Jane the Virgin’s Fifth and Final season is off to a great start

Jane the Virgin’s Fifth and Final season has kicked off with a bang. Following the revelation that Michael was alive at the end of last season, the drama and complications have hit new heights. At the end of season Four, Jane’s life together with Rafael and Mateo was about to begin – a proposal was on the cards – but the big revelation left everything in question.

Getting through every storyline in this telenovela would require more than one article, but the main plots this season all deal with the trials and tribulations of the Villanueva women’s lives. It transpires that Michael has been living as Jason in Montana, his memories of his former life completely gone and his personality totally changed. His memories were wiped by Rose (aka Sin Rostro, aka Susanna, aka Eileen) after he saw a clue that could have pulled down her entire criminal network.

The main plots this season all deal with the trials and tribulations of the Villanueva women’s lives

The first few episodes of season Five show Jane doing all she can to help bring those memories back but, in true Jane the Virgin style, it takes some ‘snow’ falling to bring it all flooding back. For a brief moment, the Rafael-Jane-Michael love triangle is back, but it all becomes too painful for Rafael. He tells Jane to leave, derailing all the plans they had to live as a family with Mateo. We’ve seen Jane struggle with this, and with her feelings for Michael, but in the most recent episode, she finally makes the painful choice that it’s the end of the road for her and Michael, and that it’s Rafael she wants. In the closing moments of the episode, we see Rafael tell her he can’t trust her, throwing her romantic life into the air once again.

The drama isn’t just confined to Jane’s life. Alba is still coming to terms with her complicated relationship with Jorge, now that they’re making their sham marriage work to keep up appearances for the immigration authorities. Ivonne Coll’s performance has been outstanding in the season so far, making Alba’s pain hit so close to home despite the fact the audience will have never been through the same. The conflicting urges to move on from Jorge, or to pursue what she feels makes for an interesting parallel with Jane’s life. It seems that, no matter what stage of life, love is the most complicated thing we can ever experience.

Alba’s pain hits so close to home despite the fact the audience will have never been through the same

With all this going on, it can be easy to forget that Xiomara has been dealing with the end of her cancer treatment. Given the amount of stability and progress so far this season, it seems like the writers are lulling us into a false sense of security. Things are wrapping up, and a dose of tragedy in a relapse could be the very thing the writers hit us with. Her more serious moments with Rogelio have proved that the couple have come a long way from the comedic interjections which became their main roles during the earlier seasons.

The connection of the Villanueva women shines through between the melodrama of all the other story lines. The strong performances of Gina Rodriguez, Andrea Navedo and Croll have always been at the heart of this show, and they consistently provide the most honest and real moments out on the porch swing. As the final chapters air, viewers everywhere will obviously seek resolution on Rose’s bigger plans, with Petra and JR’s relationship, and on the future of Jane and Rafael, but what will serve as the most satisfying conclusion would be to focus on the family relationship at the centre of this whole story.