Sweet birthday baby! Russian Doll is back, and Nadia Vulvokov (Natasha Lyonne, who also wrote, co-wrote, and/or co-directed several episodes this season) is once again on a time-warped journey that pinballs between being surreal, existentially alarming, funny, frustrating, and deeply moving.
With all seven episodes now streaming on Netflix—all just around 30 minutes each, making for a not-unreasonable single-sitting binge—we’ve already devoured season two, and we suspect many of you have, too. (If you haven’t, note the spoiler warning below; if you haven’t see season one of Russian Doll, note that there’s a brief recap before the start of season two—but even though they tell separate stories, you will want to watch the first season beforehand to fully understand what’s going on.) Overall, we are huge fans of this show; Lyonne is a powerhouse and it’s amazing to see someone with her talent given what feels like free reign over such an original, entertaining series on a platform as huge as Netflix. But we did have a few little nitpicks to temper our feverish praise. Here’s what we liked—and didn’t like so much—about Russian Doll, season two.
