Russian Doll season 1 recap: Where did we leave Nadia Vulvokov?

By David Craig

Published: Wednesday, 13 April 2022 at 12:00 am

Russian Doll made a big splash when it first dropped on Netflix, but a three-year hiatus caused by the pandemic has arguably taken some of the wind out of its sails.

The comedy-drama stars Orange Is the New Black alum Natasha Lyonne as no-nonsense Nadia Vulvokov, a New Yorker who finds herself trapped in a time loop on the night of her 36th birthday.

The plot only thickens when she stumbles across Alan Zaveri (Charlie Barnett), a mild-mannered man enduring a similar scenario, whose fate becomes profoundly intertwined with hers.

If you need a refresher on all things Russian Doll ahead of the show’s long-awaited return, you have come to the right place: read on for the essential details you should keep in mind when you dive into season 2.

Russian Doll season 1 recap

Who is Nadia Vulvokov?

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Natasha Lyonne in Russian Doll
Netflix

Nadia Vulvokov is a smart-talking New Yorker and video game designer who plans to celebrate her 36th birthday in style, enlisting best friend Maxine to plan a party in her lavish city apartment.

The show opens with Nadia freshening up in Maxine’s bathroom, which is instantly recognisable for its striking bespoke door, which has a strange blue glass design in the centre that resembles a portal or rift between universes.

She ends up leaving early to hook up with a sleazy college professor named Mike (more on him later), which makes things particularly awkward when she returns to find her ex-boyfriend John looking for her.

Nadia absconds from the festivities once again – this time with John – to go looking for her missing cat Oatmeal, dashing onto a busy road when she spots him, and being hit and killed instantly by a car.

Moments later, she is returned to Maxine’s bathroom and left to question what on Earth just happened.

What happens in her time loop?

Nadia endures dozens of time-loops during the first season of Russian Doll, each of which is different depending on the actions she chooses to take.

However, certain things remain the same each time.

The loop always begins with Nadia in Maxine’s bathroom towards the start of her 36th birthday party, where the song ‘Gotta Get Up’ by Harry Nilsson is playing.

Leaving the bathroom, Maxine always greets her as “sweet birthday baby”, before offering her a joint laced with cocaine, which Nadia initially believes is the cause of her detachment from the regular flow of time.

Does Nadia die?

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Natasha Lyonne in Russian Doll
Netflix

Many, many times! All of Nadia’s time loops end with her untimely demise in one way or another, with causes of death including falling down the stairs, freezing on the street and being caught in a gas explosion.

At one point, Nadia begins to see the funny side, noting that her entire existence can be a party from now on, but eerie signs suggest that she doesn’t have all the time in the universe.

Not only does fresh food begin to appear rotten as the first season progresses, but people begin gradually disappearing from her party too, until only Maxine remains in one of the final loops.

Who is Alan Zaveri?

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Charlie Barnett and Natasha Lyonne in Russian Doll
Netflix

Alan is a stranger that Nadia first crosses paths with by chance on one of her early loops, when they board an elevator that crashes, resulting in both of their deaths.

In their final moments, Alan makes a comment referencing that this isn’t his first time shuffling off the mortal coil, which entices Nadia to track him down in the next loop.

What happens in his time loop?

It soon becomes clear that Nadia and Alan are trapped in the same repeating nightmare, but the circumstances of Alan’s scenario are very different indeed.

We learn that the day his time loops began, he had proposed to his long-term girlfriend, but she had refused his offer of marriage and confessed to having an affair with her professor (the very same one that Nadia also hooked up with).

This sends him on a self-destructive spiral, which we later learn ended with him committing suicide, but being given a second chance at life due to the onset of the time loop.

He is initially convinced that his girlfriend will accept the engagement and the time loop will end if only he becomes a “better” person, which results in him spending his early loops obsessing about every intricate detail of his life.

What causes the time loops?

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Charlie Barnett and Natasha Lyonne in Russian Doll
Netflix

After a number of loops spent working together trying to find a way out of their private purgatory, Nadia and Alan develop a strong friendship and learn much about each other.

Among the revelations is the fate of Nadia’s mother Lenora, who suffered from severe mental health issues and ultimately took her own life when her daughter was just a child.

This left Nadia in the care of a family friend and therapist Ruth Brenner (AKA ‘Ruthie’), who remains a cherished pillar of support to this very day.

In the end, we never conclusively uncover the specific cause of the time loop, but they appear to have been brought about as an elaborate mechanism for Nadia and Alan to undergo some spiritual healing.

The final episode of the season sees them separated into two different realities, with Alan sent to one where Nadia doesn’t remember him or any of the loops and vice versa for our sweet birthday baby herself.

They must use the intimate mutual understanding they have developed to get through to each other at the lowest (and most stubborn) moments in their respective lives.

They succeed in doing so, preventing catastrophic self-destruction and walking into the night together, at which point the two separate universes they were filtered into appear to merge once more.

Russian Doll season 2 debuts on Netflix on Wednesday 20th April 2022. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.

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