Funny Stick Figure Memes Used in Netflix Russian Doll Episode 3

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'Russian Doll' Deep Cuts: Uncovering All the Easter Eggs You Might Have Missed

Season 2 has everything, from Paul Snider to Crazy Eddie.

By Max Cea April 21, 2022

"Where do we go after death?" is a question that humans have pondered as long as we've existed. We've come up with many answers, but none being "1982" — until Russian Doll, that is.

In Russian Doll's second season, we are reintroduced to New York's favorite hot mess, Nadia (Natasha Lyonne), three years after she was stuck in a deadly time loop. In Season 2, she's taken back in time — way, way back in some episodes — to fend for herself and discover where her past and present intersect. But in the process of unpacking the multilayered story lines and time-travel rules, viewers will also be handed some references that cut pretty deep.

For example: In the first episode of the season, Nadia is transported to 1982, where she meets one of her mom's old flames (while trapped in her mother's body, of course). He wears a leather jacket, sports a cheesy mustache and hangs out in East Village dive bars. Or, in Nadia's telling, he's "some type of Paul Snider character." If the reference went over your head, it's not just you. Nadia proceeds to explain to her fellow metaphysical enigma Alan (Charlie Barnett), "Now I don't expect you to get that. It's a Star 80 reference. Very deep cut."

But that's the charm of Russian Doll: It's rich with esoteric references and sneaky Easter eggs. If you find yourself lost, we've got you covered. Here's a guide to the obscure name-drops you might have missed (or only partially understood).

Crazy Eddie

What is it? In the '70s and '80s, Crazy Eddie was a popular consumer electronics store that operated in the Northeast. It was famous for two things: Its eccentric ads and low prices. The prices, though, were literally too good to be true. Years after co-founder Eddie Antar fled the country and the company went bankrupt, he was convicted of racketeering.

Where is it in the show? When Nadia first travels back to 1982, she goes to a dive bar called the Black Gumball and meets a man named Danny (Malachi Nimmons) who works at Crazy Eddie. Though she can't tell him his own future, she is able to tell him that his employer won't be around for long.

Bonus point: The infinite feedback loop that Crazy Eddie uses for commercials helps Nadia understand the time-space loop she's entered.

Bennett Raglin/Netflix

Guardian Angels

What it is? A red beret-wearing New York civilian crime-watch group that was founded in 1979 by Curtis Sliwa.

Where is it in the show? When Nadia finds herself lost in 1982, a member of the Guardian Angels is there to help her.

Bonus point: Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa unsuccessfully challenged current New York City Mayor Eric Adams in the 2021 election.

Nick Cave

Who is he? Nick Cave is an Australian rock legend and probably needs no explanation. But for the people in the back, he's the leader of the gothic-toned rock band Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, as well as being an accomplished author, screenwriter and composer. (If you haven't, you really ought to read this 2017 profile of him.) He's also been known to have enjoyed the occasional smoke (you'll understand why I mentioned this in a second).

Where is it in the show? On the subject of her cigarette smoking, Nadia tells her friend Maxine (Greta Lee), "I'm keenly aware that my lungs are essentially two shriveled up Nick Caves."

John LeBoutillier

Who is he? In 1982, LeBoutillier was a Republican serving New York's 6th District in Congress. That year, though, he lost his bid at reelection and was later fined $7,000 for violating federal election laws in his 1980 campaign.

Where is it in the show? When Nadia takes the 6 train to what turns out to be the '80s, she looks at a newspaper and sees the headline, "The Two Faces of John LeBoutillier."

Bonus point: Perhaps this is a stretch, but the headline can be read as a bit of foreshadowing: We soon learn that in 1982 Nadia also has two faces.

Paul Snider and Star 80

Who is he? Snider was a Canadian businessman whose claim to fame came when he murdered his estranged wife, Playboy model Dorothy Stratten, before killing himself. His life was later dramatized in Bob Fosse's 1983 film Star 80.

Where is it in the show? Nadia drops the Snider reference in the first episode, during a conversation with Alan. The comparison of Chez (Sharlto Copley) to Snider is meant to suggest that Chez is, if not a murderer, at least shady.

Federation Starship

What is it? A type of spaceship used by the Federation in Star Trek.

Where is it in the show? While looking for Chez at a squash court, Nadia has to explain to two men in exceedingly small shorts how sperm work: "Men don't make women pregnant. They only get the job done when the egg beams them up to the Federation starship... And then you make a baby."

"Only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick. I'm so mean, I make medicine sick."

What is it? A famous quote from Muhammad Ali, spoken in 1974.

Where is it in the show? When Nadia finds Chez at the YMCA locker room, she quotes the heavyweight champ to show Chez she's tough — though, really, mostly because it's just a fun quote.

