Horace and Pete “Episode 5” Review: Death and Rebirth

 A Hopeful Horace and Pete as Act 1 comes to a close

A brief review of Horace and Pete’s fifth episode right after I see if Brooklyn is on the ups…

“Because maybe It’ll get better”
-Pete

The final line of dialogue uttered at the end of Horace and Pete’s fifth episode is the thesis for the“first act” of Horace and Pete’s final play (presumably). The fifth episode of Horace and Pete is all about dealing with death and the potential for rebirth that can emerge from it. It’s the death of the “Horace and Pete universe” as we’ve seen it throughout four episodes and through that there is the potential for change. The fifth episode of “Horace and Pete” creates a beautiful set up for the last acts of the show, and suggests whether it’s good or bad the show will end on something different.

The episode begins with THE DEATH OF UNCLE PETE. Turns out the long shot of the door closing at the end of last week’s episode was indeed the departure Alan Alda’s great character as we find out near the beginning of the episode that he ultimately killed himself (I don’t know how time works on Horace and Pete but I would love to think that this happened right after he delivered his final words of wisdom to his son at the end of last week). And while I’m sad that we won’t get anymore of Alan Alda for the rest of the series the way that Louis CK used it as a means of set up was beautiful. To these characters the death of Uncle Pete was not just a singular death, but the death of an institution as a whole. No matter what happens to Horace and Pete’s from here on in it’s going to have a somewhat different face.

The wake scene that made up most of the first half of the episode was a fantastic representation of that change. We see the departure of almost everything that’s associated with the past lives of Horace, Pete, and Sylvia. From Marsha giving her tragic backstory in what felt like her exit monologue, to Sylvia essentially shoving her daughter away, to the confirmation that indeed the attempts for Horace to reconnect with his daughter have failed (in rather hilarious fashion) everything that once characterized the previous generation of Horace and Pete has exited stage left. Sure some of the old bar patrons have stuck around, but there is a different atmosphere to the proceedings.

The decision of where to go from here (essentially rock bottom in a way) is solely up to the three “siblings” (it’s hard to know how to characterize Pete at this point) involved. Syliva has always wanted to sell the bar in the first place but the want has been intensified now given the cancer and the new dollar figure associated with the bar. Pete on the other hand knows nothing outside of working and living in the bar and essentially needs to keep it. It’s Horace, for really the first time in the series who actually steps up and tries to create a compromise. There is a clear sense here that Horace is attached to something about the bar and is at the same time concerned about the livelihood of both of his siblings. His proposal is to have the three of them run the bar together, maybe redesign the place, and create something for themselves with the admittedly little the actually have. While Sylvia seems down on the proposal when she exits near the end of the episode it looks as though that’s where the series may head as it enters its final stage.

It ultimately leaves episode five/act one on a hopeful note which is one that the series has not really touched on throughout its run. Maybe, even in the most challenging of times, there can be hope to change one’s future in a positive way. The end of act one suggests potential for a positive direction for these characters, one where they won’t need to just “off themselves” like Uncle Pete. For now though we can only hope along with the characters, as we still don’t know whether this play will turn into a comedy or a tragedy.

Some other musings:

• This was the best that the “current events bar conversations” have been. It flowed really well in the last third of the episode, and ultimately set up the note that the episode ended on.

• I like the idea that Uncle Pete actually killed himself. It adds much more meaning to his death and sets up the need for change that predicates the last third of the episode.

• Jessica Lang has been underrated good as Marsha. I was glad she got one more chance to shine before (presumably) making her exit.

That’s it for this week folks. I can’t wait for what comes next!

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

Let’s Talk: Louis CK’s Horace and Pete is television’s best show

The trio of Steve Buscemi, Louis CK, and Edie Falco in Horace and Pete

Thoughts on the beautiful and unique new Louis CK show Horace and Pete just as soon I water down your boos to save some money…

“I don’t feel good Maggie”

 -Horace

It was four Saturdays ago when Louis CK became the Beyoncé of television and dropped a little show entitled Horace and Pete. All of a sudden there was just an episode sitting there on his website with no build up, promotion or anything really that goes with the release of a new television show. It was a present surprise to see it arrive in all of it’s $5 glory, especially given how much I love his FX show Louie and stand up. What Horace and Pete was has been an even bigger surprise as Louis CK delivered a show that wasn’t really funny at all. Instead the first episode was essentially Louis CK’s version of a dramatic play filmed for television. It was an awesome shock to the system and a beautiful amalgamation of what seemed like a bunch of Louis CK’s pent up dramatic ideas dumped out into this new format.

