'Louie' Episodes 9 and 10 Recap: Yes, That Was Attempted Rape

What's This?

Louie (Louis C.K.) talks to Amia (Eszter Balint) at a Hungarian restaurant, while a waiter (Yury Tsykun) translates in "Elevator Part 6."

Image: KC Bailey/FX

By Anita Li2014-06-03 09:16:56 UTC

Louie ends one relationship in Monday's conclusion to "Elevator," the show's six-episode story arc, and embarks on another at the beginning of a second multi-episode plot called "Pamela," named after his longtime unrequited love interest.

"Elevator Part Six" begins in a dreamlike fashion, with Louie running after a shadowy Amia through the rain, and into an imposing church. There, they have a conversation that goes nowhere, with each person speaking their native tongue in frustration. Back at Evanka's apartment, Louie asks the older woman to translate, but Amia refuses to tell her aunt why she's upset. Matching the tempestuous storm outside, the two lose their temper, and smash plates to the ground. Louie's frustration seems to stem from his sense of helplessness: Because he can't communicate with Amia, he can't solve the problem. In stark contrast, the following scene shows Louie taking full control of the situation, rescuing Lilly, Jane and Janet (even hugging and comforting his typically adversarial ex-wife) from the storm.

See also: 'Louie' Episodes 7 and 8 Recap: Jungle Land

The episode's stormy setting parallels Louis C.K.'s real-life experience in New York City when Superstorm Sandy struck the area in late 2012, and it seems he took inspiration from the disaster. Shortly before C.K.'s debut as a Saturday Night Live host in November 2012, the comedian sent out a heartfelt email to fans that revealed an insider's perspective of NYC during Sandy's aftermath.

The hurricane scene also brings out two oddballs: a man who is "looking for a dog," but doesn't have one, and a half-naked, large-set man yelling incoherently, while running through the streets. Here, Louie almost feels like a Samuel Beckett play, featuring characters straight out of the theatre of the absurd.

Louie (Louis C.K.) in "Elevator Part 6."

After Louie and Amia break up in an emotional, yet humorous scene (it involves a teary-eyed waiter at a Hungarian restaurant translating Amia's goodbye letter to Louie, while the comedian clutches his hand), he mourns their relationship in "Pamela Part 1." Louie tells Dr. Bigelow that it wasn't worth being with Amia in the first place because he's miserable now after their breakup. The curmudgeonly doctor responds by saying pain "is the good part."

"You're so lucky. You're like a walking poem," he says. "The bad part is when you forget her, when you don't care about her, when you don't care about anything ... So enjoy the heartbreak while you can."

Dr. Bigelow's view espouses C.K.'s oft-repeated message (as we saw in last week's "Elevator Part 4") that "sadness is poetic," and feeling is better than not feeling at all. It's what makes us human.

To get over his heartbreak, Louie tries to rebound with Pamela, who's not having any of it ("That ship has sailed"). At this point, the show enters very uncomfortable territory. Louie returns home from a gig to find Pamela, who was babysitting Lilly and Jane, sleeping on his couch (a moment that recalls the time in "Elevator Part 1" when Louie enters Evanka's house to find Amia sleeping on the couch). After she wakes up, Louie tries to force himself on Pamela, attempting to kiss her and lift up her shirt.

It's attempted rape. And Pamela calls him out in her typically brassy way: "This would be rape if you weren't so stupid. God! You can't even rape well!"

Here's the interesting thing about this scene (which likely had viewers' mouths agape): Louie sets it up by including a lengthy seven-minute standup scene, moments before, in which he extols the virtues of women, criticizes the fact that women in the U.S. couldn't vote until 1920, and rails against the word "wifebeater" to describe a tank top. Because the two scenes are juxtaposed, the attempted-rape scene is doubly impactful.

While it's unclear whether the standup segments on Louie are part of the same timeline as the rest of the show, a scene showing Louie's commute back home on the subway (between the standup and the attemped rape) suggests that he could very well be a hypocrite by saying one thing and doing another. The seemingly loony man on the subway, who talks to himself, confirms this notion. At one point while "talking" to Louie, he says, "You know, 25% of them are liars. That is a scientific fact. They're liars. There's no reason to believe anything they tell you." (On another note, the surprising scene is beautifully executed by C.K.)

It's not the first time that Louie has included controversial sex scenes. In season 3's "Telling Jokes/Set Up," Laurie (Melissa Leo) punches Louie in the head, and then forces him to perform oral sex on her.

Louie airs every Monday at 10 p.m. on FX.

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.

Topics: Entertainment, louie, Louis C.K., louis ck, Television