The Unromantic Truth Behind TV Love Triangles
A few months ago, Jane the Virgin aired its series finale and paired the plucky lower-class heroine with the reformed rich-kid playboy. After five years of “will-they-won’t-they” tension and signature telenovela drama, Jane Villanueva and Rafael Solano finally got their happily ever after.
While the finale earned acclaim, fans devoted to Jane’s first love, Michael Cordero, had mixed feelings.
As the third component of the series’ love triangle, Michael was a kind, stable, hard-working police officer—the exact antithesis of Rafael’s broody, liquor-soaked hotel magnate.
Watching Jane weigh the respective merits of Michael and Rafael had a deeper meaning than “Which hot man will I kiss this week?”
As Jane debated between her suitors, she also grappled with the sitcom’s reliance on two male character types: the safe and steady boy next door and the dangerous playboy who learns to love.
The Love Triangle
The push-and-pull between these tropes has dominated pop culture for decades, even though the formula resists variation. After all, we know who the girl chooses: the bad boy. Carrie dumps Aidan for Mr. Big. Bella opts for Edward instead of Jacob.
Joey goes for Pacey instead of Dawson. I could go on.
In a refreshing change, it looked like Jane the Virgin would up-end this formula and pair its heroine with an already-good man, rather than one who needs to be forced into treating women with respect. The show even went so far as to sanction #Villadero—fans’ ship-name for Jane and Michael—with that all-important walk down the aisle.
Business as Usual
As the couple exchanged vows, Jane the Virgin did more than pair two characters. It also drew a line in the sand. For a brief time, Jane the Virgin chose to validate and ennoble a quiet, steady, gently playful love, instead of the tension and conflict that often stand in for romance on TV.
And then the show concluded the third season by killing Michael. By the series finale, Jane and Raf were officially endgame. The heroine chose the sexy bad boy yet again.
Disclaimers Ahoy
One of Jane the Virgin’s most distinctive features is the show’s meta-knowledge of its own status as a TV show. With a gabby self-aware narrator who constantly reminds the audience that Jane’s story is a telenovela, the show enjoys toying with its characters, but also its viewers and its own genre.
Because Jane knows about the expectations thrust upon it, the show often comments on—and at its best, augments—the classic telenovela’s most hackneyed tropes. Babies switched at birth, endless sets of twins, and of course, the requisite love triangle get torqued into fresh, clever configurations.
For example, the show certainly complicates Rafael’s foundational character of the tormented womanizer. Instead, the writers developed him into a generous, sensitive man who truly deserves Jane by the end of the fifth season.
However, fans may well wonder at the nature of Raf's transformation. In many ways, the person that Rafael becomes isn’t necessarily a better version of himself. It’s a fully different person—and one we’ve already met.
All the good qualities cultivated by Rafael are qualities already held by Michael. Kindness, patience, open communication, generosity: why are these celebrated in Rafael, but undervalued as ho-hum in Michael?
The Return of the Repressed
Jane the Virgin can’t provide a satisfying answer to this question. Rafael is only the tip of the iceberg—and these killjoy questions little more than psychological run-off from watching TV heroine after TV heroine educate an awful man into being slightly less terrible (Chuck Bass, Ross Gellar, Barney Stinson) instead of dating someone who already treats them with consideration (a king among men: Joey Tribbiani).
