The most difficult part of trying to critically assess a new TV show is reconciling your former opinions with a disappointing episode. You never know whether you’re seeing the worst that the show will ever get, the beginning of a downward creative spiral or a writer settling into a groove that doesn’t retain the spark you originally loved in the early episodes.

So is the case with Louie. From the start of the third act, you know that Louis C.K. walking in public wearing a police uniform is going to end in Curb Your Enthusiasm-style catastrophe. The predictability doesn’t make the outcome any less funny, and the episode is still great overall. But when the first four episodes were the Best Thing Ever On Television (in my opinion), great isn’t enough! Have these last few weeks been creative low points or is Louis C.K. settling into a groove?