Ryan Gosling/Chris Stapleton (04.13.2024)

Okay, here's my review. Thankfully, this show was as strong as last week's with Kristen Wiig but I would rank it JUST below that one (which still places it squarely in my top five for the season). The highs were a bit higher for me personally but the lows were a bit lower. Ryan Gosling still proved himself a dependable host. Still, he didn't seem as comitted this time and he REALLY ramped up the breaking like he just didn't care. It was clearly infectious and while he obviously raised cast morale quite a bit this year, I can't say for sure he alone elevated that much of the material. Cast airtime was a bit scattered. Molly, Longfellow and especially Ms. Troast made up for lost time but Marcello, Bowen, JAJ, Devon, Punkie and possibly Kenan took some minor hits this week. Mikey, Heidi, Ego, Sarah, Dismukes and Ms. Fineman continue to maintain steady visibility on the show. 
Fair warning, this is possibly the most DENSE review I have ever written, but I still stand by it, so...last chance to turn back now.
To those of you choosing to stay, let's get right to it because there is a LOT to break down tonight.

Good Grief! Even More Close Encounters - Heh, and here I was thinking that "Papyrus" would be the only sketch from Ryan's previous hosting stints they COULD revive without the pre-Ego cast...because y'know I wasn't COUNTING on them getting any previous cast members to cameo but I guess Ryan used his Barbie connection to at least get Kate to make a cameo...a few months after she actually hosted, but whatever. Well, at least Ryan and Kate still have the sense to know that without the breaking brought on by bawdy suggestive physical bits, these really lose something but (if you'll forgive my phrasing here) having Ryan sliding an extended dick joke made this feel a bit...masturbatory? Oh well, even though Bowen is prone to breaking as well (and Sarah is getting there) they along with Mikey really balanced this out with a professional demeanor. Even though this kinda breaks the continuity of Ms. Rafferty now living with the alien planet permanently, I still liked the concise, non-blowout out ending to this even if it was another group LFNY. I will admit I kinda liked Ryans meta "same clothes" joke at the beginning. C+

Monologue - Last time Ryan started playing piano during his monologue, I had trouble NOT completely tuning out until Emma Stone shows up. Now, hearing Ryan sing a half baked parody of Taylor Swifts' "All Too Well" (I guess this means we WON'T be getting to see TayTay on the show to plug The Tortured Poets Department?) was enough to keep me engaged until Emily Blunt promptly showed up and just straight up started smashing shit over Ryan's head stunt man style in an effort to remind Ryan what movie he is SUPPOSED to be plugging (before she joined in on the singing and improved the musical portions of this monologue) and I legitimately started laughing. *Man, that was a long ass run on sentence. I really need to learn to either edit these better or cool it with the parentheticals and/or self conscious meta commentary on my own writing style.* Anyway, while I didn't really have a problem with the lyrics of the song or how it was performed, I thought for a brief moment that I might have been a little too hard on that cold open. I mean, if the premise of this monologue is Ryan Gosling dramatically "breaks up" with a character that he just played in a movie, I defy anyone (myself included) to call this any LESS "masturbatory" than...well, anything really. On top of that, this monologue cuts directly to a trailer for "The Fall Guy" that shows the exact scene Ryan just described where Emily Blunt busts his balls for crying to the exact song he parodies here in his car. Tell me THAT'S not "masturbatory"! Anyway, while portions of this episode truly made me feel that at least one person in the writers room thought they were still living in 2018, this monologue alone made me feel like the show itself (and possibly just America in general) could barely let go of the fall of 2021 (or even the fall of 2014 if you remember the monologue to Woodys' last truly great episode of this show) LET ALONE THE SUMMER OF 2023! Still, as I continue to examine this monologue, I'm picking up on something deeper. Maybe we're not just stuck in the past as much as we are just trying to cling to the last few moments in time when there was still a shred of what we now call "monoculture" where there was something big enough for the whole world to grab onto and popularize in an effort just to distract ourselves, even momentarily from just our own anxieties in life or even the true horrors of the real world we were too sad to really think about. Maybe I'm reading WAY too much into something here but I suppose that's just what you get when it's 1:30am and you've been up since roughly 7am because that's just what your body is trained to do now so you've been essentially microdosing caffeine throughout the afternoon just for THIS...just because you know some people out there you know online read these regularly and decide "yes, this is for me" and you're doing this for them and we're all mutually in an effort to distract ourselves from...something in our lives? Anyway, sorry for getting TOO deep there. Now, since I've more than said my piece on this monologue I'll just move on as QUICKLY (and thoroughly) as I can with the rest of my review before the density of my writing creates a black hole or a supernova somewhere. B+

But first, here's another fun Simpsons Gif that monologue gave me the perfect excuse to post...

Yeah, this is gonna be a long and DENSE review, so I thought I would just throw that visual gag in there to keep you guys engaged and awake. Ok, moving on...

The Engagement - I love that we actually open with a well written sketch with an actual beginning, middle and end. This also had some dark, writerly psycholigical thriller type details that it reminded me of the "Fliplets" sketch from Goslings' last episode that I actually enjoyed. It's like Goslings' character in "Fliplets" grew up and started the process of turning his life around. If I'm not mistaken, I'd say that Andrew Dismukes also wrote this and "Fliplets" because Goslings' last episode was Dismukes' first as a writer and both of these seem very much in his comedic voice. My only real criticisms of this wiuld be that Ryan seemed like he could've comitted to this a teeny bit more (he kinda broke mildly at an inappropriate time near the end and cut the tension too early) and also that Jojo Siwa reference felt too forced in. Otherwise, a solid opening sketch through and through. B+

Get That Boy Back - Wow, they FINALLY give Chloe Troast a break out moment where she is front and center AND she sings lead vocals! Just like I've been asking for! The assists from Gosling and Stapleton and the fact that this was a Carrie Underwood "Before He Cheats" pastiche that also felt well plotted with shades of "Barry" were icing on the cake. This may actually be a front runner for "favorite pretape of the season" for me. A+

Cuban Bar - This felt like a quarter of one sketch stitched on to three quarters of another, but really they were probably just too skittish to have Ryan sound like he was Marcellos' ventriloquist dummy without SOME explanation upfront as to why a white guy was doing a strong accent. They should've tried a different approach to making this feel like one cohesive sketch because the main focus seemed to be listing obscure pop culture figures who were supposedly going to be at a party Kenan couldn't attend because of an obligation to his significant other. I mean the whole "Jon Taffer/Hulu" rant was ok but didn't exactly save this for me. Yeah, that didn’t work for me. Other than the dogs' appearance at the end and Sarahs' "I love countries" line, this nearly devolved into pure white noise for me. C-

NewsNation A.I. Town Hall - Well, I'm sure some of you will have mixed feelings about them bringing back the template from the "Bert Sampson Google Talks" sketch with Jessica Chastain (also from season 43 incidentally) but that one was honestly a bit of a guilty pleasure for me, so I didn't mind. I especially liked how the expanded and improved on what they were doing this time starting with the fact that they didn't quite hang a lampshade on what they were doing here. I also actually enjoyed Heidi Gardner seemingly set a new record for "Hardest And Most Shamelessly An SNL Cast Member Has Broke On Air". Mikey and Ryan really captured the Beavis & Butt-head look and vibe expertly. While I felt the gag with JAJ, Molly, Dismukes and Marcellos' King Of The Hill cosplay was a bit telegraphed but I still appreciate that they put it in there nonetheless. B-

Update felt a little flat and uneven in some parts but a couple of unexpected factors at least bought the energy up a bit. I liked Josts' first two jokes just for the absurdity he was playing off of. I did like the slightly different than what I may have been expecting approach that Che and Jost took with those PJ obit jokes. I did like Che's Trump/Johnston joke. I wanted to like that Trump/abortion joke more just for the hard right turn after that long clapter baiting setup but the setup itself was a but clunky and hung a lampshade on most peoples problems with Che on Update this season (which they will address and attempt to correct/make up for later on). I didn't want to like Che's Golden Bachelor joke as much as I wanted to like the use of the phrase "sea-metery" as a punchline. It's nice to see Longfellow start to make up for lost time but this wasn't exactly my favorite commentary of his. I mean, the only time I could really get into it was the "duvet" rant and that was the very end. I did like the real Caitlin Clark stopping by to give Che his comeuppance for the string of borderline misogynist jokes right at the exact point he'd delivered the final blow that killed that horse. I also appreciated getting to see Che take the brunt of that "joke swap" energy instead of Jost for once. I genuinely laughed at that "Be. Funnier. Dumbass." punchline as much as Che did while delivering it. The only even slightly critical thing I can say about this is I feel like it couldn't been tightened up in the pacing department but then again we are dealing with a cameo (that was likely thrown together at the last possible second) from an athlete who hasn't been on the show before. For that reason (and that reason only) I got SLIGHT Dan Crenshaw vibes from this but this wasn't nearly as bad as that whole situation between Dan and Pete and Caitlin Clark isn't exactly someone I can see damaging American democracy or the voting process or anything by SNL "platforming" her. B-

Cookie Crumbles - Hmm, yeah...I could see this was going to be another shameless Bowen vanity piece that people are getting sick of so seeing what Ryan was going to bring to it was the only thing keeping me from tuning out. This went for an absurdist vibe and came up short for me. I think this places a distant third behind the records set by Larry David & Rachel Dratch/Lindsay Lohan (tie) in the category of "Most A Castmember Or Hosts' Shameless Breaking Has Improved A Sketch". I did appreciate the attempt at a twist ending even though part of me saw it coming. This made me think I was maybe a little too hard on that Cuban bar sketch from earlier in the show because this truly felt like two barely formed ideas just slammed together and stretched out at 2am Wednesday morning. C-

Erin Brockovich Deleted Scene - Anyone else notice Ryan was wearing a fake mustache over his ACTUAL mustache? Talk about putting a hat on a hat, am I right folks? Anyway, speaking of, I still can't really decide whether or not Ryan's breaking got to be too much by this point or if it was the only interesting thing about this Chloe Fineman vanity piece (and I do mean "vanity" because the fact that she got Julia Stiles to come back just to recreate a scene from "Save The Last Dance" makes me think she at least wrote or pitched this). Still, even if this wasn't the last sketch of the night it would've been easier for me to lose interest in what was essentially Chloe, Ryan and Kenan getting caught in a loop of reciting a bunch of goofy, pointless "lists" to each other. C-

Lists? Did I just type the word "lists?" Well, here's a list of the rest of this season's episodes I have subjectively ranked from best to worst so far...

