Netflix’s On My Block review: This binge-worthy teenage drama says a lot without saying too much

On My Block establishes its ethnicity early on in the story. While the first scene of the series takes us through the typical boozy high-school party, soon we realise how this teen story is going to be a whole lot different from the ones we have seen before. A particularly good example of this is a scene near the beginning of the first episode, where the four teenagers hear a gunshot and take turns guessing what type of gun was fired. Gunfire is an everyday part of their lives, and this non-judgemental scene sets that tone quite nicely. Throughout the following narrative, On My Block never loses its color-awareness. “We’re brown! Only white kids find treasure,” Monse tells Jamal.

While normal coming-of-age topics like discovering one’s sexuality and testing one’s friendships find a place in On My Block, what makes it special is that it almost always dives into the specific issues of the kids’ environment. But while doing that On My Block neither tries to evoke our sympathies or solve their problems. It’s empathy lies in the realistic responses to situations by its characters. In a particularly good scene, Cesar says, “I don’t wanna spend the rest of my life thinking about dying, so I’m just gonna live.” When seen in this light, On My Block is one decent attempt at removing the so-called ‘Other-worldliness’ from mediocre coloured narratives.

On My Block is also ultra-realistic in its depiction of teenage sexuality. Be it Monse and Cesar jumping into bed in the first episode or how Cesar had to “claim” Monse to protect her from the Santos or Ruby’s desperation for Olivia, On My Block knows where its roots are: in present-day teenagers of colour. A heavy-weight dialogue is delivered by Monse in the sixth-episode which portrays sexism at its most blatant. “For you, screwing me gives you street cred,” Monse yells at Cesar. “For me, screwing you makes me a whore.”

Cesar ((Diego Tinoco), Olivia (Ronni Hawk), Monse (Sierra Capri) and Ruby (Jason Genao) watching Jamal (Brett Gray) on the field.

The cast looks like they are actually going to start high school. Gray’s over-the-top performance as Jamal stands out, so does Tinoco’s Cesar. The quartet talks how most teenagers talk, swearing and using slang. Even supporting actors like Ruby’s abuelita (grandmother) or the mysterious thug Chivo hold your attention. On My Block’s soundtrack comes out very strong too, it is conveniently groovy at the right places and hits its punches where need be.

It is very difficult to place a show like On My Block in one specific genre. Dramedy, perhaps. Majorly because its characters and their back stories are so well-sketched out that you find yourself served with a palette of narrative strings: romance, drama, comedy and mystery. There’s Monse and Cesar’s buried romance which ends up being a love four-way with Ruby’s feelings for Olivia, then there is Cesar who hopes to avoid following in his brother Oscar’s (Julio Macias) steps and joining a gang but is consistently drawn into it. And finally, there is Jamal’s storyline, one of the most interesting ones, in my opinion. Apart from his almost-farcical yet delightful comic reliefs (even when he is acting beside ceramic gnomes), his epic “Goonies”-esque hunt to find the lost Rollerworld “treasure,” adds a kind of magical realism touch to the narrative.

Ruby and Monse while giving out invitations for Olivia’s Quinceañera (15th birthday).

The show’s last two episodes are exceptionally interesting in that regard. Because somehow the show’s makers (Awkward’s Lauren Iungerich along with Eddie Gonzalez and Jeremy Haft) have managed to collide all these assorted worlds into such a sucker-punch of a climax that you are left with a disoriented feeling about what just happened. Soon enough, all that jibber-jabbering into the plot seems aptly measured out. And therein lies the beauty of On My Block: of saying a lot of things without saying too much.