Louis C.K.’s never kind to himself on Louie, but he's especially rough on himself in “Bobby’s House.” He finds out at the last minute his uncle Jack died, he must deal with his young brother Bobby’s (Robert Kelly) hard feelings, he gets beat up by a random woman on the street and he must put on full make-up to earn Pamela’s (Pamela Adlon) affections.
And that’s not mentioning how Pamela ends their whatever they have together. He also is laughed at by everyone, including his kids, Lilly (Hadley Delany) and Jane (Ursula Parker), and not in the way he tries to get yuks. Misery is always in Louie’s company, and his midway point in this week’s episode finds him lower than ever. It’s not typical of him to go up, so where these events take the character is one of the most interesting of aspects in his fourth episode.
During an extended coach conversation, Louie asks his brother, “Why do you do things just to upset yourself,” when he is told by Bobby that he got his sperm checked just to see that he can’t have kids. Although Louie — the character — never chooses his circumstances, C.K. clearly has control, and it appears he chooses to keep himself miserable is because he continues his theme of sacrifice.
As seen in the last series of episodes, C.K. continues to study sacrifice in his new, eight-episoded season. He must sacrifice his dignity to a random, violent woman, his time to the uncle he didn’t know passed until the day of the wake, his humility to make Pamela happy and then ultimately his own happiness to make Pamela happy more by breaking apart. He is a man of little, even though he supposedly has more than Bobby, and yet he continues to lose.
What’s most distinct about “Bobby’s House” is how small-scale it makes this minimalist show feel. As suggested by the title, almost every key scene takes place in someone’s home. The audience studies Louie’s disconnect with his brother in Bobby’s apartment — a place he hadn’t been until then — he must deal with the humiliation of his attack in his own home, and ultimately loses Pamela in her house. This walled dynamic is stirringly sentimental in ways Louie typically is not. Everything is, quite literally, closer to home, and in trying to come into other’s perspectives, he finds himself more alienated.
This also includes alienation from his own identified gender. By chance and appeasement, Louie touches in feminine side this week. The only time he finds himself happy is when he must play a different persona: Jornatha. As “Bobby’s House” continues, he becomes more distant from his own self. He is a man now hidden by bruises and make-up, and to find more about himself he must become someone else.
At its heart, Louie is about reflection. Be it on life, his career or whatever, it’s a fly-on-the-wall series which may seem scatter-shot if it wasn’t so deeply felt. “Bobby’s House” is among the most emotionally unveiled episodes in the show's history, and touches on feelings the comedian and series haven’t before. Even now, Louie continues to grow in more distinct ways, and hopefully this doesn’t change.
Image courtesy of William Bernard/ACE/INFphoto.com
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