Ranking all eight episodes of 'Louie' season five

As per usual, Louis C.K.'s latest season of his FX series Louie was exceptionally retrospective, thematically engaging and yet very, very funny, and continued to establish the show as one of TV's best. Even though it was an abridged set of eight episodes — particularly compared to the 13 found in the first three seasons and fourteen in the fourth — they were still just as great as ever, and a few were among the best the star/writer/director/editor/creator has made yet.

In many ways, ranking Louie episodes is easier than comparing episodes to any other show's season, for each episode brings their own focus, concept and thoughts to the public consciousness. Because each episode is fascinating and meditative in their own way, however, to put one above the other is a somewhat trivial effort. Your opinion may very well change the instance you say you like episode A over episode B, and then reverse soon after before you realize your least favorite episode was somehow now your favorite.

Of course, when I say least favorite on Louie, I use that term loosely. There hasn't been, in my opinion, a bad episode yet, and even the weakest episode I could think of was still better, fresher and more distinct and interesting than 85% of what most stations put on television. Season five was no different, for every episode was at least quite good, if not great or sensationally amazing.

With that, let's look at this past season of Louie and the episodes which encompassed it.

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Sleepover
Louis C.K.'s comedy often is based on what he cannot or will not understand. One of C.K.'s most interesting aspects this year is him readily accepting he cannot get on the youth's level. He hates their technology and knows full well about their bad attitude's as a former rebel child himself, but he must come to understand there's still a level of understanding and ultimate need — even on his own end — for something he despises: cell phones.

An exercise in distant communication, "Sleepover" finds Louie always surrounded by people, but only rarely communicating and interacting with those who give him meaningful love or insight. In fact, his more humane interaction comes from a distant and unexpected text then phone call from Pamela (Pamela Aldon), the woman he loves who won't love him back. In their neglected attempt at phone sex, we see Louie come to grasp with his own depression and disillusionment yet still find himself able to win out in the end. This is one of the few times Louie sorta wins out in the end, and whether its bailing his brother out of jail or getting ice cream, he serves enough fun and insight to us to relish the adventure.

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The Road Part 1
In witnessing the treacherous journey an aging comedian must endure on a mini road trip stand-up tour, "The Road Part 1" reminds us how inconsequential and unforgiving the Louie universe can be. It could be discovering the terrible motel arrangements set up against his will or losing your luggage and almost your plane in an ineffectual return of child and mother, but this first part contains more so than any other installment this season the sense of repetition and monotony.

By seeing things come full circle as this penultimate episode closes, we're here to view C.K. go on his way, sorrowfully trying to make it through it all as his job is an almost unrewarding sideshow in his tiresome travels.

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A La Carte
Although seemingly more narrative inconsistent than normal from a distance, there's an odd rhythm to "A La Carte". Whether it's our main character pooping his pants in public with fleeting acceptance, having to tell an up-and-coming comedian he's not funny or knowing Pamela will never really accept what he wants from their somewhat relationship, this is Louie continuing to learn disappoint and accept what he can't comprehend. He can still be content and find happiness in little ways, sure, and the end of this episode reminds us not only that Louie doesn't know the full extend of what he can do, but there's still hope for him in little ways.

This is perhaps not the most enlightening episode, but its still as assured and thoughtful as the series can be in its best moments. He can't enjoy the art which he loves, or the compatible relationship he thinks he and his love deserve, but he can find happiness in his own little ways and find what he wants "a la carte." Another thoughtful and super competent chapter, "A La Carte" keeps the goodness of Louie coming and coming again.

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Bobby's House
"Why do you do things just to upset yourself," Louie asks his brother Bobby (Robert Kelly) in a long conversation on his couch, and in many ways these words as just as potent to ask himself. Louie, a man of seemingly endless misery and discontent, must endure a beat-down from an unknown woman, humiliation in front of a woman he loves and being picked on by his kids, and these all caused some things both out of his control yet the product of problems he didn't actually have to go through.