1. Nate Bargatze/Foo Fighters (10.28.2023)
2. Adam Driver/Olivia Rodrigo (12.09.2023)
3. Kristen Wiig/Raye (04.06.2024)
4. Ryan Gosling/Chris Stapleton (04.13.2024)
5. Ayo Edeberi/Jennifer Lopez (02.03.2024)
6. Kate McKinnon/Billie Eilish (12.16.2023)
7. Timothee Chalamet/Boygenius (11.11.2023)
8. Emma Stone/Noah Kahan (12.02.2023)
9. Bad Bunny (10.21.2023)
10. Pete Davidson/Ice Spice (10.14.2023)
11. Ramy Youssef/Travis Scott (03.30.2024)
12. Josh Brolin/Ariana Grande (03.09.2024)
13. Sydney Sweeney/Kacey Musgraves (03.02.2024)
14. Shane Gillis/21 Savage (02.24.2024)
15. Dakota Johnson/Justin Timberlake (01.27.2024)
16. Jacob Elordi/Renée Rapp (01.20.2024)
17. Jason Momoa/Tate McRae (11.18.2023)

...and hey, here's another list of me doing a similar ranking of JUST Ryan Goslings' previous episodes from best to worst

1. Ryan Gosling/Leon Bridges (12.05.2015)
2. Ryan Gosling/Chris Stapleton (04.13.2024)
3. Ryan Gosling/Jay-Z (09.30.2017)

So maybe I should just end this review here since I've already talked about the last sketch that aired...but wait, there's actually one more sketch I wanted to talk about, so why don't I just work in another format break this week just for fun?

Obligatory Band Shot...Wait, what's THIS?!? - Well, I AM grateful to the show for actually PROMOTING the thing that obviously got cut for time due to the truly historic amount of breaking in tonight's episode. I mean, I know the blame can't all be on Ryan there but it's like they just KNEW his breaking would just reach critical mass tonight and felt the need to prepare themselves and the audience. Anyway, I normally don't go that extra mile to include "cut for time" sketches in my reviews but since they mentioned this existed on air and encouraged viewers to seek it out (and this happens to be the only potential sequel/recurring sketch reprisal from Ryan Gosling I was actually interested in seeing) I'll make an exception this time and I will talk about it.

Papyrus 2 - Hmm, while I did like this and I did feel like this was a more than worthy successor to the original (which was really the only other sketch from Goslings' 2017 episode worth remembering) I get the feeling that this might still have gotten cut for time or at dress...just for being too dense for an already fairly dense episode. Still, I liked the way they included Sarah in a surprisingly grounded and appropriately subtle role for her. This is the most I feel like I've seen a Sarah Sherman character occupy the same plane of reality as every other character in an SNL sketch. I did like the character progression of Ryan's character in this (especially in terms of his sheer pettiness). I did appreciate both big reveals in this (both in the middle and at the end...I won't spoil them for you in case you are reading this review without having seen this). It was nice to see the show throw Kyle Mooney a bone even after his leaving the cast but the cosmic irony of him coming back once more just to be, once again, genuinely cut for time (and in the audience to see it in real time, no less) is a bitter pill for even me to swallow. B+

Well, the good vibes of April 2024 continue on SNL. Even if they peter out just a tad, let's hope the keep going on into May when Dua Lipa makes her double duty debut! Even though "Argyle" in which she made her acting debut seems to have bombed, I have seen a clip of her doing a guest host monologue on Kimmel during the Covid isolation era and she handled that well. I have no doubt that Dua Lipa will be a strong host.

Host? Did I just type the word "host?" Well, here's the name of one other "host" who's talk shows got me through middle school, college and...well, the last few years of my life honestly.

Conan O'Brien.

Yes, I had heard a rumor originating on Twitter/X that he would be the next host. Someone said they had a connection at the show who saw his name on a piece of paper. My first thought was that paper being tonight's rundown and he would be making a cameo in TONIGHT'S show (since he was already in NYC and in the building this week). Since that didn't happen, I guess that person just couldn't squint hard enough to truly make it out and just severely misread "Caitlin Clark" from a distance? 

My second thought was of that paper not being a list of already booked May hosts, but a list of hosts they were TRYING to book for either the mother's day show (hey, that's when they had Elon on a few years ago, so...stranger things have happened) or more likely the finale.

While it's still a long shot, I would truly love to see ol' Conesy come back to studio 8H just once more. He did make a cameo in Mulaneys' five timers club sketch just two years ago and his first SNL episode from March of 2001 (an all time banger, btw) was my first real exposure to him before those two years when Comedy Central was the cable channel airing next day repeats of Late Night instead of CNBC. Ever since then he's been an idol and a role model of mine, and it's just gratifying to see the output of love and respect he gets on Twitter/X during the rare times he does something outside of his podcast. Whether it's his graceful retirement from TBS or his new Max streaming series FINALLY coming out, it's nice to be reminded that Conan O'Brien will live on even through YouTube clips of his old work. We'll always have those and our memories of them if a time comes when he's no longer out somewhere in the world making people laugh with new content of his own.

So maybe, since it's now 3:15 am as I write this part, I can't milk a third callback out of that Erin Brockovich gag and this review had gotten WAY too long and abstract already, I'll just end it here by saying...

See you all in May!

Kristen Wiig/Raye (04.06.2024)

Okay, here's my review. Like many of you, I've had some problems with the way SNL used Kristen Wiig in sketches in the latter part of her tenure. Fortunately, this episode didn't use her as a host in the same way. This episode worked mostly by focusing on Kristens' strengths as an actress and what made her work as a cast member when she first started out in the show. Thankfully, the two recurring characters of hers they dug out of mothballs for tonight were both semi obscure deep cuts that actually worked the few times they were done in the late 2000s/early 2010s rather than her big, hammy, over the top, scenery chewers that have already made previous comebacks because they somehow made a strong impression on more casual viewers. This may not have been the absolute best show of the season for me because it was a little uneven compared to Bargatze/Foo Fighters and the highs weren't quite as high as the ones in Driver/Rodrigo but it is still a top three episode for me nonetheless. The casts airtime felt pretty balanced (moreso than last week except for only Longfellow seemingly getting shut out but at least Molly and Punkie were allowed to make a bit of a comeback). Hell, you know it's a really solid episode when even Andrew Dick of all people says he can get on board with the parts that he saw (and Andy, if you happen to be reading this...you didn't miss much from the cold open but I would highly recommend you check out this monologue if you can. I'll fully lay out why two paragraphs from now. Also, if you make it to my review of the final sketch of the night...I'd be curious to know what you think of my assessment of it). Anyway, let's break it down, shall we?

TBS March Madness Postgame - This was a surprisingly muted cold open for an episode with...this host (kind of a bummer that a sketch wity both Devon Walker and Kenans' Barkley got this muted a reaction from me), but I guess it shows they know what audience Wiig would draw and...that the knew how to play to that audience, I guess? Good to see them finally off set that women's basketball sketch with Paul Reiser...30 years later. I didn't even mind Heidi in this but once she started talking aboyt how hard she works her girls I started wishing Melissa McCarthy could be in this (even if it would be a carbon copy of a sketch she did 11 years ago). At least it was nice of them to give us a break from tired, moribund political material when we really needed it. C-

