Hopefully you’ve been able to return to your average routine after processing the CW’s shocking finale of Jane the Virgin. In case you missed it, the audience discovered that Jane’s husband, Michael Cordero (Brett Dier) who died of an aortic dissection last season, was seemingly alive and well, and standing in Rafael’s (Justin Baldoni) apartment. Where has Michael been all this time? How is our heroine Jane (Gina Rodriguez) going to respond to this new revelation? We won’t know the full story until the fall, but Remezcla is putting our conspiracy theory hat on to present five (mostly) plausible explanations of what happened to Michael Cordero. The world of the telenovela has many roads, so the hope is that at least one of these theories ends up bearing fruit.
1
Michael Has Amnesia
Michael having some type of memory loss is the most common theory going around the Twitterverse. Could Michael have bumped his head or something similar and, like Finding Nemo’s Dory, have nothing but fragments that have led him back to his one true love, Jane? It’s possible that, through persons or events in the immediate wake of us seeing him fall to the ground, something happened in his head to cause him to lose time. Since Rose knew Michael was alive it’s possible she kept Michael’s mind fogged, preventing him from remembering what happened. Based on Michael’s beard and appearance it’s possible he’s been wandering for awhile, trying to figure out who he is. It could have been only recently that he learned he has some connections to Miami. The way he was standing in Rafael’s apartment, seemingly looking at pictures, it could be he was hoping to jog his memory, finding some clue about who Rafael is and why he’s there. If he does have amnesia expect the entire season to involve Jane questioning whether she wants his memory to come back. The finale could be Michael’s realization about the missing time and his race to declare his love for Jane. The whole affair could play very dramatically.
2
Michael Has a Twin Brother
Because this is a telenovela the idea of multiple births isn’t immediately surprising. In fact, next to amnesia Michael having a twin brother is the strongest theory. It’s also the theory with the most holes. For instance, it’d stand to reason that Jane would have heard about this from Michael, that this mystery brother would have popped up by now, or that Michael’s mom (who already hates Jane) would have brought it up. But maybe there is some validity. Maybe twin Michael was separate from his brother at birth and is now determined to reconnect with his family and his new brother’s wife? Or it’s possible Michael’s mom gave up a second child at birth? To add an even weirder component on to things: maybe Michael was cloned? Yes, breakthroughs in human cloning aren’t that advanced, but this is television! Michael could have been cloned and this second version finally escaped and is hoping to make some connections to Michael’s past. Either way, whether it be twin or clone Michael, the season might be a taste too wacky though it would mean Michael’s mother (expertly played by Molly Hagan) would have to come back to explain everything.
3
Michael Faked His Death
There’s a strong chance Michael faked his death in an effort to protect Jane and Mateo. Much of the finale involved Jane bringing up Rose’s kidnapping of Mateo in season two, possibly acting as a reminder of why Michael would peace out of Jane’s life. He could have gone undercover, either to take down Sin Rostro or an even bigger kingpin, and knew that Jane would never willingly walk away from her marriage, even if it was in her best interest. With that, Michael could have enlisted the help of the Miami PD who could fake his death as well as the hospital records. We never saw Michael’s funeral so it’s unclear whether his family or Jane actually viewed his body. Going even further could Michael have entered the Witness Protection Program? We’ve seen many a police procedural deal with people giving up their lives and loved ones to start fresh after bringing down big fish. Michael might have been set up as the key witness in a big case, but it would require him to leave the state. Knowing Jane’s life and family is in Miami, he could have decided to enter Witness Protection himself, hoping that the heat would eventually die down and he could reunite with Jane.
4
Michael Was the Victim of a Medical Mistake
This is probably the most out there theory. If anything is possible then Michael could have been resurrected. No, not literally brought back from the dead – although I wouldn’t put it past the show – but more in the vein of a medical mistake. You sometimes hear about people being clinically dead for several minutes, and that could be the case here. Doctors could have assumed Michael died, stuck him in the morgue, and then realized his heart had just temporarily stopped. Again, it’s far from medically dubious but we’re dealing with a television show after all. If anything the entire season could become a fun retread of Death Becomes Her. Were doctors to make a medical mistake the entire season could focus on the nature of faith. Considering how Alba is so religious Michael’s return could signify her becoming intent on turning everyone to God. Heck, even the atheist Rafael could struggle with his own issues with religion in the wake of Michael’s medical miracle.
5
Michael's Been Held Hostage
We know Rose, aka Sin Rostro, is the one who alerted Rafael to Michael being alive. So it stands to reason that Rose could have been holding Michael hostage this entire time. She could have been doing it out of revenge for Michael sabotaging her plans, anger over losing Luisa, maybe? Or it’s possible this is some type of long-con to compel Rafael to tell her where Luisa is. It’s possible Michael is some type of Trojan horse sent to extract information from Rafael to return to Rose. Going with this line of logic maybe Michael has been reprogrammed as some type of “Manchurian candidate,” forced to go back to Rose and dispense information when a certain word or symbol is shown. Since Rose is now tied up in Michael’s return it stands to reason she’ll play a major role in whatever develops next season. Michael will probably go back to her in some way, whether to question what’s happening or (as I’ve just laid out) to spill secrets. This could also increase Jane’s guilt over moving on with Rafael leading to that age-old love triangle that’s been alive and well since the series started, which would make sense considering the series is ending next season.