'Jane The Virgin' Showrunner Dishes on Michael's Amnesia

The big reveal about Michael took everyone for a surprise on Jane the Virgin last night.

Turns out that Michael, played by Brett Dier, had forgotten everything about who he had been, thanks to Rose aka Sin Rostro.

Showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman spoke to Variety about why amnesia was the go to story and what’s ahead now that Michael, now Jason, is back in Jane’s life.

“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,” she shared. “Also the emotional toll of how someone you love looks at you like a stranger felt very exciting but also challenging, in terms of how to ground that.”

Jennie adds that the writers “had to recreate everything” when it came to Brett’s character.

“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,” she says. “So that made us think about him as somebody who was just sort of keeping his head down, quiet and observing — just sort of watching people for cues and things. That made him a more internal person because he’s lived without any kind of sense of history, memory — anything — to hold on to.”

Now, with Michael’s new persona, Jason in the mix, it gives “the show a new relationship to explore — because he’s this new character, but she’s [Jane] looking at him as her husband.”

So, what’s next?

“It’s part of the journey — what does Jane owe this person [and] how can she help him, while also preserving her sense of herself and her family and where she is in her life. How does it not take over her life? The answers to that are not easy, and they keep changing,” Jennie adds.

The final season of Jane The Virgin airs Wednesdays on The CW.