‘On My Block’ Should Be Your New Netflix Obsession

On My Block was an immaculate depiction of family and resonated the meaning of ‘squad goals.’ It’s in the center of this diverse group that doesn’t call themselves friends, but instead family, that the heart of the story really resides. They’re all part of a grounded culture being all of colored people (AA’s & Latinos), but they were all different individual characters that made up this functional crazy dynamic. 

When we start out it’s with a team of four – Monse, our fierce female who has more courage in her pinky than most of the guys. She’s a gal who believes in fighting for her fam (probably because one of hers walked out). Then we have Cesar, he’s destined to join a gang because his family legacy is, in fact, their own gang. Cesar is fine, suave, charming, smart, and not your normal good-looking guy. He’s not a player or a foolish or light-hearted guy. He’s someone you could see with a bright future, yet many like him end up gang chained. Ruby is the small shrimp of the squad, but what he lacks in size and muscle, he makes up for with his gift of gab. He has a Virgo personality – type A, obsessive, organized, focused on small details. But he also has such heart and wants the best for those around him. Jamal is our ‘black’ voice. Normally this role is given to females but here we are, and I love him for it. Jamal redefines the black male image on entertainment tv. He’s not over masculine, but he’s not emasculated either. He’s not closed off or emotionally stunted from hood life – he can’t even hold a secret much less his emotions. He’s not your resident jock, he’s not your airhead or your athlete. In fact, even though he feels pushed towards football, he actually hates the sport. His passion is found in the puzzle and understanding things for what they are. Olivia joins the crew last but she’s definitely a nice addition. They don’t use her to be a rift or to lower Monse’s status by having them riffled with jealousy and secret hate for one another. The women love one another and go out of their way to help the other, despite their situation. Olivia is a “girl’s girl,” but they don’t shine a bad light on that like it’s wrong. She loves this concept of squad meaning family and she tries her damnedest to hold that together. 

The show features concepts of gangs on the surface…you have Cesar’s family gang, the rival gang and Lil Ricky’s crew. But the show doesn’t try to over play gang concepts for entertainment…which often happens in entertainment television. They represented them how they just are…a part of the community. Just like our resident Squad, the gangs had a family/friendship quality like to them. They didn’t give Spooky the villain cast just because he was a gang leader. He was feared, yes, but he was so much more than a gang leader. He had his own charm, he was not the boogeyman – he was a man who chose a life in part to take care of his younger brother. He had goals and dreams, he was smart and capable, and his being a part of the gang didn’t erase that reality of what/who he had been. The rival crew wasn’t treated as evil either…the show presented the laws of the street simply as they are. Even though the rivalry tends to be latinos vs blacks in gangs that didn’t overarch into the internal circles – meaning Jamal wasn’t an automatic enemy to Spooky/Cesar because he was black.. The story of Lil Ricky’s Crew was all about friendship and the representation of that friendship and who they were was the key to the puzzle. There was no stereotyping in the story, no Hollywood bs. 

I love love, so I completely ship Cesar and Monse. They were right up my alley with their teasing back and forth nature. Their chemistry was on point andhey didn’t pretend like Cesar had to be in control because he was a guy – even physically. In fact, in his relationship with Monse he has to put in extra work to pull things his way. That was one of the cutest things about them. Most of all, I love this concept of a guy just feeling all the emotions. They didn’t try to make Cesar any harder than he had to be, so there were many times where we get to see him extend his emotional bounds and it’s beautiful. I think it’s important for coming of age stories that have love stories showing a guy extend himself instead of it always being the girl who has to chase, bend, or change herself. I loved that they were presented as that “no matter what” couple. I hate this need that a lot of writers seem to have to tell young people that love is juvenile and unimportant when you’re young. I love this fact that she had this belief in him that was unbreakable and didn’t need validation to exist.

This show is amazing. You get the sense that the writers knew what they were doing and what they wanted to say. The comedy was appropriate – current and not rife with overused jokes. The comedy comes from the identity of the characters. It felt authentic – that alone is a joy because often when people do inner city productions the dialogue is terrible, and it seems like they’ve never been around those groups before. That didn’t happen with this show. These were all kids you could imagine knowing for real. Their personalities weren’t at all overreaching and their internal struggles were relatable. The story was about more than a Squad, more than a group of friends – it was about a family who were willing to fight for that bond, fight for each other and willing to die for one another. Even in the end – it was about going the extra mile in the face of those you care about. It was about protecting Squad.

• binge watch
• FSU
• Netflix
• On My Block
• poc
• tv