest (Raf and his crap behavior, Petra being in yet another relationship with someone who doesn't trust her, Mateo being the biggest brat in the history of TV) but I'm just so "ugh" after this episode that I can't even muster the energy to type them out.

[commadrama]

Yeah...not sure where the heck this is going. Like everyone has said, Rafael sucks, but Michael is barely present, so I don't know where this show is headed. I will be sad if it does indeed end up being a How I Met Your Mother-type situation where the ending is just so bad that fans literally cannot even. 

Maybe I'm making this up, but was there once an episode where Jane had to learn to "show, don't tell" in her writing? If so, then the show's writers should follow their own advice, because we kind of got to see Jane's feelings for Michael rekindled, but for the most part we were only told it happened. 

And if not...c'mon, JtV writers. You should still know better! I just hate how poor Michael has been reduced to a mere plot point. I will say, I grieved his death when he "died" but I enjoyed the show even before I became really invested in his character, so the last season felt sad, but I was still interested in the show sans Michael. Bringing him back in this way just sucks.

I also hated the way Jane's family pushed her birthday party on her because the guests had already been invited.  Why not just call all the invitees, tell people Jane had gotten sick and that the party was cancelled? Sheesh. 

Edited April 25, 2019 by commadrama
Had more musings to share

[Simba122504]

4 hours ago, MajesticMariposa said:

This episode pissed me off in a way I haven't felt about a TV show in a long time, so...kudos for that? Unlike Jane, I am not in a mood to write, so I'll just list a few points.

• Did someone else takeover as a writer or producer? First, we get a weird new set for abuela's house and now everyone is acting insane.
• Enjoyed seeing Justina Machado! Only high point for me.
• I hate Mateo.
• I don't care about Raf.
• Why is the insurance company the only person* that cares about Michael's return?
• Why didn't we get a Michael and Rogelio reunion?
• Why will no one discipline Mateo?
• When will we get some acknowledgement of what Michael went through?
• Why are all the characters not acting like themselves?
• Will add more later...

I still understand the house thing? Like how do you know it's different? It looks the same to me, so I need someone to point out the details? 

4 hours ago, nilyank said:

I cannot believe how much of a child Rafael is and his behavior only encourages Mateo to be an even bigger brat.

But for all that my biggest problem with today's episode was the fact that Jane apparently only received $40k in insurance from Michael's death. He was a detective who was shot by the biggest criminal in the state and essentially died from the aftereffects of said shooting. Prior to this, Michael was a young man in good health. His insurance should have been more than 40k and Jane should have also been receiving his pension as his widow.

I've had this problem since his "death." Between Rogelio, Rafael (before his money was taken away) and Michael's money, realistically Jane should not have any money problems. 

Edited April 25, 2019 by Simba122504
Typo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

If they wanted us to think Rafael is a jerk, mission accomplished. And that was before he undermined Jane in front of Mateo. As soon as Mateo yelled at Jane and Rafael just stood there without reprimanding him, I was like great, yes, be petty as fuck. That's a great parenting technique!

Say what you will about Jane but even when things were not good between them, she never said anything negative about Rafael in front of Mateo. Rafael letting Mateo scream, "I HATE YOU!" at his mother is not acceptable behavior (for Mateo or Rafael).

Even after he had his epiphany that he should be a supportive co-parent, he did not reprimand Mateo for saying, "What is SHE doing here?" when she came to their apartment. I mean, yeah, he told Mateo to get his stuff because he was staying with Jane, but he should have prefaced that with, "That is your mother and you will be respectful when you speak to her. You are allowed to be mad at her, but you are not allowed to be rude or mean to her. You are being rude so you need to apologize."

But even Jane lets Mateo get away with being a brat. She was so relieved that he wasn't screaming at her that she told him it was okay that he ran away from her. Uh, NO. He ran away from her which was not okay. He ran across a street with traffic which was not okay. He lied to the women at the gas station and yelled "STRANGER DANGER" in an attempt to get away from Jane which was not okay.

I feel like someone as organized as Jane would get a small notebook to write down her dispassionate narrator notes rather than scribbling her thoughts on random scraps of paper. She is a planner and an organizer (as evidenced by how easily she was able to gather all that paperwork for the insurance company) so does she really think she's going to, say, glue all of those scraps of paper into some kind of organized system for later reference?

Rogelio was being ridiculous about Baby preferring Esteban. It's common for babies to cry when strangers hold them or get near them. Some babies don't care but some scream bloody murder. It's nothing personal. You just have to give them time to get used to do (and by "give them time," I mean more than 30 seconds before trying again). All he had to do was schedule some more time with Baby so that she could get used to being around him, but instead he went off the deep end and had him sent to Mexico.

I love that even when Petra is being selfish, she's still supportive of Jane. S1 Petra would not have climbed down into a ditch and sat in dirt while wearing a white dress. She did that because she loves Jane, not because she needed Jane to corroborate her story for JR.

