One Season In- Russian Doll

I love binge watching a show. Don’t get to really binge very often. Usually, one or two episodes three or four nights a week is our peak binge. If I’m really into something I could go for three episodes at a time for a few nights in a row but my wife normally doesn’t like more than two (unless we’ve hit an end of season climax). I know some people will roll through four+ episodes of shows on a regular basis. But I couldn’t watch that much tv. Time issue aside, I just can’t do one thing for that long. Three episodes of an hour-long show is about a movie, which is my limit.

“Russian Doll” ended up being a perfect binge show because episodes were only 30min and there were only eight of them. Two nights of two hours of tv is just about perfect. And it was a complete story. Door open for more, potentially, but the single-season told a complete story. That’s your spoiler-free endorsement.

The show made good use of its “repeat the day” trope. I always enjoy this trope.  From “Groundhog Day” to all the inevitable episode of most sci-fi shows that make use of it. It’s fun to see things repeat and see how they change and imagine what you could do with perfect knowledge of what’s to come or living a day with no consequences. I was skeptical how that would play out over an entire season, rather than just an episode, but it worked.

When things would reset shifted around enough that it didn’t get old. They also threw in twists at just the right times to keep the interest high. After two episodes I hadn’t expected the appearance of another person trapped in a loop so when Alan shows up in the elevator I was just as startled as Nadia.

They pulled it off again when the loops started changing by having things disappear. They had foreshadowed something with the fruit, plants and fish dying and aging but it became more and more important. And then the timeline split in the last episode kept was a unique twist at the end.

What did it all mean? What was causing them to loop? Who knows? They show asks them, as anyone would in this situation, but we never get a definitive answer. The characters figure out how to break the loop and grow as people. As a stand-alone season of TV, we don’t need answers to those questions.

If there is a season two, that is something they’ll need to address. As well as, if the loops were really happening or not. They might have been dead and in purgatory. Which would explain the loops I suppose.

I’m not sure I want an answer or a season two though. It would be very easy to jump the shark. But I did read somewhere that they pitched the show as having three seasons, which suggests they had some idea for it before they started. I have enough confidence that they can make it work that I’ll watch the second one.

Overall, worthwhile use of your time. Entertaining and gripping.