The television grim reaper has struck again.

But this time, it ventured beyond its regular haunts and dropped by one of the brighter spots of TV land—the critically acclaimed American comedy series “Jane the Virgin.”

You’d think the “Game of Thrones” writers’ (ultimately, George R. R. Martin’s) penchant for killing off beloved protagonists would have prepared us for this.

After all, we still cannot forget the demonic glee in Joffrey Baratheon’s face as he ordered and watched the beheading of Ned Stark or the utter hopelessness in Catelyn Stark’s eyes as she witnessed her son’s murder before her throat was slit during the Red Wedding.

And remember what happened to Hodor? OK, let’s not talk about Hodor.

TV anesthetic

“Game of Thrones” has reconditioned our TV-viewing habits, specifically the way we approach death in small-screen scripted entertainment. If there’s one vital lesson this HBO epic fantasy drama has taught us it’s that no one is safe in TV land—not even characters who have pivotal roles in the story.

But nothing, not these deaths nor “Game of Thrones” becoming a powerful TV anesthetic, prepared us for the loss of “Jane the Virgin’s” Michael (played by the charming Brett Dier), the titular character’s cop boyfriend, then ex, and—before his untimely demise—aspiring lawyer husband.

“Jane the Virgin,” which Super featured in 2014, is the story of Jane Gloriana Villanueva (Golden Globe winner Gina Rodriguez), a working-class Latina who dreams of becoming a romance novelist. Her world upended in its axis after she was accidentally impregnated during a routine visit to the OB-GYN.

After a tumultuous romance with her child’s baby daddy, Rafael (Justin Baldoni), Jane realized it was goofy, loyal Michael whom she loved all along. They married in the show’s second season finale, a narrative decision that could have alienated the show’s #TeamRafael fans.

But as die-hard fans know, “Jane the Virgin” isn’t about love triangles and romantic rivalries. At the end of the day, we’re all #TeamJane; as long as she’s happy, we could live with whatever romantic decision she makes.

So when Michael died in a seemingly ordinary episode in the middle of the series’ current run, fans—as expected—were devastated. Even those firmly on the side of hunky Rafael (like yours truly) couldn’t help but rage against the unfairness of Jane’s happily-ever-after being cut short.

Predetermined

Like most fans and critics observed, Michael’s death was predetermined since the beginning. Signposts in the first season have already established Jane outliving him. Jennie Snyder Urman, “Jane the Virgin’s” showrunner, confirmed this in a letter she wrote to fans after Michael’s death:

“It was also a decision made very early on… And even in [Season 1], I knew it would be a hard thing to actually do, which is why there was a line (which many of you noticed) about how Michael would never stop loving Jane. And the Narrator confirmed, ‘For as long as Michael lived, until he drew his very last breath, he never did.’ Honestly, I put that line into the script at the last minute to hold our feet to the fire, to make sure we went through with it. Because even back then, the writers could all see the magic of Jane and Michael together.”

But the shock we felt as we watched Michael take his last breath is all too real, even more so because it happened in “Jane the Virgin,” a show so defiantly joyful that it shines like a beacon against the numerous bleak and dreary dramas that focus on humanity’s propensity to self-destruct.

It is apparent that Michael’s death may have significantly altered the show’s DNA, judging by the episodes that followed this crucial moment. While Jane is still the optimistic, hardworking hero we all love, there’s a tinge of sadness in her eyes and a darkness that has dulled the way she sees her crazy and colorful world.

Trope

Deaths of major characters in TV series have become a regular occurrence, particularly in the last two years. We could argue that it has become a trope, a go-to twist to shake up story lines and raise dramatic stakes.

The death of Lexa (Alycia Debnam-Carey), the fierce lesbian leader of the 12 Clans in the sci-fi dystopian series “The 100,” sparked a social media maelstrom, putting front and center the issue of the lack of LGBTQ+ representation in mainstream entertainment.

Some deaths, on the other hand, have totally changed TV shows’ narratives. Recent memory points to Will Gardner (Josh Charles) of “The Good Wife” and Derek Shepherd or McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey) of “Grey’s Anatomy” as examples of lead characters whose demise rocked their respective programs’ central story lines.

Quite a few even pushed the envelope further when the stars of the shows themselves exited the series, like Elena (Nina Dobrev) of “The Vampire Diaries” (who apparently came back in the series finale), Wes (Alfred Enoch) of “How to Get Away with Murder,” and Abbie (Nicole Behari) of “Sleepy Hollow.”

Senseless or significant, the sheer number of deaths that resulted in this recent spike in the TV death toll may have had a negative effect on us, the audience.

‘Desensitized’

Todd VanDerWerff, who wrote an extensive piece in 2016 for Vox.com on the evolution of death in TV in recent years, noted the desensitizing effect of this phenomenon.

“The word that kept coming up in my research,” VanDerWerff wrote, “is the one [Terry Matalas, co-creator of ‘12 Monkeys’] used: ‘desensitized’—as in, the more deaths people see on TV, the more difficult it is to make them feel anything other than apathy.”
(And apathetic is something we cannot afford to be, especially in real life, not with our present social and political climate)

TV shows that create a bloodbath for the sake of shock value should learn from “Jane the Virgin’s” depiction of Michael’s passing. The series proves that a quiet death in TV can still be significant, tragic and resonant, even when it’s not the brutal “Game of Thrones”-esque spectacle we’re used to.

Michael’s death wasn’t even given the finale treatment like most major character deaths in TV land. He died quietly and suddenly—much like how death can sneak up on us in real life.

And the sadness you’re feeling, grief-stricken “Jane the Virgin” fans? It’s normal. As Christiane Manzella, a grief therapist and clinical director of Seleni Institute for Women, in 2015 told TIME magazine regarding fan reactions on McDreamy’s death:

“Human beings love stories and making connections, even if it’s to fictional people. We create meaning and then experience actual grief when that connection is broken.”

We may be saying farewell to Michael, but never to Jane and her story. Our hope is “Jane the Virgin” continues to be the bright spot of joy in our TV sets. Because if Jane can survive an unimaginable loss such as this, hopefully, so can we.