Locked Up/ Vis A Vis Season 4 Review: A Perfect Series Finale... Now Bring On The Spinoff

Season 4 of "Locked Up" has more of the bat sh#t craziness I've grown to expect. See my previous reviews here Like Australia's "Wentworth", Spain apparently only has one womens prison. That means anyone who previously worked there and is incarcerated goes back but this time as a prisoner. There ought to be a law against such things... but it makes for very good TV.

Here's where our favorite characters are this time around.  

Antonia was pardoned last year but ends up back in the slammer thanks to her dealings with Zulema. Poor Sole continues to deteriorate from the effects of Alzheimers. Tere struggles with drug addiction. Saray gives her child to a nice couple and makes them promise to remind her she's Romani. Curley/Rizos is reeling from the loss of Macarena and the police officer she was involved with last season. Rizos doesnt get a lot of air time. She must have been on other projects.  

The long suffering Inspector Castillo is still trying to get out of his job alive. Given how many other people have been killed around him, the odds are not good. Sandovar returns but now he's the prison director. You'll recall Saray cut off his penis last season in retaliation for raping her (and becoming her baby daddy). He keeps it in a jar on his desk. Eeeek! The inmates call him "Barbie" behind his back. He is in cahoots with Magdelena Cruz (who wants him to be in charge of all of her prisons). She doesnt care about the inmates. She just wants to make money.  

We have a few new inmates this year. One is Fatima who turns out to be... wait for it... Zulema's daughter. I didnt see that one coming. While Zulmena has all the material instincts of a tarantula, she does care about her child somewhere in her cold dark heart. But more on that later. 

Ex guard Altagracia continues to team up with Elf From Hell Zulmena. Neither manages to gain her freedom for long. They off Sandoval's wife (by drowning) because he won't release Zulema. This is all going to end very badly. 

Fatima tries to adjust to prison life and eventually gets a little advice from her mom. Sandoval, still seeking revenge for his wife's death, uses the girl as a bargaining chip. He sends three men to rape her while Zulema helplessly watches. She eventually tells him where Altagracia is. Sandoval then transfers Fatima via helicopter as he promised. But there are no happy endings on this show. In one of the most shocking scenes of the entire series, Zulema is in the courtyard when the body of her daughter is dropped beside her from 10,000 feet. Wow. That's rough! Next we see Altagracia hung in her prison cell. Did she kill herself or did Sandoval off her? I'm not sure which. This abruptly brings an ending to Altagracia's story line. I guess they had to wrap it up since this is the last season. 

In another shocking turn of events, Macarena wakes up from her coma and immediately almost kills an orderlie who is taking inappropriate pictures of her. That's our girl. Back to prison she goes. 

When Sandoval tries to have Sole taken to a different facility early, the prisoners have had enough. They riot. Goya steals Magdalena Cruz's sunglasses, phone, etc. Cruz manages to escape unharmed. The inmates corner Sandoval in the dining hall and each takes a turn at stabbing him (ala Julius Cesar style). He dies before Zulema can deliver the final blow.  

The girls (Tere, Saray, Antonio, Curley, Macarena, and Luna) make good on their promise to help Sole die before she can be sent away. Tere injects her with drugs and then Saray puts a pillow over her head to ensure she passes. They then make a giant bonfire and burn her body while everyone quietly sitting on the ground waiting for the riot police to retake the prison. It's a very beautiful scene and shows how much they all care about Sole.   

There's a time jump of 12 years. Tere is a social worker and married to Piti. They have two kids. She visits the Cruz del Norte prison often. Rizos continues to be in and out of jail for minor offenses. It seems she's afraid to be on the outside. Palacios has become the prison director and things are much better (since he actually cares about the inmates). Antonia becomes a chef (thanks to her prison cooking experience). Saray has gained custody of Estrellas again and she has grown into a teenager. Saray scares her potential boyfriend by reminding him she was in prison. Luna is now a flight attendant. Goya is the boss at some kind of warehouse. The only problem is their uniforms are yellow. Too funny! 

And in the final scene, we see Macarena and Zulema. They have not settled down. They're robbing jewelry stores all over the world. And we're off to their spinoff 'Vis A Vis; La Oasis". I cant wait!  

Grade: 5 Monsters (out of 5). Despite the beginning of the season dragging a bit (with Zulema being incarcerated yet again) the story definitely heats up later. The conflicts among the prisoners as well as between the prisoners and staff comes to a head. The finale is perfect in that it brings closure to all our characters and shows what their lives later became. It also clears the way for the coming Zulema/Macarena frenemy spinoff "Vis A Vis: El Oasis". I can't wait! I'm going to go out on a limb and say 'Locked Up" is the best women-in-prison show out there. And that's high praise since I absolutely LOVE "Wentworth" and also enjoyed "Orange Is The New Black". My advice is watch them all and see which you like best.    

Photo Credits:
http://getfreetvseries.com/tvshows/locked-up/62455-seasonqqq-4-episodes
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4524056/mediaviewer/rm2987747584
https://news.otakukart.com/400927/vis-a-vis-el-oasis-season-4-release-date-and-all-we-know-so-far/
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/l_anon/vis-a-vis-spain-locked-up-uk-spanish-television-se-t4629179-s1850.html
https://visavisenfox.foxtv.es/personaje/sandoval/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4524056/mediaviewer/rm320104704

GMonsterTV
TV: Heavy On Sci Fi, Horror & Adventure

February 2, 2020

5:46 PM