{"id":13777,"date":"2022-04-13T09:00:31","date_gmt":"2022-04-13T07:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1624629"},"modified":"2022-04-13T09:19:09","modified_gmt":"2022-04-13T07:19:09","slug":"russian-doll-season-2-review-a-mesmerising-trip-down-memory-lane","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/russian-doll-season-2-review-a-mesmerising-trip-down-memory-lane\/","title":{"rendered":"Russian Doll season 2 review: A mesmerising trip down memory lane"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By David Craig\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 13 April 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Given everything that\u2019s happened since, it\u2019s easy to forget just how big a deal Russian Doll was when the first season landed back in 2019.<\/p>\n

Boasting a fresh spin on the time-loop premise and a transformative performance from Orange Is the New Black<\/a>\u2018s Natasha Lyonne, the sharply written comedy-drama went on to score major nominations during that year\u2019s awards season. But alas, Netflix churns out content at such an unforgiving pace that this charming oddity has all but slipped off the radar.<\/p>\n

There is a real sense that the substantial delay in bringing this follow-up to the screen has sapped Russian Doll<\/a> of its initial momentum, particularly as there are virtually no unresolved plot threads for these new episodes to pick up.<\/p>\n

As such, it takes a few episodes for the show to hit its stride again and re-establish its grunting, quipping and thoroughly unapologetic protagonist Nadia Vulvokov (Lyonne) as someone we should care about.<\/p>

The important thing is it gets there eventually and Netflix<\/a> certainly seems confident that lightning will strike twice with audiences, as demonstrated by the long list of plot details that the press are restricted from revealing.<\/p>\n

What we can say is that the second season sees both Nadia and fellow time-loop survivor Alan (Charlie Barnett) delving even deeper into their respective pasts, as the universe picks on them once more for some visceral personal development.<\/p>\n

Lyonne effortlessly slips back into the Nadia role, returning with a flurry of smart-arse remarks that admittedly become somewhat tiresome in the early chapters.<\/p>\n

But though it initially seems like the character\u2019s charm has faded over her three-year absence, it is gradually restored across a seven-episode saga that goes to some truly unexpected places. The show\u2019s comic timing might have dulled slightly, but it still packs a hefty emotional punch at its apex.<\/p>\n