Summary
Sometimes your heart gets broken. Win some, lose some.
This recap of Netflix’s On My Block season 4, episode 9 contains spoilers.
On My Block season 4, episode 9 recap
Time passes and the Core Four are back together, getting their college letters with Monse considering Wellesley College and taking a look at her mom’s manuscript. Cesar is improving in school with Monse’s support. Ruby’s considering Stanford and Jamal is running away still undecided. Also, Ruby is nominated for Prom King and is surprised, being dramatic as usual looking for the perfect fit. The car from episode 8 is still following them too. As the senior class president, Jamal is the head of the prom committee and is struggling to figure out an epic theme with the committee.
Excited, Cesar tells Monse about his niece, Lydia, finally being born and feels bad that she will never get to meet Oscar as Monse mentions she looks like Oscar. In another scene, Jamal is being followed by the same car and has to run away. Meanwhile, Jasmine disappointingly decides to no longer move to Berkeley because of her aunt’s move to Dallas and now has to look after her sickly father. It’s so unfair to see Jasmine go through this because she’s one of the most supportive characters, a bit annoying, but always has her heart in the right place. On the phone, she cries to Ruby and says “no matter how much positive thinking I put out into the universe, the universe just won’t let me win.” On the other side, Ruby is visiting his abuelita at the hospital. After a pep talk from his abuelita, he musters up the confidence to ask Jasmine to the prom.
In the next scene, Monse and Cesar help him with a presentation on asking her to prom… only for her to reject him. It isn’t exactly Ruby’s best academic year — he lost the senior class presidential election twice, lost Jasmine, lost his dignity, and might lose prom king. He claimed that it’s been worse than the year 2020. However, a girl asks him out to the prom but he rejects her, thinking he’s being pitied.
Abuelita is in need of drugs and enlists Jamal to get her drugs, only for him to find the cut-up magazines under her bed. He finds out that it was her sending these notes and she admits that it was her. Abuelita mentions she saw them grow up together, love one another then stopped talking. So, she thought if she created a mystery, they would start talking again. However, Jamal was not impressed and thought it was some “serial killer bull****” and I don’t blame him, even though Abuelita had the right intention. He’s still confused about why a car is tailing him.
Ruby has been receiving multiple prom-posals but is still upset that Jasmine rejected him. At his house, she tells him she rejected him because she didn’t want to ruin Ruby’s prom experience with all the trouble she has going on with her future. She tells Ruby she feels like she’s ‘bad luck’ and ends up asking him to prom instead.
The ending
Monse pays Cesar a visit and is met with flowers — he aced his calculus test and will be graduating because of Monse’s support over the years. She finally tells him she wants to go to prom and asks him out but rejects her as he decided to go with Vero. That would be my villain origin story. Since watching On My Block since season 1, Cesar and Monse were always annoying but they just gravitate towards each other. The episode wasn’t the most exciting but the change in the storyline was interesting to see how Jasmine is facing challenges — she wants to take care of her father and wants to go to Berkeley but she can’t do both, unfortunately. The dilemma of being a girl, from an immigrant background, wanting to attend college is too familiar and Jasmine’s focus in this episode is my reason for 5 stars.
What did you think of On My Block season 4, episode 9? Comment below.
