TV Recap: Louie - "IKEA/Piano Lesson"

Left to right: Louis C.K. and Marc Maron

Welcome to my recaps of season 3 of the FX television series Louie. Join me as I try to dissect what I hope will be another excellent season from one of my favorite shows currently on TV. I think what makes this show work is the ability for Louis C.K. to be self loathing and artful at the same time in unique and clever ways. Also, keep an eye out for my Breaking Bad Breaking Half column set for upcoming Mondays.

After a brilliant two part episode featuring Parker Posey, it kind of feels like Louie has hit a rut. It is still the clever and fun show that takes us inside the mind of Louis C.K., but the past few weeks have felt like a more conventional sitcom molded to fit C.K.'s cynical wit. Last week's "Barney/Never" provided cracks that make this point valid. However, it could be that the show has now gone a few weeks without the mixture of stand up and story (in this week's case, the traditional way). It could also be that he has been having several guest stars per episode that makes it hard to focus on story. This is not the case, as he weaves them perfectly well into most of his episodes, though here it feels a little much.

This week's episode rejoins C.K. with Delores (Maria Dizzia). After recounting the events from "Bummer/Blueberries" with really depressing sex, it is discovered that Delores wants to buy new furniture, so she is renting a van and heading out to IKEA. She would like C.K. to join her and in return, she would give him a blow job. C.K. is reluctant to the blow job, but takes on the job anyways.

While at IKEA, they come across a rug that Delores thinks would look perfect in her son's room. She is upset that C.K. is not providing good feedback and is instead checking his phone. She begins yelling at him to be more interactive with the decision making. Delores is very upset, which causes C.K. to sarcastically go off on a tangent that the rug doesn't give him any sexual satisfaction, and that it is just fine. Delores ends up crying, and a nearby couple (Kina Bermudez and Matthew Robert Gehring) try to brush it off by pitching woo to each other, including a term of endearment: hazenpeper. As they leave, Delores offers to give C.K. that blow job she promised, but he seems to be less satisfied to have taken the job on.

C.K. is next seen inviting in Doris (Karyn Quackenbush), who is scheduled to give him piano lessons. He claims that he is learning on a piano he originally bought for his daughter, but when she declined to learn, he took up the endeavor. Early on in the lesson, he gets a call from Maria (Maria Bamford), who was previously seen in "Daddy's Girlfriend Part 1." She is calling to tell C.K. that she has crabs and is unsure if either she gave it to him or it's the reverse. C.K. immediately cancels the lesson and goes out to buy medical shampoo from a pharmacy.

At the counter, he waits to get it from an employee (Steven Boyer). Meanwhile, an old woman (Alix Elias) is demanding to speak to the doctor to make sure she took her prescription correctly. Despite the employee's emphasis that the doctor was busy, she continues to hassle him until the doctor (Gene Jones) begins asking questions about her urinary and bowel movements. This clearly embarrasses her, but she answers them only to discover that everything is fine. C.K. gets the shampoo and applies it at home.

As he is winding down for the night, he turns on the TV to discover that a retro comedy stand-up series is on. He watches himself give a performance about how red heads turn into fire in the sun. It is shortly followed by a set by Sarah Silverman. He calls her and they discuss how ridiculous they were back then. Following that is a set by Marc Maron, who C.K. has some past tension with. He feels bad about it and wants to solve the feud. Sarah gives C.K. the number and sets up a chance to meet up in person.

At Marc's house, C.K. talks to him about the past allegations. He apologizes and feels really sorry. Marc responds by telling him that he already knew that. Apparently C.K. had done the same thing five years prior, but was crying. The conversation is anticlimactic in a lot of senses, but it ends with the two casually offering to hang out again in the future. The episode ends with C.K. and Sarah talking about which comedians had died and who was still alive.

Left to right: Maria Dizzia and C.K.

This isn't a terrible episode. It is just one that lacks any real focus. Where the past few episodes have stuck with themes such as dating or being unlikable, this one feels like a pointless tale of growing old. It is true that there are plenty of solid moments that make this episode better than the horrendous second half of "Barney/Never," but it still feels like there was no focus and the momentum kind of dies as a result.

I am also longing for the return of the stand up routines to Louie. I know that it doesn't fit all narratives (and I'm glad it was gone in "Daddy's Girlfriend Part 2"), but it is the one thing that gives Louie the authenticity besides C.K. giving underrated comics a chance to show their dramatic range. While it was used more as a background tool, the choice to add retro clips was a nice touch here and at least gives us perspective to who aged the best between C.K., Maron, and Silverman. 

However, the guest stars have felt a little overpowering the past few weeks. Where they felt better incorporated in "Barney/Never," here they feel like filler. Sure the use of Dizzia is a nice return of character (and gives me hope that Parker Posey will be back), but then the additional use of Bamford, Silverman, and Maron only helped to make the cameo count a little overbearing to the story. I am willing to bet that the higher caliber the cameo times the amount of cameos per episode will determine the quality of the episode. So far, the more per episode is not doing Louie too much good.

Maria Bamford

However, it was nice to see Maron return to acting. He has since taken over the podcast world and while he is essentially playing himself, it is nice to see him undermining C.K., if just because it's against the persona he has built in his podcast. If anything, it should be a small glimpse into the comedy show he is doing for IFC, and I'm now even more excited. However, he looks strangely different than that retro stand up video. I guess they all do.

I guess that each moment contributed to the story, but it felt more meandering than the "Miami" episode, and it never gave us reason to care about the events. Sure Dizzia crying in an IKEA was heartbreaking, but there needed to be more to make this more than a sub-par episode. However, when Louie does sub-par, it usually is better than most shows' sub-par. 

I'm also impressed at the continuity. While I thought that the motorcycle would quickly be dropped, it is nice to see that he still uses it. It is also nice to know that Bamford is not completely gone, though her appearance felt less shocking this time and more tangential. I'm just hoping that Louie and STD's will not become synonymous as the season continues. I also just hope that with a few episodes remaining, that we're only seeing the mid-season slump. I hope.

Favorite scene: It is hard to resist one of very few Marc Maron acting appearances. While he is pretty much playing a more laid back version of his podcast persona, he manages to exude confidence and undermine C.K. in ways that his show often doesn't. He also provides the sense that he needs to move on and stop getting worked up about the past. It is also a nice touch how he neglectfully says goodbye at the end, almost as if the conversation was insignificant.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Check out more of my work at www.nevpodcast.com where I post every Wednesday and have a podcast called Nerd's Eye View.