The Doll Review
Director: Paweł Maślona
Date Created: 2026-09-17 03:12
3.5
The Doll Review: Directed by Paweł Maślona and adapted from Bolesław Prus’ classic novel. The Lalka series stars Sandra Drzymalska as Izabela Łęcka and Tomasz Schuchardt as Stanisław Wokulski, with Magdalena Cielecka as Kazimiera Wąsowska and Małgorzata Hajewska-Krzysztofik as Prezesowa Zasławska, alongside Jacek Braciak, Mateusz Król, Juliusz Chrzastowski and others. The Polish Netflix series has six episodes, each about an hour long.
The Doll Review
Netflix’s The Doll is set in Warsaw in 1879 and features Stanisław Wokulski, a rich businessman who has returned to the city after making a fortune and who wishes to marry Izabela Łęcka, a woman from the aristocracy whose family is falling apart because of its financial problems. It should be noted that Izabela is desperate to preserve her status, but at the same time, she wants to be able to find her place in the world in which people define everything that women may or may not do. Wokulski is convinced that money will finally open up the doors of the world that had always been closed to him.
Netflix Polish series The Doll that I enjoyed most is that the primary romance in the show does not follow the usual pattern of a love story. Wokulski’s love for Izabela is real, but how he acts because of his love is sometimes rather awkward. He wishes to know all details about her, including her hobbies, as well as how she likes things around her. To this end, he even hires Marianna to find out Izabela’s preferences and later uses them to arrange everything at his house so as to please her.
Izabela is not an uncomplicated figure either; she can be selfish, mean, and very class-conscious when she says to Wokulski that money will never make him equal to the aristocrats. Nevertheless, she tries to oppose a social order which rejects her all the time. One of the most significant cases when she tries to oppose this order happens when she helps Dr Zofia Dobska, who is detained following the death of Stasia during childbirth. Izabela, using her influence, manages to free her and get all necessary medical qualifications for her.
This is the contradiction that makes Izabela a fascinating character for me. She seeks independence for herself, yet she does not necessarily show the same compassion towards people outside her social environment. One can say that Izabela’s relationship with Marianna serves as the best illustration of this idea. Previously, Wokulski helped Marianna to avoid exploitation, while now he can serve as her boss, and Izabela uses her as a spy to get information on him.
The supporting characters contribute to the creation of the surrounding world as well. The plotline of Dr Zofia contributes to the best understanding of the limitations imposed upon women in the series, whereas Kazimiera Wąsowska becomes an understanding person for Izabela and social games. One more positive character is Julian Ochocki, who becomes interesting due to his passion towards science and inventions and who serves as a good counterweight to aristocrats who only care about maintaining the established hierarchy. His talk with Wokulski concerning investment in an aeroplane shows that Wokulski has other intentions apart from marrying Izabela.
One of the things that made me continue watching the 2026 Polish series The Doll was definitely the actors’ performances. Drzymalska portrays Izabela as someone with such a quick temper that it is hard to know what she is going to do next. She changes from curious to disgusted in the blink of an eye, especially when talking to Wokulski. Schuchardt, on the other hand, makes Wokulski an uncomfortable person whenever Izabela appears near him. It is not that he is shy; it is just that he really wants something that money can’t buy.
The main problem is that this Netflix series The Doll, has some difficulty deciding which story should take precedence. It has a very appealing love story, but there is also an arson investigation that is taking place, which serves as a mystery, drawing the viewer’s attention from the more engaging conflict. There has already been quite a lot of talk about the suspicions regarding Wokulski, and a sketch of him is introduced in connection with the arson investigation. However, the romance and society parts seemed more interesting to me.
It would have been nice to get a bit deeper into a few of the other characters and the world around them as well. There are many fascinating concepts discussed in the series with regard to class, gender, wealth, science and social standing; however, everything is not treated equally when it comes to the treatment of the various threads. At times, the conversation makes the social struggle a bit too obvious rather than letting the behaviour of the characters do the talking for them.
Despite that, The Doll was something that resonated with me more than it didn’t. The whole production has a great period feel about it, the performances are terrific, and the interesting relationship dynamics of Izabela and Wokulski provide the series with an unexpected and rather awkward love story. What I particularly enjoyed about those two characters was the fact that neither of them was put into the role of a victim or a protagonist.
Netflix The Doll Review: Summing Up
Overall, I would say 2026 The Doll series is an excellent show with certain drawbacks. The plot works best when it revolves around two individuals who want something from each other yet fail to grasp the needs of the other. Once it gets away from this idea, the plot loses its power. However, once Drzymalska and Schuchardt appear onscreen together, the story becomes exactly what one would expect from an excellent adaptation.
Also Read: Waiting Hai Review: Engaging Scam Thriller with Strong Performances but Messy Writing
