10 Crazy Things Louie Did That Could Never Happen On Another TV Show

6. Going To China On A Whim

Season 3 | Episode 13 One of the tenderest episodes of the entire show, here Louie is in danger of spending New Year alone and depressed after witnessing the death of a woman he loved on the bus. It looks like he's about to slip into a deep, dark place, but instead steals away impulsively to check out a Chinese river he reads about in the book he bought his daughter for Xmas. Why Could It Only Happen On Louie? Because it's such a sad, beautiful episode, nestled among fart jokes and observations about middle-age. It focuses less on comedy and more on bringing a smile to your face and a tear to your eye. It's not very often a television show can switch between gross-out comedy and something as gentle as this on a dime. The fact he doesn't find what he's looking for, but gets invited into the home of a boisterous Chinese family instead, finally finding somewhere to stay on New Year, even if he can't understand a word anyone's saying, makes it all the sweeter. Kind of like Louie does and An Idiot Abroad. It's a rare but refreshing change for a show to make a complete departure in terms of tone for just one episode and actually succeed.