I'm glad that Petra told JR that it's okay for them to take it slow but that JR needs to be able to trust her if they're going to be in a relationship. No matter how much someone betrays you, if you are going to choose to be with someone then you have to trust them. If you can't trust them, then you need to end things. It's not fair to say you're going to be in a relationship and then keep questioning their integrity. If Petra is going to try then JR needs to try too. But JR needs to be really honest with herself and with Petra. If she truly feels that she will never be able to trust her again, there's no point in trying to make this relationship work.

I don't understand why the insurance company said that they were going to settle with Michael for $10K. If he didn't commit insurance fraud, he shouldn't be on the hook for the money that Jane spent (not that I'm saying she should have to pay back the money either).

[BAH]

I guess the 10K line was to show is Michael is a rancher with a decent income??? And that he will be decent and not make Jane pay for any of it. 

Nothing innovative or particularly positive  to add, so I won’t.  Trying to remember that Brett has said this was his favorite season to shoot....

[wonderwoman]

was starting to think that the writers had forgotten about darcy, estaban, and baby. happy to see them all in this episode. 

[tennisgurl]

I totally forgot that Rogelio’s baby was named...Baby. I really hope that kid can get her name legally changed one day. 

[BAH]

Gah! I meant to edit not double post 

I  guess the 10K line was to show is Michael is a rancher with a decent income??? And that he will be decent and not make Jane pay for any of it. 

Nothing innovative or particularly positive  to add, so I won’t.  Trying to remember that Brett has said this was his favorite season to shoot....

e.t.a:  I’m officially depressed as a result of this show.  I should just stop watching, but “I don’t know how to quit you, [JTV]” 😶

Edited April 25, 2019 by BAH
Mess up

[NannyBails]

4 minutes ago, BAH said:

e.t.a:  I’m officially depressed as a result of this show.  I should just stop watching, but “I don’t know how to quit you, [JTV]” 😶

I decided to stop watching and just check in here.  If there happens to be a surprise ending that I'd be happy with, I can always watch then.

[cardigirl]

12 minutes ago, NannyBails said:

I decided to stop watching and just check in here.  If there happens to be a surprise ending that I'd be happy with, I can always watch then.

Right now, I kind of don't care what happens.  I'm so sad at the state of what was once my favorite show, I'm ready to just give up.

I will say, I was happy to notice that instead of yelling at Jane for caring so much what Rafael would think, Michael was happy to try to hide, and he never once has been disappointed that she moved on with Rafael.  

[gesundheit]

12 hours ago, commadrama said:

I also hated the way Jane's family pushed her birthday party on her because the guests had already been invited.  Why not just call all the invitees, tell people Jane had gotten sick and that the party was cancelled? Sheesh. 

Also, who the heck was at that party that was so important? Jane's only friends are Petra and her family.

Here to loudly echo everyone who needs a damn Michael/Rogelio scene. This is getting ridiculous.

[natyxg]

2 hours ago, wonderwoman said:

was starting to think that the writers had forgotten about darcy, estaban, and baby. happy to see them all in this episode. 

I had completely forgotten about them. lol

The problem with Rafael's reaction is that none of this is Jane's fault. So, Jane finds herself in a really confusing and weird situation, and instead of providing her support, he's been on a tantrum since almost day one. His reaction would be okay if we were in a normal love triangle and Jane is just driving them crazy with her flip flopping and he's had enough. But that's not the case.

So, in such a complicated moment, a Rafael that deserves Jane would be a patient Rafael who might hurt deeply because he's afraid of losing her, but for whom her being okay and happy is the most important thing, even if it's not with him. That's the kind of attitude that would make us (or at least me) root for him and see him as worthy of her, and make us hope that Jane chooses him. Instead, he just shows insecurity, anger, jealousy and makes her situation so much harder than it has to be. At the end of the day, Jane is suffering more because of what Rafael is doing and how it's affecting her relationship with Mateo. He's adding so much more fuel to the fire instead of trying to put it out. And I don't care how "realisitic" it may be, this is a story... a story that's close to its ending and they're managing to make me root for like the opposite of what will very likely happen. So, this is still a huge fail. It also makes Jane and Rafael's future relationship look not so bright because we now know how limited Rafael's love really is.

And, for comparison, we have Michael being patient, solving Jane's insurance problem, giving her space, not demanding anything... even though his whole life was stolen from him in an instant, and when he comes back his wife has been with another dude for god knows how long. And I think, if memory serves me right, that this was one of the things that did make me like Jane and Michael back in the day. Michael had some mishaps at first, but it was like at some point they made the decision that his defining feature would be his love for Jane, and from then on everything he did was for her, and you really got the feeling that she was his everything and he got her more than anyone else.

