Russian Doll Season 2 Review: It Is Once Again One Of The Freshest And Most Original Experiences | Muneca Rusa 2
Starring: Natasha Lyonne, Charlie Barnett, Greta Lee
Director: Natasha Lyonne and Alex Buono
Streaming Platform: Netflix (click to watch)
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 4/5 (four stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Russian Doll Season 2 Review: After the success of 2019 on Netflix, the Russian Doll (Muneca Rusa) series seemed to have come to an end. Last February, however, the first images of an unexpected second season were released. Waiting for the arrival on the streaming platform on April 20, all episodes of Russian Doll Season 2 is out now. Nadia Vulvokov is the protagonist played by Natasha Lyonne, best known for her role in Orange Is the New Black. She is also the creator of the series, along with Leslye Headland and Amy Poehler. Russian Doll 2 is set three years after the events of the first season: Nadia returns with a brand new ultra-dimensional misadventure, which brings together new laws of time and space, much more complicated than the “simple” time loop in which she and her friend Alan (Charlie Barnett) were trapped.
Russian Doll Season 2 (Muneca Rusa 2) now available to stream on Netflix despite being well aware that both the platform and creator and performer Natasha Lyonne might have wanted it. We find ourselves three years later (and four years spent in the story told) to write the review of Russian Doll 2 from April 20 on Netflix, happy that Lyonne has not fallen into the trap of repetitiveness, at least not entirely, indeed it has become more ambitious, sought after, in short, that has not been disunited, to put it à la Sorrentino.
Russian Doll Season 2 Review: The Story
The theme at the center of the story is once again time but this time managed in a different way and with a nod to the science fiction of time travel, between Back to the future and other genre classics. If in the inaugural cycle Nadia (Natasha Lyonne) found herself stuck in a time loop on her 36th birthday, in these new seven episodes we are one week after her 40th birthday, an important, symbolic date and moment of balance in her life, when one looks instinctively at one’s own past, even in the family. Four years have passed and she and Alan (Charlie Barnett) kept an eye on the timeline with no jolts until this moment, when she suddenly finds herself catapulted into the past after taking the subway.
Nadia Vulvokov, New Yorker of Hungarian origins, is a video game programmer with a unique personality. She is addicted to alcohol, smoking and more, we can say that she immediately conquered the fans with her charm, her sympathy, her sarcasm and her cynicism. On her thirty-sixth birthday, she finds herself stuck in a terrible time loop that forces her to die every time, only to relive the same day. An endless nightmare that, with the help of Alan, victim of the same mechanism finds its conclusion at the end of the first season.
The ending certainly did not suggest a sequel, yet Netflix surprised us with a new misadventure, much more complex than this one. The undisputed protagonist is always time: Nadia, now nearly forty, finds herself in the carriage of a train which, as she will soon discover, is able to travel in time. The protagonist immediately finds herself catapulted into the 80s, but not in the clothes she expects. Following some discoveries, Nadia will try to change the past to affect the present, with truly bizarre results.
While time stood still in the first season, Russian Doll Season 2 showed us a dynamic path. As Nadia herself senses, the train goes through a wormhole which allows her to move back and forth in time and, sometimes, in space, in a way that is not at all casual. The past, of which we had only had a taste so far, comes to life here, enriching situations and plot points that the 2019 episodes had only hinted at. Indeed, a sequel with subsequent events might have jeopardized the series. What else to invent? How an evolution was possible in the light of a first season in fact closed? The expedient of the backward journey allows us to anchor ourselves to something we already know, without having to continue in a direction that, perhaps, would have convinced much less. In short, it is perhaps a less courageous choice, but still effective and of great impact.
Russian Doll Season 2 Review And Analysis
Russian Doll Season 2 is much richer in many ways. Nadia and Alan, for a narrative coherence, were first forced to always frequent the same places; the new episodes, on the other hand, show us different settings, in the present and in the past, which often even coincide with different cities. There is an extreme attention to detail, aimed at identifying different eras: the first episode, for example, shows 80s bars, signs, flyers, and much more. Likewise, even the appearance and costumes of the characters are faithful to the historical period represented, as well as the soundtrack, which since the first season has always represented an essential and accurate component.
The multiplicity of places, together with the gears that bind time travels together, give life to a whirlwind season, which is why we recommend a vision in small doses. The common thread is not always easy to follow, and perhaps some dynamics do not find a real answer. Although it often seems that some gimmicks are devoid of logic – as much as one can speak of logic in this case – the gimmick behind Russian Doll 2 , all in all, it works and pleases. It is even possible not to fall into banality or the “already seen”. Indeed, the irreverent character of Nadia never misses an opportunity to make fun of the clichés present in the films about time travel, a meta-theatrical aspect which we appreciated.
The years pass, but Russian Doll 2 does not abandon the characteristics that characterized the previous season. Some old sets are reconstructed to perfection, but even within a whole new context, the atmosphere and tenor of 2019 are never lost. The new episodes maintain the same aesthetic, in colors and style. The script continues to be brilliant and our Nadia always looks the same as her, with her ready line and her temper that we adore. Here we must be careful: surely her character undergoes an evolution, but Natasha Lyonne, despite the time that has passed, manages to perfectly embody the woman who struck us three years ago, never betraying her way of being. Russian Doll 2 shows us a credible season in harmony with the entire Netflix product, and not a sequel of circumstance which, as mentioned, would have risked ruining the primary project.
On the occasion of the new season, Russian Doll wanted to overcome what has been achieved so far, focusing a lot not only on an articulated screenplay but also on an increasingly demanding directing job . Filming is decidedly more dynamic, plays of light and camera movements often return almost hallucinogenic effects, totally detached from tangible reality, in communion with what happens episode after episode.
We often find scenes in which the characters are immersed in the void, as well as sequences with neon lights, kaleidoscopic images and unstable shots, in line with the precise narrative moment or with a particular sensation of Nadia which, inevitably, is effectively transmitted to the viewer. In short, even on this side Russian Doll 2 presents itself as a much more ambitious project. If it sometimes falls into excess, on many occasions it is a real step forward.
Russian Doll Season 2 Review: The Last Words
Russian Doll Season 2 (Muneca Rusa 2) is precisely that sequel that we did not expect, of which perhaps we did not feel a real need, given the completeness of the first season. Yet the new 7 episodes manage to surprise the viewer with unprecedented dynamics, with a complex script that often risks confusing the audience, immersing them in the same situation that the protagonists live. The stylistic and direction choices contribute to this sense of identification, giving life to a more articulated and more ambitious work that succeeds in its intent, at least as long as the mechanisms do not come out of a logical scheme aimed at conferring a minimum of credibility.
