This episode begins with a family scene. We see Katekar’s family having a normal evening together. Katekar has become one of my favourite characters. His loyalty and simplicity endears him to me. His wife complains that he was injured during the 26/11 terrorist attacks and is yet to receive any special compensation. But he is an honest man who just wants to do an honest day’s work and go home to his basic life. 

Sartaj is trailing Nayanika. He feels responsible for her well-being. She enters the house where she is supposed to meet Bunty. Sartaj feels like something is not right. It’s the middle of the night and he calls Katekar to join him. But Katekar’s wife cuts the call saying that he’s off duty now and needs to spend time with his family. Anjali is watching the live feed of the happenings from RAW’s offices. 

Nayanika meets Bunty and asks him about Gaitonde. After all his death is all over the news. Bunty becomes instantly suspicious. How does she know about his friendship with Gaitonde? He looks around and instantly spots the camera in her bag. Really? This was RAW’s great plan? To have a camera that was easily visible to the naked eye. How lame! 

He immediately starts hitting Nayanika. Poor girl! Sartaj decides to break protocol and all threads of common sense and rushes in to help Nayanika. Anjali asks him to wait and is also headed there with backup. Seriously, this is the worst plan ever. Why would they not have RAW agents stationed outside the house already incase things went bad? Of course, it is so the hero can get his moment in the sun playing the knight in the shining armor. 

Bunty gets off the bed and we see that he’s in a wheelchair. Sartaj has now entered and is brought to Bunty by his guards. Bunty is trying to get more information from him and Sartaj freely offers up all details, like the fact that RAW agents are on their way, including one Ms Anjali Mathur. I thought RAW agents were supposed to maintain the highest levels of confidentiality. 

Bunty decides to leave with Nayanika by his side. Sartaj is insistent that Nayanika must come with him. But the guy has no leverage. Bunty threatens to kill both of them and leaves with Nayanika while his goons beat Sartaj to a pulp on the floor. 

Where is the RAW team?

Next we see a chase. Sartaj has somehow made it out of the house and is now chasing Bunty. He calls Anjali who is on her way (without any backup). 

Sartaj reports that Bunty is placing the girl in a separate car. He wants to track Nayanika but Anjali insists that he stay on Bunty. She ensures him that she has more agents following the girl. I can spot the lie here. But Sartaj buys it and like a good soldier decides to stay on Bunty. 

Bunty is in a dark warehouse type location exchanging money with the shootout killer. We still don’t know who this guy is. Sartaj tries to call Katekar again. He probably wants him to come and follow Nayanika. But Katekar is having sex with his wife and misses yet another call from his boss. 

Sartaj is caught once again…at the warehouse. This man has nine lives and no regard for any of them. The shootout killer is supposed to get Bunty out of India but says that he can’t make any moves because RAW is on Bunty’s trail. Finally! I learn his name (thanks to Netflix subtitles). It’s Murad. 

Now the story gets interesting. Gaitonde picks up where he left off in Bombay, 1987. Ramayan has just begun playing on TVs across India. Religious tensions are rising across the country and within Gaitonde’s secular gang. In flashbacks, we see Bunty (who is walking on his own two feet) beating up his sister because she is sleeping with one of Gaitonde’s goons. He is a Muslim and this is problematic. Also problematic - Bunty has always been a woman beater it seems. Kanta knows this about him and stops him. 

Gaitonde’s affair with Cuckoo is in full swing. She likes having sex from behind with her on top. He tries to turn her around, but she doesn’t let him. He lets it be. At a neighbourhood fair, Gaitonde meets Bhonsle. Bhonsle is a young and upcoming politician who tries to bribe him to skew the election is his favor. He wants Gopalmath votes and hints at Muslim voter suppression. Gaitonde, for all his faults, is a secular man and says no to Bhonsle. He doesn’t want to get involved in Hindu-Muslim politics. Bunty believes otherwise. Bhonsle, then offers 50 lakhs and this greases Gaitonde. After all, in his world, money speaks louder than anything else. 

Gaitonde is still set on the path of wanting everything Isa has. And by playing his part in the elections, he is finally able to buy the same car that Isa had. Gaitonde then realises something important. The real money is in religion and politics. Or as he says “Politics ki machi dharm ke tel main fry ho”.

This further escalates the rivalry between Gaitonde and Isa. One is a Hindu, the other Muslim. Isa in anger, after the voter suppression, goes to Gaitonde’s house to confront him. Instead he is confronted by a hundred guns pointing at his face. It is a classic gang rivalry moment where everyone is aiming at everyone else. One wrong move and they all could die. Isa is a clever man. He gets back in his car and leaves. He will get his revenge one day. But today is not that day. 

