{"id":7535,"date":"2020-04-17T13:00:19","date_gmt":"2020-04-17T20:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=7535"},"modified":"2020-04-06T16:49:53","modified_gmt":"2020-04-06T23:49:53","slug":"mark-watches-russian-doll-s01e03-a-warm-body","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2020\/04\/mark-watches-russian-doll-s01e03-a-warm-body\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Russian Doll’: S01E03 – A Warm Body"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the third episode of the first season of Russian Doll<\/i>, Nadia tries something different. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Russian Doll<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For extensive discussion of death<\/b><\/p>\n

These episodes are not that long, and I want to state that because in just three episodes\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwhat basically amounts to about 75 minutes total\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwe are ALREADY SEEING CHARACTER GROWTH. I think that this might<\/i> also be the key to longevity in these loops. Why is it that on some loops, Nadia is able to survive the night? What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the logic behind that?<\/p>\n

Initially, I thought it really might be attached to the building itself. Unlike the laced joint, it seemed like such a plausible reason. Except… in one of the longer loops, she left the building for quite some time. So it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not about her leaving a place she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s supposed to be, is it? Still, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A Warm Body\u00e2\u20ac\u009d takes us through a new journey for Nadia: she tracks down the synagogue that owned the Yeshiva school that now houses Maxine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s loft. I feel as if I have a pretty firm grasp on who Nadia is as a character, and this episode fleshes out a lot of those characteristics. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hilarious, first of all, and while I adore her sense of humor, I can also see how she uses it as a defense mechanism. As soon as she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s backed in a corner, that humor becomes a weapon. Which isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t always a bad thing; I think her humor is also endearing, and I believe that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of the reasons Shifra finally lets her guard down and talks with Nadia.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But within this is another theme, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fascinating to me that John is the one who is directly told it, even though it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Nadia who needs to hear it the most. Nadia has approached this mystery with intellectualism and logic. She is narrowing down all the possible influences: the joint. The Ketamine. The people at her birthday party. The building itself. The history<\/i> of the building. Ghosts. And yet, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one thing at the center of all of this that Nadia is avoiding: herself. At the same time, I understand why she attacks this as she does. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s methodical… well, as methodical as Nadia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s chaotic self can be. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also understandable that Nadia would want to avoid the possibility that she<\/i> is the reason this is all happening. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s deeply uncomfortable! It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s existentially terrifying! And we see just how much this sort of message hurts her when it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s conveyed (rather poorly) by John.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The rabbi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s advice is basically what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m leading to: what if Nadia lets go trying to explain this? What happens when she accepts that there might not be a physical reason for these loops but something more mystical, more weird, more personal<\/i>? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the abyss, as John claims she is, though I understand that he is immense pain because his whole life fell apart due to his affair with Nadia. Yet those words to her stick in a way she doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect, and in the most fascinating loop thus far, Nadia makes some interesting choices because of it. Granted, a lot of them are drunken decisions, but I feel like that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the point! She wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t intellectualizing her decision to go to Tompkins Square Park (I FEEL VERY VALIDATED THAT I GOT THE PARK AND NEIGHBORHOOD RIGHT); she wanted to find Oatmeal. She was lost, hurt by John\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s words, and probably feeling a combination of guilt, anger, and resentment. Guilty over being a part of bad decision; anger at John lashing out; resentment for SO MANY THINGS, not the least of which is this horrifying loop that Nadia can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t escape from.<\/p>\n

So she lets go. She gets drunk. And her instinct guides her to Horse, the homeless man that Nadia thought she knew all the way back in the first episode. Was that her instinct telling her that Horse was important? Who knows! But y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, she doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think too hard about what she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s doing, and she opens herself up to the experience. Horse gives her a haircut. It was messy and uneven, but it was such a pure gesture! The act was genuine, and in this decision, Nadia finds a friend. She also survives longer than she ever has! I mean… she also freezes to death alongside Horse, so there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s that.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet if we look at that and then what she does the following loop, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s possible to see Nadia breaking toxic cycles. She doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take the bait from John, and she doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t spend time with him. In fact, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s very, very<\/i> clear that she does not want him and that he needs to move on. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no confusion in that. Instead, she goes to the shelter Horse stayed at, where his shoes were stolen by someone else, and SHE STAYS UP TO PROTECT HIM.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Is that<\/i> the key? Is she here to break her own cycles? To choose instinct? To choose kindness<\/i>?<\/p>\n

That might have been my theory, but the final scene of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A Warm Body\u00e2\u20ac\u009d completely destroys any working hypothesis I had. This had always<\/i> been a solo journey for Nadia, and I was ready to write out this whole thing about how this loop has<\/i> to happen to someone like Nadia, since it appeared to be about her breaking her own destructive cycles.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Then she gets in that elevator.<\/p>\n

And the elevator starts plummeting.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And one other person reacts just as she does: with a vague disinterest.<\/p>\n

And he\u00e2\u20ac\u201dTHE MAN FROM FERRAN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S DELI IN THE FIRST EPISODE\u00e2\u20ac\u201dtells Nadia this is no big deal because he dies all the time<\/i>.<\/p>\n

HOLY SHIT. WHAT THE FUCK!!! THERE\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S ANOTHER PERSON STUCK IN THESE LOOPS? Do their loops end at different times than Nadia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s? Is this the first time their loops every synced up? WHAT DOES THIS MAN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S LIFE LOOK LIKE? Is it his thirty-sixth birthday, too? HELP ME THIS REVEAL HAS MADE THIS SHOW A MILLION TIMES MORE INTERESTING AND I WAS ALREADY SUPER INTO IT.<\/p>\n

H E L P<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A Warm Body\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– You can now pre-order my second YA novel, Each of Us a Desert<\/i>, which will be released on September 15, 2020 from Tor Teen!<\/a>
\n– Not only that, but my very first pre-order campaign is now live for North American readers! If you submit proof of pre-order, you can get a limited edition print that comes with the book<\/a>.
\n<\/strong>– If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"