Louie Recap: ‘Telling Jokes/Set Up’

Most of the time, people would rather be alive than dead. But sometimes, some individuals, consciously or subconsciously, do things because they’re dangerous. Like continue to ride a motorcycle even though they got into an accident on the very day it was purchased. Or they decide to take a principled stand at the worst possible time, and subsequently imply that an Oscar winner is a whore. And/or agree to a second date right after being raped by an Oscar award winner.

With all due respect to Louie’s children and future comedians Lily and Jane, “Telling Jokes/Set Up” was all about “Set Up” and guest star Melissa Leo. In “Set Up,” comedian Allan Havey and his Bing Crosby penis invited C.K. to have dinner with him and his wife. Once Louie arrived at the Havey residence it was obvious that he was being set up with Laurie, a no B.S. woman who owns her own landscaping company. Louie is timid and/or put off by being thrown into the situation and doesn’t initially impress Melissa Leo’s Laurie.

But once Laurie and Louie (their names sound similar! It’s love!) established during a smoke break from domestic hell that they weren’t looking for a life partner, things took a turn for the better. Also alcohol; alcohol definitely helped. The two got drunk at a bar, where their caustic but not dickish senses of humor meshed perfectly. They called each other pissers. “This is the most fun I’ve had in a long time.” “Me too.” Louie impressively made the scene free of sap or artifice with the use of jump cuts. Not drastic Godardesque jump cutting that was used in the past for dream sequences or pot induced scenes, but in skipping ahead after brief exchanges to portray how time flies when you’re getting drunk at a bar with someone you don’t hate. Props to new editor Susan E. Morse on that one.

Drunk, Laurie drove Louie presumably back to the Haveys to pick up his motorcycle. While last week’s “Something is Wrong” was a little predictable, here you didn’t know what was going to happen next, but you knew it was going to be something big with an intoxicated and happy Melissa Leo behind the wheel. I assumed a car accident, because I lack imagination. Instead, Laurie parked the car and offered to give C.K. some oral pleasure. Because Louie is a human being he tells her to go for it. Once that was finished Laurie asked Louie to reciprocate. C.K. said no, because he doesn’t do that unless he’s in a serious relationship. No matter how he phrased it, there was no way Laurie would not take it the wrong way, which she does by pointing out that by him saying they “have different values” he is basically saying that she is a “whore.” C.K. countered that she should have told him beforehand that she was expecting something in return before pleasuring him. Because Twitter is amazing by occasionally bestowing the world of gifts that we never thought to ask for, we were able to get The Daily Show’s “Senior Ass-kicker” opinion of the situation as it was going down.

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/realMickFoley/status/221074790717460485”]

Laurie then bet Louie $200 that in three minutes time she was going to get him to do what she wanted. Stupidly, Louie told the woman he had just met that night to make it $1,000. After unsuccessfully trying to get him to lick her in her naughties by calling him gay, she took a different approach.

And she got her way.

Lick it or I’ll break your finger.

Because he hates himself, Louie agreed immediately to a second date. Or because he just suffered a concussion. Either way: Holy Shit.

In “Telling Jokes”, Louie and his two daughters tell each other silly knock knock jokes. C.K. the veteran comedian is obsessed with his youngest daughter’s unorthodox joke about the gorilla and the ballet. Not only did we witness his stand-up bit about the joke on last night’s episode, he talked about it on Leno last week.

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And during the credits we heard Jane tell the joke. The charm of it all had long since dissipated, since this was still in our heads.

Besides, the mermaid pee pee joke was funnier.

Things To Ponder While Enjoying a Papaya Dog

- “Telling Jokes” and “Set Up” are two entirely different stories, and C.K. has repeatedly insisted that he only considers what segments to put together in an episode if they magically combine to make 21 minutes of television, but come on - all jokes have set ups. It can’t be a coincidence. Right?

- How many people do you think remember Allan Havey’s old Comedy Central talk show Night after Night?

- How perfect was the music in this episode? Particularly when the charming innocent cooing lovers tune came up again after the sexual molestation.

- Was Louie right? Laurie? Mick Foley? All of them? None of them?

- The opening credits didn’t appear until five minutes into the show. Besides “Poker/Divorce” has it ever taken that long to get to Reggie Watts singing about C.K.’s pending death?

Things To Say Instead of Answering Your Door

- “What is WRONG with this country?”

- “Your sperms are dying in my mouth right now, goddammit.”

- “The best part is I don’t have to see your fucking face again!”

- “Don’t I get any credit for talking and wanting to go to a ballet?”

- “He had an asian wife?” “I don’t know. Anyway he died.”

- “Strap on the feedbag.”

Roger Cormier would never draw you as a mermaid in pee pee.

Louie Recap: ‘Telling Jokes/Set Up’