Okay, here's my review. This was definitely the most consistent show all season. The highs weren't quite as high as they were in the previous two episode but what few lows there were seemed minor and weren't low enough to create a crater or anything so it all pretty much evens out. The show may still be a little too reliant on outside cameos at times, but they still showed us that unexpected cameos can be fun when used in just the right way. As expected, Chance and the rest of the cast really delivered. As we saw just shy of two years ago, Chance brings a fresh energy to the show that's not like any other recurring "friend of the show" type host that's infectious and clearly rubs off on the cast. Speaking of which, it's great to see a show where the whole cast gets an even amount of airtime. Ego, Heidi, Chloe and Bowen stood out in particular because we finally get to see the show break them in and ingratiate them with the audience. Aidy, Kate and Cecily had few and far in between appearances that suggest the show might be phasing them out in preparation for a mutual parting of ways by the end of this season. Anyway, there isn't too much beyond the cold open to really unpack this week, but I'd still like to just get to it right now.
Albuquerque Trump Rally - There's no doubt that this was a frustrating cold open to watch for anyone invested in this show at all. I won't go into the most obvious reasons but the biggest reason to me had to do with the energy of this sketch. It certainly had a similar not as listless energy as the Equality Town Hall open from the previous episode (which I'd be willing to go back and reevaluate at some point since it was revealed others liked it much more and that it was written by Sudi Green and Fran Gillespie rather than Jost & Che who wrote most if not all of the political cold opens these past two seasons). Parts of it seemed different in that it seemed to be written (and in some parts performed) with some level of controlled, cautious passion by people who actually cared somewhat about the piece and wanted to write what they were writing. I'm guessing they called Sudi and Fran back in to write this along with Jost since Che was recovering from dental surgery and shouldn't have been writing anything in that condition anyway. However, that energy kept getting disrupted at certain points by certain people Baldwin as Trump kept bringing up on stage alongside him. Mostly, I'm referring to Kate and Fred Armisen here (hell, I'd rather see Kate as Gullianni again than as Lindsay Graham but I did like Freds' jabs at Trumps "wealth" here and did get a brief Mary Katherine Gallagher flashback from Kate's Glass Menagerie recital) but Cecily (as out of touch as a Mickey Mouse Club reference may seem in 2019), Mikey, Pete and Aidy especially breathed some much needed life into this with their strong and committed performances. I did appreciate seeing Alexs' Mark Zuckerberg again but even that impression suffers from diminishing returns as it has fallen into repeating the same beats over and over. How many "Zuck is a cyborg" takes do we need to see? Hell, considering this was set in New Mexico I was expecting them to introduce Aaron Paul (who does still have "El Camino" to promote after all) but I'm kinda glad that they were willing to subvert one of my expectations here. Speaking of which, I was expecting this to mostly use a cheap throwaway reference to Trump's Colorado Border Wall gaffe (I appreciate shootouts to my home state on the show but...not like this). I thought what they did there was okay as telegraphed as it felt. It especially stung seeing Darrell Hammond show up to reprise his Clinton alongside Baldwin's Trump. I know he's the post-Pardo announcer now, but I also know most of those announcements are prerecorded from across the country. It must have taken a lot for him to come out to be on the show in person considering what he went through when they pushed him out of a role that was rightfully his in favor of Baldwin. I mean, sure, Baldwin's manic Trump energy seemed preferable to Hammond's Apprentice era Trump but that was when we were all naive enough to think Trump DIDN'T actually have a shot at the presidency. Hell, after less than even a full season of Baldwin we all realized how much easier Hammond mined Trump for laughs and even Trump himself came to the realization that Hammond should be back in the role under his own presidency. Plus, as much as it pains me to notice this much less admit it out loud, Hammond is more physically appropriate to play Trump than he is to play Clinton. C-
Monologue - This was fun. Chance being from Chicago and using that as a jumping off point to rap about other things he likes that are "second best" as Chicago is sometimes known as "the second city" was something that worked surprisingly well. The Adam Carolla lyric made me laugh. I was impressed that Kyle could hold his own so well next to Chance. I was also impressed that Heidi and Melissa could keep up with those cards. Also, is it just me or does Chance seem to young to be married with kids? Still, good for him. B+
E-Sports Coverage - I heard that they might bring back Chances' reluctant hockey reporter character as he has been doing that same bit for real for various other NBC Sports events. I'm glad they had him report on something much different than hockey (or even just sports in general). It's good too see this character can work in multiple settings even on or off SNL. Chance had a couple of lines that really made me laugh (I mean, they even made HIM almost laugh) and I especially his color commentary on the gameplay clip they showed. This sketch also made great use of Bowen and Chloe and Chance played great off of them as well.
