‘Louie’ Recap (Season 3, Episode 5): “Daddy’s Girlfriend, Part 2″

Louis goes on a date with Parker Posey in FX’s Louie

Last week, I speculated that the relationship between Louis and Parker Posey would end badly, like every other relationship Louis has had on this show. This episode surprised me in two ways: we didn’t actually get to see the end of their relationship (though I doubt we will see Posey again) and also because of how it was executed: it was simultaneously delightful and utterly terrifying.

Louis is fascinated with the strange and the unusual and making people feel uncomfortable; “Daddy’s Girlfriend, Part 2” is all about that. Louis thought he was victorious in asking Posey out, but he had no idea their “date” would turn out like this. The audience gets clued in early on: Posey thanks “Mark” for closing up the bookstore and he responds “my name’s Roger,” indicating that Posey is fairly self-absorbed (she doesn’t know her co-worker’s name). In another scene, in which Louis is not actually privy to (a rare first for the show, I think), a bartender refuses to serve Posey after an incident in the past, which indicates that she is probably an alcoholic. From this point on, the audience thinks that Posey is a self-absorbed alcoholic, whereas Louis just thinks she’s eccentric and exciting… for now.

As the two walk through the city, Posey talks non-stop and tells Louis about her childhood (she was sick and was supposed to die, got better, dropped out of high school because it was boring, yada yada yada): Louis just goes with it. After the two realize they don’t know each other’s names, she introduces herself as “Tape Recorder,” a joke Louis completely falls for.

Tape Recorder (I know this isn’t actually her real name but I’m sick of writing Posey and I’ve never had the chance to call someone Tape Recorder before) presents Louis with a number of tests, either to challenge Louis or just because she finds them fun. She makes him try on a dress in a clothing store; she forces him to buy a homeless man some medicine and put him up in a hotel room; she makes him walk up an endless staircase just to see what the city looks like at night. This is the end of the episode: a scene so unusual in a show so unpredictable that I actually thought Posey was going to jump off the building and kill herself, leaving Louis alone once again.

Fortunately, that doesn’t happen, but what does is almost as unsettling: Posey explains to Louis that he is afraid to go to the edge of the rooftop because part of him wants to jump off; she, on the other hand, doesn’t want to jump off because she’s having too good of a time. They both smile and then Posey appears to see or hear something terrifying and looks disturbed, leaving Louis confused once again as she leaves, introducing herself as “Liz.”

Whoa. And so ends the rollercoaster of lunacy that was “Daddy’s Girlfriend.” I would love to see Parker Posey show up once again but that’s not how Louie works (or I would want to see Melissa Leo again, too). This is a one-time deal, and I think it’s pretty clear that Louis knows Liz isn’t worth it by the end. While walking up the stairs, he calls her “kiddo,” which I think indicates that Louis no longer thinks of Liz as a girlfriend and a potential stepmother to his children, but as another person he has to babysit. Louis and Liz are on completely different ends of the spectrum and I think everyone knows it wouldn’t work. I’m just glad we didn’t get to see the inevitable, messy and probably scary “break-up” scene.

Five strange and fascinating episodes, all equally good and interesting. Another eight to go. Man, I love this show.

Image credit: FX

Comments