Elevator

Plot

Part 1

Jane (Ursula Parker) awakens in the middle of the night due to a bad dream. Louie (Louis C.K.) comforts her and gets her to sleep again.

The next day, Louie, Jane and Lilly (Hadley Delany) go to the subway, with Louie reiterating the "subway rules" in case of an emergency. After boarding the train, Jane, believing she is dreaming, hops off the train as the doors close, to Louie's horror. He and Lilly are then forced to all the way back to the station, where Louie scolds Jane for her actions, making her cry. They return to meet with Janet (Susan Kelechi Watson), with Louie informing her about the events. She also scolds Jane, telling her they are not in a dream.

At Louie's apartment building, a Hungarian old woman, Evanka (Ellen Burstyn) uses the elevator but suddenly the elevator gets stuck. As staff tries to take her out, she asks Louie to get her pills from her apartment. Louie is given the keys and retrieves the pills, noting a woman (Eszter Balint) sleeping on her couch. He goes back with Evanka, who asks him to inform the woman, her niece Amia, to wait for her. Louie returns to the apartment, but Amia, who does not speak English, scares him off. Later, Amia visits Louie to give her a tart for his actions. Despite not speaking the same language, they both have a laugh while he eats.

Part 2

After shopping, Louie visits Evanka at her apartment to return her key, as well as to deliver her a basket of products to thank them for the tart. Their meeting is interrupted when Louie is called by the school, asked to pick up Jane following problems at the school. When he asks her what is happening, Jane replies that she hates school and gives many excuses that Louie does not buy. She eventually comes clean, explaining that she pulled a classmate's skirt. Louie and Janet talk about Jane's behavior. Janet considers sending her to private school, which Louie opposes.

Louie meets Amia again in the building and both decide to go out in the city. After helping her buy a hair dryer, they return to her apartment where they bid farewell and hug.

Part 3

While at the market, Louie runs into Pamela (Pamela Adlon), who has returned from Europe. She explains that her relationship with her ex-husband is over and left him and her son in Barcelona. She wants to start a relationship with Louie, who states he is already seeing someone. While disappointed, she claims she is happy for him.

Louie visits Amia, but Evanka tells him that she will be leaving back for Hungary, as she lives with her son. This disappoints Louie, although Evanka tells her that Amia will leave within one month and that they can catch up during that time. Louie spends more time with her, but questions if they can go past "dating" considering she is leaving. At the building, he runs into Dr. Bigelow (Charles Grodin) and asks for advice. Dr. Bigelow simply states that no one cares about his relationships and tells him to "just pick a road and go down it or don't." To prove his point, he shows his three-legged dog, stating that despite the disability, the dog will just go forward with his life.

Part 4

Louie continues going out with Amia, who is also spending time with Lilly and even teaches Jane how to play the violin. Per the school principal's suggestion, Jane attends therapy. The therapist tells Louie and Janet that perhaps her behavior may be because of their divorce. Louie blames himself for their failure, but the therapist says it is Janet's responsibility in fixing it, as Louie cannot control himself. They also get into an argument about Amia, as the girls will get sad when she leaves.

In a flashback, a young Louie (Conner O'Malley) and Janet (Brooke Bloom) argue in a hotel room, as their marriage has not progressed in the past two years. They decide that they are better off by divorcing, so they have sex for the last time. They gloat over the benefits of being separated but wonder what if Janet were to get pregnant.

Part 5

With one week left before Amia leaves, Louie invites her to dine with his friends at the Comedy Cellar. Todd Barry notes that Louie may be wasting potential, describing that he enjoys having no wife and kids. He then proceeds to explain a lengthy sequence in which he worked to finally get his name sign to spell his name correctly.

At his building, Louie finds Evanka unconscious in the elevator. He asks Dr. Bigelow for help, and he helps him in awakening her, as she forgot to chew pills. Louie then helps Evanka in going upstairs. Louie later goes out with Amia before returning to his apartment. They kiss goodbye but eventually start passionately kissing and have sex for the first time. The next morning, they talk in bed, although Amia leaves after she proclaims "no good", leaving Louie confused.

Part 6

As a hurricane makes landfall in New York, Louie chases Amia to a church. Amia opens up, but Louie is unable to understand her. He takes her home, where their conflict escalates as she starts shattering dishes. As the storm worsens and gravely affects Janet's area, Louie decides to go out and save Janet and the girls. Louie rents a car from Hertz and barely makes it through the flooded streets until he reaches Janet's house, taking her and the girls to safety.

After the storm passes, Louie and Amia go to eat at a Hungarian restaurant. There, Amia gives an English-speaking employee a letter so he can translate it to Louie. The letter states that she enjoyed her time with Louie, but New York is not her home and their personal lives will not allow them to be together. Louie peacefully accepts the separation, but states he wouldn't trade it for anything. They continue holding hands as the episode ends.

