Coney Island Baby
Episode 2 of Russian Doll Season 2 starts with Nadia (Lenora) being forced to explain the stolen gold coins. But she can’t, obviously, and after kissing Vera goodbye, Nadia tries to work out how to get the gold coins back. Unsure where else to turn, Nadia takes the phone book and heads off to see Derek, who’s with the other Guardians. This is the group, if you’ll remember, we saw at the station last episode offering help to Nora. ..
Nadia is looking for a job, and she’s been told that if she can find Chez, she’ll be able to get a good salary and some freebies. She’s tried to track down the restaurant through the internet, but so far, she’s not been successful. Nadia is worried that if she doesn’t find Chez soon, her search will be in vain.
Nadia is determined to find Chez, and eventually does. He mentions the “Coney Island” effect – something that would have made everything better had it happened. Specifically, he mentions his father falling ill with Polio. If he hadn’t gone to Coney Island that summer, he wouldn’t have become infected.
Nadia listens to his story and eventually tracks down Chez, learning that Lenora actually visited him last night and took the money back. Nadia is surprised to find out that Lenora even bought herself a new car and some fur coats. ..
Nadia tries to make amends, determined to get her coins back but the pawnbrokers she initially sold them at won’t have any of it. That is, until Ruthie exchanges her old wedding ring to seal the deal. Nadia eventually leaves a voicemail for herself from the “space-time continuum” (a payphone, naturally) urging her mother not to mess things up and try to make amends.
She quickly gathers her things and heads out the door, but as she steps out into the street, she sees that Alan has already disappeared. She’s not sure what to do now, but she’s got a feeling that he’s going to be back soon.
The Episode Review
Nadia is about to write a new reality for herself. After all, everything that’s happened happened happened for a reason in a very specific order to bring about these circumstances. However, there must be a reason why the universe is sending Nadia back, which I’m sure we’ll learn over the course of this story.
The episode does a good job exploring Nadia’s troubled family history and the issues that plagued her mother. ..
Russian Doll has been a decent watch so far, suitably mixing things up while adding a good deal of drama and characterization to the fold in the process. The ending certainly hints that we’ve got lots more drama to come, and thankfully these bitesize chapters, clocking in at 30 minutes a pop, make it a very easy show to sit through and binge!