Back in the present, Sartaj wakes up to find himself packed in the back of the truck. Seriously…why didn’t they just kill the guy? 

Present day Bhonsle is of course a far more influential politician. He is getting messages. Consignment received. Trivedi scheduled. Bunty still to happen. I’ll take a wild guess that he’s getting these messages from Murad. Bhonsle calls Parulkar and puts pressure on him to catch Bunty. Bunty feels like a loose end that needs to be tied up. 

Katekar picks up Sartaj from the middle of nowhere where his kidnapping truck leaves him. This time he has received the phone call. Sartaj connects with Anjali. He tells her that the meet up location had water tankers. The water was removed and something else was filled up in them. He then describes Murad and says that the man is not of Indian origin. He asks about Nayanika, but Anjali clearly has zero fucks to give about her. They visit the location of the meet up. 

Parulkar arrives at the scene. Sartaj is in even more trouble now. So is Anjali. She briefs her boss who tells her that she is way out of line and should not meddle with a local investigation. She shares some of her leads and manages to get two more days to investigate. 

Sartaj is back home looking sad and lonely. This is a welcome break for him and for us, the viewers. A lot has happened already and we’re not nearly finished. 

Present day Kanta goes to see Bunty and finds Nayanika trapped in a room. He is wild, angry and taking it out on Nayanika (as expected). Kanta expresses anger at him for almost getting caught by the police and for hitting yet another woman. She feeds Nayanika and offers her a moment of comfort in her otherwise miserable situation. At her displeasure, Bunty decides to go and speak to Anjali directly. 

Bunty agrees to tell Anjali everything in exchange for a safe flight out of Mumbai. They meet covertly in a movie hall. Again, this version of RAW is incredibly frustrating. Why wouldn’t they just arrest a known criminal and interrogate him properly? Bunty is being coy about sharing details and Anjali just goes along with it. How ridiculous!

Meanwhile, Sartaj goes to Parulkar and tells him that Bunty is working with RAW and he knows where to find him. But he needs a force to save his informant. Parulkar agrees to help on one condition: Sartaj needs to cooperate on the Bengali Bura case. I love how the little bits and pieces of this show keep tying in together. 

Back in the past, Gaitonde needs a way to whitewash his money. So he launches an airline. This is getting silly! You would want to launch a business that doesn’t come under scrutiny. Airlines are internationally liable. His business partner, Paritosh tells him that Gaitonde needs to stay away from the limelight. Especially if he is with Cuckoo. He disapproves of her. 

This objection, while doesn’t make sense at this point, gets explained in the next scene. Cuckoo is a transwoman! I thought they made Kubra Sait look masculine but this still caught me by surprise. Mota bhai says that society will not accept this. Gaitonde needs to marry a girl, become respectable in society in order to truly move up. He can keep Cuckoo on the side. 

Cuckoo overhears this conversation and gets angry and upset. She asks Gaitonde to leave her saying that she can’t give him respectability or children. Gaitonde doesn’t flinch. He holds her and tells her he loves her. Ultimately, he is able to convince her to stay. I love the normalisation of this queer relationship. Gaitonde himself isn’t classifying himself one way or another. He has found someone he cares for and doesn’t get entangled with perceptions or the words of other people. This is true love. 

Next Gaitonde launches a Cola brand that flops. It is assumed that the flop is because of his relationship. He stands undeterred. 

We find ourselves at a party. Gaitonde and his men are having a fun night at a farmhouse. Cuckoo and Gaitonde share a few moments of tenderness. She tells him to promise her that he will never die (he is Ashwatthama after all). She paints a dream of how successful and influential he is going to be. She says she feels like something bad is about to happen. 

Uh oh! Anytime a character says that in film, it’s a certain foreshadowing that indeed something bad will happen. Especially when it is combined with unrealised dreams and a drop of love. 

The waiters at the parties have gun. Isa’s men? Today is the day for their revenge. They start shooting. Gaitonde who is not with Cuckoo runs to see if she is safe. As he enters the house, he finds himself staring down the barrel of the gun. 

The episode ends. I absolutely love the cliffhanger. Obviously we know he doesn’t die on that day. But what happens? How does he save himself? And what about Cuckoo?

Episode Rating 2/5

(Could have been higher for all of Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s scenes. But the RAW mismanagement was too ridiculous to be ignored.)