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Currently 81 on Metacritic with 12 reviews. Premieres Wednesday, April 20, 2022, on Netflix.
Trailer link:
Discuss.
ReplyWas her accent so pronounced in the first season?
Yes. I remember watching season 1 with my roommate at the time and he hadn’t seen Lyonne in anything before and was curious as to whether her accent was put on, not realising that is actually how she enunciates in real life.
ReplyCopy URLFYC: Better Call Saul, The English and The Good Fight in all categories including Emily Blunt, Bob Odenkirk, Christine Baranski and Rhea Seehorn.
I finished Russian Doll. It’s not as good as the first season in my opinion but Lyonne gives a stronger performance in this one. She probably has a winning tape in episode three if tapes mattered anymore. The music is still awesome and the writing is still quite sharp.
However, this season was very up and down. There were many scenes and storylines that seemed to drag throughout. Most of them you were rewarded but not in every instance. There was quite a bit of convenient plotting being shoehorned in rather than developed organically through the characterization. And Charlie Barnett is grossly underutilized throughout the season which makes his bigger presence and moments in the end feel pretty unearned. Also that relationship between he and Lyonne’s character was noticeably missed throughout. With that said, it’s still very ambitious and evocative throughout the season.
Right now I think it is probably a safe bet for series and Lyonne with a genuine shot at writing and directing. I don’t foresee them breaking any of the other actors through because it’s primarily a Lyonne vehicle but Sevigny might have a shot. I don’t think Annie Murphy got the work deserving of a nomination but if she submits in guest she will likely get the nomination on name value alone.
ReplyCopy URLSeason 2
Pros:
– Natasha Lyonne is still having a lot of fun with this role. Pretty great stuff from her. I liked it Sharlto Cooper in it as well.– The technical aspect is just superb, Cinematography, Make Up, Costume Design and the VFX, no wonder it won three emmys and it’s coming for the BTL categories once more.
– The music supervision.
Cons:
– Unlike the first season, there’s not much set up. It’s kinda rushed and you don’t have much time to proccess everything that’s happening. Nadia looks for A > Finds Character B > Character B tells something about C > Nadia prceeds to look for C.
– Charlie Bennett doesn’t do much. I wonder how much pandemic affected the show considering there’s very few interactions between Nadia and the other returning characters. There was a very nice storyline involving him in the fourth episode but there’s not much depth to it.
– There was an Indiana Jones-like storyline that didn’t work. Russian Doll is better when everything is bonkers and having a sober historical storyline felt out of the place.
I’d give a B+. Not as good as the all timer great first season, but it’s still great.
As for awards, the Netflix of it all could help it, but I wonder if the novelty feeling has cooled down ? I still think it’s getting Comedy Series based in its tech haul alone, and that Lyonne will probably get nominated. I think it could miss Writing, though.
ReplyCopy URL– Charlie Bennett doesn’t do much. I wonder how much pandemic affected the show considering there’s very few interactions between Nadia and the other returning characters. There was a very nice storyline involving him in the fourth episode but there’s not much depth to it.
If I recall Barnett did have some other commitments this year so that makes sense.
ReplyCopy URLJust finished the fourth episode and quite enjoying it! Agree with everyone else that it’s not on the same level as the first season, but it’s still really strong.
Mostly just disappointed in Charlie Barnett’s lack of presence. I thought he was totally robbed of a nomination for s1 and had been hope-dicting him to get in now, but alas.
ReplyCopy URLFYC: Bad Sisters (Anne-Marie Duff) Cunk on Earth (Diane Morgan), Fleishman Is in Trouble (Lizzy Caplan/Claire Danes), Industry (Marisa Abela/Myha'la Herrold), Physical (Rose Byrne), Poker Face (Ellen Barkin/Joseph Gordon-Levitt/Chloë Sevigny), The White Lotus (Sabrina Impacciatore)
When I started the first episode, felt like it was kind of a letdown. I really agree that there’s not much setup there and everything happened so suddenly. I feel like one of the best part of the first season is its pacing and how everything unraveled, in which the s2e1 was not too strong. But then, Nadia glanced in the mirror and I cannot tell you the gasp I let out…. Another gasp when Annie Murphy came out and they revealed who she’s playing… Another gasp on the last episode when… some familiar thing happened.