Judge Barry - As strange as it feels realizing we've now had two double duty hosts AND two live courtroom sketches two weeks apart from each other this season, the premise of Chance The Rapper as a judge who makes his rulings solely based on "first impressions" was executed pretty much perfectly. I do like the rapid fire pace of sketchy participants that Chance immediately dismisses. I didn't even mind the genuinely unexpected Jason Momoa cameo either. He fit well into this sketch, too. B+
Tasty Toaster Tarts - This had the perfect amount of build ups and dark unexpected twists to me. Just when I was starting to tire of Chance listing off an excessive amount of Chance they start setting us up for the completely wrong unexpected discovery. B+
Spooky Song - I do appreciate how short and concise this was considering I was expecting something similar to that graveyard song sketch that was in Jim Carrey's 2014 episode.This felt like what that sketch should've been. I wasn't expecting the reveal to be that juvenile exactly but this subverted just the right expectation for me. C+
Update had a fun vibe. Che and Jost had almost nothing but solid jokes (except for that Olaf one, the Bernie/Hillary v. Tulsi jokes that just seemed like bad hot takes and that punchline to that Kanye joke was where Che seemed the most "loopy"). As far as the political material goes, I liked how strongly they addressed the stories from this week that would've made for far better cold opens tonight (especially Ches' Gullianni rant Josts' Matt Gaetz/Quagmire comparison) do appreciate how Alex can make Eric Trump still seem like a newly fleshed out character each time. B-
Finding True Love On Wires At A Bar - This sketch did feature Cecily and she was on wires so this has to be the one sketch that the one girl from the SNL Standby Line podcast mentioned in Twitter just before the show. I was glad to see this didn't get cut (I mean, how could it?). I could easily appreciate this just for it's sheer physicality. I also thought it was interstellar because it's the first time we've ever seen Beck break on camera (or Ego or Heidi for that matter) and this was one of the rare times where the general live studio energy translates well to the viewers at home so it's obvious to everyone why this is funny. B+
Space Mistakes - This was an obvious genre/trope parody in the way that the Downton Abbey parody from the season premiere was general format/premise parody. I could appreciate for how purposely vague they kept it so that the honor comes from how silly and foolhardy this comes across. B+
Dazzle Designs - It seems a little early in the show for this week's obligatory Kate & Aidy farewell tour giggle fest, but okay. I'll take it. Chance, Pete and Chris had some great lines in this. This was interesting to watch for how obvious it was that Kate and Aidy were breaking only due to their chemistry and rapport rather than the material they had and the fact that this sketch was set up with minimal room for unplanned live bloopers. C+
Dance Studio, 1978 - This felt like an exact cross between a similar dance studio sketch from Christina Applegates' 2012 episode, that other sketch from Jon Heders' 2005 episode where he thought he was a werewolf but he could really only grow a mustache under a full moon and that SCTV sketch (from around the same time in real life that this sketch was set in incidentally) where Eugene Levy played Gino Vanelli singing his hit "Stop" while transforming into a Bigfoot-like wereape. I do have to wonder if this was a dress cut from around 2010-2013 or so as it felt very much like something from that era. Still, everyone really sold it which made it fun to watch. It had some of the typical tropes of an Anderson/Sublette joint but thankfully not all of them C+
Now, for my updated rankings of this season so far...
1. David Harbour/Camilla Cabello
2. Chance The Rapper
3. Woody Harrelson/Billie Eilish
4. Phoebe Waller-Bridge/Taylor Swift
Well, that episode just delivered the most basic vibe I expected based on what I'd seen on this show before. Next week, Kristen Stewart returns. I remember her being a similarly "game" host but compared to someone like Chance, she kinda blended into the background in most sketches. Hell, I think most people remember her episode for her dropping that f-bomb on air and for the first (of what only ended up being four times ever) that Melissa McCarthy played Sean Spicer. Still, none of this should've prevented KStew from getting her second shot at hosting. See you then.
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