Production

Development

In April and May 2014, FX confirmed that the fourth through ninth episode of the season would be titled "Elevator", and that they would be written and directed by series creator and lead actor Louis C.K. These episodes were C.K.'s 43rd, 44th, 45th, 46th, 47th and 48th writing and directing credit.

Reception

Viewers

In its original American broadcast, "Elevator Part 1" was seen by an estimated 0.68 million household viewers with a 0.3 in the 18-49 demographics. This means that 0.3 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode. This was a 17% decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 0.81 million viewers with a 0.4 in the 18-49 demographics.

In its original American broadcast, "Elevator Part 2" was seen by an estimated 0.60 million household viewers with a 0.3 in the 18-49 demographics. This means that 0.3 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode. This was a 12% decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 0.68 million viewers with a 0.3 in the 18-49 demographics.

In its original American broadcast, "Elevator Part 3" was seen by an estimated 0.57 million household viewers with a 0.3 in the 18-49 demographics. This means that 0.3 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode. This was a slight decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 0.60 million viewers with a 0.3 in the 18-49 demographics.

In its original American broadcast, "Elevator Part 4" was seen by an estimated 0.51 million household viewers with a 0.2 in the 18-49 demographics. This means that 0.2 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode. This was an 11% decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 0.57 million viewers with a 0.3 in the 18-49 demographics.

In its original American broadcast, "Elevator Part 5" was seen by an estimated 0.44 million household viewers with a 0.2 in the 18-49 demographics. This means that 0.2 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode. This was a 14% decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 0.51 million viewers with a 0.2 in the 18-49 demographics.

In its original American broadcast, "Elevator Part 6" was seen by an estimated 0.61 million household viewers with a 0.3 in the 18-49 demographics. This means that 0.2 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode. This was a 38% increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 0.44 million viewers with a 0.2 in the 18-49 demographics.

Critical reviews

"Elevator Part 1" received generally positive reviews from critics. Matt Fowler of IGN gave the episode a "good" 7.7 out of 10 and wrote in his verdict, "Louie delivered two scary scenarios involving transportation this week - each unsettling for different reasons. Though the second one was played for light laughs while the first seemed to just show us the occasional 'Holy S***!' struggles that come from being a parent and ambush us out of nowhere. The city just doesn't seem to be safe for the young or old, and it's up to the middle-aged to help those on the ends of the spectrum navigate the system. Good, but not great stuff. The thinnest offering of Season 4 so far."

Alan Sepinwall of HitFix wrote, "most of the section of Part 1 that actually deals with the elevator and Louie meeting his Eastern European neighbors felt entirely like a preamble to whatever's coming next. So the most memorable part of that episode involved Louie's subway misadventure with Jane, who, convinced she was still dreaming, hopped off the car to see what would happen. Having something genuinely bad happen to Jane doesn't feel like something even a show as elastic as Louie would do but even though everyone made it to Louie's ex-wife's apartment physically unscathed, that was an emotionally harrowing sequence." Emily St. James of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B+" grade and wrote, "As indicated by its title, 'Elevator, Part 1' is the first part of a multi-part saga about... well, it's not immediately clear. The safe money is on this story being about what happens after Louie and the woman meet and hit it off and try to overcome their differences and fall in love. It's a fitting idea for the season to pursue as a centerpiece storyline."

Danielle Henderson of Vulture gave the episode a perfect 5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "I'm used to being a little unmoored with Louie, and part of its charm is Louis C.K.'s ability to defy expectations and push deeper into those moments of absurdity. But I think last night was the first time I felt actual terror watching the show, and I wasn't sure if 'pushing it' this time meant pushing it too far. It didn't, but it was a strangely riveting hour of TV all the same." Jake Cole of Slant Magazine wrote, "The begrudging humanity of Louie, a result less of its protagonist's cynicism than his sheer laziness, is one of the show's key facets, and the pressure-cooker atmosphere of 'Elevator Part 1' forces it out of Louie without sentiment."

Joe Matar of Den of Geek gave the episode a 4.5 rating out of 5 and wrote, "This might be the weirdest episode of Season 4 so far. Perhaps that's a hard claim to make stick because there's nothing as obviously unreal as the garbage men from the premiere or the bizarre courtship between Louie and Blake in the second. But the weirdness here, I think, stems from the fact that the storylines in this episode feel terribly inconclusive. Again, maybe an odd argument to try and make. Louie is hardly known for neatly wrapping everything up every week. But still, the stories here come off a bit like random happenings that barely develop." Paste gave the episode a 6 out of 10 and wrote, "This episode will probably play better when connected with what comes afterwards, but as the first part of a serial, it wasn't terribly enticing."

Accolades

For "Elevator Part 6", Louis C.K. was nominated for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series at the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards. He would lose the award to Modern Family for the episode "Las Vegas".