CW’s telenovela-inspired "Jane the Virgin" began in 2014 with a simple premise: Jane Villanueva (Gina Rodriguez), a young teacher-in-training and aspiring romance novelist, promises her devout Catholic abuela that she will wait until marriage to have sex, but she is accidentally artificially inseminated by Dr. Luisa Alver (Yara Martinez). Alver has also just found out that her wife is cheating on her and in her grief mixes up two of her patients, AND the father of Jane’s impending baby turns out to be Rafael Solano (Justin Baldoni), a reformed playboy and wealthy hotel-owner whom Jane kissed once five years ago and who also happens to be Luisa’s half-brother.
...So maybe the premise is not that simple.
That elaborate but cheekily self-aware set-up allows for a tremendous first season, but since the not-so-immaculately-conceived baby is born at the end of that initial run, the show has had something of an uphill battle to reinvent itself now that it has outgrown its original conception. Though its irreverence, style and vibrancy remain undiminished, the plot constructions holding these zany characters together have grown more tenuous.
Last week’s episode, “Teacher Crush,” demonstrates the strengths and limitations of the show in its second season. Without getting too involved in the intricate plot details (really, it would take all day): Jane, who is still a virgin, has the hots for her writing advisor Professor Chavez. Jane’s father, international telenovela superstar Rogelio de la Vega (Jaime Camil), volunteers to babysit Mateo, Jane’s infant son, despite Jane’s reservations about Rogelio’s competence. Xiomara (Andrea Navedo), Jane’s mother, attempts to reinvigorate her singing career. And on the other side of town, Rafael and his ex-wife Petra (Yael Grobglas) scramble to keep their hotel afloat in the wake of entanglement with murders, kidnappings and drug lords (or ladies).
Clearly these characters and plots could easily descend into absurdity. Yet "Jane" only takes itself seriously enough to pull the viewer in without forgetting that the entire show pays homage to telenovelas, a genre known for the outlandish. It’s a fine line to be sure, but "Jane" manages it through a combination of the effortless charm of the cast, led by Emmy winner Gina Rodriguez, and the deftness of the writing team. Tropes are embraced but quickly subverted: after Xiomara and Jane discover a ring in Rogelio’s apartment, it is revealed that Rogelio is planning to propose and Xiomara tries on the ring, only to have it get stuck, predictably, on her finger just as Rogelio enters the room. Rather than extending the situation, as would happen in a lesser comedy, Jane immediately tells Rogelio what happened. Jane, one of the most admirable, fierce and lovable heroines currently on TV, is the main reason that the show remains at a level above soap opera. She actually makes good decisions, apologizing quickly for mistakes and pursuing honesty and clarity rather than prolonging confusion.
The style of the show, so well suited to CW, also makes it a standout in this Golden Age of Television. A cheeky narrator, text and emoji overlays within scenes, Jane’s voice-over monologues and the interweaving of Spanish and English promote a creativity, flexibility and playfulness which counteract the melodrama and keep fans engaged.
Where the show has struggled this second season is in elucidating its broader purpose. The characters are fun to hang out with, but this is not a sit-com: it requires some grander framing to convince viewers to return week after week. In the first half of this season, Jane’s affections are torn between baby daddy Rafael and devoted ex-boyfriend Michael (Brett Dier), but that triangle could only be drawn out for so long. On this side of the winter hiatus, Jane’s virginity has become central again, focusing once more on the questions of when and with whom she will choose to take what she sees as a monumental step.
Despite its limitations, "Jane" remains a show to root for. The warmth of the relationship between the three women at the center of the show — Jane, Xiomara and Jane’s grandmother Alba (Ivonne Coll) — is powerfully endearing. Ultimately, just as Rogelio quotes Ryan Gosling in what ends up being a vulnerably honest proposal to Xiomara, all of the show’s most ridiculous aspects are mere vehicles for telling a surprisingly wholesome story about sex, babies and love in all its forms.
