This is where C.K., the writer/director, needs to be complimented on his choices – the casting of Charles Groding as Dr. Bigelow ultimately proved beneficial, as he plays the character with the necessary pace that boosts his indifference towards Louie’s evident pain. The show has proven time and time again to be insightful—Tom Noonan’s grandiose monologue detailing the crucifixion in God, the eleventh episode of the first season, is a prime example—and this particular scene demonstrated what could a grudge held by C.K. against physicians, given the fact that they haven’t been portrayed in a good light since the show started. As such, Bigelow shows nothing but arrogance, apathy, and condescendence, and ends up dismissing Louie due his lack of interest in the case.
The second episode, “Model”, makes no use of the show’s trademark vignettes, but rather shifts its focus towards a more serious subject matter. It showcases one of Louie’s indisputable flaws: he utterly loses confidence while speaking to women, and therefore embarrasses himself and others by forcing them to reject him. The show’s main character finds himself cornered by none other than Jerry Seinfeld, who pleads with him to attend a charity event and open with a comedy act. C.K.’s often earthy jokes are alluded to by his peer, as they inherently play an important part in his routines.
The rivalry between fellow comedians such as Seinfeld and C.K. is implied once again after the former’s premeditated plan to humiliate the latter in front of billionaires. Then again, the show’s main character manages to go home with the only person who laughed at his jokes – a model who attempts to make the comedian laugh by tickling him, who inadvertently punches her in the face after reacting poorly.
The obviously wealthy family threatens Louie with a lawsuit – those of us who’ve been following the series closely know at this point that the eponymous character is broke. Ever since he faced reality and came to the conclusion that he couldn’t buy the house his kids deserved, C.K.’s been going easy on the dough. You can almost feel his heart rip as he hears from his lawyer (Victor Garber) that he’ll need to pay five thousand dollars a month to his victim’s family for the rest of his life. However, this proves to help him with girls in the long run—who most likely just feel sorry for him—a tragic conclusion to a passable episode in the show that’s unlikely to leave a mark in the future.
Despite the few shortcomings, the Louie season 4 premiere felt remarkably strong, and is definitely a solid comeback for this wonderful series that anybody who’s ever loved the works of Woody Allen and David Lynch would thoroughly enjoy.