While the new and improved Rafael has been a delight since Jane the Virgin jumped three years into the future, "Chapter 56" showed that he may not be as "zen" as he has been acting. The show implied that Rafael might be involved in Scott's death on Jane the Virgin and if you've been enjoying post-prison Rafael, this isn't good news. Despite Rafael appearing super shady during the cliffhanger ending of the Feb. 20 episode, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Rafael's amazing friendship with Jane may be lulling me into a false sense of security, but I'm inclined to think that Rafael talking about Scott on Jane the Virgin was a red herring.
As indicated by his glorious beard (why are you making him shave it, Petra and Abbey?!), Rafael has chilled out in his life after jail. He has taken a backseat to Petra when it comes to running the Marbella and he prefers yoga instructor chic over suits. However, "Chapter 56" revealed that he still has ties to his life behind bars as he hired an acquaintance from prison to be the new lounge manager at the Marbella. But just because Elvis had been to jail and wasn't good at his job didn't make him a bad guy. What did make him suspicious was his brief exchange with Rafael at the end of the episode.
After Scott's death was ruled an accident by police, Rafael approached Elvis and said, "That was close." Elvis' response? "It would have been bad for us if they ruled it a murder." So, could that mean that Rafael had something to do with Scott's death? Maybe he recruited his old prison buddy to help him take out the vest-wearing creep. Whether he did it to help Petra or stop Scott from blackmailing him, Rafael most likely would have had a decent enough motive to kill his former employee — at least when you consider Scott's previous behavior.
Yet, something tells me that the narrator was misleading viewers this time around. Any murder investigation at the Marbella wouldn't be good for two ex-cons, so Elvis and Rafael could have simply been discussing that. This is Jane the Virgin, so I don't mean to sound naive, but I also don't think Rafael decided to murder anyone after spending time in jail. Sure, as Jane mentioned, he used to be greedy, shady, amoral Rafael, but he was never murdering Rafael. Perhaps the beard has gone to my head, but I don't think Rafael has any idea what happened to Scott (although I sure do think Petra has some idea and it rhymes with Mnezka).
Now, while I don't think Rafael is a killer, I do absolutely think he could be up to some other more low-key criminal activity with Elvis. That would be a pretty good reason to be worried about the police conducting a murder investigation. So until I get more evidence, I'm sticking with my theory that Rafael had nothing to do with Scott's death. And if I'm wrong — well, in the words of the narrator, "Oh dear. What the hell are you up to, Rafael?"
