{"id":7542,"date":"2020-04-20T13:00:23","date_gmt":"2020-04-20T20:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=7542"},"modified":"2020-04-13T16:06:28","modified_gmt":"2020-04-13T23:06:28","slug":"mark-watches-russian-doll-s01e04-alans-routine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2020\/04\/mark-watches-russian-doll-s01e04-alans-routine\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Russian Doll’: S01E04 – Alan’s Routine"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the fourth episode of the first season of Russian Doll<\/i>, we learn what Alan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s loop is. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Russian Doll<\/i>.<\/p>\n

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

Holy shit, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, this was INCREDIBLE. I wanted to expand a bit at the start with what I said on video: This twist on the story has made Russian Doll<\/i> a million times more interesting. I was already engaged, but this is a brilliant way to expand on the experience and create a fascinating dichotomy. In practically every way, Alan Zaveri is the polar opposite to Nadia, and thus, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re shown that unlike Nadia, Alan has set about to make sure every<\/i> loop of his repeats in exactly the same way. He has no interest in deviation. In change. In figuring out what the meaning of this loop is!\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in this that I find an eerie and heart-wrenching portrayal of someone who feels FRIGHTENINGLY like me. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had an anxiety disorder since I was a kid, and in so many ways, it manifests like it does for Alan. I am terrified of the unknown, and I thrive in certainty. I organize my days so that there is certainty in them. I pack suitcases like Alan does; everything has its rightful place. My room here in Brooklyn is disgustingly organized so that, just like packing, each object can return exactly to its spot. I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t figure this out until a decade ago, but if I let things get even the slightest bit messy, it can leave me feeling raw, anxious, and unfocused. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know if y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all saw this on my Instagram, but this photo of the work desk I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve set up in my bedroom? That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what it looks like ALL THE FUCKING TIME.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This behavior, coupled with having to become independent at a young age, has meant that, like Alan, I developed an intense need to fix things myself. Part of that came from being unable to emotionally rely on my parents. I knew in elementary school that if I was upset, my parents would not comfort me. I had to do it myself, which unfortunately meant that I developed some pretty toxic coping mechanisms, one of which is that I keep EVERYTHING that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going wrong with me at the current time to myself because I can fix it! I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve fixed things before by myself, so I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll just keep doing that! (Spoiler warning: I did not fix those things before. I just thought<\/i> I did.) This was only exacerbated by being thrown out of my house at sixteen and having to IMMEDIATELY become an adult. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll make most people fiercely independent. When you literally cannot rely on your parents for anything, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s understandable that someone like me developed an attachment to going it alone.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yeah, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s worked out well in some regards. I think my writing career wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be where it is today without that sort of work ethic. I certainly wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have kept up Mark Does Stuff for a decade (!!!!) without it. But interpersonal relationships? Oh. OH, LORD. Look, the whole timing of this show is bizarre because in the last year of my life I had to deal with a break-up with my last partner and<\/i> his death, so Russian Doll<\/i> is being VERY LOUD about all of these things!!! Why are you calling me out???? So yes, this was a deeply personal thing to watch, but I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want that to be the sole reason I have for why I enjoyed \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Alan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Routine.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I do<\/i> want to dig into the craft of this, both from the writing and the acting side. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an incredibly funny scene at the jewelry shop between Nadia and the clerk there that, all on its own, is comedic brilliance. God, I love how weirdly and quickly everything escalates there, and Nadia does nothing to stop that spiral into chaos. (Again, she is NOTHING like Alan.) During this, look at how Nadia describes Alan SO PERFECTLY, despite having been in his presence for thirty seconds. She does this so accurately (and so completely as Nadia would do) that the sales clerk knows exactly who she is talking about. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s incredible to me how Charlie Barnett is able to portray this character exactly<\/i> like this. He holds that anxiety in the way he stands, in the way he talks, in how he decides who to make eye contact with. IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S INCREDIBLE. It is<\/i> one significant way in which the two of us differ, as I hide my nervousness in humor and being an extrovert. IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S GREAT, I WEAR THIS MASK ALL THE TIME.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From a writing perspective, though, I think it was so goddamn smart to introduce a second character to be stuck in a loop. I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t escape Nadia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s line when she finally tracks down Alan: Are<\/i> the two of them in this together? Is there a reason why only these two people are in a loop? Oh god, are there more<\/i> people? Okay, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m thinking too far ahead. For now, all we know is that Nadia and Alan are repeating the same night. Both of them begin their loops with different musical themes and they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re standing at a sink. However, Alan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life is most definitely<\/i> not a birthday party. No, he must repeat the night in which his girlfriend of nine years dumps him on the eve of a week-long vacation. It gives us a clue as to why we saw Alan in that first loop so fucked up in Ferran\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s store. Which is… very different from what we see in the other loops? I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s intentional that we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see two things: 1) anything from the loops prior to the tenth one, and 2) how Alan dies except in the final loop in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Alan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Routine.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d So… what did Alan do differently that first night? Did he develop his routine after<\/i> that experience? I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m guessing he got real fucked up and went to the deli, rather than wait until the day after to speak with Ferran. So now he just gets fucked up at home?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s controlled chaos. He knows what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to happen, and he does nothing to change it. That is, until in one of those loops, Nadia is in the elevator with him, and he finds out he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not alone. Thus, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so fucking clever that this story gives us Alan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s routine first, then shows us how just<\/i> adding Nadia\u00e2\u20ac\u201dour local agent of chaos\u00e2\u20ac\u201dunravels Alan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s routine. The man Alan lets in his building says something misogynistic, breaking Alan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s illusion of him as nothing more than a polite old man. Beatrice admits that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s breaking up with Alan because she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been sleeping with her professor\u00e2\u20ac\u201dMike, who we saw in Nadia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s loops!!! And oh my god, I am so happy that the show portrays Mike as scummy as he is instead of going for the route where a while male professor is attractive and tortured for sleeping with his students. NOPE, HE\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S AWFUL AND ARROGANT. Even Alan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s morning meet-up with Ferran changes, as Ferran admits his girlfriend (wife?) cheated on him early in their relationship. Every<\/i> certain thing about Alan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s loop changes.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I get why he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so averse to talking to Nadia. She took away his comfort. Just by existing<\/i> in this loop experience, she made Alan think of things differently. Which makes me wonder: Is that why the ring disappears in Alan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s twelfth loop? Is it because he threw it in the East River? What about his fish? Why does his fish disappear? Does this mean that the two of them can<\/i> change their fate if they do certain things? Will Alan influence Nadia to approach things differently?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

UGH I LOVED THIS SO MUCH, Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL. I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t wait to watch more!!!<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Alan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Routine\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/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":"