Six Awesomely Human Moments from Louie

S2 e06 – A glimpse inside Louie’s subway fantasies

“Subway/Pamela”

This episode starts out with a really weird vibe: Louie leaves a set and heads down to the subway, where he stops to appreciate a talented violinist’s performance. Since it’s Louie, this fish-out-of-water beauty is immediately contrasted with an unsavory bum giving himself a sponge bath in the background. That contrast is pretty poetic already. From there, Louie gets on the train and absorbs his surroundings, indulging himself in a fascinating little fantasy:

It starts with his fixation on a brown puddle sloshing vicariously in the empty subway seat across from him; his fellow commuters eye the puddle warily, giving the disgusting liquid a wide berth. Recognizing this source of mutual discomfort, Louie imagines himself melodramatically sacrificing his shirt to soak up the puddle, resulting in looks of gratitude all around. Oh, and a surprise BJ.

This one scene says so much about Louie’s character, illustrating how obsessed he is with the daily minutiae of city living. But noticing the tiniest details around him is part of his process as a stand-up comic (both in the show and reality); if you think about it, there’s very little separation between Louie’s career and his personal life. And the awkward, sexual way this fantasy ends is perfect—it’s a simultaneously hilarious-yet-accurate portrayal of how the male brain is hardwired.

S2 e07 – C.K. vs Cook

“Oh Louie/Tickets”

If you follow either of these comics, you’re probably aware of their feud from a few years back; long story short, Cook may or may not have borrowed material from Louis and other comedians. I won’t get into specific accusations here, but in what I’m pretty sure is an industry first, these guys addressed their real-world controversy (via Louie) in a truly brilliant, poignant way: during this episode, Louie’s daughter wants to see Lady Gaga for her birthday, and the only way Louie can procure tickets is to humble himself before the Great Dane Cook, who promptly delivers the best Dane Cook impersonation I’ve ever seen. Granted, the stakes are deliberately heightened here for comedy’s sake, but these dudes allegedly made nice (for real) years ago, and in order for that to happen, some iteration of this conversation must have taken place at some point. I’m not sure if I ever would have imagined this particular scenario all on my own, but it’s a terrific walk-a-mile-in-their-shoes sort of moment.

S2 e09 – Louie’s entire night out with Eddie

“Eddie”

I don’t have enough good things to say about this one episode. It completely blew my mind how well the show managed to balance depressing/delicate subjects (e.g., 9/11, suicide, alcoholism) with such eloquent, blunt sincerity. “Eddie” left me speechless in a lot of good ways, and thank God for Louie’s standup set during the credits, because I’d nearly forgotten I was watching a comedy.

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Honorable Mentions:

S1 e07 – Louie’s brother Robby begs their asshole lesbian mother to say she loves him

S2 e10 – Louie and his daughters get threatened by Halloween creeps