Horace and Pete “Episode 8” Review: Only darkness can bring us together

Horace trying to console a depressed Pete on Horace and Pete

Some brief thoughts on Horace and Pete’s eight episode right after I have a good hearty laugh…

Sorry about nothing on Horace and Pete for the last two weeks, life has been hectic… On that note it’s time to jump right into the bullets:

• I enjoyed the last two weeks of Horace and Pete without thinking they were amongst the show’s stronger efforts. “Episode 6” gave us a great Steve Buscemi performance as well as the lovely Hannah Dunne but ultimately provided what turned out only to be an interesting diversion. “Episode 7” featured the controversial trans conversation at the very end of the episode which ultimately left the feeling that Louis CK was trying to cram way too much into one 10-minute ending sequence… Again both were very solid episodes of the show with some memorable sequences but both will end up on the lower end of Horace and Pete’s spectrum (which in reality is not a knock as the bar for this show has gotten very high).

•  With that in the rear view let’s discuss this Saturday’s episode which turned out to be rather spectacular. Let’s start with Buscemi who until two weeks ago had been good but not a great focus of the show. Since episode six Steve Buscemi has had the chance to really put on the great performance shoes and the work he did in “Episode 8” was by far his best to date. The long take of Pete breaking down and crying at the realization that, due to the side effects of the drug he was taking to remain mentally stable (Probitol which is not an actual drug from what I could gather from a brief internet search), that he would have to be readmitted to the mental hospital was fantastic and Buscemi was perfect throughout. The rest of the episode which dealt with Pete trying to deal with his what his future would behold melded a great mix of darkness and sweetness as the episode saw the return of Tricia a friend of Pete’s in the mental hospital. Pete is contemplating death until Tricia shows up and by telling him what he needed to hear (and the truth as well) at that moment managed to give him enough strength to move on. The sequence both delt with Pete’s dark situation with a beautiful amount of weight, but also managed to find a certain since of hope under the veil of darkness. That mixed with the fantastic Steve Buscemi made the core of “Episode 8” very powerful.

• Louis CK is also flirting with serialization in Horace and Pete and has been doing a wonderful job over the past few episodes building to what seems like a climax of sorts. The show has been flirting with Sylvia wanting to sell the bar since its first episode, but the central conflict between Pete wanting to maintain the status quo and Sylvia wanting to blow it up by selling the space has really started rolling in the last few episodes. Louis CK weves the threads subtly enough, there is a conversation midway through “Episode 8” about how Budweiser, the only beer the bar sells, is getting more and more expensive. On top of that with Pete potentially moving out of the picture (more on that in a minute) it opens the door for Sylvia to get the ball rolling on banishing the bar once and for all.

• Was this Steve Buscemi’s last episode? I don’t know how time has worked particularly on Horace and Pete so I don’t know whether a month will pass between episodes ala Mad Men. I don’t believe he is every shown leaving the bar with Tricia but the final shot with Horace and Sylvia in the “side of the bar” pose at the end of the episode (that we’ve seen numerous times with Horace and Pete) could suggest that the shutting out of Pete from the bar’s future plans is imminent.

• Another scene worth shouting out is Lucy Taylor’s drunken rampage at the tail end of the episode. Louis CK does a wonderful little job at showing the sadness of not only alcoholism on its own but the continued perception of the disease in comparison to others. Also Lucy Taylor acts the hell out of it and makes it a memorable.

• This week in bar talk includes AI and LSD, which both involve potentially hallucinogenic personifications on human inventions… Or something…

That’s all for this week! I continue to love this show and am curious where it’s heading as we assumingly move further towards its finale!

That’s just me though. What did everyone else think?