One Line Review: Perhaps one of THE most intense and engaging shows I’ve ever watched, this one kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time, yearning for more.

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YouTube Trailer Russian Doll

Starring: Natasha Lyonne, Charlie Barnett, Greta Lee
Creators: Leslye Headland, Natasha Lyonne, Amy Poehler

Release Date: 1 February 2019

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The story of a woman who dies repeatedly in one night – only to resurrect and find herself reliving the same moments each time; until she realizes she’s stuck in an infinite time loop. 

Overview

The American comedy-thriller series Russian Doll that premiered back in February 2019 on Netflix, is created by the incredible Emmy-nominated Natasha Lyonne, who also features as the lead. So far, it has only one season (but fear not! It has been slated for a much-awaited season two) and is spread across eight short, but power-packed 20-25 minutes.

Story/Plotline

We are introduced to Nadia (Natasha Lyonne) who’s celebrating her 36^th birthday party at her apartment in New York (at least, she’s trying to) but finds it unbelievably hard to just have a good time.

Why? She dies and comes back to life – over, and over, and over again. Caught in this infinite time loop that resets each time she dies, she’s back at the same party, in the same bathroom, with the same people wishing her a happy birthday for the nth time.

No matter how different she leads the day, or how extra vigilant she tries to be even as she walks down the stairs, she still eventually dies.

While her disgruntled, bewildered self tries to navigate what the hell is going on, she meets Alan (Charlie Barnett), who co-incidentally seems to be experiencing the same thing.

Together, they attempt to figure this seemingly quantum physics sort of conundrum.

Discerning The Complicated Story (Spoilers Ahead)

As Nadia and Alan both try their best to escape death, there’s a catch. Each time they resurrect, their life has deteriorated in some capacity. That’s why – you’ll notice – every time that Nadia would land up in the bathroom at her yet again, 36^th birthday party, first a bunch of people disappears, then the furniture goes missing until she finds herself all alone in her apartment.

At one point, even Alan’s immaculately maintained apartment features rotten fruits in a bowl. But this is not all there is to Russian Doll, it goes deeper.

This may not be something that a viewer can discern immediately, but the series taps into the inevitable glaring void caused by addiction and drug overdose.

Natasha Lyonne, who is also the creator of the show, decided to use her own life as inspiration for the underlying storyline. In several interviews, she mentions how addiction completely derailed her life, and no matter how hard she tried, it was as though she were stuck in this monotonous loop where she would inadvertently end up in the bathroom – once again, symbolic of the repeated deaths and simultaneous deterioration Nadia witnesses.

What’s fresh is that by using the narrative built around a quantum time loop, coupled with the clever, snappy wisecracks we so often see, it allows for the theme of addiction to be discussed without making it too grim or morbid.

We are introduced to Alan in the latter half of the series, around the third episode. On the night of his first death, he is about to propose to his girlfriend but later finds out she had been cheating on him with his friend from high-school. Despondent, and miserably drunk, he commits suicide by jumping off the building.

The deaths Alan and Nadia repeatedly face metaphorically represent the incessant emotional deaths that many individuals suffering from addiction experience.

As the two begin to decipher the state of affairs, they are forced to reflect on their past, their traumas as well as their individual shortcomings in an attempt to reconcile with the same.

Following this theme of self-acceptance, growth, and moving on, Nadia and Alan do their best to serve as therapists for each other along the way.

Through the course of these eight episodes, they realize that although their personalities are starkly contrasting, they still need each other to find a way out – and this is further reinforced when Nadia saves Alan from jumping off of the building, and Alan saves Nadia from a taxi heading towards her.  

The more Nadia reflects, the more she’s compelled to come to terms with the trauma she’s faced in her childhood and all that she had kept suppressed deep into the crevices of her mind.

She and Alan soon recognize that for the loop to potentially end, they will first have to alleviate themselves of the emotional baggage that they had buried.

Towards the end, Nadia confronts the guilt she had been living with about her mother’s death, while Alan begins to see things from his ex-girlfriend’s perspective and understands the circumstances that led to her committing adultery.

Final Words

We also meet a pivotal character – the homeless man Horse (Brendan Sexton III) – but I wouldn’t want to give anything away. So, if you’re looking for a quick weekend binge – this is your go-to!

I’m almost sure it will be so mindboggling that you may have to take the internet’s assistance to fully understand the ending.