The most delightful thing to spring from season 2 of The CW's Jane The Virgin, besides all of the adorable babies and Jane finally picking Michael as her one true love, is the unusual friendship, or womance, budding between our favorite virgin, Jane, and her baby's father's steely ex-wife, Petra. These two women—one mired in the pureness and goodness and another relegated to darkness and deceit, thanks to a murder-happy mama and a hard childhood in Europe—are polar opposites and have every reason not to get along. Backstory: Petra hoped that having a baby would save her troubled marriage to Rafael. Only Jane (Gina Rodriguez) was accidentally inseminated instead, and thus their rivalry began. Miraculously, even after Petra (Yael Grobglas) returned the favor and inseminated herself with the last of Rafael's sample in a drunken and desperate effort to win him back, Jane and Petra overcame their differences for the sake of their extremely unique extended family. Their mutual appreciation of honesty and their isolated childhoods brought them together. Motherhood and maturity could sustain a friendship that so far has been a hilarious, entertaining and inspiring bright spot in an already dazzling season of Jane. Television needs more relationships like this one. "Chapter 36" saw Petra advising do-gooder Jane to stow her niceties when confronting the shady author who stole her idea for her romance novel. And later, Jane used that advice to chillingly coach Petra through the birth of her twin daughters. Sharing such an intimate and life-changing moment will hopefully bond them forever. While I don't expect Jane and Petra's womance to reach the fuzzy, kindred spirit levels of Lelise Knope and Ann Perkins on Parks and Recreation or the soulmate status of Meredith Grey and Cristina Yang on Grey's Anatomy, I pray to the television gods that their connection isn't circumvented by the breakneck twists and dives of the telenovela rollercoaster. One of the many fabulous things about this budding womance is that it shows women uplifting one another when it would be easy to maintain their venomous rivalry. Bravo has built an entire franchise on it. In addition to the three generations of Villanueva women that love and support each other, Jane and Petra’s friendship is great example of a solidarity can build in order to navigate the challenges of the world. On other shows in which two women only have a man in common, they spend most of their screentime tanking the Bechdel Test by sniping or fighting over him in lieu of moving their own stories forward. In a recent episode of Scandal entitled "The Candidate," Olivia Pope, the all powerful corporate fixer, and Mellie Grant, the former First Lady and a U.S. Senator, spent a night drinking moonshine and revealing truths. It was a scene I've fantasized about: two remarkable women uniting over their scandalous common ground instead of creating more scorched earth. Kerry Washington and Bellamy Young turned in flawless performances, but all they discussed was their twisted love for Fitz, and it was maddening. While it was necessary for Olivia and Mellie to unpack all of the baggage from their failed affair and marriage respectively, it's sublimely disappointing to see that President Grant is still governing their love lives as well as the country. As Jane The Virgin returns with new episodes, I'm excited to watch Jane and Petra explore their womance as they tackle new motherhood, new love and whatever melodrama this addictive telenovela throws their way. Jane is all new every Monday on The CW at 9/8c. Photo Credits: people.com; fangirlinitiative.com
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Small Screen GirlI am an unabashed pop culture and TV-aholic with no plans to ever seek treatment. Explore this blog and see just how deep my obsession goes. Categories
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