Lock Upp Season 2 Episode 29 sees the last of the visitors arrive in the jail and the last Crackdown task of the season. With the finale a week away, the competition is fierce. Unfortunately, the show brings on a blast from the past, which ends up making viewers feel confused about the point of it all. While everyone else gets people who give them warmth and comfort, Akanksha Chaudhary, in a bizarre choice, gets Suzanne, who instantly mouths off against Yogesh, resulting in a biased Crackdown task that doesn’t seem fair.
Either way, Jannat Zubair brings in some much-needed warmth in the midst of a ton of unnecessary shouting and name-calling, ending in the last immunity for the week and a tense task that results in another explosive fight. Plus, let’s not forget Shilpa Shinde and Shreya Kalra’s fight – there seems to be trouble in paradise finally!
The second season features Ram Kapoor, Shivangi Joshi, Sunita Ahuja, Dheeraj Dhoopar, Akanksha Chaudhary, Sufi Motiwala, Varun Yadav, Yogesh Rawat, Pamela Sarena, Shreya Kalra, Riyaz Aly, Shresta Iyer, Akanksha Chamola, Madhuri Jain Grover, Shilpa Shinde, Harshad Chopda, and Apoorva Makhija, while the hosts are Ritesh Deshmukh and Farah Khan.
Lock Upp Season 2 Episode 29 Review
Friends and Family Week Ends on an Emotional Note
The show saved the most ‘kalesh’ for the last as Akanksha Chaudhary and Shivangi get their visitors – Suzzane and Jannat Zubair respectively. The differing emotions are obvious from the first minute; while Jannat’s entry leaves Shivangi emotional with happiness, a fight immediately starts between Yogesh & Akanksha and Suzzane. The two conflicting emotions feel confusing, especially because everyone else got visitors who love and support them while Shilpa and Akanksha’s visitors come in only to fight with them.
The choice is confusing and is one of the reasons why the episode gets really frustrating and annoying. Either way, old wounds are reopened as Suzzane questions why Akanksha is playing with Yogesh and so pally with her, while Akanksha refuses to engage with her. On the flip side, Jannat and Shivangi embrace one another, and the former implores her to stay strong and push on. In the end, Jannat wins the voting, and eventually, Shivangi is saved.
Shreya and Shilpa’s Partnership Finally Falls Apart
Another interesting turn of events is the breakdown of Shreya and Shilpa’s friendship. While the two have been tight over the past few weeks, Shilpa refuses to play along with Shreya as her relationship with the others improves. She calls out Shreya’s two-faced gameplay, and realises that Shreya is fishing for a fight now that the finale is here. Shreya calls out Shilpa’s emotional distance, while the latter keeps on saying that she would like to not speak to Shreya.
This results in a disturbing fight between the two, wherein Shilpa looks confused as Shreya screams at her. While it’s not very emotional, as regular viewers could’ve seen this coming from a mile away, it does make viewers question the two’s dynamic and whether they were ever friends to begin with.
Meanwhile, Akanksha Chamola, too, echoes the same sentiment, questioning why Shreya never plays on the front foot and accepts who she is on the show instead of playing on both sides. These confrontations feel significant because we finally see the tensions that have built over the past few weeks finally bubbling over.
The Final Crackdown Task Delivers Mixed Results
In the final Crackdown task of the season, Pamela Serena, Shilpa Shinde, Ram Kapoor, Akanksha Chaudhary and Varun Yadav compete against one another to be safe till the finale week along with their partners. In this instant as well, we see a bizarre situation unfold wherein Suzzane plays against her own teammate and tries to knock her out. It’s insane watching the entire thing unfold and calls into question the rationale behind this visitor choice other than to drum up engagement and boost TRPs.
In the end, Varun and Ram win safety for the week, but the path to this result is definitely confusing from a viewer perspective.
Varun’s Strategy Sparks Another House Divide
After the task, however, a huge fight takes place between Pam, Akanksha and Varun. While Pam calls out Varun for targeting the women first and trying to push them out, Akanksha questions why Varun and Aarush would target her, someone he considers a friend. This results in Varun mentioning that Ram and he had made this plan to emerge safe in the end, which further results in both of them getting incensed. They mention that Varun has only pretended to be their friend, which he accepts and refuses to acknowledge any wrongdoing.
Whether viewers agree with his reasoning or not, the situation feels bittersweet. On one hand, a person can have any strategy to win in a game show; on the other, viewers who have watched these relationships evolve over the course of the last few weeks will find the breakdown of their relationship to be quite heartbreaking. In the end, we are left with questions surrounding where the line should be drawn between friendship and gameplay.
Final Verdict
I don’t think the last two episodes have sat right with me. I think the stark contrast between Shilpa and Akanksha’s visitors and the rest of the house is odd and devoid of logic. Was the goal to get visitors who are a source of comfort for the inmates or to spark controversy? While the hosts and Netflix try to tell us that the show is unbiased and fair, it’s these odd choices that make us question the script and what some of these choices are meant to signify. In the end, the competition between the unsafe contestants is overshadowed by petty, high-school fights which are unnecessary and rather confusing.
Watch Episode 29 on Netflix. What are your thoughts on the recent episode of Lock Upp Season 2? Let us know in the comments below!