And speaking of other stuff, I hate Mateo. What an insufferable kid.

[mellotune]

This show is just frustrating the crap out of me. Things that are driving me crazy, in no special order: Mateo/bratty behavior, Baby, Michael amnesia plot, Rafael d*ckishness, Jane's love triangle (again).

[SnarkEnthusiast]

7 hours ago, BAH said:

Trying to remember that Brett has said this was his favorite season to shoot....

Probably because he barely had to show up on set at all. I don’t know if his filming schedule with Schooled conflicted with JTV, but he’s basically a glorified guest star at this point.  which doesn’t make any sense because Michael should be  in the throes of the most emotionally traumatic period of his life! His reunion with Jane will feel even cheaper (on top of the insult of returning from the dead only to be demoted to an empty plot device)  if she continues to arbitrarily declare her feelings for him while he’s off screen.

Well, that episode felt like the equivalent of swallowing several horse pills – hard pass.  I echo everyone else’s sentiment that Mateo was being a massive insufferable brat. The problem with child actors under 10 is everything they do just grates, one because casting directors cast for cuteness and not acting skills but two because they’re young kids, they can’t really portray any nuanced or sustained emotion. Couple that with the fact that the kid playing Mateo is a pretty weak actor (like father like son!) and what you get is all of the hammy huffing and fake screeching we got. Forget Mateo being whiny - Jane and Rafael are also  petty, unsympathetic, miserable, childish, self-absorbed people.  They’re easily the most unlikable family unit on TV right now.  And man, does Justin's acting ability really go down the toilet when he has to enter his old bullshit jealous love rival mode.  This triangle is single-handedly going to ruin the entire series‘ reputation. 

I can’t believe we got a Rogelio/Esteban/Baby subplot that literally no one asked for but still no Rogelio/Michael reunion. The audacity! 

Also really not enjoying the obvious anvil dropping that Xo is going to die. Talk about going out with a whimper. I feel like the entire cancer plot line is a huge insult to her character because all it’s done is justify putting her on the sidelines to prepare her to become tragedy porn. And you know it will be the episode before the finale or something. Talk about a steaming narrative turd that would dampen the ending even further. 

Was was the point of Jane seeing Jorje’s junk? So Jorje’s penis gets an entire subplot, but not Rogelio/Michael? Cool. 

Petra is the saving grace of this show. Yael is wonderful at showcasing her vulnerability/flaws while imo having the best comedic chops on the show.

Edited April 25, 2019 by SnarkEnthusiast

[CooperTV]

I have no issues with Rafael being angry and resentful towards Jane but ultimately staying silent about those feelings and his 5-year-old picking it up and acting out on it. Children do that, and Mateo now is in very difficult situation he's unable to control or process properly, since he, you know, 5-year-old, and the grown-ups decide everything without him (while being weak and fallible human beings, even though Mateo thinks of them as almost gods).

I liked that Jane was acting like a child through out the episode, actually mirroring Mateo's behavior and trying to put her own decisions and not very mature behavior on her small child.

I adored Rafael's scene with Mateo and the fact that he was horrified to find out his resentment towards Jane is actually leaking to outside world to his small child.

Rafael is so incredibly depressed right now, and I feel for him a lot. He really doesn't have anyone else in his corner right now. Jane has her entire family, Michael (who also has Jane, his mother, his family), her teacher, Petra, whoever. Rafael only has Mateo now. I don't think he values himself enough to find inner strength through self-love or whatever. He tries to connect but in the end? He's all alone.

On the flip side? The Jane and the glowing unicorn on the porch thing is cut to the Rafael and the stuffed unicorn in the kitchen thing.

[BAH]

56 minutes ago, SnarkEnthusiast said:

Probably because he barely had to show up on set at all. I don’t know if his filming schedule with Schooled conflicted with JTV, but he’s basically a glorified guest star at this point.  which doesn’t make any sense because Michael should be  in the throes of the most emotionally traumatic period of his life!

And man, does Justin's acting ability really go down the toilet when he has to enter his old bullshit jealous love rival mode.   

Was was the point of Jane seeing Jorje’s junk? So Jorje’s penis gets an entire subplot, but not Rogelio/Michael? Cool. 

Petra is the saving grace of this show. Yael is wonderful at showcasing her vulnerability/flaws while imo having the best comedic chops on the show.

I LOL’ed at your comment that Dier likes this season best bc he hardly to show up for work. 

ITA about it being ridonk that he is a guest star, NOW, of all times.

Re: the Baldoni acting—Shockingly, I actually have “bought” his tears the past two episodes. First times  ever in 5 seasons! 

LOL re Jorge’s goodies plot. Simple comic relief? Are we supposed to assume he and Alba slept together?? 

Yael is a star. I hope Hollywood realizes it and rewards her. 

