Round Two: Loudermilk

Loudermilk: Season 1, Episode 2 “Shark Week” (B+)

This show held up well in its second episode, which proved that anyone in Loudermilk’s immediate vicinity really isn’t a great person. Ben in particular played a big role in this episode, making things difficult for Claire because he wasn’t being straight with his roommate. After he enjoyed a more casual drink when Allison came to knock on their door at the end of the last episode, he now was drinking far more generously during the day, which proved problematic when Claire showed up to use the bathroom. He didn’t have to work hard to convince Loudermilk that it was Claire’s bottle and not his, and it seems that this “vision quest” trick is commonplace and did manage to keep her sober without her realizing. She’s got quite the personality of her own, hilariously demonstrated by her unwillingness to move during her first group session which resulted in her being physically picked up by the big guy who wanted her seat and deposited on another chair. Allison asking Loudermilk to sign a copy of his book was a good sign for the development of a relationship, but when her ER doctor boyfriend answered the door, he ripped that front page right out. I love that even the priest swears at Loudermilk since he knows he’s a jerk, and I hope that we’ll see snippets of Loudermilk espousing sensibilities like those expressed by Larry David on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” at the beginning of each episode. Loudermilk’s fury at being given directions “as the crow flies” was fantastic.