Monologue - Wow, I liked this a lot more than I thought I would (even the "saying 'hi' to the band" part at the very beginning). It seems like it was going for the same thing Tina Feys' monologue from 2018 was going for but in a less needlessly self-indulgent, demeaning middle finger to the audience way. Instead of talking down to the audience like we were all idiots for not madly embracing big flashy stunt cameos in big flashy political roles to serve the shows' commitment to big and flashy yet ultimately tootlhess political commentary, they actually appeared to be on the audiences side for once as they addressed a legitimate concern we've raised recentlt. Does the ever growing, ever expanding and thus far FAR less exclusive nature of the modern day five-timers club renders is meaningless or does it still truly means anything anymore? I have to say though, it truly does mean something to me that they finally gave Paula Pell the proper fitting acknowledgement for her contributions to the show and her place in its history. Thankfully, if the show had to be loaded with cameos as it would've been a few years ago (will Paul Rudd EVER truly have made up for lost time due to his five timers club show being canceled due to an Omicron Covid outbreak?), they were mostly pleasant people I didn’t mind seeing again and they were mostly condensed to the monologue. Even Matt Damon turned in a genuinely funny performance although when he was explaining where he got his five timers jacket from I kept thinking "dude, just say Affleck let you borrow his...he legitimately hosted five times and that joke actually works better". Fred felt a little tacked on but he was fine. Glad to see Jon Hamm is aa worried he'll never get to host again as we all are. He truly deserves even a fourth time. Still, I wish I could get inside Marty Shorts' head just to find out his rationale of WHY he thinks his episodes where he cohosted with Steve and/or Chevy don't count at all toward his total. Ryan Gosling was OK too. I'm just glad to see him make up for how disastrous the last episode hosted by a season 32 alumni wher next weeks' host makes an actual cameo with Lorne during the monologue turned out to be. I did also appreciate how if you look closely, you'll see how this joke carried over into the goodnights with each castmember (even Longfellow...and Raye...and apparently Kaia Gerber who we'll see later starting with the first pretape of the night if you can manage not to blink) each having their own five timers jacket. Yes, as much as we were all expecting Wiig to make a big deal out of joining the five timers club, truly something this subtly off the wall would've been preferable to another big blowout sketch with the whole set. B+

Ticket To Ride - Ok, as soon as I could visually tell Wiig was NOT playing Surprised Sue and she uttered the phrase "I'm afraid of being Jumanji'd" I knew I was getting into this. It felt a little repetitive (as some escalating heavily detail oriented Dismukes sketches cam) but I loved the perfectly comitted intensity and conotrolled chaos of it (especially from Wiig & Dismukes). A frigging Forte cameo was the active ingredient of the perfect ending to this. B+

Pilates - This oddly felt like a premise for a "trendy" pretape that should've been done at the beginning of Wiigs' era as a cast member (you know, when it would've only felt two years out of date at most instead of twenty. I only say this because it immediately made me think of Amy Poehlers' "Sesame Street/Cookie Monster/Pilates Monster" joke from an April 2005 Weekend Update which was mere months before Wiig first joined the show). Still, I liked the details that went into the writing of this and the fact that it gave Molly, Troast and Punkie SOMETHING to do (it's about time someone threw each of them a bone). Even though it felt a little flat and static for a fake horror trailer that Sarah Sherman has a substantial supporting role in (thankfully I stopped myself from getting my hopes up because that descriptor NEVER turns into what I hope it does) I enjoyed this enough. C-

Secretaries - Ok, I actually liked this much more than I did when it appeared in Pete's episode this season. It REALLY helpee that Wiig & Hamm were there for Heidi to play off of as they're obviously both much better suited at playing these types of '50s/'60s office archetypes and selling them without getting too ridiculous and over the top. This also ended at just the right place before it got too annoyingly cartoonish. Glad one of my Twitter mutuals on Reddit was able to post a dress report that confirms my personal theory that the big table break was planned but didn’t go as smoothly on air as it was supposed to in dress. C-

Jerrys' Retirement - I really do appreciate that at this point in the night, the only true recurring Wiig character we've gotten was not just a deep cut that I actually remember enjoying the first two times they did it, but an ensemble piece where the cast played off each other well. I was relieved when this moved away from Bowen (even though he, Punkie, Chloe F and somehow Paul Rudd) and I actually laughed at Wiigs' "Gail" (channeling Kate McKinnon perhaps?), Armisens' "rock & roll shorts guy" and Fortes' Hamilton. Even Damon had funnier lines than he had in the monologue expertly expertly crafted for him here. It's too bad Bobby Moynihan couldn't make it this week because Marcello awkwardly grabbing the mic and then farting into it doesn’t hold a candle to Bobby's guy who says "WHAAAAAATTT?!?" and drops it. B+

Update was a pretty mixed bag. As far as jokes, the only ones that really worked for me from each anchor were Josts' podium/cocaine like and Che's Kanye joke and cicadas/mouse genitals line (the assist from Jost really helped). The rest of them really just washed right over me. No need to offset that cold open there, Che. I ended up liking Marcellos personified NYC earthquake much more than I thought I would because he sold it in only the way he could have. It felt like this was written specifically for Marcello and not like he was just slotted into a potential Bowen/Longfellow role. I didn't care too much for Kenan as the literal face of the eclipse but it was nice of him to provide some balance and pick up some slack so Marcello doesn't have to sustain that energy the WHOLE time. I was legitimately glad to see Wiigs Aunt Linda again. She was definitely at the top of my list of "recurring Kristen Wiig characters I had no actual problem with" (and that was mostly because she was only used in her first two years before the show tipped the scales away from "playing to her actual strengths" and "overindulging her as the next big beneficiary of the shows' 'star system'"). I even laughed at the line "don't get smart, Tina & Amy." I just wished she could get her desk slapping habit under control. B-

Go Karts - This was all right, but I couldn't really get to into it because I didn't feel like there was enough there. It didn't really go anywhere at all (pun not intended). Still, I appreciate how it made a decent use of each cast members dramatic acting chops to the exact degree this sketch called for it (well, except for Mikey but Wiig, JAJ, Troast & Dismukes were great in it). C-

La Maison Du Bang - Ok, while I hate to overuse this phrasing/joke structure in my reviews but this really TRULY felt like they threw Les Jeunes De Paris in a blender with those two Soul Train/New Jack Thanksgiving Time-Life record sketches in a blender with some diluted Deep House Dish and sprinkles of "don't make me sing/dance" other recent PBS Retrospective sketches. I didn't hate it but I felt there was nothing to really grab on to here. It just kept moving along from the next dadaist song & dance gag. It legit felt like they tried to replicate the pacing and audience confusion of a Turn-on episode and condensed it into one sketch. That may seem like a wild, swinging for the fences comparison but I say that with my full chest because Wiig, Mikey, Bowen & Chloe F (and at this point, let’s face it...JAJ & Dismukes) had the innate ability to arrest my attention but the material they were given didn’t keep me comfortable for very long. Ego and Chloe T could've kept me comfortable but they were on the screen only in very short bursts. Speaking of Ms Troast, I'm glad they finally gave us even a bit more than two seconds of her singing. I just wish they could do the same again without making her singing or her voice itself the central gag. Still, everyone in my favorite Discord server* seemed pretty high on this one so I'm sure it might grow on me if I ever decide to rewatch it. C-

*I know I post links to these reviews in two different SNL relayed Discord servers so in case you happen to be reading this from the other one, I won't reveal which one is which.

Now, for my updated ranking of season 49...

1. Nate Bargatze/Foo Fighters (10.28.2023)
2. Adam Driver/Olivia Rodrigo (12.09.2023)
3. Kristen Wiig/Raye (04.06.2024)
4. Ayo Edeberi/Jennifer Lopez (02.03.2024)
5. Kate McKinnon/Billie Eilish (12.16.2023)
6. Timothee Chalamet/Boygenius (11.11.2023)
7. Emma Stone/Noah Kahan (12.02.2023)
8. Bad Bunny (10.21.2023)
9. Pete Davidson/Ice Spice (10.14.2023)
10. Ramy Youssef/Travis Scott (03.30.2024)
11. Josh Brolin/Ariana Grande (03.09.2024)
12. Sydney Sweeney/Kacey Musgraves (03.02.2024)
13. Shane Gillis/21 Savage (02.24.2024)
14. Dakota Johnson/Justin Timberlake (01.27.2024)
15. Jacob Elordi/Renée Rapp (01.20.2024)
16. Jason Momoa/Tate McRae (11.18.2023)

Well, that was the most pleasant, confident and self-assured I've seen SNL manage to be this season. Next week, Ryan Gosling hosts for his third time. Now, he has previously hosted one very strong damn near classic episode and one disappointing dull and lifeless episode so...batting average isn't great there but I know his comedic chops well enough to go into this one with an open mind. Hopefully they can carry on the good vibes from this week into the next week and Ryan Gosling had proven that wouldn't be a problem with him as host. See you then!

Ramy Youssef/Travis Scott (03.30.2024)

Okay, here's my review. 

This episode, for me, may have been the strongest episode of March 2024 but I still had some problems with it, so that's really not saying a whole lot. For better or worse, it felt like they were going for the same type of vibes they went for with Quinta Brunsons' episode a year ago (with the host and their unique background seemingly influencing the creative direction the show took that week and thereby making the show seem like they were taking an interesting, one of a kind stance on something for once) but it still came up short somehow and let itself get bogged down in its rehashing of tired old sketch premises at nearly every turn. Ramy Youssef was a strong and capable host who deserves a chance to host again some day but somehow, by the shows' end he managed to blend in a little TOO well into the background on a night when every cast member got some airtime (except for Molly whos' only big moment in the show was cut at dress rehearsal) but no one really stood out or dominated. I guess Kenan, Marcello, Mikey, JAJ and Sarah came close but that may have mostly been due to their continued overuse as utility players or being pushed as the new "stars" of the show in a way that may not best suit their unique talents. Oh well, such is the nature of an SNL episode that tries for something better than "normal" when the show absolutely needs it more than ever but ends up not being able to overcome being plagued by the bizarre paradoxical nature of the season it's trapped in. Anyway, let’s get on with it so you all can better see what I'm getting at, shall we?

