A Lost “Louie”

Louis C.K.'s FX show caps a season about fading relevance Thursday amid his visibility boost from his stand-up special and recent “SNL” stint.

This odd, even by Louis C.K. standards, fifth season of "Louie" raises the discomfort level with its serio-comic portrayal of a man feeling his relevance slipping away.

C.K. set the grim tone in the season opener, in which he gets schooled by a young owner of an upscale housewares shop who basically tells him she doesn't need his business – and insinuates the world doesn't need him, either (“We’re the future and you don’t belong in it”). Subsequent episodes delve into the touchy subject of emasculation, as seen during nightmares (sexual weirdness with a man in a bunny costume) and waking hours (some surprise romantic role reversal-role playing with his off-again love interest Pamela).

Louie's new anxieties pile onto his old worries about everything from his daughters’ well-being to the size of his gut to the state of his soul. But C.K. the performer shouldn't be too concerned: Another season of bold TV comes to a close Thursday on FX, to be followed by the television premiere of his latest stand up special, "Louis C.K.: Live at the Comedy Store," which some fans already have downloaded from his website at $5 a pop. The double dose of C.K. follows his recent "Saturday Night Live" hosting stint in which his controversial opening monologue raised questions about taste, but not about his relevance.

The evolution of "Louie" can be seen not only in the comedy's detours into the darker parts of C.K.'s psyche (particularly in disturbing surreal sequences of a male humanoid demon attacking him in his dreams), but in its increasing focus on others and how he reacts to them. Michael Rapaport’s chilling turn as a blustery cop who becomes unhinged, Robert Kelly’s performance as Louie's hapless train wreck of a brother and Rachel Bay Jones’ portrayal of a single mom in need of some simple kindness let other characters to shine while giving voice to C.K.’s own fears – loneliness and aging, among them.

C.K. has never been afraid to make himself look bad. In the most recent episode, chronicling a miserable stand-up tour, Louie reduces a well meaning, if overbearing and chatty livery driver to tears with his sullen dismissal of him. Louie refuses to play the part of what others want him to be – even if he comes off as cruel, making the driver feel as worthless as the shopkeeper made him feel in the season’s debut episode.

Thursday’s season finale caps the two-part arc, titled, "The Road." It's not clear exactly where "Louie" is headed on this latest strange trip, even if C.K. seems to know where he wants to go. Check out a preview of "Louie" and a promo for C.K.'s stand-up special – two more acts in compelling comedy career.

Jere Hester is founding director of the award-winning, multimedia NYCity News Service at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He is also the author of "Raising a Beatle Baby: How John, Paul, George and Ringo Helped us Come Together as a Family." Follow him on Twitter.

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