‘On My Block’ Season 3: Why the Show Ended With The 2-Year Time Jump
On My Block follows a close-knit group of friends living in inner-city LA. Set in Freeridge, the fictitious neighborhood in LA, the group must navigate their way through high school while battling gang violence.
On My Block Season 3 ended with the friend group, consisting of César (Diego Tinoco), Monse (Sierra Capri), Ruby (Jason Genao), and Jamal (Brett Gray), living separate lives. The two-year time jump showed the group was no longer friends. So, why did the creators choose to implement the time jump in the Netflix series?
The two-year time jump showed a bleak future for César
After the friend group escaped the gang leader Cuchillos’ (Ada Luz Pla) grasp, the group was ready to return to everyday life. However, Monse was leaving Freeridge to attend a private all-girls boarding school. Before she goes to the boarding school, she makes the group, plus Jasmin (Jessica Marie Garcia), promise that nothing will change between them in her absence. But, the flash-forward showed an alternative outcome.
The two-year time jump showed the group in entirely different places. The viewers saw Monse with a new group of female friends at the school. Ruby and Jasmine are dating, but he is sporting a new emo look. Spooky aka Oscar (Julio Macias) escapes the gang life and has a baby on the way with his wife. Also, Jamal finally joined the football team, which is something he eagerly avoided throughout season one.
The most heartbreaking ending was César becoming the leader of the Santos. In Spooky’s absence, his younger brother takes on the role. Throughout the show, his friends were trying to help him escape gang life. So, to see César become the Santos leader was truly devastating to watch.
‘On My Block’ showrunner explains the reason behind the two-year time jump
On My Block, fans were shocked to witness the time jump in the season 3 finale. In an interview with TV Guide, showrunner and co-creator Lauren Iungerich explained the reason behind the two-year time jump.
When asked about the creative direction for On My Block Season 4, she explained the creators used the time jump to set up conflict within the friend group. “It was always a conversation of ‘How do we separate these kids?’ as part of the whole fabric of the show,” she said. “From that first speech that Mario [Martinez] gives, it’s sort of like, ‘We have to stick together in order to survive,’ and what that looks like with friendship.”
Iungerich went on to say the flash-forward showed the dynamic of real-life friendships. “And so we knew, we just didn’t know how we were going to get there. But we knew we wanted to see a conflict with the friends and this notion of examining who stays in your life and who doesn’t,” she added. “So just being able to build to this place – which your first thought, you’re like, ‘Oh sh**, how do we adapt Season 4?’”
She continued, “But it actually opened up so many different ways and different avenues to really allow these characters to grow and spread their wings and for us to see their stories evolve and change because that’s what happens. Your core friends sometimes stay your core friends, and then sometimes they don’t.”
When is ‘On My Block’ Season 4 returning to Netflix?
Netflix announced On My Block Season 4 will be the final season in the series. However, fans have not seen the last of Freeridge. According to Deadline, the streaming service announced that On My Block would be getting a spinoff series titled Freeridge. The spinoff follows a new group of friends and takes place in the same neighborhood. On My Block, co-creators Lauren Iungerich, Eddie Gonzalez, and Jeremy Haft will return for the spinoff.
On My Block Season 4 is streaming now on Netflix.
