UNRAVELLING THE DOLL
Netflix’s Russian Doll ending explained
NETFLIX'S Russian Doll has proved to be the big hit of 2019 so far.
But the ending has left some viewers confused - here's that finale explained in detail.
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What was the ending to Russian Doll?
WARNING: This article contains spoilers from season one of Russian Doll
The beginning explained
The series follows game developer Nadia (Natasha Lyonne) who is forced to relive her birthday party - and her gruesome death at the end of it - over and over again.
The character is first hit by a taxi, though her cause of death varies at the end of each bash - no matter how hard she tries to avoid it.
She then meets Alan (Charlie Barnett) is also stuck in the same loop which leads to him continuously dying.
In the final episodes of Russian Doll, the world starts falling apart.
Caught in time loops that reset every time they die, Nadia and Alan realise that people are disappearing from existence and they have no choice but to finally confront their buried traumas.
Alan has to forgive his girlfriend, Beatrice (Dascha Polanco), and accept his own role in their unhappiness, meanwhile Nadia must admit that she blames herself for her mother’s death, and figure out whether she even wants to live past her 36th birthday.
Then we enter the season finale and things start to get tricky.
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The Finale explained
In the last episode, the Nadia and Alan we’ve been following from the beginning are no longer in the same universe.
They’ve been split into two separate timelines, each of them newly charged with a sense of purpose and a desire to live.
But the twist is they’re paired with the past versions of each other - meaning they have to help each other (but they don't actually know each other - still following us?)
By using the dual timelines, we get to see just how far both characters have progressed and this allows the strong versions of themselves to help the other.
Nadia and Alan’s final task is to help each other out of the loop.
It’s a test of whether they’ve grown enough to withstand the loneliness of doing it by themselves, and whether they have learned enough about one another to do it at all.
Then, in the very last moments of the finale, the two timelines run in parallel and they save each other by trusting each other and helping one another to feel self worth and face their demons.
Each Alan and Nadia pair succeeds in swerving away from self-destruction, and they both walk into a tunnel where a parade is forming, led by Horse (Brendan Sexton III), the homeless man who lives in Tompkins Square Park.
Nadia is wearing a white blouse and Alan has a red scarf around his neck; they are the characters we’ve followed this whole time, and in the end, they make it through together.
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More on Netflix
Will there be a season two of Russian Doll?
It is still yet to be confirmed if there will be a season two, but it is looking promising.
Co-creator Leslye Headland told : "We pitched Netflix three seasons of the most bonkers, heartfelt, passionate, this-is-what-we-truly-feel-like-is-our-story-to-tell idea… And they said: 'Great, the more of that the better.'"
With this in mind, and knowing how Netflix brings back our favourite shows annually, expect a second series in February 2020.
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