Summary
All good things come to end.
This recap of Netflix’s On My Block season 4, episode 5 contains spoilers.
In episode 4, we were met with an unexpected reunion at the LAPD, a heart to heart conversation between rivals Jamal and Jasmine and many flashbacks between Cesar’s failed ride or die relationship with Monse, resulting in Monse rightfully choosing herself. We also learned that Monse’s father can’t afford to send her back to Mayfield but her stepfather, Brian, is willing to cover the costs and I can’t imagine how that conversation will go down.
On My Block season 4, episode 5 recap
Cesar wakes up to a gun to his temple by Cuete seeking his stash and threatening to shoot Vero, who spills the beans on where his money is — the money he planned on paying his friends back after the RollerWorld incident. Unfortunately, they took his money but this isn’t a surprise. On the way to school, Jamal spots some vandalism from the rival gang, the Prophet$, and senses that there’s bound to be more trouble in Freeridge.
After telling the rival gang about the money, Vero is trying to persuade Cesar to think bigger but it might just be over her. Cesar scolds her and tells her about how long it took for him to put the money together and now it’s over. Vero was desperate to be that ride or die but it’s good to see that she’s over it because Cesar would have let her get shot.
Meanwhile Ruby is being delusional about the mystery guy in the back of Jasmine’s Instagram picture, not knowing it’s Jamal in the back of the picture. As for Cesar, he informs the rest of the Santos about the robbery and learns that there are snakes in his backyard as he’s being demoted in the gang and having his territory taken over by another member in the gang.
Ruby is still desperate and delusional after seeing Jasmine picked up in a BMW (not knowing it was driven by Monse) and thinks she’s dating another man. On her date with Monse, she contemplates telling Ruby about her acceptance into UC Berkeley and mentions how they had a plan of applying to the same schools. She feels like she’s betraying Ruby for the thought of attending Berkeley, which is annoying, and hopefully, she gets out of that phase. We know Jasmine talks a lot and accidentally spilled the beans about Monse’s mother’s voicemail prior to her suicide in front of Brian. In Cesar’s world, it feels like it’s slowly shattering, his gang members have turned on him, he has no friends, no relationship, and is rocky with Vero at the moment, who I suspect might be a snake in the garden too.
In another scene, Brian asks Monse if her father hits her because of how adamant she is about leaving Freeridge… if only he knew the real reason. His concern as a stepfather is great but he wants to know the truth about Monse. So ask and you shall receive, Monse says “the truth is that your wife was a liar who abandoned me because I’m too dark and then lied about my dad because it was a good excuse to hide her shame.” Brian tells her that he understands that she feels like she has to be loyal to her dad but her mom isn’t the villain — big mistake. He mentions that she was trying to save Monse to get her out of Freeridge — another mistake. “Do you hear yourself? Save me from my loving father, the man who gave up everything to raise me alone, who never as much raised a finger towards me?” The way she supported her dad in front of Brian was so admirable because her mom was the deadbeat, not him. She reiterates that Julia, her mother, didn’t come looking for her but instead Monse found her. In this scene, she comes to the realization that she doesn’t need to go back to Mayfield again.
JJ reunites again after Jamal interrogates her about being picked up by a mystery guy. She also tells him about getting into Berkeley. Meeting Ruby outside, she attempts to tell Ruby about Berkeley, and the way she describes it sends him the wrong message, so now he thinks she has a new man and is still unaware about Jasmine getting into Berkeley and taking the offer.
The ending
Monse and Ruby reveal that they received threatening letters that look like a ransom note and they call Cesar to ask if he receives one (he did) but only to hear gunshots as he ducks down to avoid getting shot. Lucky for him, the driveby didn’t leave him with any major injuries. He sees Oscar getting ready to move and confesses to him that he was right about everything, apologizes, and tells him that he’s scared. He asks to stay at Oscar’s house for safety meanwhile Oscar offers that he comes to stay with him in Portland. And of course, Cesar refuses to mention that his life in Freeridge is keeping him there and Oscar is the brother he needs at this moment, telling him he can come and build his life with him in Portland. Surprisingly, Cesar agrees and decides to follow him to Portland.
And then the worst happens, Oscar gets shot in a driveby, Cesar runs out but it’s too late as he dies in his brother’s arms. It happens to the characters who are always so close on their new journey, but I just didn’t think that Oscar would die so soon! He was an expectant father and future husband and now he won’t be there for his wedding, his daughter’s birth, or anything else. And of course, Cesar will be out for revenge.
What did you think of On My Block season 4, episode 5? Comment below.
