Russian Doll season 2 is now on Netflix and, if you've already finished watching all seven episodes, you may have a few questions about Nadia's (Natasha Lyonne) time-traveling escapades.
The new installment of the Netflix show picks up four years after season 1 – Nadia is about to turn 40, and she and Alan (Charlie Barnett) find themselves traveling through time rather than re-living it. Nadia's friends Maxine (Greta Lee) and Lizzy (Rebecca Henderson) are back, along with mother-figure Ruth (Elizabeth Ashley) and Nadia's actual mother Nora (Chloë Sevigny), who we saw in season 1 flashbacks. Annie Murphy, Sharlto Copley, and Carolyn Michelle Smith are new additions to the cast. As for who they're playing, we won't give that away if you haven't seen the new episodes yet…
As you might expect, there are major Russian Doll season 2 ending spoilers ahead, so click away now if you haven't seen the new season and don't want to know anything in advance.
Russian Doll season 2 ending explained: a recap
After a season of time-hopping from the present to the '80s, then to the '40s, then to the '60s, things start to unravel for Nadia in the Russian Doll season 2 finale.
Nadia and Alan are back in the bathroom of Maxine's apartment, the site of Nadia's time loop reset in season 1. And they're not just back in the apartment, they're back at Nadia's 36th birthday party in 2018, with Harry Nilsson's 'Gotta Get Up' playing, too. Outside the bathroom, there's a 20th Century classroom of Jewish schoolchildren, which Nadia reveals was the former use of this building before it was residential. "They're basically non-playable characters, just stuck in a loop, incapable of deviating from pre-set grooves," Nadia says, as Jewish children mingle with birthday party attendees.
In Maxine's kitchen, the host offers the pair some freshly roasted chicken. When they refuse, she puts it back in the oven to keep it warm. However, when Alan opens the oven door, it's raw.
As Nadia goes to leave the party with the baby, Ruth arrives. Nadia greets her and she goes inside, but suddenly there are multiple versions of Ruth coming up the stairs to the apartment – this is what makes Nadia realize she messed up.
When she and Alan try to get back on the train to go back in time, they find the subway station empty. When they finally get on the train, they find Maxine and Lizzy, who are on their way to Ruth's wake – Lizzy reveals that Ruth has died and Nadia wasn't with her when it happened. A month has gone by since Nadia's birthday, and it is now April 30.
They get off the train and walk through the subway tunnel. A train comes speeding towards them and they fall in slow motion, synchronized but separated, into a pool of water below. Alan finds a door and goes through it to encounter Agnes, his grandmother. Meanwhile, Nadia finds the bag of gold she retrieved from '40s Budapest, but she cannot carry both the bag and the baby. She leaves the bag, which sinks into the water. She also finds a door – on the other side is a subway carriage, empty except for Nora. Both past and present versions of her grandmother and Ruth also appear, as well as a child version of Nadia. Adult Nadia hands baby Nadia to Nora and the lights begin to flicker.
Nadia gets off the train – a "free WiFi" poster confirms that we are no longer in the '80s and her smartwatch confirms that it's April 30, 2022. Order has been restored. She walks back to Maxine's apartment and joins Alan at Ruth's wake.
How does time travel work in Russian Doll?
Both Nadia and Alan travel through time on the New York subway. For Nadia, it's always train number 6622 which takes her through the decades, but we don't find out any specifics about Alan's portal to the past.
Why did Nadia and Alan travel through time?
Well, we never really find out. They both think they've been sent back for a reason – Nadia to save her family's wealth and Alan to stop his grandmother's friend Lenny from attempting to cross the Berlin Wall – but both fail in their supposed "missions." Ultimately, this season is about living with mistakes, accepting the past, and forgiving both yourself and those close to you for things you cannot change. Would you expect any other message from Russian Doll?
How did Nadia "break" time?
In episode 7, things start to go haywire after Nadia brings her newborn self back to 2022. Both versions of Nadia seemingly cannot exist in the present, and things only go back to normal once baby Nadia has been returned to the '80s where she belongs.
What happened to Ruth?
Ruth, a good friend of Nadia's mother Nora and a mother figure to Nadia, dies at the end of the season after several bouts in hospital, and the finale ends with Nadia attending her wake. She dies while Nadia is time-hopping, so she isn't there to say goodbye, and this is a big source of guilt for Nadia. She does get to say goodbye to a past version of Ruth (Annie Murphy) in 1982, though (although Ruth doesn't recognize her).
What happened to Lenny?
Lenny is the German man that Alan's grandmother Agnes is helping to get out of East Berlin to reunite with his family in the west of the city. We never find out what happens to him – Russian Doll keeps his fate a mystery. We know he sets off under the Berlin Wall, with Alan-as-Agnes unsuccessful in convincing him otherwise, but it's never revealed whether he makes it or not.
What happened to baby Nadia?
Nadia returns her infant self to 1982 towards the end of episode 7, handing her back to Nora on the subway, so she can grow up to become the adult Nadia we know.
Will there be Russian Doll season 3?
Russian Doll season 3 hasn't been confirmed yet. While all the loose ends seem tied up at the end of season 2, the same could be said of season 1 and yet another season still followed. Stay tuned to see if the series gets renewed for season 3.
Finished Russian Doll season 2 and need more viewing inspiration? Check out our list of the other best Netflix shows that you can stream right now. Plus, here's our guide to everything we know so far about a potential Russian Doll season 3.
