"Russian Doll" Is Cancel-My-Netflix-If-There-Isn’t-a-Season-Two Good

The seriesamp160opens on Nadia Vulvokov Leone a New Yorker who just so happens to be celebrating her 36th birthday amp160Little does she know that this might be her last party ever because every time she leaves it she dies and instantly returns to the bathroom at the party in the exact moment we found her in when the show began amp160This Groundhog Daylike scenario while confusing for Nadia is hilarious at first but it quickly turns into something of a nightmare for her as it continues to happen over and over and overThis show hit all the right notes for me from the very beginning amp160Natasha Leoneamp8217s Nadia pictured at top has that classic amp821670s New Yorker attitude that in the past was usually reserved for male leads amp160amp8220Your antiquated gender roles have no place hereamp8221 is the message this show puts out and thatamp8217s made clear from the jump amp160Nadia is cynical funny and unapologetically caustic and as a New Yorker myself I found her superendearingNadiaamp8217s friends Maxine Greta Lee and Lizzy Rebecca Henderson seem like the coolest most interesting two people anyone could ever find themselves lucky enough to count as friends Almost every single interaction they have with Nadia is not only funny as hell but also a perfect example of how to further the viewersamp8217 understanding of who these people are by amp8220showing and not tellingamp8221 amp160There isnamp8217t a bunch of exposition in real life so Russian Doll is damn near exposition freeThe supporting actors really do their jobs in this show but itamp8217s the writers who crafted these intriguing and unique characters that really made it all possible amp160Every person who Nadia interacts with from Farran Ritesh Rajan her friend at the deli to Horse Brendan Sexton III the homeless guy that hangs out in the nearby park to her surrogate mother Ruth Elizabeth Ashley is special just the way you and I are amp160They are all their own people with their own distinct personalities and styles and yet they all fit together to create this version of New York that feels so real and surreal at the same time amp160Itamp8217s a task that many a show have attempted but that Doll manages almost effortlesslyThe show itself can at first sound reminiscent of many things amp160Indeed I called it amp8220Groundhog Daylikeamp8221 at the beginning of this very article amp160But make no mistake it is its own beast amp160The show does have a amp8220choose your own adventureamp8221 kind of feel to it stated by Leone herself during an interview on AOL Build but the difference is unlike the Black Mirror episode Bandersnatch we donamp8217t get to choose Nadiaamp8217s adventure amp160This is further demonstrated by how closely the narrative follows our redheaded leading lady amp160For the most part the story stays with her and with our hands tied by the guidelines of conventional storytelling we find ourselves at the mercy of her decisionsSo when the mood takes a turn all this dying sht stops being funamp160 We feel it not in an unentertaining way however but just the opposite amp160Weamp8217re involved maybe because we identify with her maybe because sheamp8217s likably unlikable or maybe just because weamp8217re just curious about how this all plays out amp160No matter the reason though we are all along for the ride and the isolation ofamp160being the only person who remembers every loop of the night gets transferred onto us because we can at least recognize her pain and are also helpless to do anything about itIn this vein lies the main difference between Nadia and Stefan the nasty lead character of Bandersnatch amp160Stefanamp8217s problems did not feel like our own amp160When something bad happened to Stefan or anyone else it was like watching an experiment through a window but when something happens to Nadia I felt for her with genuine concern for her wellbeing fictional as she may beItamp8217s hard for me to get into the true mechanics of what makes this show great without giving away the farm amp160Iamp8217d hate to ruin the journey for someone else amp160But I can say that besides being quotable GIFable memeable and everything inbetween its also as honest a show as they come amp160It weaves together themes of friendship selfvalue mental health depression and love then combines them with a depiction of New York City that is symbolic of the way life feels chaotic complicated dangerous unpredictable amazing and beautiful all at once Whatever was going on in Nadiaamp8217s life before that moment in the bathroom at the party doesnamp8217t matter which feels like why we always restart there because what she does going forward is what really countsAfter initially finishing the first and currently only season of this show I was on such a Russian Dollhigh that I tweeted amp8220It is amp8216cancelmyNetflixifthereisnamp8217taseasontwoamp8217 goodamp8221 amp160Now while I still definitely stand by that sentiment Iamp8217d like to amend it amp160Yes Russian Doll is more than deserving of a second season but honestly the story that was told over this first season was told so well that it almost feels too complete continue amp160With eight episodes at no longer than 30 minutes a pop they clock in atamp160no more than four hours totalamp160 If this had been a fourhour movie it would have been the best damn fourhour movie Iamp8217d ever seenamp160not that I39ve seen all that manyamp160 No sequel is needed in fact the idea of continuing something that made its point so well may seem blasphemousamp160 But the cast and crew are welldeserving of the additional work and theyamp8217d probably be the only people capable of following up this particular masterpiece with a worthy successorRegardless I want moreamp160 Much moreamp160 Long live Russian DollClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writersamp160amp160

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

"Russian Doll" Is Cancel-My-Netflix-If-There-Isn’t-a-Season-Two Good

Author

Publish date

Channel

Archived in

Ainsley Andrade

Jon Miller | Cofounder Marketo, Engagio | The Gumball Machine is Broken - Rethinking B2B Marketing - By Mike Linton

More Videos:

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

"Russian Doll" Is Cancel-My-Netflix-If-There-Isn’t-a-Season-Two Good

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Ainsley Andrade

Jon Miller | Cofounder Marketo, Engagio | The Gumball Machine is Broken - Rethinking B2B Marketing - By Mike Linton

The payment was successful

Cookies