[Fireball]

What a depressing episode: I don't get where the writers are going. Do they want us to hate Jane and Rafael? If so they're doing a great job. If they wanted everyone to be happy with Jane ending up with Rafael making him the biggest ass isn't the way to go about it. Also Michael is just there I don't see the point of bringing him back.

[Bouffe]

While I don't quite understand where the writers are going with and episode like this one, I trust them. They have not stirred me wrong, and I still love love love this show.

I don't think neither Jane nor Raphael handled everything that was thrown at them in an adult, responsible way. However, much like all of us, they are not perfect. They are hurting. They are unhappy. Undecided (in Jane's case). Worried. I don't understand how anyone can blame them for acting the way they did. I absolutely agree that Raphael should not have undermined Jane in front of Mateo (who is also acting up because his family life has been turned upside down and he doesn't understand why. Also, he's 5 years old, for crying out loud). And Jane should not have let Mateo get away with everything that he did. But as perfectly imperfect humans, who sometimes will react rather than think and then act, they made mistakes and tried. And I can't fault them for that.

Petra, I love you. You should spend more time in ditches with the Villanueva women. I loved that scene between the 4 women.

Quite honestly the rest of the plot lines felt like filler.

[commadrama]

I will say this: I really did love Rogelio's disgusted look when Darcy and Esteban reunited. It's the first time this season has made me laugh. 

[nomodrama]

Jane, Rafael and Mateo are awful. 

Jane full on telling Michael that she would help him later because her family was falling apart....HOLY COW that was f'ed up! She seems to have forgotten that he was part of her family once and that no matter what she is going thru, he had his life literally wiped away and just regained his memories and is probably completely lost. She was being such a selfish jerk. 

Mateo is the worst, and there is no excuse for his behavior. Kids do react to stress and family problems in negative ways and there has to be some space for that, but lets not pretend that this is something isolated to just this situation for him. The kid has always been portrayed as a brat, this is just the way he typically reacts to things and it's a total reflection of Jane and Rafael's parenting. They cater to him and let him get away with everything, probably because they feel like they have to make up for all the drama that surrounds his life. 

Rafael is being immature and selfish as well, taking his frustration out on Jane like a petulant child. I completely disagree that he is active way better than most people in this case would. And why is he taking his anger out on Micheal, who has no fault AT ALL that this is happening. Michael pretty much has his whole line plan uprooted from the minute that Rafael's sister inseminated Rafael's sperm into his girlfriend. What did Rafael think would happen when he found out Michael was still alive. That Michael would just because he saw that Jane and Rafael had moved on that he would say oh good for you both see you, have a nice life? 

This show is so frustrating right now. 

[BAH]

1 hour ago, nomodrama said:

Jane full on telling Michael that she would help him later because her family was falling apart....HOLY COW that was f'ed up! She seems to have forgotten that he was part of her family once and that no matter what she is going thru, he had his life literally wiped away and just regained his memories and is probably completely lost. She was being such a selfish jerk. 

Rafael ....And why is he taking his anger out on Micheal, who has no fault AT ALL that this is happening. Michael pretty much has his whole line plan uprooted from the minute that Rafael's sister inseminated Rafael's sperm into his girlfriend. What did Rafael think would happen when he found out Michael was still alive. That Michael would just because he saw that Jane and Rafael had moved on that he would say oh good for you both see you, have a nice life? 

This show is so frustrating right now. 

Yeah, Jane was pretty rude to Michael. And Michael just took it!! 

Don’t view Rafael totally like you do, but agree completely with the part I quoted above. 

I felt depressed immediately after the show; now I’m just wondering how they writers are going to fix this gigantic clusterf***!  It’s hard to wait every week!!

[TheGourmez]

That episode was way more Jane + Michael favorable than I expected from these posts! Not that I'm getting any hopes up but how she described him in her notes? How he wrote comments all over the book? 😍

[BAH]

Yeah  I’m definitely not getting my hopes up but I did so enjoy their scenes and the snap, crackle, pop of their chemistry as actors ... and characters 

[AllyB]

I haven't even watched the whole episode yet and I'm livid at the situation. Rafael's behaviour towards both Jane and Mateo is emotionally abusive. He's being emotionally abusive towards her in all of their interactions because she dares to have feelings for her back from the dead husband even though she chooses him. And he's being even worse in how he's treating Mateo. He's using his small child a weapon to punish Jane. Poor Mateo, his behaviour is awful but his father should be doing absolutely everything to diminish his hurt and insecurity. Mateo needs to know that no matter what happens between his parents that their love for him is secure, Rafael is doing the opposite. He's awful.

I was in favour of Jane and Rafael ending up together but after this nobody should end up with that awful abusive man. I don't care what he does from here on out. His behaviour here is irredeemable.

[CerealKiller813]

It’s almost like this show said “screw character development” because it’s the last season. 

SMH I NEVER want to be on whatever it is the writers are on right now.