Jane the Virgin actor and EP pen letters to fans following big twist

Warning: This story contains spoilers from Monday’s episode of Jane the Virgin. Proceed with caution.

Following Monday night’s heartbreaking episode of Jane the Virgin, actor Brett Dier took to Twitter to tweet a note in which he bid farewell to fans of the show and to his character.

This came after the episode’s big twist, which saw Dier’s character, Jane’s husband Michael, succumb to complications from the gunshot wound he’d sustained at the end of season 2.

“Playing Michael has been a life changing experience, and I’m so thankful for it,” said Dier in his note. “This cast and crew, writers and directors I will never forget. You guys are truly incredible people… Thank you Jennie Urman for letting me wear his shoes. So grateful for you.”

He then continued to address his character: “Michael, you felt like a part of me, and I always thought it was nuts when actors said that. But I get it. You will always be in my heart.”

A short while after Dier shared his note, he also tweeted his thanks to his costar and on-screen wife, Gina Rodriguez, saying he’ll never forget the time they worked together, to which she tweeted back “Never.”

But Dier isn’t the only Jane the Virgin cast and crew member who addressed fans following the big episode. Showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman penned a letter to fans on Tumblr.

“I want to begin this letter by telling you about the magic of Brett Dier,” wrote Urman of the actor. “He took a character — built from the beginning with secrets and moral lapses — and made him so likable, so funny, so sincere in all the right ways, that most of our writers’ room became #teammichael by the end of the first season.”

She continued: “It was also a decision made very early on, when I thought about our story as a whole. 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… 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. Not to mention Rogelio and Michael!”

Later in her note, Urman touched on the timing of the development, which she feels “really badly about.” However, she made a promise to fans: “I’ve had so many tweets lately about how Jane is a bright spot these days. And I know you just watched a gut punch of an episode. So, I just wanted to reassure you that Jane’s optimism will rise up.”

Urman, who is the EP of the upcoming Charmed reboot, went on to share her appreciation for the fans. “Thank you guys so much for watching the show, for caring so passionately, and for going on our journey,” she wrote. “And thank you so much to Brett. For his talent. His passion. His humor on set. Michael will be missed in Jane’s world, just as Brett is already missed in ours.”

Jane the Virgin airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW. You can read EW’s postmortem interview with Urman here.