21 pop culture moments from 2018 we’re celebrating
By Amy Woolsey
Jane The Virgin — “Chapter Seventy-Nine” — Image Number: JAV415b_0343.jpg — Pictured: Gina Rodriguez as Jane — Photo: Tyler Golden/The CW — © 2018 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Jane the Virgin returns to form
Since its premiere in 2014, The CW’s Jane the Virgin has operated with a recklessness that its heroine would disapprove of, constantly teetering on a cliff’s edge as it juggles tones, genres, and plots like a circus stunt on adrenaline. It is, after all, based on a telenovela, full of big twists and bigger emotions. For two seasons, Jennie Snyder Urman and her writers managed to maintain the balancing act with astounding grace, making it all the more disappointing (if, perhaps, inevitable) when the show stumbled in an aimless and manipulative season 3.
Fans who tuned out, though, would have missed a feat as impressive as that initial run. In season 4, Jane the Virgin not only found its footing again but soared, discovering fresh ways to surprise, delight, and move. And it did so by taking risks.
The moment that pulled me back in for good comes at the end of “Chapter Seventy-Four.” Petra opens her apartment door to see her lawyer, Rosario Dawson’s J.R., leaning against the frame in a sleeveless dress. It’s nighttime, so the visit is unexpected, but the awkwardness dissipates when J.R. announces that she’s gotten Petra off the hook. And then things turn… steamy. The moment turns out to be a dream, and it’s played with tossed-off lightness, but in my mind, fireworks were erupting. Even more satisfying is the ensuing arc, which took Petra and actress Yael Grobglas to new places, forcing the conniving character to experience and grapple with unselfish love.
Less romantic yet equally breathtaking was Xo’s struggle with breast cancer. After fumbling the aftermath of Michael’s death, Jane the Virgin redeemed itself by turning a well-worn plot point into a nuanced, compassionate examination of grief that culminated in a guest appearance by The Leftovers’ Amy Brenneman. Just thinking about the Villanueva women praying together when Xo confirms her diagnosis makes my heart melt.
Combined, these storylines are the show in a nutshell: funny and poignant, sensational and real, forever marching to the beat of its own drum.