Russian Doll and the Groundhog Day plot

Every day can seem like the other — a terrible treadmill of existence, repeating the same routines, greeting the same people, catching the same train, eating the same sandwich. Modern life can feel like an incubation chamber for déjà-vu as we push through our day missing the small clues and hints of other people’s lives bubbling next to us. Perhaps why the Harold Ramis’s film ‘Groundhog Day’ struck a chord with obnoxious-but-likeable weatherman (Bill Murray) stuck in the same day until, Scrooge like, he manages to get past his misanthropy.

The science-fiction version (more than one Star Trek series) follows the same dramatic conventions (we see the same events but with creeping changes and a growing awareness by some characters that something is amiss) but the resolution is not moral growth per-se but diagnosing the technobabble time-loops underlying cause. For Tom Cruise in Edge of Tomorrow (based on the Japanese novel All You Need is Kill) the cause is an alien invasion and while Bill Murray must repeat each day, poor Tom is reset each time he dies.

In Russian Doll (Netflix series) Nadia (Natasha Lyonne) faces a similar predicament but without the aliens. Getting past her 36th birthday is proving a struggle as she variously is hit by a taxi, falls down a manhole, trips down the stairs and otherwise dies. After which she finds herself back in the same evening, staring at the mirror in her friend’s bathroom, while outside her birthday party is in full swing.

That Nadia is a software developer for a video game company is either a red-herring or a neat metaphor. She dies and re-spawns like the characters in one of her impossible to finish video games, a process which is naturally discombobulating but not quite as madness inducing as the fate of the video game developer in Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch.

Rather than attempt any broad SF or supernatural explanation for Nadia’s situation, the resolution (and there is one but to avoid spoilers I won’t describe it) depends on characters understanding the situation they are in. There are diversions into questions of time, dimensions and alternate timelines but they stay as diversions. Instead, central to the story is character and their role in other people’s lives. That and the fantastical premise invites comparisons between Russian Doll and The Good Place.

The Good Place has had its own reset-and-try-again storylines but the mechanics of it and the character’s experience of it did not fit the more simple model of a time-loop story. However, the show did demonstrate an appetite for viewers for high-concept comedies involving bizarre situations and people trying to grow as people. Yet despite the inclusion of actual demons and the risk of the main characters being sent to a version of hell The Good Place has never genuinely enraged with horror as a genre. Russian Doll overlaps with The Good Place in several dimensions but it’s willingness to engage with the horrific is much more substantial. Blood, apparitions and sinister situations pervade the show. Nadia’s many, many deaths are mainly played for laughs or wry resignation but there is a broader feeling of danger and risk in her story.

Her unease around her birthday and its connection to her mother’s early death, as well as unresolved issues from her unstable childhood add to a sense of foreboding destruction which becomes mirrored in the way the repeated world is slowly changing. Nadia’s self-destructive aspects (cigarettes, booze, drugs) are not typically what kills her but add to the sense that she is being stalked by death. It is only with the introduction of a second character, Alan (sneakily included in many scenes prior) in the same predicament that the question of whose death she is being stalked by becomes more relevant.

The whole series is, in effect, a ghost story but without ghosts – a statement which shouldn’t be taken in anyway as implying that Nadia is actually dead or actually not dead or anything in between. It is a ghost story in the sense of people haunting others and the issue of unresolved business keeping a person/spirit from moving on. In Nadia’s case she’s haunting events around the night of her birthday party (although some times she survives further beyond that), a point made indirectly (and unknowingly) by a rabbi in one episode.

Every day can seem like the other — a terrible treadmill of existence, watching the same tv-shows, writing the same blogposts, making the same spelling mistakes, eating the same sandwich. Modern life can feel like an incubation chamber for déjà-vu as we push through our day missing the small clues and hints of other people’s lives bubbling next to us. Perhaps why the Harold Ramis’s film ‘Groundhog Day’ struck a chord with obnoxious-but-likeable Bill Murray playing a weatherman stuck in the same town until, Scrooged like, he manages to get past his own self-absorption..