Trumps' Ressurection - Well, this was EXACTLY what I was expecting from the moment I heard the word "Easter" over a text crawl that said the same thing. With Trump actually selling his own branded bibles, I guess this was the lowest hanging fruit of all time, huh? The various "illustrations" and "cuts" of his bible were amusing enough along with the "miracle toaster" and the entire Destinys' Child ramble but this just BARELY worked for me just on the strength of those few things alone. Still, if this is what it takes for JAJ to get the airtime he truly deserves I can put up with hit for a little while longer. C-

Monologue - Not being too familiar with Ramys' standup, I was pleasantly surprised by what he bought to the show. He bought a fresh, substantially diverse point of view instead of just his own previous baggage. He singlehandedly made the show feel strikingly different at a point when the show DESPERATELY needed a change (if the fact that he said "free the people of Palestine" on the air to a near standing ovation wasn’t enough evidence of this for you). I also liked his north/south/Biden jokes as well. I don't know how well those trans president jokes will be taken though. B-

Couple Goals - Of course the show gives us a sketch nearly identical to one we've seen a year ago JUST as I said it was starting to notice someone different. At least this got a strong reaction (most likely due Ramy having already got the audience on his side). This definitely felt like a watered down version of the couples game show sketch from Quintas episode but done in a more writerly "tell, don't show" way which while I appreciate on one hand, on the other it makes this version of the sketch feel a bit too generic like it may be missing something. Thankfully for Heidi, she got a chance to be in this just so JAJs' "no more lines for you" comment in the cold open wouldn't hold water for the rest of the night! C-

PDDs' Night Out w/Ramy Travis - This has to be the most mixed feelings I've ever had about a PDD short ever. On the one hand, I don't think the show should be promoting Travis Scott this way post Astroworld concert incident. On the other, I actually did like this and appreciate that Travis was really only preipheral to it. I'll just say I can relate to feeling a little bit too high in a public nightlife setting (but thankfully I held what I was on better than J. Higgs, Smoke Dawg and Big Mart Mart did...and it sure as hell wasn't CBD because CBD wasn't that big a thing back when I was in college...an edible may have been involved but that's not important). This did feel like they threw three sad Virgins in a blender with their short from the Ana De Armas episode and Bowens rap with Megan Thee Stallion though, so it had that going against it. I did like Ramys' "napkin pants" and Mikeys' "gigantic pussies" line as the doctor though. B-

Immigrant Dad Talk Show - Ah, I see this one is going for subtlety right out of the gate. Anyway, if nothing else this felt like a more palatable alternative/companion piece to Heidi's son loving mom character from last season that knew better where its own boundaries should be and WAY more put over by the charisma of the performers (as they're doing something well within their cultural wheelhouses). I can't be the only one who got heavy ILC Damon Wayans "Hey Mon" vibes from Kenans' highly telegraphed character though. Are Mikey and Dismukes characters distant relatives of the Shatt family or the Vogelchecks? Dismukes sub-Michael Scott level Parkour was funny. I liked Marcelos' "thesis" joke and the detail of Ramy smoking from a hookah. There's another throwback object to my college days. B-

Locker Room Pep Talk - Ok, from what I've been hearing about dress cuts from SNN lately I could've SWORN this has gotten cut from at least one previous show. Thankfully, the confirmed it got cut from Jacob Elordis' episode and placed in an episode with a host that really added someone to this that Jacob may not have been able to. Still, I honestly liked how this played out in a writerly, escalating "tell don't show" fashion. I think that served this sketch well as did the brief performances by Devon and JAJ. B-

Ozempic For Ramadan - This paired with "Immigrant Dad Talk Show" in the same episode shows that this episode was written for a VERY specific audience. I am definitely not a part of that specific audience so this almost felt lost on me but there were a few specific details in there I could pick up on mostly thanks to Kenan and Dismukes. C+

Update wasn't much for jokes tonight. I liked Josts' opening lines on the Trump bible and Boeing parts. Other than that, he and Jost felt like they were alternating between trying too hard or just letting the sheer confusion and/or low effort of their jokes wash over you. I'm actually glad I fought against my natural instinct to tune out a Chloe Fineman TikTok character because she perfectly sold the over-the-top cringe factor of it all. That MySpace joke at the very end could've been cut, though. Sarah Sherman as Flacos' widow wasn’t my absolute favorite bits of hers but she managed to put it over in a way that only she could have. This did feel like a flipside to her freaked out Peppa Pig mom character from last season cut with some diluted Jost roasts but she put in enough raunchy lines in there to make it work. C+

Pizza Mugging Victim - This was definitely my favorite live sketch of the night for the way Dismukes sold it and ended it at just the right moment (even if this was just his beach sketch from the premiere transplanted to a crime scene). Plus, seeing Sarah Sherman on the verge of breaking but never QUITE getting there was a neat SNL first. B-

NPR Tiny Desk Podcast - This felt WAY too unfocused and scattershot to really work for me. At one point, I felt like I was watching maybe five different sketches stitched together. I guess the fact that this was the last sketch of the night (beating out something obviously for thst title based on that sudden band shot) and also Bowens first appearance in the entire damn show was supposed to make this feel like enough of a jumpscare to make another of his vanity pieces seem palatable? Thankfully, this one was more subtle by his standards. Honestly, Bowen was fine here (he was basically Garrett from NPR, a bit more refined amd cultured). What bothered me more was them teasing us with the possibility of her singing and ending up just using her in the Mikey Day role by the sketches end. C-

Now, for my updated ranking of season 49...

1. Nate Bargatze/Foo Fighters (10.28.2023)
2. Adam Driver/Olivia Rodrigo (12.9.2023)
3. Ayo Edeberi/Jennifer Lopez (02.03.2024)
4. Kate McKinnon/Billie Eilish (12.16.2023)
5. Timothee Chalamet/Boygenius (11.11.2023)
6. Emma Stone/Noah Kahan (12.2.2023)
7. Bad Bunny (10.21.2023)
8. Pete Davidson/Ice Spice (10.14.2023)
9. Ramy Youssef/Travis Scott (03.30.2024)
10. Josh Brolin/Ariana Grande (03.09.2024)
11. Sydney Sweeney/Kacey Musgraves (03.02.2024)
12. Shane Gillis/21 Savage (02.24.2024)
13. Dakota Johnson/Justin Timberlake (1.27.2024)
14. Jacob Elordi/Renée Rapp (01.20.2024)
15. Jason Momoa/Tate McRae (11.18.2023)

Well, that certainly was another episode of SNL. Next week, Kristen Wiig joins the five timers' club. While I'm still not the biggest fan of hers, I admit that her December 2020 episode turned out fine enough that I can go into this with an open mind and hope that if they bring back any recurring material of hers it will stand out the least. See you soon!

Josh Brolin/Ariana Grande (03.09.2024)

Okay, here's my review. This episode turned out to be much stronger than the previous week, although that isn't saying much. They were able to play to the strengths of their hosts better this week, but there's still some issues with the writing that have permeated this whole season (and in on case several seasons ago) that we need to talk about. Josh Brolin has previously showed that he doesn't have a huge fragile ego or any limitations as a performer that the show would’ve had to write around. He doesn't have any obvious personal or physical hooks that the show just wanted to cling to either (unlike last weeks host). He showed he still has the ability to seamlessly and effortlessly fit into the modern SNL mold no matter what type of material he is given. Still, he seems to have an uncanny Paul Rudd-like ability to get washed off the screen (not "upstaged" necessarily) by a pop star musical guest cameo who may be a bigger name or "star" than him but performance wise he seems to take this in stride better than Mr. Rudd nonetheless. The writers clearly were never afraid to pitch any of there more offbeat conceptual pieces to him and he always gave them his all. This still makes for a more interesting and challenging show to write about which is why I'm honestly feeling a little bit better about continuing to review the show than I did last week. Already online, I'm seeing that this episode wasn’t QUITE as divisive as last week and that my takes on this episode mostly fall in line with the general consensus on this episode. Cast wise, no one was shut out but Devon, JAJ, Longfellow, Molly and Ms Fineman took some hits this week. Marcello took the smallest hit of all. Sarah and Ms Troast are visible but are still underutilized. Bowen, Heidi, Ego, Punkie and Kenan dominated this week (but not necessarily in ways that best suit them for the audience). Anyway, let's break it down, shall we?

