The daughter of a teen mother, Jane Villanueva (Gina Rodriguez) grew up determined not to repeat her mom’s mistakes. At 23 her life is on track; Jane is studying to be a teacher and engaged to a handsome detective who supports her decision to remain a virgin until marriage. Then a routine clinic visit flips her life upside down.
Inseminated by a specimen meant for a patient in the next room, now-pregnant Jane is in a situation made only more-insane when she learns that the sperm donor is her boss, Rafael (Juston Baldoni) . As her meticulously planned life gets more like the telenovelas she loves, she faces a lot of complicated decisions about where to go from here.
Jane’s love interests are really good guys who truly care about Jane. The chemistry she has with both Michael (Brett Dier) and Rafael is blazing hot. Jane’s grandmother is a woman of high moral character & a great role model for Jane. Mixing it up with a wild mother and a egotistical father give it just a little bit of naughty fun.
The writing is entertaining and brilliant; the camerawork sometimes brings you to a new scene when you didn’t realize the previous scene had ended. The accented narrator is most helpful and humorous, getting everyone up-to-speed from previous episodes. The underlying jealousy and contempt Jane’s leading men have for each other is made entertainingly clear to the viewers. All of these things really make Jane the Virgin enjoyable to watch.
Character to watch: Gina Rodriguez as Jane Villanueva.
Journal your answers to the following questions after you watch the series.
- How does this particular character’s journey compare with yours?
- Did the character develop certain characteristics during the movie that you have or that you would like to have? If so, what are those characteristics?
- What obstacles did this character face? What was his or her biggest challenge?
- What would you have done differently if you had been in the same position as the character?
- Is this character the type of person you would be friends with? Why or why not?