Fans of Netflix’s phenomenal Russian Doll wondered how it would be possible for Natasha Lyonne to capture lightning in a bottle twice when the second season was first announced.
After all, her character, software engineer Nadia Vulvokov and unwitting companion Alan (Charlie Barnett) fixed the time loop that had them trapped in the first season, and the pair seemingly went on their merry way.
Well, we now know the answer to that burning question: time travel! At the beginning of the season 2 trailer, released Thursday, we see Nadia waiting for the subway when she spots … is that the homeless guy from the park in season 1?! He yells across the platform asking if the passing car is her train, and soon we cut to Nadia groggily waking up in what appears to be New York City in 1982, based on context clues.
“The universe finally found something worse than death,” Nadia’s voiceover explains. “I broke time,” she tells Alan, who once again is along for the ride. “Do I need to be worried?” he asks.
The two deduce that they’ve possibly been sent back to the past to deal with unfinished business, possibly involving a family that lost their gold twice on a train. Though, the rules of time travel are unclear in this instance, as Nadia at one point seems to awaken in a graveyard next to her friend Maxine (Greta Lee), who threw her the birthday party in the first season.
“Where are we?” asks Maxine. “More like when are we,” Nadia replies.
At any rate, the whole thing looks like it’s going to be a fun, trippy adventure that more than lives up to season 1, as well as its cheeky release date. “You’re a time traveler?” someone skeptically asks Nadia near the end of the trailer. “I prefer the term ‘time prisoner,'” she deadpans, before knocking back a shot of whiskey.
All episodes of Russian Doll season 2 will stream on Netflix on April 20.