State Of The Union 2024 - Ok, a flashy, jumbled, style over substance, increasingly telegraphed "political" checklist cold open that relies on a celebrity cameo to do the heavy lifting? Is it 2017 again? I mean, I didn't hate this necessarily. I feel we're enough years removed from that era of political cold opens on this show that I can deal with it this week. I just hope we don't return to this being a permanent fixture on SNL as we approach another election with one of the exact same candidates of said era as a major player. It seemed like they were actually going to try a new approach to Mikey as Biden tonight and no, it's not just them avoidimg making a string of "lol Biden is old and evasive" jokes or fitting Biden into the JAJ Trump template of "commemting on the people who are now forced to sit silently behind him." I wished we'd gotten to see more of the sketch expanding on the new-ish character of "amped Biden" than having to see Ego clumsily stitch two separate sketches together. Also, the joke about Biden having caught a "glimpse" at the opposing response to his SOTU speech felt like the laziest writing ever to me and should've been cut. Scarjo making a cameo is obviously less a question of "how" than "why?" at this point but again, we're a few years removed from the point where the show did this frequently enough that it became a problem so I wasn't too bothered by it other than the fact that the only real bite this sketch had was when they just flat out stated how Katie Britt lied about key facts in her sex trafficing story. Yeah, we all knew EXACTLY where that 2020 joke was headed (but it couldn't have been cut, so...) and that the Get Out reference (in 2024? really?) was too forced and needed to be cut. Thankfully, I haven't seen any bellyaching on social media about how Punkie unfairly "replaced" Maya as Kamala now. Speaking of replaced impression roles, Heidi as MTG feels so cheap but also something I wouldn't mind seeimg more of if they absolutely have to do it at one point. I just wish the interaction between her and Mikey didn’t have that "botched timing" feel to it. B-

Monologue - Well, I was considerably happier with the reminiscing that began this monologue and the ice plunge that ended it than I was with "creepy male poetry" being the central theme of most of it. The reminiscing was just OK. At least he knew when to cut back on that before it got too...Baldwinny. The sudden strip down to an ice plunge is the type of thing that reminds you just how much of a ridiculously "game" host he is who will commit himself to any strange thing the show will throw at him...even if it has the potential to throw the entire live show off track logistically (well, at least as far as quick wardrobe changes go). B-

Chase Bank Robbery - Once Devon and JAJ walked in, this screamed "some SNL writer would rather get this on the air than go to therapy" to me. The problem I have with that is more that it's also one of those "i feel like I've seen this basic threadbare premise done multiple times before...not just on SNL but in comedy in general" sketches. Immediately, I got the vibe that this was a much hornier modernized version of Wiigs' "Don't Make Me Sing". I appreciate how Heidi and Josh threw themselves into this tired, worn out template, though. C-

In Flight Entertainment (Airplane Song) - This really felt like something only Dismukes could really put over for me. It also behooves this sketch that it doesn’t feel like a "relatable" observational trope that has been done to death (and that Andrew Dismukes is a stronger singer than Josh Brolin...I just wish they would quit teasing us with more Troast singing just as a sketch is ending). I mean, I kind of thought this was done funnier when The Simpsons (and to a lesser extent Family Guy) did these same jokes but about DVD players in the backs of cars (and that was back in the 2000s so...what does THAT tell you?) I guess it makes sense that this song sounded vaguely enough like one Arianas' songs from around the time of her and Pete having been an item. I mean, even though she had no cameo in this whatsoever it was obviously setting up her appearance in the sketch that followed. B+

People Pleasers Support Group - I definitely feel like I would’ve enjoyed this season 36 ass sketch more if it didn’t spell its whole premise out too fast and too early. Hell, Aidy Bryant did a whole Update commentary on this subject matter six years ago that I honestly enjoyed more than this. It was well performed but not the easiest thing to stay engaged with. It's obvious Bowen wrote this as it has his fingerprints all over it (themes of therapy/mental health, a promiment female pop star who happens to be this weeks musical guest suddenly becomes the center piece). Still, Ariana didn’t do a bad job here and the prayer ended this well. C+

Wine & Cheese Night - This was reminiscent of other sketches the show has done recently. Specifically, it reminded me of sketches they did with hosts like Austin Butler and Kate McKinnon recently but this had much more going for it. Here there were more writerly details mixed with an absurd escalating intensity and gleeful comittment from the host that made sitting through a mush of GenZ slang laden fart jokes (almost) worth it. C+

Shrimp Tower - This definitely felt like another writerly sketch that was a little more unbalanced. It put a little too much exposition up front and the ending felt phoned in, but I did like the raw physicality that Sarah and Josh bought to it and Kenans' one line was funny. C+

Shonda - This felt like another sketch that spent a bit too long working up to its big reveal. Still,  Josh really disappeared into his role and the supporting cast played into this reveal quite well by just all...gradually exiting awkwardly. This sketch was helped by its own willingness to go to odd places, but part of me wished they weren't places they've seemingly gone to before. B-

Update was shockingly short but fun while it lasted just for how much fun Jost had in his delivery (especially with the Katie Britt material and how that JetBlue/Spirit punchline hit you out of nowhere) and how Che seemingly found the right balance in "gleeful delight in bombing" without exhibiting Gillis levels of self sabotaging self awareness. B-

Moulin Rouge Medley - Wow, I haven't seen this level of "big theater kid" energy on SNL since at least 2016 (or at least this level of "the two lead performers in this sketch absolutely refuse to let the audience in on their little inside joke" energy since 2019). If I didn't know any better, I'd say this sketch is Bowen trying to break out in a new career as a Todrick Hall/Pentatonix type YouTuber so he can finally leave SNL and start making the big bucks! Hell, the guys' already a part time podcaster, he's already at lesst halfway there! Get on it, Bowen! Seriously though, that's all this sketch felt like to me. Well, I know a lot of us are sick to death of what we've come to know as "Bowen vanity pieces" but at least this was more palatable in that it's something that would fit nearly any other castmembers' definition of a "vanity piece" and not just Bowens' with his niche sense of humor. Josh occupied a very strange place in this sketch where once you immediately see him enter the scene you go from wondering "why isn't the host in this?" to "why wasn't the host cut from this at dress?" Gee, if it weren't for my local affiliate airing a commercial for the actual touring production of "Wicked" coming to some theater district near me, I might never have caught that nod to the musical that Ari threw in at the end there. C-

Side note: they included a snippet of "You Belong With Me" in a sketch parodying a movie we all know came out in 2001?

Sandwich King - Weirdly, this gave me my first genuine laughs of the night. I got into this more this sillier and goofier it got. Everyone played into the ridiculous details and reveals well. B-

Lisa From Temecula III - (*sigh*) Someone at the show must've heard my comments on this sketch on the last SNN Patron Feedback show. Way to Trojan Horse this on us. Still, while I wish they would've changed more of the basic structure of the sketch, I appreciated the smaller details they did add to this. I did like the line "erasable pens for the win, am I roight?" as well as her admitting to stealing soap from "Walgroans" and calling Bowen "negro-divergent" as Josh (instead of Punkie) acknowledges/speculates on Lisa's many, MANY personality and psychological flaws. Granted, it feels just like they're doing to this sketch what they did to the Mulaney NYC musical medlies but I'll reserve my judgement on that until the next time this sketch recurs since it does so quite irregularly at this point. I didn't mind the breaking so much since we got a delightful sudden wheeze out of Punkie. Still, if they were gonna bring back one of Ego's old catchphrases from the previous two sketches I would’ve much preferred "toss my salad" to "cook my meat". Hell, this might be the first Lisa From Temecula sketch I watch more than once. C+

Now, for my updated ranking of season 49...

1. Nate Bargatze/Foo Fighters (10.28.2023)
2. Adam Driver/Olivia Rodrigo (12.9.2023)
3. Ayo Edeberi/Jennifer Lopez (02.03.2024)
4. Kate McKinnon/Billie Eilish (12.16.2023)
5. Timothee Chalamet/Boygenius (11.11.2023)
6. Emma Stone/Noah Kahan (12.2.2023)
7. Bad Bunny (10.21.2023)
8. Pete Davidson/Ice Spice (10.14.2023)
9. Josh Brolin/Ariana Grande (03.09.2024)
10. Sydney Sweeney/Kacey Musgraves (03.02.2024)
11. Shane Gillis/21 Savage (02.24.2024)
12. Dakota Johnson/Justin Timberlake (1.27.2024)
13. Jacob Elordi/Renée Rapp (01.20.2024)
14. Jason Momoa/Tate McRae (11.18.2023)

Well, that was a slight step up. In three weeks time, "Poor Things" star Ramy Youssef makes his SNL hosting debut. I don't know much about this man but I know he's a stand up comic (which is why the name even rings a bell to me). Thankfully, with his rise to fame he seems like he's gonna be more like Ayo Edeberi than Shane Gillis as a host so it will be nice to go into a show with that being literal my only expectation. See you then!

Sydney Sweeney/Kacey Musgraves (03.02.2024)

Okay, here's my review. After last week, I was glad to see the show at least return to being benign and undivisive in its mediocrity. Unfortunately, this episode felt like it stressed the "mediocrity" part a little too heavily. Yeah, Sydney Sweeney was a fine host who effortlessly carried this episode with the material she was given with her sweet, bubbly personality. Unfortunately, said material felt really bland and uninspired. At times, it even seemed like the show played into its own worst instincts, almost on purpose. The material I did enjoy out of this rundown, I couldn't much bring myself to laugh at. In fact, I'm quite surprised to see certain parts of this episode rated so highly but, hey...to each their own.

To be honest, this episode especially gave me pause and me wonder if I am actually just writing these reviews more out if sheer compulsion and force of habit than an actual love of the game. I'm not saying this episode made me want to retire from writing these reviews but I admit that I am starting to understand how Stooge felt when he stopped reviewing the show live a full decade ago. Don't worry, I know I still have some dedicated fans who will continue to read these as long as I keep writing them. I know full well how much my regular readers rely on me to put the show in perspective against all the immediate kneejerk live reactions we see each week (even when I disagree with popular opinion which you'll probably find a lot of in this review). Last week especially, I could tell that perspective was badly needed in times of heavy uncertainty so with you guys driving me, I think I'll be OK. Anyway, let’s get on with it.

