Natasha Lyonne in Russian Doll Season 2 Photo: Netflix
In Russian Doll Season 2, New York City’s subway system is the craziest thing to ever appear on screen, and that’s really saying something. Train 6 turns into a portal for Nadia Vulvokov (Natasha Lyonne) and Alan Zaveri (Charlie Barnett) to inadvertently travel back in time. The duo spent the first season escaping a vicious time warp in which they kept dying at the same time only to start again at a certain point. Four years after escaping that fate, they are once again at the mercy of temporal madness. Several train journeys bring her family’s past to light, setting Nadia on a course that could potentially change her future. The result is seven enchanting, quirky, and visually stunning episodes.
Netflix’s captivating show debuted over three years ago. It seamlessly integrates metaphysical elements with snarky humor, ipso facto – heh – it’s called a sci-fi dramedy. But categorizing Russian Doll as one thing is doing her a disservice. It’s a prolific character study at its core. The show takes an inventive and tender approach to an established plot device (as seen from Groundhog Day to Palm Springs and in between). The goal isn’t to make Nadia or Alan better as people with every overtake, but to help them come to terms with buried trauma so they can eventually help each other escape their dark fates.
A-
Russian doll
Created by
Natasha Lyonne, Leslye Headland, and Amy Poehler
With
Natasha Lyonne, Charlie Barnett, Greta Lee, Elizabeth Ashley, Chloë Sevigny, Annie Murphy, Brendan Saxton III, Rebecca Henderson, Sharlto Copley, Carolyn Michelle Smith, Ritesh Rajan
premieres
April 20 on Netflix
format
Half-hour dramedy; watched complete second season for review
Time loops, time travel, and multiverse stories are a particularly hot commodity in pop culture right now, whether it’s with all the converging Spider-Men, Everything Everywhere All At Once, or upcoming shows like Apple TV+’s Shining Girls and HBO’s The Time Traveler’s Wife . Audiences experience their own deja vu, so why go through it again? Also, Russian Doll’s surreal and perfect ending arguably justifies not repeating the show at all. Fortunately, the second season justifies its existence. It reinvents its protagonists and mythology, using the duo’s complex lineage as a punch to develop them further.
Russian Doll now alternates between years and countries; it is reserved and expansive at the same time. A few days before her 40th birthday, Nadia is pulled into 80’s New York when she steps into a wormhole of a train compartment. Coming to the same time as her dead mother, Lenora (a fantastical Chloë Sevigny, on the heels of The Girl From Plainville), she witnesses firsthand Lenora’s rough relationship with her own mother (aka Nadia’s grandmother).
Amidst the chaos — of which there’s plenty, especially in the last few episodes — the show finds a grounded emotional resonance. Nadia tries to correct mistakes that directly affected her upbringing. She makes surprising decisions (one in particular is completely mind-blowing) that blur the concept of reality. The new season is ultimately a trippy but poetic portrayal of the generational trauma for the Vulvokov women over the years. It’s weird and unpredictable. But it’s also Russian Doll at its unique best.
Natasha Lyonne and Annie Murphy in Russian Doll Season 2 Photo: Netflix
Nadia finds an unexpected friend in the character played by Annie Murphy (to reveal more about the Schitt’s Creek actor’s role borders on spoiler territory). Russian Doll isn’t a serious, out-and-out futuristic show, so time travel doesn’t follow any strict rules. Nadia often goes back and forth between 1982 and 2022 and a few other places as well. The compelling parallels between all of their worlds heighten the suspense inherent in the essence of a time heist. Nadia’s best friend Maxine (biting comic relief Greta Lee) and Godmother Ruth (Elizabeth Ashley) also fit a bit more into the story.
Meanwhile, Alan navigates his family’s backstory through train journeys that transport him to parts of Europe. It may seem distinctive at first, but its arc weaves into the larger narrative in equally wild ways. Russian Doll maneuvers its “box of timelines,” as Nadia quotes in the season one finale, through carefully constructed details. No interaction is random. (Reader, this viewer recommends re-watching the early second season episodes immediately upon completion to catch all the Easter eggs, from specific dialogue to seemingly irrelevant faces).
One of the most appealing parts of season one was the inexplicable chemistry between Lyonne and Barnett. Their characters’ grueling experiences together in a kind of purgatory led to Nadia and Alan forging a unique bond. This is where Russian Doll fails in season two because each of them is on their own path. When their tracks eventually converge, it comes a little too late.
Charlie Barnett in Russian Doll Season 2 Photo: Netflix
The writers, led by series co-creators Lyonne, Leslye Headland and Amy Poehler, once again deliver cutting-edge humor at its best. Don’t worry, there are organic references to previous jokes like “What a concept” and Lyonne mumbling “cock-a-roach” in her particular style. Even Harry Nilsson’s “Gotta Get Up” is finding its way back. The ensemble is top notch, with Lee getting stronger while Maxine gets better material. Murphy is an incredible addition too. But nothing beats Lyonne’s cracker of a performance; it is extremely precise and yet irrevocably liberating. She finds new depths in Nadia’s pain and misery without ever losing her comic timing. It’s a delicate balance, and Lyonne shatters it.
Russian Doll leaves a strong legacy as one of the most excitingly experimental and nuanced shows in recent years. There’s no telling if it will return for another installment. It’s a risky gimmick, after all, and not every show needs to extend its lifespan, especially not this one. Two seasons of time-traveling adventures have cemented Russian Doll as one of Netflix’s most esoteric and fun originals (coming from the US, at least). Hopefully it ends on that high note.