diff --git a/shared/runtime/pyexec.c b/shared/runtime/pyexec.c
index c828c75817..0b253b4cea 100644
--- a/shared/runtime/pyexec.c
+++ b/shared/runtime/pyexec.c
@@ -598,9 +598,7 @@ friendly_repl_reset:
 
         // If the GC is locked at this point there is no way out except a reset,
         // so force the GC to be unlocked to help the user debug what went wrong.
-        if (MP_STATE_THREAD(gc_lock_depth) != 0) {
-            MP_STATE_THREAD(gc_lock_depth) = 0;
-        }
+        MP_STATE_THREAD(gc_lock_depth) = 0;
 
         vstr_reset(&line);
         int ret = readline(&line, mp_repl_get_ps1());