Jane the Virgin boss explains why Michael returned with amnesia in season 5

28 March 2019, 12:19

By Sam Prance

Michael is alive in 'Jane the Virgin' season 5 and he came back with amnesia...

Jane the Virgin season 5 kicked off with a huge plot twist: Michael is back but he has amnesia.

Ever since Jane the Virgin season 4 ended last year, fans have been desperate to find out what happens next. The series left us on its biggest cliffhanger yet. After spending weeks developing Jane and Rafael's relationship to a stage in which the two of them were about to propose to each other, Michael made a shock return... from the dead?!!! Now the beloved show has explained that Michael is alive. But there is another twist; he doesn't remember anything.

How is Michael alive and why does he have amnesia?

Season 5 wasted no time at all in explaining how Michael came back from the dead. However, first it broke our hearts with a gut-wrenching scene in which Jane finds out that Michael no longer has any memory of her or their relationship. The episode opens with Jane fainting as soon as she sees Michael. When she gets back up, Jane calls Michael's name, to which he replies: "actually I go by Jason now, ma'am". Rafael then explains that Michael has amnesia.

Rafael then reveals that he's just learned that recurring Jane the Virgin villain Rose, a.k.a Sin Rostro, orchestrated everything. She paid a pathologist to fake Michael's death, kidnapped him and gave him electroshock therapy until he lost his memory. Michael (Jason) then told Jane that he woke up in a field four years ago in Montana and a lady told him to start a new life and not to ask questions because he was in a lot of trouble.

Discussing the twist with Variety, Jane the Virgin showrunner Jennie Synder Urman, explained: “Amnesia was the thing that first entered us into that space with Rogelio’s telenovela, and so once we knew Michael/Jason was coming back, amnesia felt like the right move in terms of just how to create so much drama for the finale season". Rogelio previously referred to amnesia as a "key plot twist" in the Passions of Santos.

Jennie then said: “We had to recreate everything. And how would you do that if you didn’t know if you were a good person or a bad person? You wouldn’t be talking all of the time because you’d be afraid of what you may say that could be bad or incriminate you in some way or give away something that you don’t know." The entire twist is wild and naturally the whole fandom is shook and split over Michael and Rafael.

See the reactions below.

Obviously the twist is wild but, given that Jane the Virgin is based on telenovelas and is known for its shock reveals, it seems fitting. That being said, it is destroying us emotionally. Having Michael back was one thing but giving him amnesia is a whole other story. We are going to need some time off work to recuperate and also work out who's team we are on now because we love them all.

LET JANE VILLANUEVA BE HAPPY YOU MONSTERS!

What do you think? Are you team Rafael or team Michael?