Louie: "Barney/Never" Review

Note: Full spoilers for the episode follow.

Wow, I loved this episode.

There was no real connective tissue at all this week to the two stories told – not even any Louie standup to touch upon anything happening. And there didn’t need to be, considering the two expertly told stories we got.

Little touches can mean so much and I found it fascinating that the Louie on this series and the Robin Williams (as himself) on this series had never met. Was that true in real life? Was Louis C.K. asking Williams to appear on his show their first real encounter? Either way, the two of them played off each other wonderfully, bonding over their shared mixed feelings about the death of Barney, a man Louie called “the biggest piece of S*t I ever knew.”

There was a lot of Louie’s very "real" vibe here, as Louie and Robin shared laughs about this horrible guy, but also admitted they both hated the thought of no one going to this man’s funeral – hence, here they both were.

All of which was an absolutely beautiful setup to the hysterical payoff of all those strippers just losing it crying when they heard Barney was dead. The use of “Sister Christian” over all the shots of the crying strippers was just an amazing comic moment, added to as we saw that everyone in that club, from the DJ to other patrons, was saddened by losing this man who clearly was a beloved figure at Sweet Charity.

The moment where Robin and Louie say goodbye to each other, but only after vowing to be at each other’s funerals, was also wonderful – both funny yet also with a tinge of darkness, as these two men seemed to be implying that they both had fears that no one they knew well would want to come to their funerals.

Honestly, the episode could have ended right there, after just those few minutes, and I would have been satisfied. But then we got “Never.”

This was one of the most out there and odd stories this show has told. It felt more purposely “unrealistic” than most Louie stories, from the moment that woman said she was having her vagina removed. But that didn’t make it any less compelling, fascinating or funny.

How amazing was it when Never pushed that baby carriage into traffic? Louie is such a small scale (and low budget) show that it always makes even more of an impact when something like that happens. The cars all slamming together, including a truck filled with unspecific hazardous materials, was amazing – only outdone by the homeless man’s head coming off in terms of out of nowhere and amazingly funny “action” in this show's history.

The oddness of Never kept growing. His insane diet ("You want me to give you raw meat in a bowl?"), his request that Louie give him a bath, the way he threw that rug out the window... And Louis C.K. perfectly portrayed the mega slow burn going on, as he kept his cool, despite things getting worse and worse. Poor Lilly on the other hand is probably traumatized now. I can see why she didn’t want a play date with this kid. He diarrhea'd in the tub!

All this, plus a spot-on parody of annoying afternoon radio (Yes, Parks and Recreation already did this, but damn it, it was still great here) and a J.B. Smoove closing credits cameo! This episode had it all…

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