Bennett Raglin/Netflix

"Weird, weird, weird."

What is it? A reference to a scene in Martin Scorsese's 1974 feature Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, when a young Jodie Foster repeats the word "weird" more times than most people do in a minute-long conversation.

Where is it in the show? Nadia explains to a young Ruth (Elizabeth Ashley) that she's been feeling off, even enjoying smoking menthols, which she used to hate. "Weird, weird, weird."

The Spike Lee double dolly shot

What is it? A trademark shot used by Spike Lee in which the actor is placed on the same dolly rig as the camera, typically center of frame. As the camera moves, it creates the illusion that the space around the character is moving, or they are gliding through space. Lee uses these shots sparingly, but they show up at a pivotal moment in many of his films.

Where is it in the show? Russian Doll nods to the double dolly shot twice — once in Episode 3 when Nadia (in the body of her mother) is in a mental hospital, and once in Episode 6 when she is visiting a morgue. In both instances, the shot is used to convey Nadia's disorientation amidst surreal events that she can't fully comprehend.

Commodity fetishism and the Debordian spectacle

What is it? In 1967, the French philosopher and Marxist theorist Guy Debord wrote a series of theses compiled into a book called "The Society of the Spectacle." In it, he argued that, "All that once was directly lived has become a representation." In other words, even back then, consumer culture had prized having over the experience of living.

Where is it in the show? Nadia's 1982 friend, Danny, tells her that in addition to working at Crazy Eddie, he also is the assistant editor of a zine about commodity fetishism and the Debordian Spectacle.

András D. Hadjú/Netflix

Place lag

What is it? A term coined by pilot Mark Vanhoenacker in his memoir Skyfaring: A Journey with a Pilot to describe the sensation of not fully acclimating to a place where you've just arrived. For example: You fly from America to England and stand on the wrong side of the street as you wait for a cab.

Where is it in the show? Maxine describes the concept when she and Nadia land in Budapest in Episode 4.

Bonus point: Nadia experiences place lag throughout the entire second season of Russian Doll, as she travels to long lost times and distant places and has trouble acclimating to the different customs.

Darryl Strawberry

Who is it? In the '80s, Strawberry was the star right fielder for the New York Mets. Despite being an eight-time All-Star and four-time World Series champ, Strawberry never quite lived up to his immense potential, in large part because of substance abuse issues.

Where is it in the show? As Nadia hammers away at a subway tunnel, she says that she "has an arm like Darryl Strawberry."

Columbo

What is it? A long-running network detective show starring Peter Falk.

Where is it in the show? Nadia argues that the first episode of Columbo was Steven Spielberg's greatest work as a director.

Bonus point: Among Peter Falk's many other roles, he played Mikey in Elaine May's now-revered 1976 gangster drama Mikey and Nicky — a movie that Natasha Lyonne, an avowed Peter Falk stan, has cited as an influence.

"Rashômon"

What is it? A 1915 short story by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, which was later loosely (very loosely) adapted into a seminal film of the same name by Akira Kurosawa.

Where is it in the show? Holding a baby version of herself, Nadia coos, "Who's a little Rashômon face?"

Bonus point: In Kurosawa's film, several characters tell different versions of the same event. In this season of Russian Doll, there are several versions of Nadia.

Sheol

What is it? In the Hebrew Bible, Sheol is a still place full of darkness that human spirits go after death — interpreted by some as a prison in which the spirit is confined.

Where is it in the show? In the seventh episode, when Nadia's existential journey is nearing its climax, she steps back in time into the old yeshiva that once occupied Maxine's apartment building and finds the teacher at the blackboard giving a lesson on Sheol.

Bonus point: The reference to Sheol is a callback to the show's first season, in which Nadia repeatedly died.

Demian

What is it? A 1919 novel by Hermann Hesse.

Where is it in the show? Nadia sees a young version of herself reading the novel on the subway in the seventh episode.

Bonus point: Demian is a novel about a boy's struggle between two worlds — a "world of light" and "world of darkness." Throughout the season, Nadia goes through a similar struggle.

András D. Hadjú/Netflix

Circles

What is it? A shape. Please don't make us explain this one.

Where is it in the show? If you look closely, circles are everywhere in this season of Russian Doll — from the logo to the Black Gumball to the Krugerrand coins that Nadia tasks herself with rescuing, and even in the center of Maxine's club-going outfit.

Bonus point: This season's primary focus is time, and it's been said that "time is a flat circle." Also, this could be a nod to Stanley Kubrick, who famously loved circles.

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Source: https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/all-the-russian-doll-season-2-easter-eggs-and-references

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