If you have always been a member of Team Rafael — or are just a newly converted member since Michael died — "Chapter 58" of Jane the Virgin probably left you a little upset. Spoilers follow. Instead of Jane and Rafael reigniting their spark during the March 20 episode, Rafael and Petra had sex on Jane the Virgin. While I'm all about Jane not getting back with Rafael immediately after she realized she may be ready to start dating again, I am not about Rafael and Petra entering a dysfunctional relationship again. Sure, Petra has changed a lot in the last three years, but something tells me that if Petra and Rafael do get back together, their relationship will have a similar fallout as it did in Season 1.
Call me naive, but now that Michael has died, I fully believe that Jane the Virgin's endgame is to have Jane and Rafael be together. However, with the show being inspired by telenovelas, there must be many bumps along the way — and Petra and Rafael hooking up is a massive speed bump to destination Jane and Rafael living in romantic bliss. Even if Rafael and Petra don't get back together officially, their history is too loaded to lead to anything good — particularly when it comes to Petra feeling threatened by Jane. If Rafael does realize he has feelings for Jane (again), how will his ex-wife not feel slighted (again)?
Jane the Virgin could flip the script and instead of giving Petra another reason to resent Jane, she could be the one to push Rafael away. Not only would it be refreshing for Jane and Petra not to be romantic rivals, but there's evidence to back this up since Petra sure does like Chuck a lot. Rafael having unrequited feelings for Petra would still complicate matters for Jane and Rafael 'shippers, but at least Petra choosing Chuck would be a change to the story.
Although Rafael and Petra will always have sexual chemistry and are great schemers together (and perhaps better suited for one another now in Season 3 than they were in Season 1), they are still too similar to be the best partners for one another. And even if Petra and Rafael wake up after their hookup and don't regret it, I don't think either of them would want to jump into a relationship again right away. While Petra usually seeks Rafael's approval, she was probably only so willing to sleep with him because she had gotten into a fight with Chuck. Plus, there's the tiny fact that these two have twin daughters together. So beyond the wrath of #TeamRafael, Rafael and Petra becoming a couple again feels far from a definite.
No matter if these two crazy kids try dating each other again, I anticipate this is just another way to keep Rafael and Jane from getting back together before the perfect moment. Until then, I'm less into seeing Petra and Rafael's sexy shenanigans for the umpteenth time and more excited to see what Jane's dating life — sans Rafael — has to offer.
