Release Date: March 11, 2020

Cast: Diego Tinoco (Caesar Diaz), Jason Genao (Ruby Martinez), Brett Gray (Jamal Turner), Jessica Marie Garcia (Jasmine Flores), Sierra Capri (Monse Finnie), Julio Macias (Oscar “Spooky” Diaz)

Directors: Lauren Iungerich, Ryan Shiraki, Jeremy Haft and Valerie Finkel

MPAA Rating: TV-14

Our Grade: A-

After nearly a year of waiting, “On My Block” fans were finally gifted with the third season of the popular Netflix show. This new season explores the pasts of previous characters, introduces a fearless female villain and drops a new life threatening task on our protagonists.

The season began where the previous season left off. Jamal, Ruby, Monse and Cesar found themselves in the home of a powerful gang leader who tasked them with finding someone who they previously believed was dead. Failure to complete this task would result in terrible consequences. With help from their friend Jasmine, the group of friends set off to find this mysterious person. Similar to the previous two seasons, the major threat to the protagonists continues to be the gangs which control almost everything in the area they live in.

Although the show is continuously funny, they are still able to tackle major issues like death, financial struggles, post-traumatic stress disorder and gang violence. Each of the main characters have their own family issues going on throughout the season. For example, Ruby and his family are going through a rough patch financially, while Cesar and Oscar are beginning to deal with the backlash of being in a gang. The show sheds light on the legitimate struggles people living in neighborhoods filled with gang violence face.

“The fact that such a funny show can also talk about real issues makes it very real and interesting to watch,” senior Jefrany D’Catry said.

The new season also dives deeper into the character’s relationships. Whether it be Monse and Cesar, Oscar and his dad or Ruby and Jasmine, the characters are faced with different situations that affect their relationships with the people they love the most. In showing the hardships of each relationship, the season is able to show a more emotional side of these funny and loveable characters. The vulnerability shown by each character really helped give them a sense of realness.

“You could really feel and empathize with the characters and their emotions, and some may even relate to their situations,” senior Justin Vazquez said.

Despite Season 3 being quite interesting, there were a couple issues. This season felt rushed, and it seemed as if they just wanted to get through the season as quick as possible. The ending also showed how the group parted ways and how much their life had changed since then. Many fans were incredibly upset since the group was supposed to stick by one another no matter what.

Overall, the third season was very emotional and dealt with more serious issues compared to the first two seasons. The characters were faced with greater consequences than before, causing more anticipation and excitement after each episode. There were serious issues being dealt with throughout the season and they were dealt with in a way that felt incredibly real and raw. Despite the serious topics that were touched upon, the season remained light-hearted and hilarious. Even though the show is beloved, the ending does suggest that there may not be any more episodes in the future, which very well saddends major fans. Regardless of its semi-controversial ending, it was a very good season overall.