Inside Politics - Even with Ego, Longfellow (who maybe should've had Dismukes take over his role?) Marcello, Mikey, and Devon putting in work and Heidi rushing us through it, none of this cold open really landed for me. They pretty much all just dragged out in sketch form something Jon Stewart glossed over pretty well about three weeks ago. It is nice that we are gradually getting away from Trump/GOP themed cold opens for a bit. Other than that, all I can say about it is, "next time, young blood". D+

Monologue - Again, Sydney Sweeney certainly had the confidence and lack of first time host jitters to carry this monologue with ease...which is sadly the only notable thing about it. I guess this showed she'll be a more competent host than one of her first costars was two months ago. I just wish this monologue didn’t give off the same vibe of "I'm just using this show to plug a movie that I'm confident isn't a HUGE bomb and this monologue is more to address some rumors about me than it is for me to show I have any shred of awareness of let alone connection to this show." C-

Police Interns - Hmm, I wonder how many other table reads this got cut from besides Aubrey Plazas? Anyway, good to see Sydney and Chloe F really stretch as actresses and play so starkly against type in the lead off sketch. Seriously though, it's not a good sign when they just say "fuck it" and just decide to devote the exact same amount of effort and energy they would normally put into writing a Thursday promo into an actual frigging sketch within the show. Hell, the word "writing" seems incredibly generous when applied to this sketch when it's obvious that Chloe Fineman just slammed together a list of all the social media apps she could think of and all the dialogue was pieced together backwards from there. At least I can say I got a chuckle from JAJs "fellow kids" moment. I hated how telegraphed Mikeys' Snapchat and Kenans OnlyFans jokes felt. C-

PDD In Mourning - Well, it wasn’t quite the best I've seen from Please Don't Destroy but at least it was nice to see something that quietly goes for over the top absurdity after such an empty buzzword laden sketch. The montage of comments and tweets over the audio from the YouTube clip made this for me. I also appreciated that they didn't just reference Flaco the Owl dying this early in the show as you would expect the first pretape of the night in this season to. B+

More Like "Air Dud", amirite? - Geez, we all thought they were gonna rehash old sketches they did with Dolly Parton and Raquel Welch...not Louise Lasser, Chris Hemsworth or Sam Rockwell! Anyway, kudos to Sydney for playing into the silly goofiness well and Marcello, Dismukes and Mikey Longs at her table playing their disbelief off her expertly. C-

Big Bench - I did like the real slapdash, feverishly thrown together nature of this. However, I feel like they could've done more than just cut back & forth between the same six or seven characters continuously with the second live dog of the episode thrown in for good measure. Hell, Bowen had a character in the montage of this that seemed to be cut entirely (like Chloe F should've, honestly). At least JAJ & Sweeney were actually the funniest part of this. Still, I'm genuinely torn between whether JAJs' naturally occurring over goofy southern accent was funnier or Sydneys' wild swing-and-a-miss attempt at one. C-

Bowens' Straight - I did like seeing Bowen play so starkly against type (and I mean that non-sarcastically this time given the how much all of Bowens pieces all seem the same). I also liked seeing what appeared to be a piece Bowen wrote to satirize heterosexuality in the same vein as "Straight Male Friend" with Travis Kelce. Unfortunately, this seemed like it couldn't succeed at either of those things so much that I had mo idea what it was genuinely aiming for at all other than just flash & glitz. Maybe this was largely intended as a "Euphoria" parody that subvers the "camp" of that show? Speaking of, is it just me or does the idea of Bowen only playing gay for easy laughs sound a little...reductive? Marcellos walk on at the end and Mikeys cameos were funny enough. The Gina Gershon cameo was a nice unexpected twist. C-

Shoooooooooooot - I wanted to like this more but it felt way too dry fir a Sarah Sherman sketch. Plus, I also feel Sarah deserves a little more out of a sketch where she is the comedic focal point than just the newly emerging trope of "one or two people fail to read the room properly as others (probably including Heidi Gardner) recieve a continuous string of bad news". Also, I was a little too distracted trying to figure out which previous female host Sydney reminded me of in that wig besides Billie Eilish. Yep, that's what this episode has done to me. At least it is still nice to be reminded that Chloe Troast is still in the cast. It's also nice to see Sydney attempt another accent (even if there's no chance in hell you'll be able to tell what it is). C+

Update felt like it was in a real nosedive for the first time this season. I did like the first four jokes after Heidi's A.I. generated gibberish (yeah, I know it's incredibly hack to compare things to A.I. content now but that genuinely felt like the most A.I. created shit I have seen on this show with how it felt like all of Heidi's one shot Update characters blended together...and sonehow a lesser known Simpsons meme got in there). Ego's commentary was a nice concentrated blast of WTF but it's not a good sign when something that would seem so mild in any other episode feels like it's slapping you upside the head out of nowhere. C-

Hooters Tips - Woooooow, you know something? I think I was a little too hard on Heidi's Update piece. Despite Mikey, Longfellow, JAJ and Dismukes trying to have a little fun with their gleeful misogyny, this was the type of sketch where literally any screenshot needs to be the photo you see when you look up the word "hack" in the dictionary. D-

Interior Design For Airbnb - This was certainly a better use of Chloe Troast. Still, it came across like a much tighter version of the hotel sketch with Billie and Kate. That ended up working against it because it lacked that other sketches live breaking energy and it was written in a way that tells me I just barely fell outside of the target audience for it. I see the obligatory jammed in Willy Wonka Experience reference of the night got the reaction they hoped for. You know that's always something that bodes well for sketch comedy. C+

Date Night - This pointed examination of both male and female bonding was the best written sketch of the night. Too bad the ending was rushed, and it was weighed down by being the ten-to-one of such a soul draingingly dull episode. Also, it looks like JAJ jumped his cue. B-

Now, for my updated ranking of season 49...

1. Nate Bargatze/Foo Fighters (10.28.2023)
2. Adam Driver/Olivia Rodrigo (12.9.2023)
3. Ayo Edeberi/Jennifer Lopez (02.03.2024)
4. Kate McKinnon/Billie Eilish (12.16.2023)
5. Timothee Chalamet/Boygenius (11.11.2023)
6. Emma Stone/Noah Kahan (12.2.2023)
7. Bad Bunny (10.21.2023)
8. Pete Davidson/Ice Spice (10.14.2023)
9. Sydney Sweeney/Kacey Musgraves (03.02.2024)
10. Shane Gillis/21 Savage (02.24.2024)
11. Dakota Johnson/Justin Timberlake (1.27.2024)
12. Jacob Elordi/Renée Rapp (01.20.2024)
13. Jason Momoa/Tate McRae (11.18.2023)

Well, that was the episode that just was. Next week, Josh Brolin returns for his third time hosting. He's usually a solid reliable host (even if something always feels a little off about each of his episodes) so, I'm definitely looking forward to that one. See you then!

Shane Gillis/21 Savage (02.24.2024)

Okay, here's my review. This episode was quite far from the all time sheer bottoming out some were expecting, but it wasn't quite the vindication for Shane Gillis others were somehow expecting either. He is not this shows' prodigal son by any means, but he did OK when the sketches played into his whole "vibe" as much as they felt they could get away with. Shane Gillis blended in with the cast well but at the same time, he didn't exactly make a string case that the show seriously lost anything by firing him. I mean, let’s face it...this isn't 2013 anymore and he's not exactly Kerry Washington. As for all the "what ifs?" that may or may not have been answered, he just strikes me as another guy who would've been your typical one-and-fine/one season wonder cast member and this whole episode just felt like everything he would've got on air in season 45 (including cut for time stuff) condensed into one single episode. Let's face it, he probably wouldn't have made it to season 46 because as we've seen when he bought on Jim Carrey, Lorne would've been more than willing to get another big outside "name" to play Trump to Carreys' Biden (even if it just meant replacing Baldwin with Hammond). Honestly, I may have been a little too on edge to really get into this one (from dreading the possible "discourse" this episode COULD have inspired) but somehow this turned out to be the most stable, even keeled SNL episode of 2024 so far (again, not a difficult feat AT ALL but I'll take any sign I can get that the show is stabilizing itself right now). As you'll see, this episode came very close to escaping my bottom five of the whole season (it's near the top of my bottom five though, don't worry). Every member of the cast (even Molly) got on the air but what was more important were the moments of catharsis on stage during the night (especially when Shane and Bowen actually hugged) that showed he did not actively alienate anyone he worked with last night or make their week noticably worse in general. Let’s just break it down, because there's a lot more to get to.

