Warning: This article contains spoilers for Russian Doll season 2.
Netflix's Russian Doll season 2 is a lot different from its debut season, but with good reason. Russian Doll season 2 explores Nadia's elusive and traumatic past. Season 1 showed that her mother was mentally unstable, and that, as a result, Nadia was mostly brought up by her mother's close friend Ruth. Apart from this, not much else was foretold of Nadia's family and upbringing in Russian Doll season 1, but season 2 is very different.
Russian Doll season 1 was based around a time loop that the characters Nadia and Alan were trapped in, leading them to find out that they are somehow connected. Every time they die, they go back to the start of their story, with the iconic Russian Doll song staple ''Gotta Get Up'' accompanying the start of a new loop. Season 1 was all about being stuck in the present, but season 2 goes further with the concept of time, and explores the character's pasts, which makes it distinctly different.
Russian Doll season 2 is so different from season 1 because the story had done all it could do with the time loop. The story had been wrapped up fairly neatly, and there was also no more comedy to be drawn from Nadia and Alan's nonchalant attitudes to their constant deaths. Whilst that particular narrative concerning the time loop was brought to an end, the story did need to continue in some way. The natural story progression from a show concerning time, with characters being stuck in the present, would naturally be to either explore their future or past, and Russian Doll's timeline for season 2 decided on the latter.
Russian Doll's main theme is still the concept of time, what people do with it, and how it changes them - but season 2 explores the concept on a much deeper level. This allows for new stories to be unearthed, and also fleshes out the characters in an effective way that wasn't done in the first season. Being stuck in a time loop can only allow for so many characters and so much different dialogue before the concept eventually begins to stagnate. However, going back to the past means that new time periods can be brought in and new settings - and thus new comedic opportunities and ample showcasing for different actors, such as Chloe Sevigny as Nadia's mother, Nora. The Russian Doll cast feels bigger, as does the story, moving beyond the present into the past, which is by nature way more expansive, giving the show an entirely new feel different.
As years have passed for both the characters and since season 1 aired, going back to the same Russian Doll time loop format would have ultimately felt quite aimless, if not have outright undermined the original season. The show changing things up for Russian Doll season 2 proves that the creative team are dedicated to making good stories rather than just cashing in on the show's initial success. Despite being so different, this big change pays off massively for the continuation of the plot, and sets up an even more exciting future for what could happen in Russian Doll season 3.