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If there is one thing that “Jane the Virgin” is known for, its anxiety attacks. This season premiere was no different and it didn’t disappoint. After its jaw dropping season finale last year, “Jane the Virgin” returns stronger than ever with strong performances and witty and heartwarming writing.
For those of who don’t know, “Jane the Virgin” is a parody of a novella, a Mexican soap opera, that revolves around Jane Villanueva and her crazy life. After being accidentally artificially inseminated, Jane’s life takes one crazy turn after another.
Season three premieres right where season two ended, on Jane and Michael’s wedding night and they’re about to finally make love when Michael realizes that his partner, Susana, turned out to be Rose in disguise. After a short confrontation, Rose shoots Michael and Rose runs off, leaving Michael to die.
Gina Rodriguez reminds the viewers that she can deliver powerful performances. Her acting throughout is heartbreaking, as we see Jane at her lowest point. Seeing the feeling of hopelessness on Rodriguez’s face throughout the episode is sure to make some shed a tear or two. Jaime Camil never fails to crack a smile on the viewer, even in dire situations. His side plotline is one of the highlights of the premiere.
This episode finally gives insight into Jane and Michael’s first date. It’s funny to see something that was completely unexpected. Viewers have never seen Jane as the “player” type, so it was a nice change of pace to see different depths of Jane’s character. Moreover, it’s shocking to see them hating on each other before they even went out. There’s a certain level of comfort knowing that Michael has always been a great guy. Viewers will see him bringing Jane chicken soup because she lied to go on another date.
Season three also addresses the second cliffhanger of season two. Petra’s twin sister, Anezka, knocked her out unconscious and paralyzed her with a special type of poison. Anezka has everyone convinced she’s Petra. While the real Petra is in the hospital, unable to move or speak. There are huge moments in the premiere where viewers will be hoping, nay yelling at their screens, that Petra can regain control of her body long enough to get help.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t a flawless premiere. Rafael was useless until the end and wasn’t really present throughout the show. Michael’s mom is more unlikeable than ever due to her incredible rudeness towards Jane. Furthermore, it often felt that they tried to fit too much into one episode due to the fact that they try and address all the questions that season 2 ended with. The show could have waited another episode to explain certain things. For example, Xiomara’s explanation of how she got pregnant to Rogelio felt shoehorned in. It didn’t have a big impact on his character as it should have because it seemed as if he brushed it off.
Overall, it was a solid premiere that did a great job of reintroducing viewers to the characters they know and love. The cliffhanger at the end of the episode is sure to drive fans crazy and create excitement for the direction season three is going in.