I know I’ve missed the first two episodes of the new season of Louie so far, and I’ll try to not repeat that mistake. Having just caught up this week, I can say the premiere was rather lackluster in terms of humor or substance, feeling kind of off in general from what has come before. But hey, that’s Louis C.K. just doing his thing without studio interference; maybe there will be some radical full-circle moment yet to come later. I generally trust Louis C.K. The follow-up episode however bounced back, completely exceeding even my own tolerance for cringe situations. You know the scene in question where Louie and his blind date of sorts discussed the ethics of initial sexual encounters. I couldn’t wipe the grimace off my face even if I tried, it was like recalling the smell of tequila the day after a bad hangover. Uncomfortable, yet great stuff all at the same time.
When Louie goes to Miami to a couple of gigs, he has a chance encounter with a young Cuban lifeguard named Ramon and they bond after Louie invites him to check out his stand-up session that night. The next day Ramon shows Louie around Miami, the “real Miami” he insists, and they further bond the rest of the day and night, as Ramon bids him good-bye as Louie must depart back to NY. It’s the equivalent of a ‘bro-fling’, and Louie decides to stay an extra day to extend it, with understated homophobic awareness constantly at the surface. The resulting confusion about each other’s motivations for staying and continuing to see each other are done extremely well and never come over the top, the way a lesser program would. On top of everything else, this has been one of the more happily themed episodes , which may increase the general likability of an otherwise downer-type show.
A word to continuity-purists: throw all of your hang-ups out the window. If you don’t, you’ll be unable to enjoy one of the finest Louie offerings to date.
Final Grade: A
TRR TV Revue by Jacob Aquino
Whenever I am on business trips for Dish it always feels odd in cities where you don’t know anyone. I think the last episode of Louie captures this perfectly. The end of the episode was a little flat but I did enjoy Louie getting to see the real Miami. I have been watching episodes with my Dish Remote Access app and I think I might go to his stand up act in December.