Season 2 of 'Russian Doll' Warps Time in Exciting New Ways
Created by Natasha Lyonne, Leslye Headland and Amy Poehler
Starring Natasha Lyonne, Chloë Sevigny, Annie Murphy, Charlie Barnett, Elizabeth Ashley, Greta Lee
The season drags a touch when it becomes too plot-driven, as Nadia goes on a quest to correct a piece of family history. The plot works nicely when it's just a MacGuffin facilitate the mind-bending time travel; it's less gripping when it becomes the focus. There's a message here — about inherited trauma and coming to terms your ancestors' flawed humanity — but existential confusion remains the best part of Russian Doll.
Lyonne is once again an absolute joy as the wryly cynical Nadia. Whether firing off self-deprecating barbs ("My lungs are essentially two shrivelled up Nick Caves," she says of her smoking) or simply grunting and grumbling in her husky rasp, she's one of those actors who is hilarious doing almost anything. Charlie Barnett and Schitt's Creek's Annie Murphy are capable in their roles, but they're given much less screen time to shine than Lyonne, despite their prominent billing.
Russian Doll's second season isn't quite as consistently gripping as the first — but between Lyonne's performance and many moments of interdimensional claustrophobia, it effectively plays into the strengths of the first season without simply repeating them.