Overall, though, I don’t think it’s better than season 1, but it’s still good. Season 1 was probably one of the best thing ever. I don’t know about what you think, but I feel like some storylines in this season are kinda pointless
, like Alan’s storyline. Charlie Barnett was criminally underutilized!! I love his character so much!!I really hope Sharlto Copley gets nominated in guest instead of the SNL hosts. I really want Annie Murphy to get in, but I don’t think it’s likely given the material. Charlie Barnett was so great in the last few episodes. Kinda surprised that S1 didn’t get in directing and idk if it’s gonna happen with this season.
ReplyCopy URLJust as a warning this is going to be a very long review.
I think the big success story with this season is that Russian Doll has proven it is a concept that can sustain itself through multiple seasons which wasn’t exactly a guarantee with how neatly the first season wrapped itself up. It’s a show that can’t exactly keep going on for years and years nor is it one with an overall arc but that’s what makes the formula so successful. With both these seasons there’s been a debate over whether the show is actually a drama or a comedy but I think whilst there are dramatic moments it’s a show that is distinctly the latter because it’s a surreal character study. Not only traditionally but even now the most character driven dramas (like say Succession) have to have a concise plot to sustain themselves over long periods of time but that’s not the case with comedy. It’s all about characters placed in surreal or comical situations. Russian Doll may have some dramatic undertones but it is a show that’s very aware of which genre it falls in both seasons. Instead of coming in with a ludicrous plot that ruins such a neat (and imo all time great) season of television, it just focuses on exploring the gem of a character that is Nadia and her coming to terms with her past, her mortality, her moral character, her trauma… it’s almost as if Nadia is a Russian doll herself and as the viewer we’re seeing all these layers and feelings about life that have amassed over a long period of time inside of her unravel as we go on a journey of discovery of her.
Overall I quite liked this season! I wouldn’t say I liked it as much as season 1 (which took the comedy series prize in my personal awards) but that’s because I think with the presence of Leslye Headland and Amy Poehler on the writing time I thought was more cohesive whilst this one was more free-spirited. But at the same time I think the looser inter-linking of this season made it feel a lot more personal. You could really feel with a lot of these episodes that Lyonne really poured her heart and soul into this whether with her use of the Quantum Leap-esque time and body hopping sub-plot as a metaphor for generational trauma or with a very emotional committed performance. There were some very clear (although not particularly glaring) Covid limitations with the production of this season that resulted in certain interactions between characters that could have provided a bit more clarity as to what was happening in certain scenes and how we were supposed to react as a viewer to them but with Lyonne’s performance provided such a strong emotional understanding as a guide that it was just a fruitless qualm. The finale was the television equivalent of a rollercoaster (I say this as a compliment!) but I thought that whilst it might not have been as focused a finale as the first season’s, the emotional satisfaction you felt at the end of it was just so much greater.
It was a big shame to see Annie Murphy, Chloe Sevigny, Greta Lee and especially Charlie Barnett under-utilised so much although as an aside I have to take my hat off at the Murphy casting. It felt kind of obvious who she was going to play the moment they released that set of image of her but to have such a likeable presence playing that role really helped to push forth the narrative the season was trying to produce in a way that I don’t think would have been as impactful had an actor with less familiar charm been cast instead.
ReplyCopy URLFYC: Better Call Saul, The English and The Good Fight in all categories including Emily Blunt, Bob Odenkirk, Christine Baranski and Rhea Seehorn.
I’ll be honest, I’m conflicted about this season. It’s very bonkers which I enjoyed and they really took chances creatively. I wasn’t sure if it really worked a lot, but I do admire them for taking bold swings regarding the time travel concept. Natasha Lyonne was wonderful and her acting shined more here. I am curious to see if they’ll do a third season because, if they do, they need to figure out another unique time-esque concept.
ReplyCopy URLTwitter: @TheCineMike
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