“Happy Birthday Baby!” Talk about Russian Doll on Netflix

Also: the final two episodes are called "The Way Out" and "Ariadne." The latter surely refers to the Greek mythological character of the same name, who assists Theseus in killing the Minotaur and quite literally finding 'the way out' of the labyrinth. So: selflessness, assistance, escape from a trap. One thing to note, though, especially if this is supposed to be a three season story (even though I think it could simply stand alone): there's no one story on what happens TO Ariadne after that moment. This link has more on those variants:

https://www.greekmythology.com/.../Ariadne/ariadne.html

yeah Ariadne uh does not get a happy ending

Anyway, until the hopefully inevitable screencap/subtitle Twitter fan account, this for now:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DyvmxbrUYAELgkz.jpg:large

Ned, I can't remember, was it Alan that misstated her thesis?

That reads kind of differently after all of his issues with control and intimacy are kind of laid bare. He's not really a dude who could pull off joking about not remembering his girlfriend's work

Ned, I can't remember, was it Alan that misstated her thesis?

yes he thought it was about philip roth

dude's so busy trying to keep the appearance of a healthy relationship and tidy home he forgot to do the actual relationship

can i just say that maxine is an incredible character

just a very accurately and entertainingly-drawn new york archetype

i feel like i know five people who would become her if you combined them

Very good read on the fashion choices.

https://fashionista.com/2019/02/netflix-russian-doll-costumes-outfits

Reading that Twitter theory re: gentrification, it made Lizzy's appearance at the end as Horse's friend somewhat more meaningful-- a LES fixture for years displaced to upstate several years back by rising cost of living

A friend of me thinks that both Nadia (and possibly also Alan) are dead throughout the entire series. I disagree, but I'm trying to understand the smoking (beyond being another signifier for a previous time, I've never seen people smoke in a contemporary environment the way they did in this series. At first I thought it might be another signifier for "the Bohemian 80s" but idk

I assumed that Lyonne just smokes so much still that it had to be included in the show

tbh a lot of it comes down to how much you care about the setting, colors, and Natasha Lyonne. If you're ambivalent, then hey. It's just a well worn concept. However, if all those things are *very* you, this series is way elevated.

I fall into the latter group.

― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 5 February 2019 18:55 (two days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

ambivalent vote here but herself loved it. i had ironing to do anyways.

rhian johnson movies are good

nothing better than groundhog day

manaic was good

thats my catchup with thread carry on

I assumed that Lyonne just smokes so much still that it had to be included in the show

wow I just assumed she was committed to the part

lol you don’t get that awesome gravelly speaking voice as a 36yo without a longstanding smoking habit

Extremely good interview with her here

https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-features/natasha-lyonne-russian-doll-interview-785346/

her references & source materials are so varied & interesting! i have read interviews with her in the past & she always seemed like a walking compendium of cool movies & books <3

and i like the idea that the journey of the show is somewhat a mirror of an addict’s journey like she mentions

I just screened The Long Goodbye for some friends of mine this past weekend, 28 hours after I binged this, so that's a bit spooky

*48 lol

Couple of good further pieces here -- the second one is also an interview with the show's designer, many good tidbits.

https://www.vulture.com/2019/02/russian-doll-easter-eggs-hidden-references.html

https://www.vulture.com/2019/02/russian-doll-bathroom-set-production-design.html

Best possible answer to this enduring question

This was one of those things we did for real and in the aftermath realized would’ve been easy to fake. But also it was the right thing to do bc I wanted to feel like Rocky. https://t.co/KTeM3HcHVU

— natasha lyonne (@nlyonne) February 7, 2019

watched the whole thing tonight, liked it a lot

also i want alex in nyc to see it

halfway thru this and so much good about it. loving it. and great music throughout. i'll read this thread more thoroughly when i'm done.

one detail i can't help think was intentional: the air conditioner unit that falls on them is a goodman. it flashes so quickly when it falls, but that's what ours is at home and i recognized it in that flash. considering the theme of the episode, it's gotta be intentional. i've joked on it too. posted a pic of it on instagram with a "hey, i found one!" joek.

am i crazy or does the bathroom at the birthday party change around ep 5? it's getting bigger? mirror orientation different?

the bathroom changes multiple times!

the second of Ned's links goes into that

Wait, why should I see this, specifically?

set in LES, has a distinct 80's/90's sensibility

So you can blog about it and give it a thumbs up or thumbs down as to whether it jibes with your NYC experience as the original UES punk.

Only a few episodes in so far but everyone in this show is that impossibly hip person I'll see and wonder how they seem to effortlessly surround themselves with perfectly cool and unique fashion/decor/music. Her character is so unconventional too; based on her style and way of speaking I was convinced the show was set in the 80s until someone mentioned twitter or something about a minute into the first episode. Trying to ignore past posts in this thread due to potential spoilers.

interesting take; i found every single person on the show to be the sort of person i go out of my way to completely avoid. Everyone is self-involved and/or self-destructive; kinda thought that malaise was the point!

except maybe her stepmother, but she's mostly a mess too!

i should finish, take it all in, and then check out the links, apparently. xp

I'm talking more about their style and homes etc. not their personalities- agree they're all a bit screwy in that regard. Again only a few eps in.

Or sorry maybe you were responding to a post above mine? Trying not to read too much here yet afraid to ruin something for myself

i myself go to fabulous nyc parties like this all the time, but never on a sunday night. was there a reason for this beyond, like, having the code review meeting or ruth taking appointments the very next day?

it's her birthday!

We watched the first episode, it's a little too NEW YORK!!!!!! but we liked it and will watch more.

yeah but you hold the party on saturday and celebrate at midnight

you do if you're WEAK

I liked that the friend hosting the party was played by the actress who was Heidi on High Maintenance

That fan theory above is good in that it does something to explain the otherwise inexplicable ending with the puppet heads. And Lyonne's inexplicably "80s" style of speech -- as he says, not only does she reference her love for Andrew Dice Clay (a bizarrely anachronistic thing for someone in 2019 NYC to do) she talks like Andrew Dice Clay and not like people you meet in New York now.

I def think this is a horror movie! I like its frankness about the fact that either surviving OR successfully suiciding out are basically fine and OK outcomes compared to looping

Enjoying this. I like how it feels like a fantasy melange of early 00s and contemporary LES/East Village as parties like this were familiar to me - minus the recurring stuff - back in the early 2000s. Different NYC.
Have met NL a couple of times in the past via mutual acquaintances and she was always awesome. Happy for her and whatever success this brings.

I've now seen three or four episodes of this and really like it so will watch the rest. But I've known Zinoman for 25 years (we went to school together) and for whatever reason was hearing about his grand unified theory from lots of places, so popped into his feed to see what's up. I skipped to the end to avoid spoilers, but I saw that the first comment was from NL more or less saying OTM.

prob worth noting that the "fan theory" is from the NYTimes comedy critic

lol my best friend, watching on my recommendation, absolutely hated this

at least his wife liked it

A further thread

I have something to add to @zinoman's brilliant grand unified theory about Russian Doll, one of the most exciting things I've viewed in years. My addition, like his, has to do with Tompkins Square Park. His thread is about 1991. Mine is about 1974. Spoiler + long thread alert! 1/ https://t.co/n2ks8OHc3q

— Christopher DeWeese (@lighghghght) February 10, 2019

ooh I’m into that theory v much