In last week's episode of "Jane the Virgin," viewers were shocked by the sudden death of Michael, portrayed by Brett Dier, in the final two minutes of the hour. In the week since, I have watched those last two minutes at least five times, including the time when I rewatched the entire episode, and I still can't believe that it happened, especially like that. When I first saw it live during the episode, I was so shocked by what I was seeing that I couldn't even be sad right away.
As I've watched the episode and the clip since it aired, I've cried every time. Once Jane, portrayed by Gina Rodriguez, breaks down, I dissolve right along with her. My shock and sadness don't even stem from some deep love for or connection with the character of Michael; my connection is to Jane, and seeing how the death of her husband affected and will continue to affect her throughout the series is what has really made me emotional about the loss.
Like I said, I don't have too much love for Michael. He's always been a great character, don't get me wrong, but I've never really rooted for him to be with Jane. I have been a very vocal #teamRafael supporter from the beginning of this show, and that hasn't changed much even through the marriage of Jane and Michael. In fact, I had just been thinking that I was really starting to warm up to and like the idea of Michael with Jane literally no more than five minutes before his death.
All that being said, Michael's death and the subsequent time jump of three years has me hopeful that Jane and Rafael will reunite romantically. I don't particularly anticipate that happening in the wake of Michael's death, especially right away, but I'd still like to see it happen. Regardless of the future of this show, I know that at least the next few episodes will be difficult to watch rather than the bright spot of my week that "Jane the Virgin" usually is. I'm eagerly anticipating the rest of this season as well as the rest of the series, and I hope to continue loving this show even in the aftermath of the tragedy that is Michael's death.