Beyond this, however, what's most thoughtful about "Bobby's House" are how it addresses gender for the first meaningful time on Louie, a topic many probably wouldn't expect C.K. to tackle in this light. What makes a man and what defines a woman are the thoughts which swim in this fourth episode's mind, and while there's no clear answers, it asks so many thoughtful questions. Does masculinity come from personality or physicality? Why do we define what we think is right and wrong for men and women to do? And when is it okay to sacrifice your dignity in the form of personal growth? These are just a handful of questions asked in this very introspective episode, and one which grows on the viewer long after it wraps up.

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The Road Part 2
As seen from the first "The Road" episode, the comedy tour road is not the fun, free-for-all booze and gal train many films and TV specials make it out to be. But with "The Road Part 2", in seeing our titular character at one of his lowest emotional points overcome with wrought and despair at the never-ending affair which became his profession, we finally get to watch him grow beyond his monotonous funk.

Whether pretending to go back in time to become General Whoever or remembering why farts were once funny to him thanks to hack comedian Kenny (Jim Florentine), Louie learns to become human again, even he's half dead and a victim to second-hand tragedy. It's another captivating, quietly riveting finale, filled with all the wit, heart, maturity and relatable which made Louie as great as it is today.

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Cop Story
The main reason why "Cop Story" becomes so affecting is how it evaluates its structure in masterfully graceful fashion. Anchored by Michael Rappaport's stunning guest turn as low-level patrol officer Lenny — giving what may very well be his best on-screen performance to date — this little episodes plays into the quietly haunting one-on-one interactions which serve as Louie's best moments. Much like season two's "Eddie" or season three's "Daddy's Girlfriend Part 2," this raw, visceral look at a life we'll only see this one time in the series invites the viewer to witness a personality and side of New York City never often seen.

Sure, cop stories are explored constantly, and their mistakes and troubles often are showcased either in different mediums or on the news. But what makes this third installment so riveting is how it focuses not on what this cop does but that he never became anything at all. He's shorten by his inability to advantage or grow, and he tries to compensate for this with a fake ego which ironically only sets him back farther. It's a touching, disquieting episode, and not one to forget or one which should be forgotten, hopefully.

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Pot Luck
From the opening minutes this season opener starts, watching C.K. do a stand-up bit about how he doesn't care if there's extraterrestrial life to later proclaiming his depressed insecurities to a half-awake therapist only to realize "I'm a boring asshole now," there's a distinct nostalgia to "Pot Luck". After last season's consistently dramatic moments, this episode is here to bring back the fun the original season gave readily.

And in this regard, it exceeds exceptionally. With the intentionally stripped down narrative of Louie trying earnestly to go to a local parent's pot luck dinner, this episode may not be as thematically pleasing as some would like or expect now from the series, but it's easily the funniest Louie's been in some time, and also the most humble and enjoyably down-the-Earth as this New York City-based once was. As Louie continues on his latest, fried chicken-carrying adventure, accompanied by local banjo strums, there's a wonderful carefree joy to "Pot Luck," and its great to see this variety back into the show.

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Untitled
Often the episodes of Louie that are most memorable, haunting and alluring are the most unsuspecting. "Untitled", a look at C.K.'s unstable psyche in the wake of personal anguish and mental unrest as he endures an unending stream of hilariously baffling nightmares, is not only Louie's best this season but possibly one of the all-time best from the series — for it constantly finds visually inventive and constantly surprising ways to tackle the heart and humor Louie does best.

In these moments, however, it says a lot not only about our main character and his insecurities but also the pains we only sometimes see in his dour presence. To watch the Louie world become more surreal than it was before is a delight in-and-of-itself, but to see C.K. do so and still make one of his original, innovative and wonderfully odd episodes to date reminds us what makes this show is damn fantastic.

Image courtesy of Kristin Callahan/ACE/INFphoto.com