The science-fiction version (such as a notable episode in season 1 of Star Trek Discovery) follows the same narrative device (showing the same events with creeping changes but with an awareness by some characters that something is amiss) but the resolution is not moral growth per-se but diagnosing the technobabble time-loop’s underlying cause. In the Japanese novel All You Need is Kill (the source for the Tom Cruise film Edge of Tomorrow) the cause is an alien invasion and while Bill Murray must repeat each day, this time the reset is death.

In the Netflix series Russian Doll, Natasha Lyonne plays Nadia, a woman who faces a similar predicament but without the aliens. Living beyond her 36th birthday party is proving a struggle as she variously is hit by a taxi, falls down a manhole, trips down the stairs and otherwise dies…only to be re-born back in the same evening, staring at the mirror in her friend’s bathroom, while outside her birthday party is in full swing.

Is it because Nadia is a software developer for a video game company or is that a red-herring? Nadia dies and re-spawns like the characters in one of her impossible to finish video games, a process which is clearly upsetting but not quite as madness inducing as the fate of the video game developer in Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch.

You won’t find any broad SF or supernatural explanation for Nadia’s situation, the resolution (spoilers prevent me for describing it) relies on two characters understanding the situation they are in. There are discussions about time, dimensions and alternate timelines but they are primarily diversions. Instead, character is central to the story and the role of Nadia in other people’s lives. This aspect of how our actions connect us with other shown within fantastical setting invites comparisons between Russian Doll and The Good Place. However, despite the inclusion of actual demons and the risk of the main characters being sent to a version of hell The Good Place has never genuinely enraged with horror as a genre. Russian Doll overlaps with The Good Place in several dimensions but it’s willingness to engage with the horrific is much more substantial. Blood, apparitions and sinister situations pervade the show. Nadia’s many, many deaths are mainly played for laughs or wry resignation but there is a broader feeling of danger and risk in her story.

The whole series is, in effect, a ghost story but without ghosts – a statement which shouldn’t be taken in anyway as implying that Nadia is actually dead or actually not dead or anything in between. It is a ghost story in the sense of people haunting others and the issue of unresolved business keeping a person/spirit from moving on. In Nadia’s case she’s haunting events around the night of her birthday party (although some times she survives further beyond that), a point made indirectly (and unknowingly) by a rabbi in one episode.

Each day can seem like the last one — a hamster wheel of existence, watching the same tv-shows, writing the same reviews, making the same solecisms , eating the same sandwich. Life is an incubation chamber for déjà-vu as we struggle through our day missing other people’s lives bubbling next to us. Perhaps this is why Bill Murray’s ‘Groundhog Day’ struck a chord with its obnoxious-but-likeable weatherman stuck in the same day until he becomes a better person.

The science-fiction version (e.g. Tom Cruise in Edge of Tomorrow) follows the same dramatic conventions (we see the same events but with creeping changes and a growing awareness by some characters that something is amiss) but the resolution is not moral growth per-se but diagnosing the technobabble time-loop’s underlying cause. For Tom Cruise the cause is an alien invasion and while Bill Murray must repeat each day, poor Tom is reset each time he dies.

In the Netflix series Russian Doll, Nadia faces a similar predicament but without the aliens. Surviving her 36th birthday party is a struggle as she variously is hit by a taxi, falls down a manhole, trips down the stairs and otherwise dies…only to be re-born back in the same evening, staring at the bathroom mirror. Is it because Nadia is a software developer for a video game company? Nadia dies and re-spawns like the characters in one of her impossible to finish video games, a process which is clearly upsetting but not quite as madness inducing as the fate of the video game developer in Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch.

But you won’t find any broad SF or supernatural explanation for Nadia’s situation, the resolution (spoilers prevent me for describing it) relies on two characters understanding the situation they are in. There are discussions about time, dimensions and alternate timelines but they are primarily diversions. Instead, character is central to the story and the role of Nadia in other people’s lives.

The whole series is, in effect, a ghost story but without ghosts – a statement which shouldn’t be taken in anyway as implying that Nadia is actually dead or actually not dead or anything in between. It is a ghost story in the sense of people haunting others and the issue of unresolved business keeping a person/spirit from moving on. In Nadia’s case she’s haunting events around the night of her birthday party (although some times she survives further beyond that), a point made indirectly (and unknowingly) by a rabbi in one episode.

