Okay. So we’re all pretty upset over the episode, despite the fact that we had been warned this would happen from the very beginning. But let me tell you exactly why I’ll miss Michael Cordero Jr. so much.
From the pilot Michael seemed like the typical jealous boyfriend trope who was presented to us as nowhere near good enough for our main protagonist, unlike the charming, misunderstood male lead we were supposed to be rooting for. And root for him I did. I was Team Rafael for all of season one and half of season two. It just seemed natural.
But then I realized that Michael wasn’t The Nice Guy character. He really was a good guy. He never pursued Jane or begged her to take him back. He waited on the sidelines until she figured out on her own that he’s the one for her. The Nice Guy would have been going on and on about how wrong Rafael is for her, but Michael actually helped Rafael get along with Jane’s family and didn’t even hesitate. It would have been so easy to make Michael unlikable and annoying, but Brett Dier had other plans for him and I’m so grateful for that. Michael waited. And he got the girl because he deserved her. Not by playing The Nice Guy.
Another thing I’ll miss is the dynamic between Jane, Michael and Rafael. How often on tv do you see three people raising a child together in the most healthy, positive way? Sure, it wasn’t easy at first, but once Rafael got over his feelings for Jane, he and Michael developed a sweet and respectful relationship that I’m glad we at least got to see one last glimpse of in this episode.
Yes, Michael was a regular white guy with white guy problems who wasn’t supposed to mean much to this series. But he did. I understand why he had to be written off, I expected it, I prepared for it. I even understand why it had to happen now - because if Jane The Virgin has taught me anything, it’s that you can’t make plans in life. Life just happens. You could be perfectly secure and happy one minute, and it could all be taken away the next. But losing this character still hurt because he was way better than any of us expected. And nobody will ever fill the void he has left in the show.
He and Jane showed that healthy relationships are possible on tv and that’s what I’ll miss the most. Just the example of a good marriage - communication, support, mutual love and respect. Now that’s rare.
So goodbye to Brett Dier, I truly wish him all the best in the future and a giant thank you
for making a potentially useless character absolutely magnificent.