It looked like a happily ever after was in store for just about everyone.
But the Jane The Virgin fourth season finale went back to its telenovela roots with a last minute reveal that will, really, change the lives of all the characters.
And while it was fairly heartbreaking to see it all play out, season five is *finally* here – and it has plenty of answers, too.
(The first episode of season 5 is also up on Netflix now, FYI)
Warning, this story contains spoilers for Jane the Virgin.
OK, so, the answer to the big question first: yes, it was Michael that was in Rafael’s apartment.
Well, kind of. He’s going by Jason now. He also doesn’t remember anything.
See, Rose faked his death and put him through electroshock therapy, which caused him to develop amnesia. He was dropped in Montana, with no clue whether he was a good or bad guy, and decided to start his life over.
Now that he’s back, Michael Jason is very much a man of few words. He’s a dog person instead of a cat person. Oh, and he thinks Jane talks an awful lot.
Despite Jane’s best efforts to help her not-actually-dead possible-husband (seriously though, are they still married?) regain his memory, it didn’t seem to work.
However, she also reassured Rafael of her love for him – telling him that despite what happened, she wants to move in together as planned.
Showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman spoke to TV Line about why they decided to give Michael Jason amnesia, and what the future now holds for Jane and Rafael.
She said:
“Amnesia came from that telenovela trope that we’ve been saving and that we kind of foreshadowed a little bit when Michael got shot and woke up and said, ‘Who are you?’ And then he said, ‘I’m just kidding.’
“So those were the structural reasons that I wanted to do it.
“Storytelling-wise, it’s the grounding of that giant twist that was most interesting to me.
“If you think of somebody who loved you and who you have all these memories with, and they just have no recognition, and they have become a totally different person, just how painful that would be, and how to navigate that, and how to navigate that as a Catholic, what Jane is… Are you still married? Are you not?
“There were so many questions that it could bring up in terms of what her responsibility is as a wife. Is there something essential about a person? Is there something in there that’s their soul, and that’s who he is, and he’s still in there?
“We’re not rehashing any drama. We are exploring a whole new avenue of human emotion and drama and digging into that.
She also addressed the return of the original love triangle, and how it brought the show “full circle” again.
She continued:
“I know that not everyone’s going to be happy [with the way the triangle wraps up].
“I think the majority of people want Jane to be happy. That’s the overriding [sentiment]. But everybody has got strong opinions, and that’s great.
“That means that they’re engaged and they care, and they’re on the journey with her. I don’t expect to please everyone, but I do hope that they can understand the choices that she makes and can understand why it’s right for her in this moment.
“To me, my job is to make the audience understand her and her journey and her choices. You might not always agree, but to understand where [she’s] coming from.”