Each day is like the last one — a hamster wheel of existence, watching the same tv-shows, writing the same reviews, making the same solecisms , eating the same sandwich. Life is an incubation chamber for déjà-vu as we struggle through our day missing other people’s lives bubbling next to us. This is why Bill Murray’s ‘Groundhog Day’ struck a chord with its obnoxious-but-likeable weatherman stuck in the same day until he becomes a better person.

In the Netflix series Russian Doll, Nadia faces a similar predicament to Tom Cruise in Edge of Tomorrow (without the aliens). Surviving her 36th birthday party is a struggle as she variously is hit by a taxi, falls down a manhole, trips down the stairs and otherwise dies…only to be re-born back in the same evening, staring at the bathroom mirror. Is it because Nadia is a software developer for a video game company? Nadia dies and re-spawns like the characters in one of her impossible to finish video games, a process which is clearly upsetting but not quite as madness inducing as the fate of the video game developer in Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch.

The whole series is, in effect, a ghost story but without ghosts – a statement which shouldn’t be taken in anyway as implying that Nadia is actually dead or actually not dead or anything in between. It is a ghost story in the sense of people haunting others and the issue of unresolved business keeping a person/spirit from moving on. In Nadia’s case she’s haunting events around the night of her birthday party (although some times she survives further beyond that), a point made indirectly (and unknowingly) by a rabbi in one episode.

Each day is the last one — a hamster wheel of existence, watching the same tv-shows, writing the same reviews, making the same solecisms , eating the same sandwich. Life is an incubation chamber for déjà-vu as we struggle through our day missing other people’s lives bubbling next to us. The Netflix series series Russian Doll strikes this same core as its protagonist, Nadia, faces the same fate as Tom Cruise in Edge of Tomorrow (without the aliens). Surviving her 36th birthday party is a struggle as she variously is hit by a taxi, falls down a manhole, trips down the stairs and otherwise dies…only to be re-born back in the same evening, staring at the bathroom mirror. Is it because Nadia is a software developer for a video game company? Nadia dies and re-spawns like the characters in one of her impossible to finish video games, a process which is clearly upsetting but not quite as madness inducing as the fate of the video game developer in Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch.

The whole series is a ghost story but without ghosts, in the sense of people haunting others and the issue of unresolved business keeping a person/spirit from moving on. In Nadia’s case she’s haunting events around the night of her birthday party (although some times she survives further beyond that), a point made indirectly (and unknowingly) by a rabbi in one episode.

Each day is the last one — a hamster wheel of existence, watching the same tv-shows, writing the same reviews, making the same solecisms , eating the same sandwich. Life is an incubation chamber for déjà-vu as we struggle through our day missing other people’s lives bubbling next to us. The Netflix series series Russian Doll strikes this same chord as its protagonist, Nadia, faces the same fate as Tom Cruise in Edge of Tomorrow (without the aliens). Surviving her 36th birthday party is a struggle as she variously is hit by a taxi, falls down a manhole, trips down the stairs and otherwise dies…only to be re-born back in the same evening, staring at the bathroom mirror. Is it because Nadia is a software developer for a video game company or is this a ghost story? Nadia’s is haunting events around the night of her birthday party…

Each day is the last one in the Netflix series series Russian Doll. The protagonist, Nadia, faces the same fate as Tom Cruise in Edge of Tomorrow (without the aliens). Surviving her 36th birthday party is a struggle as she variously is hit by a taxi, falls down a manhole, trips down the stairs and otherwise dies…only to be re-born back in the same evening, staring at the bathroom mirror. Is it because Nadia is a software developer for a video game company or is this a ghost story? Nadia’s is haunting events around the night of her birthday party.

Each day is the last one in the Netflix series series Russian Doll. For the protagonist, Nadia, Surviving her 36th birthday party is a struggle as she variously is hit by a taxi, falls down a manhole, trips down the stairs and otherwise dies…only to be re-born back in the same evening, staring at the bathroom mirror. Is it because Nadia is a software developer for a video game company or is this a ghost story?

Each day is the last one — is this a ghost story?

Each day is a ghost story.

Each ghost is a story.

Each day is a ghost of the day before.