What has made Horace and Pete something special though has been what the series has been able to accomplish post the initial surprise. Every week Louis CK has presented something different and equally as satisfying. The second episode was for all intents and purposes a free form jazz like venture through various bits of comedy and drama exploring everything from breast cancer to disturbing sex fantasies. The third episode, which essentially revolved around a single conversation was one of the most extraordinary hours of television I’ve ever witnessed (more on that in a minute). Finally, this week’s fourth episode felt like a multi cam episode of Louie just with three different sketches instead of two. The joy of Horace and Pete is not knowing how and what one is going to get week by week and just watching Louis CK be creative in this new medium is fascinating.

The chief example of the unique creativity of the show is in its brilliant third episode which is pretty much just a single conversation. The episode opens on a just over nine minute still shot of theater actress Laurie Metclaf as she’s telling a strange and super detailed story. As the story progresses the details become painfully clear, Metclaf is playing Horace’s ex wife Sarah who is telling the story of how she has cheated on her new husband just as Horace had cheated on her in their prior relationship. The conversation is stunning on a number of levels, first of all it’s essentially one giant monologue carried by Metclaf. It’s one of the single best bits of acting I’ve seen in a long time, Metclaf is not only required to tell an incredibly complex story in a realistic fashion but must do it all in incredibly long takes. It’s truly extraordinary to watch the camera just linger, hanging on the pain behind of every word.

The third episode also allows Louis CK the writer and director to shine brightly. While Metclaf has to do a lot of heavy work on the acting side, it can’t be forgotten how important the creativity of Louis CK plays in throughout the hour. The direction is careful, still, and calculated allowing both Metclaf and Louis CK the actor time to let the story slowly build, and for the audience to linger on the conversation's implication. The conversation itself is also incredibly well written, not only striking a tone of realism, but constantly adding twists and turns to continuously build the conversation to a beautiful climax. It makes the moment when Uncle Pete comes in at the end to crack the cruel joke at the end of the episode hit hard. There was definitely laughter to the idea that Louis CK could have created this incredible hour of television as an elaborate set up to a cruel punchline, but the uncomfortably long, silent shot of Horace that follows is a reminder of the pain that was felt throughout the hour. The range of emotions one is left with at the end of the episode is a perfect example of all the elements of filmmaking coming together to create something rather extraordinary. Horace and Pete’s third episode is truly an hour of television I will never forget.

It’s follow up and the most recent episode of the show, while not as extraordinary as its predecessor, continues the creative hot streak that Louis CK continues to strike with this show. The episode revolves around three skits that almost could have come right out of Louie. The first, and weakest of the skits revolves around the show’s weakest aspect as a whole, which is the discussion of current events. The abortion discussion depicted is slightly more successful than previous attempts made to cover current events and politics, as it is much funnier and revolves around the theme of the rest of the episode, but it still doesn’t connect the same way the rest of the show does. While it is funny to listen to a send up of a bunch of older guys talk about the intricacies whether an aborted fetus ends up going to hell (all while ignoring the woman sitting right next to them) it dose not have the same resonance as the rest of the show and can ultimately feel out of place.

Despite its lesser opening third the fourth episode (come on Louis CK we really need episode titles) of Horace and Pete manages to return to greatness for its final two thirds. The episode’s examination of different forms of love worked beautifully. Horace’s interaction (lets not call it a booty call) with the young waitress Maggie (played by yet another theatre actress Nina Arianda) continued the show’s knack for getting theatre actresses to deliver great monologues. 

The best moment of the episode though comes in its final little sketch in which Uncle Pete and Steve Buscemi Pete have a strange father, son bonding moment. While Uncle Pete’s views and ideas have been made to look outdated and ridiculous throughout the show his final moment in which he describes what he believes to be love is as tender and vulnerable as the character gets. It's a scene that shows just how deep a character that Uncle Pete can be, even as there is natural temptation to make him a stereotype. Uncle Pete may, in many people’s eyes, be wrong about the power relations involved in going down on a woman (that’s as far as I’ll go) but the moment when he’s acknowledging his son really for the first time to tell him what love really is, before walking out of the door (with yet another beautiful lingering shot to accompany it) is another example of the emotional power that Horace and Pete has been able to achieve over its mere four week existence.

Horace and Pete has quickly established itself as television’s most unique and powerful show. Louis CK continues to surprise, delivering episodes that span genres and deal with painful situations with the amount of care that is often not seen on television. I do not know what Louis CK’s future episodes of Horace and Pete will bring, all I know is that I cannot wait for the email informing me of a new episode enter my inbox.

Some other musings:

• I’m going to try and cover this show in some form or fashion weekly from now until the season is over… No promises on timeliness but I love this show too much to let it slip through the cracks…

• Alan Alda has been so very fantastic as Uncle Pete throughout the four episodes… It’s a different kind of role for him and he’s playing it to perfection.

• Louis CK has established such great cast its astounding… And a Paul Simon original song! It would be interesting to hear the story of how he pulled all of this off...

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