Louie Season 5, Episode 7 – The Road Part 1
While recent seasons of Louie have featured more and more sprawling, multi-episode stories, this current shortened season has instead consisted of strong, stand-alone installments and only the final two episodes share a serialized story arc. Unlike any of the episodes in either season three’s “Late Show” or season four’s “Elevator,” this week’s first installment, “The Road, Part 1,” a somewhat dreary, meandering snapshot of a working comedian’s life on the road, doesn’t really hold up on its own, but feels a bit unfinished.
“The Road, Pt 1.” revolves around CK’s decidedly unglamorous tour stop in Cincinnati and his ensuing irritation and ennui while on the road, grappling with the annoying minutiae of lost luggage and a shitty motel room (thanks to his teenage agent, Doug, whose very face is always a great sight gag). An air of monotony hangs over the episode, from the visual repetition of Louie’s carry-on packed with several of the same dark t-shirt for each day of the week (plus an extra for a sweat-based emergency) to the fact that we’ve seen Louie in many of these situations before. A difficult flight and awkward interactions with an overly-clingy fan? Season one’s “Travel Day / South.” Hiding out in a hotel room, stuffing food in his face? Season three’s “Miami.” When Louie arrives at the airport in Atlanta, he even eats a giant Cinnabon with a knife and fork, an image directly taken from a classic bit his 2007 stand-up, “Shameless.”
The rehasing of that Cinnabon joke is the first time I can recall seeing an old bit from CK’s stand-up reenacted on Louie, which I think speaks to the fact that CK is clearly trying to show what it feels like to actually live that act that people pay to see and laugh at, thus giving us a Louie-eye view of the monotony and boredom often associated with life as a working comedian (almost akin to this season’s “Untitled,” when Louie put us inside his nightmare-addled brain). It’s just as he tells his sensitive, needy driver Mike, “the road for me is not an adventure. I’ve seen all the people, I’ve met all the people. It’s like going to the toilet – it’s something I have to do.”
Again, it’s hard to accurately judge “The Road, Part 1” since really, nothing much happens. I suspect that may be the point, but we’ll have to wait and see until the story – and what’s been a really strong season – wrap up in next week’s conclusion.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
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Kimberlee Rossi-Fuchs is a Senior Writer for Pop-Break, regularly covering Game of Thrones, Louie, Futurama, and Boardwalk Empire, as well as other delectable nuggets of TV, film, and music throughout the year. Since graduating with Highest Honors from Rutgers University with a degree in English, Kimberlee currently finds herself in a financially comfortable, yet stifling corporate environment where her witty and insightful literary and pop culture references are largely met with confused silence and requests to, “Get away from me, weirdo.” Still, she’s often thought of as a modern-day Oscar Wilde (by herself) and one day hopes her wit, charm, and intellect (again, self-perceived) will make her a very wealthy, very drunk woman. She’s also the mother of a darling little boy, Charlie Miles (aka Young Chizzy) who she hopes will grow up to not be too embarrassed of all of the baby pics she relentlessly shares of him on various social media sites.
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