Reluctant Trump Victory Party - Well, a quiet & thoughtful Downey-lite cold open was the absolute last thing I was expecting from the season at this point let alone this particular episode, but hey... even if it felt a little better than this episode deserved, I'll take it. It felt straight outta season 24 anyway. Actually, it felt more like an inverse of those "How's He Doin?" sketches they sjow did during Obamas' second term. Anyway, as I hinted at last week, I kinda like the idea of a Trump themed cold open (even a decently written one by the shows standards in this era) subtly annoying certain viewers who tuned in just for this host. Then again, this did feel like a watered down version of a South Park episode from 2017, so...maybe this could've been palatable even for them, too? After tonight, I don't want to pigeonhole anyone. It was certainly well casted. Marcello as Rubio was a good use of him and I liked seeing JAJs Lindsay Graham and Devons' Tim Scott again (JAJs' choking HAD to be real, right? It just seemed too out of nowhere not to be). Mikey as Senator Rich was a fine anchor to this as well. B-

Monologue - (*gulp*) Well, here we go. First off, I did like that he got the "firing" reference out of the way quickly and moved on. He ripped off that bandaid and then moved onto material directly about his own family with barely any segue. While I'm still not his biggest fan, it's nice to get some glimpse into Shane Gillis as a person rather than just what he's like as a comedian. Say what you will, but it's become obvious that he has a great support system with his friends and family so it naturally makes one curious about how he endears himself to people off-stage outside of his stand-up act. Secondly, I will admit Mr. Gillis had some self effacing charm on display early on. This is especially evident in his seeming hesitance to lean into any "edgelord lite" topics. He always seemed to back away to question why he was here in this moment (I mean, hey, he's not alone there) when he sensed most of the audience was simply afraid to laugh at something knowing full well they could be heard doing so on live television. When he uttered the phrases "remember when you were gay?" and "down syndrome" followed by the "r-slur", I thought we were gonna have a blowout on the highway, but...I have to give him credit for turning into those skids and not losing the audience entirety despite what some might see as his best efforts (can't say I was on his side entirely through this but hey, if you happen to be a Gillis stan reading this after just stumbling onto this blog for the first time...you do you, bud). Yeah, I probably shouldn't have been shocked that down syndrome stuff turned out to be a disquietingly central theme of this monologue. Surprisingly, this didn’t quite turn out to be the lightening rod that divides Twitter between those who take offense at his making light of the Down Syndrome community and those who view this as him speaking from personal experience and immediately rush to his defense. Plus, I do get that he was trying to come off as a champion of that community with the part about his niece and her three adopted black brothers but especially by the time he got to the coffee shop bit, I started to feel like his insecurity about this material muddies whatever was supposed to be heart warming about it. I just felt like he needed to get out of his own way a bit and he would've gotten all of this over with the crowd more easily. He reminded me of Louis C.K. (in not necessarily the best of ways). Kudos to him for reining this in at standard monologue length and not letting potentially the diciest part of the show run on for 16 minutes unlike certain other guys he knows (granted his monologue was literally just half of that length and still could've been two minutes shorter, but still). C+

Jamacian Vacation Church - Already I'm getting "dilluted Gilly & Keeves vibes" from this. They obviously knew he had an affinity for questionable accents he shouldn't be attempting and leaning into that right out the gate was a gamble that paid off. Aside from that, the other main comedic premise to this seems to be the sheer incongruity of "Christian Reggaeton" as a musical genre? Thankfully, this ended at a good spot. Weirdly, it felt like a ten-to-one that got cleaved in half when the show ran long...but placed in the lead off spot? Well, since it prominently features nearly the entire black cast of the show as well as their one non-binary cast member I can see the logic in placing up top in this episode. Again, not crazy about Ego in drag roles but I dug the way she, Kenan and Devon performed their parts. C+

Rock Bottom Kings - A fake ad that punches down on the predatory angle of sports betting apps (you know, your DraftKings and your FantasyDuels and your SportsBooks of the world) from a real third person outside perspective feels unusually pointed for this season of SNL. I did like how evergreen this felt in that Shane's part could've been played by literally any host even if it also felt like Shane maybe could've been the only host to pitch this idea to the show (notice I said "host" so, thst doesn't exclude Che from possibly pitching this either). B-

Workplace Relationships - Ok, now I started to feel like we were getting into real questionable territory here. Thankfully, this meandered a bit too much to really go anywhere really unsavory. I'd still take this over the HR meeting we saw with Cecily and Oscar Issac. I did like Kenans' "that's where I know you from" line. Marcello in "booty khakis" was something I was not expecting to see but not everything in this show is gonna be for me (but if it is and you happen to be a Marcello groupie...hey, you do you, bud). C+

White Men Can Trump - This is actually the first piece of the night I genuinely enjoyed. I mean, I may not have laughed but I admired the execution of it (which once again proves my theory that Baldwin was still in tense negotiations with Lorne right before season 45 and Gillis was hired in haste as merely their "plan B" until the whole thing blew up in their faces). Even though Shane's Trump felt like a real mid-2015 take on Trump (as just a media figure in general pulling a ridiculous publicity stunt rather than as a serious presidential contender let alone an actual former president whose first and only term thus far ended with an attempted insurrection) I was into this. It was smart of them to let Shanes' Trump face off against JAJs Trump in a well written and paced pretape. The slo-mo handshake reminded me quite a bit of Anthony Atamanuiks' Trump from Comedy Centrals' "The President Show." Boy, I can't wait to see what James Adomian will have to say about this on Threads! Could've done without Mikeys' bit at the end though even if it was just there for "balance". B+

The Floor - Hey, a sketch set where my expectations for this episode (and really the whole show during this season) have been all year! What a coincidence! (Hiyooooo!) Seriously, this felt like the middle third of one sketch stitched into another sketch entirely. It wasn’t executed the best for my tastes (and it seemed to me like just a TikTok clip of a speedrun of another game show sketch that Jimmy, Horatio and Bernie Mac did 21 years ago) but Ego was really the saving grace of it. I especially liked her "J.K. Simmons/Cynthia Nixon/ American Gothic/Mr. Penis" jokes. Mikey would've been my first choice to play Rob Lowe over Longfellow but I can see Longfellow is a better fit vocally for this role whereas Mikey would only be a good fit facially. Also, kudos to Bowen for showing he was willing to let bygones be bygones in to consecutive sketches (even if his whole part in the second one could've been cut entirely). C+

Update was surprisingly stable. I liked just about every joke Jost & Che delivered. In particular, the big stand outs for me were Josts' Frozen Embryo/leap day jokes & Ches' Nikki Haley/Trump Sneakers/zombie deer disease jokes. Josts Biden Air Force one joke ended with a punchline that the show has literally done twice in two different cold opens. I dunno if that Paramount+ joke Jost told worked. Wasn’t Yellowstone on Paramount+? Enough people figured out how to navigate through that to make it a hit. Marcellos' frozen embryo commentary felt like he was dragged and dropped into something that was either intended for Longfellow or Squirm that they dropped out of. It felt a little too flitting and aimless in its attempts to be meta for my tastes but Marcello made it work. Whenever an SNL cast member does a fiercely pro-life character piece on Update, you can always count on it to be one of the most focused and direct thing in the show...that's for sure. Marcello may have been the first male cast member to pull this off so...well done. Bowen as Truman Caopte felt like a vast improvement on the type of gay camp Update character pieces he has given us in recent years (even if it still could've been cut). It was the most grounded and least self indulgent thing he has done in at least three years. This is what he should've aimed for with his George Santos. Maybe they let him do this as a little treat for... y'know (*gestures vaguely at SNL in general knowing how much Bowen has hinted at the show eroding his mental health right from jump street*). B-

Greenbow High Reunion - Odd that this turned out to be a 25 years too late Forrest Gump parody not even a full 15 minutes after the show just told us it knew exactly what this weeks' biggest news story coming out of Alabama was but still...I thought it was just fine. I mean, this felt too out of date not just in terms of pop culture references but in the tone regarding how the premise was executed. The only thing that didn’t feel too out of place here was the long, drawn out pacing and dialogue from it. Those kept if feeling like it could only have been executed on SNL rather than Gilly & Keeves. This was a little bit more than just a glorified Family Guy cuaway. Still, it felt like Shane would've been the only possible host who could put this over no matter what time period it was done in so in a way, they really lucked out here. Mikey did a great job as Gump and I genuinely chuckled at the "chocolate bar" and "Lieutenant Dan" line. C+

Fugliana - Right off the bat, I thought it was gonna be hard for me to get into what I thought was gonna be another piece that was going mine all its humor from putting down Sarah (or any of the female cast members for that matter) just for their looks at first. However, as this went on I could see it was more about both the male and female performers being equally in on the joke and having fun playing off each others' self roasting. Shane and Sarah honestly displayed great chemistry here. Shane probably had his best lines of the whole show in this and Sarah damn near stole this whole sketch for me but Mikey/Punkie, Heidi/JAJ and Dismukes/Chloe came in with some strong assists. Honestly, by the end the biggest problem I had with this was just its sheer length and pacing. That live SNL staging and acting was the main thing that made this feel like it couldn't have just been a Gilly & Keeves sketch. B-

Green Bay Packers Butt Plug - This felt less "lol gay panic" and more like a sketch "a sketch Armisen & Hader could’ve done 15 years ago" or "sketch Bobby Moynihan could've done 8 years ago". Hell, I've seen Gillys' "OnlyFans Dad" sketch so it mainly felt like "sketch Shane Gillis aleady did two and a half years ago". Coming down from the sketch that proceeded this must have thrown everyone's timing off. Either way, I wasn't in to it (pun not intended because I just want to wrap this up, okay?). D+

Now, for my updated ranking of season 49...

