The Premise

Nadia (Natasha Lyonne) is an extremely sarcastic woman with a penchant for living life like it’s her last day on Earth. Unfortunately, she gets caught in a time loop where she keeps dying and waking up in the bathroom during her 36th birthday party. She becomes increasingly frustrated and panicked as she tries to figure out what’s going on and why this is happening to her. Basically, it’s Groundhog Day in fast-paced 21st-century New York City and without Andie MacDowell, thank god.

Reliving life? I’d rather be dead.

Things seem hopeless until Nadia runs into mild-mannered Alan (Charlie Barnett), who seems to be taking his identical situation with poise and aplomb. At least finding comfort in each other’s shared predicament, they work together to find out how they can break the cycle. You’ll laugh! You’ll cry! You’ll wish the season was longer than eight episodes!

My Half-Baked Thoughts

This was really good. I knew three minutes in, when Natasha Lyonne parades around her friend’s apartment with her cocksure Peter Falk-esque New York City-incarnate disposition, that I was going to immensely enjoy Russian Doll. Or at least Natasha Lyonne. Most of the joy of the series comes from the way Nadia carries herself, in my opinion, and it’s not often you find such a strong personality within a show’s main character. I was giggling at all her sarcastic one-liners, her facial expressions, the way she fucking delivers all her lines. Genius-level acting. Underrated.

Charlie Barnett is really good as the sad-sack, depressed Alan who makes the best of his odd situation. With optimism and positivity, he moves through his repeated days going over mantras of self-respect and self-assurance. Of anybody in Russian Doll, Alan seemed to be the most real and human, not a caricature. The season really takes off in Episode 4 when Alan gets introduced proper, showing the contrast with respect to the first three episodes of how he tries to fix his perceived mistakes between each death. While Nadia spends her Groundhog Day avoiding falling down the stairs and breaking her neck, Alan attempts to propose to his girlfriend the “correct” way.

I mean, seriously? Reliving life? Kill me.

These two play off each other really well, and I’m glad because much of the supporting cast was lukewarm. Nadia’s friends Maxine and Lizzy are pretentious and boring. Nadia’s ex-boyfriend John is age-inappropriate and boring. Nadia’s mother figure Ruth seemed superfluous, not exactly boring though. I didn’t care much about who anyone Nadia was talking to until Alan shows up in her elevator. Then the meat of the show — figuring out how to break their cycle — kicked into full gear. Alan thinks they’re being punished for being bad people. Nadia is like “fuck that noise” until she has her doubts. They try to retrace their steps that led up to their respawn moment. Alan realizes that his first death was suicide, which was a real kick in the ol’ nuts. Eventually, they come to the conclusion that they had crossed paths pre-loop and neglected to help each other out.

The story never gets bogged down in the time-loop physics — using it more as a plot vehicle than for worldbuilding. I don’t remember if it’s clear that Nadia and Alan die at the same time, but I know they respawn at the same time. It’s amusing when they talk about how they died before restarting again (usually something ridiculous, like collapsing from a pre-existing condition), or when they take it in stride that people and objects keep disappearing. The chemistry between them cultivates a very platonic dynamic, at least in Season 1. I’m willing to bet that things are going to change between Nadia and Alan in Season 2, but I sure hope not. I like it the way it is. I can’t see these two getting together in any sort of romantic sense, but I’ve said that before with two characters from a lot of different shows and I’ve always been wrong. Saul Goodman and Kim Wexler? I fucked that one up!

Me and my friend here, we’re tired of dyin’ all the time!

As with most fanciful stories, I like to try to put myself in Nadia or Alan’s shoes. What if I kept finding myself waking up to the same moment over and over again. I certainly wouldn’t be afraid of death anymore, which would be a fantastic boon to my mental health, for one thing! Unless it kept hurting really badly. Then I wouldn’t look forward to it. Would I keep trying to kill myself like Groundhog Day’s Phil Connors? Would I try to restart fresh and be the best version of me I can be? Would I take advantage of the respawn by binging books and movies and kill myself out of the convenience of gaining time (that last one sounds pretty attractive save for the “killing myself” part of things)? I think I’d start freaking out and trying to figure out what the fuck was going on, but what if I’m already stuck in a time loop and I haven’t died for the first time yet? What if I die in 2070 and it takes me back to 1994. Maybe I did something terrible when I was seven years old that I’m still paying for 30 years later? I must have really hit James Blum hard in the face with my red and white mini Playmate lunchbox. I still feel bad about that, actually. Sorry, James.

Worth the Watch?

Yes, sir or ma’am. Eight short episodes. Knock it out in a weekend. It’s funny and thought-provoking. I’m going to watch the next season very soon. Not now though. I don’t like watching seasons back-to-back. I’m weird that way.

If we’re goin’ dyin’, we mught as well look cool. Ayyyyyyy!