Louie and Pamela have always been a hard couple to ‘ship. Part of that is due to the surreal structure of Louie, and another, bigger part is that they’ve always had a curiously abusive relationship, with Louie returning time and again to have scorn heaped upon him. Jim and Pam these two are not (but let’s not forget that Louie did offer her one of the sweetest declarations of love I’ve ever seen). So when Pamela said she’d be amenable to the idea of dating Louie back in “Pamela Part 1,” there were a lot of questions about how an actual, romantic date between the two of them would go.
As it turns out, really well! Louie takes her to an art show, which is a perfect place to Pamela to shit all over everything (and apropos too, as two of the exhibits are called Diarrhea and Bag of Shit). They get Chinese takeout and watch a meteor shower in Central Park. And when that music kicks up as Pamela kisses Louie, it’s hard to keep a smile off your face (it also doesn’t hurt that “Pamela Part 2” is the funniest that Louie has been in a while).
Louie wants Pamela to stay, but she insists they’re just friends, “like girls or frogs.” (Louie‘s had a lot of animal talk this season.) Louie finally vents his frustrations, telling her what viewers have been thinking for a while: “Either you want to hurt me or you don’t care, and either way that’s not someone I want to be with.” But Pamela sticks the landing by offering to show Louie her underwear, so in a weirdly moving scene, they text each other pictures of their underwear until Pamela invites him to bed – but not before getting one last affectionate “Stupid” in.
“Part 2” is the first episode of Louie‘s fourth season that wasn’t written solely by its creator; C.K. shares writing credit with Pamela herself, Pamela Adlon (who also voiced Bobby Hill, which makes it really weird for me to hear her say things like “I’m looking for baby elephants in your mother’s vagina”). These two know the characters inside and out, and their banter is candid and refreshingly plain-spoken. (Also, and there’s no good place to put this, we find out that Louie takes place in the near future, as Pamela mentions that it’s 2017. She could be speaking sarcastically, but with this show it’s hard to tell.)
I was worried for Louie and Pamela at the beginning of “Part 3,” wherein she spontaneously donates almost all of his furniture to Goodwill (although I loved Pamela’s response to Louie asking what he was supposed to do: “That’s your problem, but that shit had to go”). I was even more worried when she saw him perform and didn’t laugh once; Louie’s disappointment was compounded by an unexpected appearance from Marc Maron, who took Louie to task over their tumultuous past. (One great thing about this show is that Louis C.K. is never afraid to paint himself as the asshole in any situation; check out his conversation with Dane Cook if you don’t believe me.)
But where “Part 3” really surprised me was in the tenderness and the encouragement that Pamela gave Louie. Adlon plays Pamela more sympathetic than she’s ever been, and it’s easy to see why Louie would fall for her. When they have a fight near the episode’s end, he storms out, only to be called seconds later on his phone. It’s Pamela, inviting him to join her in the tub, as she did so long ago. Louie strips down – you can tell how brave the nude scene is for C.K. – and he and his girlfriend (who won’t yet call herself that) talk about their first kisses. It’s sweet and perfect, and the biggest surprise of the “Pamela” story arc is that it ends on a happy note.
A lot has been written, and a lot will be written, about Louie‘s fourth season. Thank you for sticking with me week after week, but you know what? I’m done analyzing, I’m done critiquing. This was damn fine television, and I’m content to leave it at that.
Season Grade: 5 Stars
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