Pick of the Day: “Russian Doll”

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Pick of the Day: “Russian Doll”

In Season 2, “Russian Doll” has broken out of the time loop but can’t seem to escape the past. On the verge of her 40th birthday, Nadia Vulvokov (Natasha Lyonne) — who, let’s remember, has already died umpteen times — is once again contending with mortality and family trauma. But this go-around, instead of being trapped in a glitch in her own life, Nadia travels back to 1982, prior to her own birth, where she inhabits her mother’s (Chloë Sevigny) pregnant body. While gaining new insight into Lenora’s life — her mental health problems, her own troubled relationship with her family — Nadia also embarks on a journey concerning her matrilineal history and epigenetics.

But first things first. Before Nadia hops on the time-traveling subway that shuttles her to and from 1982, we catch up with her and her post-time loop life. She’s still acerbic and hard-living, she’s still close with Maxine (Greta Lee) and Lizzy (Rebecca Henderson), and she keeps in touch with the buttoned-up Alan (Charlie Barnett), who helped her solve the time-loop mystery in Season 1. But life as Nadia knows it is changing: her beloved godmother, Ruth (Elizabeth Ashley), is aging and ailing. There are frequent doctor’s appointments, medication monitoring, and trips to the ER. And Nadia’s having a hard time coming to terms with possibly losing her surrogate mother, the only family she has left.

This is the headspace she’s occupying when she gets on the train and suddenly finds herself 40 years in the past, and in Lenora’s body. In denial about losing Ruth, the only stable presence in her childhood, Nadia travels back in time to learn more about her biological mother, whom she loved dearly but could never rely on. Experiencing Lenora’s life as Lenora, Nadia develops a closeness with her mother that she hasn’t felt since she was a kid. She also reaches the milestone that every mature person comes to sooner or later: the realization that one’s parents are just people, and existed before they had children. Nadia’s struggling with the thought of letting Ruth go, yet is finally able to relate to her mother as an adult.

It’s a little too complicated and (spoiler-y) to get into here, but the new season of “Russian Doll” heavily revolves around Nadia’s medallion necklace, the last remaining gold krugerrand of her mother’s family’s wealth. What happened to the rest of the krugerrands, why they were so important to her grandmother, Nadia’s Hungarian heritage, and the intergenerational trauma the Holocaust inflicted on the Vulvokov family all factor into this storyline. The more time Nadia spends in 1982, the more she understands her family’s past — and her present.

In addition to taking on showrunning duties, Lyonne wrote and directed several episodes of “Russian Doll’s” sophomore season. (She is also the co-creator, alongside Leslye Headland and Amy Poehler.) These seven episodes were reportedly her passion project and the proof is in the pudding: as was the case in Season 1, the attention to detail and sheer amount of Easter eggs are astounding — so much so that, if possible, you might want to rewatch the debut season before checking out the new episodes. Even if you don’t pick up on every detail, Season 2 is sure to impress. The time travel will bend your mind, and the family stuff will break your heart.

The second season of “Russian Doll” is now available on Netflix.