The 10 Do’s And Don’ts Of ‘Louie’: ‘Back’/’Model’

FX

In the first new episodes of Louie since September 2012, the titular lug aged two years in a day, was woken up a trio of noisy garbageman, threw out his back while shopping for a vibrator, bombed in front of a crowd of rich snobs and Jerry Seinfeld, punched a beautiful woman who inexplicably wanted to have sex with him, and now owes an astronaut $5,000/month until the day he drops dead of a heart attack — but in the final shot, he couldn’t look happier. Even though so much went wrong, the attractive bartender at the comedy club is sympathetic to his busted-up face, so something went right, too.

That’s the difference between Louie season one and Louie now: the real-life Louis C.K. is more optimistic than ever, or at least resigned to not being AS pessimistic, and he’s spreading the not-gloominess to his fictional counterpart. Forget the bad, appreciate the good, that’s the lesson of “Model,” the stronger of the two episodes. That’s how I chose to interpret it. Part of Louie‘s brilliance is how open for analysis it is: did his tryst with Yvonne Strahovski really happen, or was it a dream? Is Louie the most depressing show on TV, or the funniest? Will the chickens rebel against humans this year, or next? The answer: yes. Louie is whatever you want it to be, and I want it to be shaggy and moribund, with a sigh of contentedness. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade; when life gives you a bad back, buy a vibrator.

“Back”

1. Do remember how old you are.

2. Don’t take parenting advice from Todd Barry.

3. Do help your kids with their homework.

4. Don’t feel ashamed to buy a vibrator.

5. Do use said vibrator to give yourself a massage.

“Model”

1. Don’t hit on the hot bartender, until you’ve been punched in the face.

2. Don’t wear a black t-shirt and jeans to a charity event in the Hamptons.

3. Don’t name your kid Martin Luther Chicken. I’ve got dibs.

4. Do go home with the astronaut’s daughter who’s also a model.

5. Don’t hit the astronaut’s daughter who’s also a model in the face.