Jane the Virgin

I wasn't really pulled in by the first episode of this series, which I took to be a comedic soap-opera. But after my girlfriend insisted we watch more, I realized it's more soap parody, and while it does lead pretty heavily on its soap origins, it is so over-the-top and wacky that I've grown to really like it.

Give it a chance.

I have a disclaimer, "I do not like soaps at all". Every soap that I accidentally saw growing up with my family made me realize why I hated soaps. Why am I telling all this? Because "Jane the Virgin", is unlike any other soap I have ever seen. Most soaps are boring, tedious, unnecessary twists, stretched, overly dramatic and too serious or trying too hard to be funny. The best thing about this show is that it avoids all of these mistakes.

This show can be taken and is a good satire on soaps in general and telenovellas in particular but it also has merits of its own. It doesn't solely rely on making fun on other soaps to be successful. It is genuinely funny and has enough twists to keep the audience engaged. Also the little messages the show gives in a few moments in every other episode are real and relatable to us average mortals.

The show also has a wonderful take on life in general. It tells us that we should not take our lives too seriously and not everything is in our control. We think most of the times that we are the leaders of our destiny and we can shape our lives any way we want. Yes to a certain extent we can but we should never rule our environment and the part played by it in our destiny. The show even goes a step beyond this general realization that I stated, it teaches us how with all the unexpected turns and twists in life we keep growing and moving on and life never stops. This is the sort of outlook on life the show promotes and it is a very good message in my opinion. Every one should watch this show! :)

Have just binged watched over the last couple of weeks, from episode 1 to episode 29 and sadly, as fun as the beginning was--it is on a slow and steady decline. It is clearly a telenovela, and amusing as such. A definite departure from credibility, but fun.

However, by episode 29, Jane is simply an annoying as a character--her lack of common sense (despite the narrator's description otherwise), her naiveté, her stubbornness and self-righteousness --all come together to make her very unappealing. I can't imagine why either Michael or Rafael are in love with her even in suspended reality.

On the other hand, one can see why both Michael and Rafael are interesting and desirable mates. They both have more passion and intensity as characters.

The other characters are simply fun.

Overall, the acting is great, but the script writers need to find some way to make the main character, Jane, charming again. Because right now it's a drag to watch her, and the other characters can't carry the show alone.

I am heartbroken that this amazing series has ended. It was the best Latin/American telanovela ever. The story line that was created the journey is something I will never ever forget. I cried at the last few episodes. The series finale brought tears of happiness, sadness and joy. The cast was phenomenal. The entire Jane The Virgin series was impeccable thank you for an amazing 5 seasons!

Ahna E. Bali

The first three seasons were amazing.. But then it went downhill!