1. Nate Bargatze/Foo Fighters (10.28.2023)
2. Adam Driver/Olivia Rodrigo (12.9.2023)
3. Ayo Edeberi/Jennifer Lopez (02.03.2024)
4. Kate McKinnon/Billie Eilish (12.16.2023)
5. Timothee Chalamet/Boygenius (11.11.2023)
6. Emma Stone/Noah Kahan (12.2.2023)
7. Bad Bunny (10.21.2023)
8. Pete Davidson/Ice Spice (10.14.2023)
9. Shane Gillis/21 Savage (02.24.2024)
10.. Dakota Johnson/Justin Timberlake (1.27.2024)
11. Jacob Elordi/Renée Rapp (01.20.2024)
12. Jason Momoa/Tate McRae (11.18.2023)

Well, we all survived that one and came out in one piece. Next week, Sydney Sweeney makes her SNL hosting debut. This makes her the second Euphoria cast member to host the show this season alone...and the desperate, naked (pun suddenly intended) shameless pop culture pandering of 2024 SNL continues. Between this and the episode that just aired, it appears SNL has firmly decided that it now wants its audience to be the worst 12 to 13 year old boys you've ever met in your life? Oh well, I am still a guy myself so at least Sydney should be a host I'll have an easier time with than Shane (even on just a very base level). From what I know about her, she had exactly as much comedic experience as her cast mate Jacob (just one romcom each, no live sketch acting experience). While this isn't exactly an episode I am dreading, I hope she at least brings some much needed energy to the show and I hope they avoid making this episode resemble Jacobs as much as possible. Seriously, I don't think they can get away with doing a string of sketches where she is hit on by the male cast right now. Hope to see you then!

Ayo Edebiri/Jennifer Lopez (02.03.2024)

Okay, here's my review. We knew that Ayo Edeberi could deliver the comedy chops, but she also went above and beyond by elevating everything she was in just with her sheer stage presence alone. She delivered some much needed stability to the show, but the writing (particularly certain overused tropes) made it a little uneven. Still, though, this will definitely go down as a top five episode for this season (and I say that because calling it the best show of 2024 isn't saying much). Cast airtime was balanced in such a way that no one was shut out entirely but Ego and Bowen in particular had strong nights (lord knows Ego needed this right now). Anyway, let's break it down, shall we?

CNN Trump Town Hall - I guess given the impression potential involved they couldn't resist, huh? Well, Kenans' Barkley is always welcome even if he seems like he's dejectedly going through the motions. Fortunately, JAJ seems to have sharpened up his Trump (he seems to have a slightly better handle on Trumps energy than his voice now) and his response to Longfellows' question seems like the writers have strated to sharpen up their takes on 2024 era Trump. The Midnights tracklist breakdown honesty should've been cut. I don't know what reaction they were HOPING to get from online Swifties but it for sure isn't gonna be the right one. A Nikki Haley cameo being the main centerpiece of this sketch? What is this? October 2015? Ayos' one line was good and so was Devon as Tim Scott. C-

Monologue - Thank God Ayo pretty much crushed it here. She delivered the exact type of monologue the show desperately NEEDED right now. I don't remember the last time I've seen a host that close to tears of joy in their monologue. Ayo reading failed pitches from her packet was cute even if it didn't really go anywhere. B+

Why'd You Say It? - An Instagram themed game show sketch to lead off the show? What is this? April 2022? Seriously though, this was definitely better executed than...the last time I saw this. Ayo, Kenan and Dismukes were especially strong here. While I did appreciate Ayos' sincere message, I honestly wish she hadn't tried to tie it back to her J.Lo podcast "controversy". Did that even need to be addressed at all? Seriously, tell me, AITA for thinking that could've been safely ignored?C+

Dune Popcorn Bucket - Ok, I have to give them some credit for not making this as hacky and obvious as it seemed built up to be...but sadly this seems to be another case of SNL piling on another viral meme as it rapidly approaches its sell by date. Hey, at least it didn't feel as PAST its sell by date as the Ancient Rome rap or most of Pete's episode did, so...there's that. C-

Microdosing At UCIrvine - This was another basic premise (I got heavy Rusty from MADtv vibes...not that that's a bad thing), but Mikey and Ayo really sold the HELL out of it. Dismukes and Bowen were great support players too. See, THIS is more of the Mikey we want to see for as long as he is still going to be on the show. This felt more like the Mikey we saw last year in Quinta Brunsons' episode (yes, I did eventually come around on THAT sketch) before he eroded some of his good will. B+

NY Morning News - This was another very basic premise and it was well performed but it didn’t really go anywhere for me. In fact, it basically just felt like an updated take on the "Great Love Stories" sketch from Susan Luccis' season 16 episode. Still, it's nice to see Bowen turn in a solid performance in a sketch that doesn't seem like it was built too specifically for him. I did like seeing Ego walk on because I was hoping both her and Ayos' presences wouldn't cancel each other out and get Ego shut out of the show. Ayo had a strong individual performance and so did with JAJ, Devon, Kenan, Sarah, Marcello and Molly (who provided a much needed turn to end this on). Also, congrats to PDD on each one of them getting to individually appear in a live sketch with absolutely zero lines! C+

Update was fun just for the sheer energy. The Suits joke was the only real standout to me but I loved how Jost & Che finally seemed into it enough to play off the crowd. I especially like what Che did with those Pizza Hut and Mrs. World joke. Even Sarah kept the wild crowd energy going. I mean, I don't think I'm alone in wishing this wasn't another meta Jost bait but I did appreciate how much more committed this got from both Sarah and Colin as it went on. In fact, it would be even better if this turned out to be the last season of Jost & Che together on Update because this seems like the type of thing that would be the perfect capper on Josts' career on the show and it would be great if this is what all of Sarah's Jost humilitation on Update was building up to. B-

Trivia Quest - This was pretty much just Ego, Ayo, Mikey, Sarah and Punkie blending a few overused sketch tropes and putting them over just on their sheer charisma and built in chemistry with each other. B+

Elevator Town - Well, this pretape made me realize that "misplaced horniness" is Bowens' fourth or fifth well worn sketch/character template. Still, it must be one that people are the least sick of by now because this and the naked garbage truck short with Emma in the same season is the first I am noticing it. The mini-musical number at the end was fun, though. C+

Mr. Fantasmic - This felt like the first truly original sketch premise of the night until the hosts' character coming out as bisexual and everyone singing a pop song from 2008 became the sole focus. Still, Ayo turned in her performance of the episode. Kenan was pretty good here. I do wish Chloe Troast had a bigger part in this, though (especially since she was only in this to show off her amazing pipes to begin with). B-

Peoples' Court - This was definitely my favorite sketch of the night. It was just the right length, made excellent use of all the shows' black cast members at once AND it was absolutely insane! I loved the chaotic ten-to-one energy on display here. A-

Now, for my updated ranking of season 49...

1. Nate Bargatze/Foo Fighters (10.28.2023)
2. Adam Driver/Olivia Rodrigo (12.9.2023)
3. Ayo Edeberi/Jennifer Lopez (02.03.2024)
4. Kate McKinnon/Billie Eilish (12.16.2023)
5. Timothee Chalamet/Boygenius (11.11.2023)
6. Emma Stone/Noah Kahan (12.2.2023)
7. Bad Bunny (10.21.2023)
8. Pete Davidson/Ice Spice (10.14.2023)
9. Dakota Johnson/Justin Timberlake (1.27.2024)
10. Jacob Elordi/Renée Rapp (01.20.2024)
11. Jason Momoa/Tate McRae (11.18.2023)

Well, it was nice to see SNL get itself back on track for one week. Let’s see how long this lasts. Booking Shane Gillis of all people is for sure one of the most dumbfounding moves in recent SNL history from an optics standpoint alone. I've heard extremely second/third hand that Bowen may have forgiven Shane for what was said nearly five years ago when they (almost) joined the cast together. If that's true, good on Bowen for being the bigger man here because if I hadn't heard that I'd think Lorne and the show were trying to pull what I like to call a "reverse Dave Herman" on him (hey, we all know Shane as "more of a MADtv guy" now, right? Iykyk). Personally, I haven't been too impressed with what I've seen from Gillis' standup, but if I'm being honest I didn’t completely hate the few "Gilly & Keeves" sketches I saw. Also, I have heard Shane has still been maintaining good connections with quite a few people at the show. He's been operating in the sane standup circles as Che and they say he was in Pete's series "Bupkis" after all. While he may not have anywhere near Ayos' level of charisma to put sketches fully over, he may blend in almost as well with this cast (especially with Cecily out of the building from other things I have heard) so...hopefully, they actually WANT to make him look good (or at least palatable?) to their existing audience (because we all know they show was likely using Shane to capture an audience that may be further out of their reach than they realize). The absolute best I can expect or hope for from a Shane Gillis hosted SNL would be an episode much like Chappelle's most recent outing where the monologue is extremely dodgy but the sketches are fine. Actually, I'm hoping for a monologue closer to Bill Burr than Chappelle. Hell, the funniest thing to come out of this episode might just be Gillis stans tuning in just to see Shane and being sorely disappointed with the rest of the show. Yes, after some thought on this matter I'm prepared to go into the next live SNL episode with an open mind (because i just picked up on the subliminal cue to do that from the People's Court sketch). See you soon!