Elevating Expectations: The Evolution of Louie

Watching the season 4 finale of Louie last night left me with a mixed bag of thoughts and emotions. Part of Louis CK's genius is that he doesn't give a s*** what anyone else wants. His network, FX, legendarily never sees so much of a snippet of the show before it's aired. He sells his hour long standup routines on his website for $5 a pop because he doesn't want the middlemen of Ticket Master and the like in his or his audience's pockets. Louis CK could care less what I or anybody else thinks about him. It's part of his charm and what makes him super-rad.

Yes, I'm using super-rad as an adjective...deal with it.

You have to know there's a but coming, right? But season 4 of Louie left me wanting more in so many ways. Part of this was simply the format of the show. Playing back-to-back episodes on a single night is great in an instant gratification sort of way, but because of that the season basically spanned a month and a half from beginning to end...an especially short period of time considering CK took off a year from the show last year. Now, I have to wait 11 more months for more?!? And what the f*** happened to the song in the opening sequence?

Louie's biggest problem in 2014 is that it lacked the one thing that CK is known for delivering: laughs. Sure, the show still had it's moments, like the opening scene of the season's premiere episode with the comically invasive garbage men, and the season finale where Pam asks a question regarding his ex-wife's race that Louie audiences have been collectively asking for years. But other than those scenes and some of the scenes from the hurricane episode, there aren't many of those absurd moments that made Louie great early on.

Instead of those ROTFLMFAO moments, CK opts for more nuance and better storytelling this time around. It's more clever than hysterically funny. You find yourself thinking wow, what he did there was really smart much more often than busting a gut. In that way, season 4 is undoubtedly the best season of Louie. Seasons 1-3 each had a few minor storylines (like the Letterman angle from season 3), but each episode mostly followed CK's stream of consciousness, where one episode might contain 3 completely separate and unrelated scenes, stories, or ideas. The majority of season 4 revolved around Louie's love life. We still got to see Louie in all his clumsy, self-loathing glory, but this angle showed him in a different light as well, which was nice (however, 6 episodes of the "Elevator" storyline was probably too much). On a side note, one particular story arc, "In The Woods," while not particularly funny might have been one of the best anythings I've watched on television in a long time.

...and also, romantic, naked, candlelit bubble baths.

Season 4 of Louie is interesting, thought-provoking, and beautifully written. The season finale was Monday night, and I honestly haven't read any reviews yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if CK's work on the show was up for another Emmy. Louie is still one of my favorite shows on TV, and I will continue to watch however many seasons CK is willing to give us. We should just continue to expect the unexpected though...because if there's one other thing it's clear Louis CK doesn't give a s*** about, it's our expectations. And we love him all the more for it.