Russian Doll season 2 recap guide: Episodes 1 to 7

Like Stranger Things, the last time we saw new episodes of Russian Doll was in 2019. More than two years later and the new season has finally arrived! All seven episodes of Russian Doll season 2 are now available to watch on Netflix.

In this new season, Nadia and Alan are yet again thrust into a twisty metaphysical encounter that entails time-travel this time around. Everything from the first season is kicked up a notch as the pair ride an MTA train back and forth between the past and present to various impactful moments in their lives.

Russian Doll season 2 recaps

Whether you’ve already watched the season in full or you need an episode guide to follow along with each installment season 2, below you’ll find a helpful Russian Doll season 2 recap guide.

Russian Doll season 2, episode 1 recap: Nowhen

Russian Doll season 2 begins with Nadia (Natasha Lyonne) taking her beloved godmother Ruth (Elizabeth Ashley) to the hospital after a fender bender. Thankfully, Ruth seems to be doing okay and doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about. After ensuring Ruth is okay, Nadia leaves and hops on a train back home, except she doesn’t make it home. The train transports her through a wormhole straight back to the 1980s.

Nadia’s birthday is right around the corner and given the trend on this show, it’s no surprise that something weird happens. In Russian Doll season 2, the twists are a little different. Instead of getting stuck in a Groundhog Day-style loop at her birthday party, Nadia is taken back several decades. But why? There’s a second twist involved that we’ll get to in a minute.

Once she realizes she has time-traveled, Nadia decides to just go with the flow and see what the universe is trying to tell her. She finds a matchbook for a bar called the Black Gumball with the name Chez and the time of a meeting written on it. There she meets up this sketchy “Chez” (Sharlto Copley) guy and he immediately starts kissing Nadia. Whoever this guy is, she knows him somehow.

Chez takes Nadia to an apartment where they sneak in and steal a duffel bag before heading to a dingy motel room. There they start making out and almost hook up before Nadia pauses to go to the bathroom. And here’s the second twist: When Nadia looks in the mirror she realizes that she is no longer Nadia, she’s inside the body of her mother, Lenora (Chloë Sevigny), or Nora, as she’s known. Even more surprising? Nora is pregnant, likely with Nadia. It doesn’t get much more twisted than that.

Nadia immediately vomits after that shocker. I’m assuming for an instant she thinks Chez is actually her father, gross.

From there, she hops on the train to see if it can take her back to reality and, luckily, it does. So unlike season 1, Nadia has a way to escape from her reality-warping predicament. She heads immediately to Alan’s (Charlie Barnett) who is just getting by with his new girlfriend. Nadia tells him about the wormhole and becoming her mother, suggesting Alan do the same thing so they can figure out what this new situation is trying to tell them.

Maybe they still have unfinished business. She also reassures Alan (and herself, and us) that Chez can’t be her father since he wasn’t into drugs, just booze (Chez is seen popping all sorts of crazy pills and snorting cocaine).

After filling Alan in on the details, Nadia returns to the hospital to see Ruth, asking what she knows about Chez. According to Ruth, Nora was with Chez when she lost all of their family’s money. Nadia still wears her mom’s last Krugerrand around her neck like a token.

Realizing her goal might be to reclaim the money, Nadia heads back to the 1980s via train. She asks Chez if he stole her grandmothers Krugerrands and he denies it, claiming whatever is happening, Chez and Nora are in it together.

Nadia gets back into bed with him and they pick up where they left off before she ran out earlier. Several kisses later and Nadia excuses herself for the restroom again to stare at her mother’s reflection in the mirror. But this time when she leaves, Chez has vanished with the bag. Realizing she’s been duped, Nadia chases after him. He’s too quick for her and escapes into the night.

Meanwhile, back in the present, Alan considers boarding the train.