Okay, here's my review. This episode was quite a rollercoaster. Most, if not all, of the live sketches really meandered and belabored the point. Sure, some of the payoffs were worth it but that still doesn't excuse this episodes' dramatic shifts in energy and quality. The highs here weren't as high as Kristen's previous episode from early 2017 but the lows were that much more noticeably low. I think the reason most SNL fans would view Kristen Stewart's first episode as being better than this second one is that most people were pleasantly surprised by it. I mean, prior to her hosting SNL Kristen Stewart was only known for her performances in the Twilight saga (and possibly Snow White and the Huntsman) as well as being generally awkward and stilted as a person even when she wasn't acting. Then, we suddenly got to see her give very committed performances on SNL in a variety of different roles and she surprisingly held her own along with the rest of the cast and somehow manage to deliver one of the stronger, more memorable and well received episodes of season 42 (arguably one of the strongest seasons of SNL in recent memory at that). Granted, she had obviously grown and matured a lot as an adult in her post-Twilight era but still that episode caused most SNL fans to set their expectations pretty high for tonight's episode. Those expectations were shattered, but it's mostly the shows' fault. Kristen was still as devoted a host as ever. The show just lost all of its' really good writers from season 42. Aside from maybePete, the cast felt pretty balanced as far as airtime goes. Speaking of which, I have a feeling booking Kristen right now may have been done mostly as a favor to Kate, Aidy and Cecily who are the most likely to be leaving this season. Anyway, let's just break this episode down, shall we?
Warren Iowa Rally - This was surprisingly pleasant considering I went into it expecting a Downey-esque one person speech directly into the camera until Cecily's first line for some reason until I realized those types of cold opens left WITH Jim Downey years ago. It wasn't easy to get into at first but thankfully it picked up a fair amount of steam as it went along. If anything, it was nice to see the show move away from Trumpworld at least for one week and onto something (and someone, really) that they're actually passionate for and want to write about. I especially liked the jabs at Biden, Bezos, Ballers, Boogie Nights and Kamala. I also liked Melissa's delivery of her first line and I especially liked how they really threw Chloe a bone at the end and gave her a substantial speaking role for a change. Speaking (no pun intended) of which, does anyone else notice how much her and Melissa's normal speaking voices sound nearly identical (with Chloe's sounding much more natural, of course?) B+
Monologue - I appreciate how much Kristen tried to subvert every SNL host monologue trope she could think of here, but this felt pretty much DOA to me until Beck and Kyle's walk on near the end. I appreciate following up a segment where the audience asked their questions to Kate's Elizabeth Warren with a segment where Kristen Stewart asks questions of her audience. Now, THERE'S a switch! Seriously though, does anyone else recognize who those first two audience members were? If they were indeed writers, they must have been ones who were hired in the last two seasons and haven't gotten much on as I barely recognized them at all. C-
America At War - I was hoping they were getting this week's Kate & Aidy showcase out of the way early. Not counting Update, this actually turned out to be the case. At least here, their characterizations (and Kristen's mere presence combined with her strong chemistry with the female cast in general) would make what comparatively minimal breaking far less noticable. This also kinda dragged a bit, but I did like Kate, Aidy and Kristen stating how they would torture and kill Hitler if they were fighting in WWII. The second most frustrating thing about this sketch was how they managed to cast Chloe as Rosie the Riveter and managed to make that a second banana role. They did the same thing to Heidi, but I couldn't quite tell if her character was based in a real WWII propaganda figure. C+
Duolingo For Talking To Children - This was something that I wanted to be able to like until I realized you may have to be in almost the same headspace as whoever wrote it. I could tell this was aiming for "relatable" but the only people who really could relate to it were people whose friends and/or co-workers recently had kids that they are bringing around with them everywhere. I honestly would've preferred the throwaway ending tag of "Duolingo For Talking Your Dad" had been the actual sketch instead. Still, this had its moments. Kyle's brief part was funny and Kristen handled this material well (even though playing awkward women shouldn't come as a challenge to her at all). C+
Farrow & Ball - This actually ended up a lot more fun than it had any right to be. I was expecting the big reveal to be some kind of commercial shoot where the director made unreasonable demands or Aidy kept getting one line wrong but we instead got a series of escalating dramatic reveals. I'd like to think Bowen wrote this as it had shades (no pun intended) of "Cheques" but then again, he's a cast member so he'd probably be in this if he did so I'm going to guess that this was written by the same women who wrote last seasons Theresa May pieces. Speaking if last season, I've heard this was cut from Emma Stone's last episode which makes me wonder if Emma was supposed to play Kristen's part or Aidys' part. B+
C-SPAN Dog Press Conference - At first, I was expecting Kate to introduce Jon Lovitz to introduce Tommy Flanagan as the new Trump press secretary because I (and someone in an SNL facebook group I'm in) were just thinking about how this was something the show could conceivably do now (but probably won't because even the people that remember that character wouldn't really care to see him again in 2019). Then, I remembered I'd seen someone holding a German shepherd on a leash during the commercial bumper and realized what this was going to be. How appropriate that they had Cecily as the dogs' handler (I'm starting to think some of this seasons' dog/animal centric sketches may have been done as favors to her if this is really her last season). This sketch was solidly written enough but I'm guessing that they (rightfully) banked on the potential for animal bloopers being a good way to disguise the fact that this was basically a collection of well executed punny dog jokes (except for the Trump medal jab and that water gag that gave me serious Triumph flashbacks) that make it seem like this sketch was just a Jost/Sublette collaboration. I can't even tell if all of those growls were prerecorded but I do get the sense that the dog wasn't the most professionally trained stage dog in the world since it seemed like he was supposed to bark on cue but couldn't. C+
Corporate Nightmare - This was a solid conceptual piece. Basically, Sum 41/Paramore/Good Charlotte supergroup suddenly matures while in a corporate work environment and suddenly realizes the inherent value of "selling out". Suddenly, they see that someone in there loves actually does value them and that they are no longer outcasts and must change their outlooks accordingly. This may have been my favorite filmed piece of the night. Pete may not have fit in flawlessly in this piece, but it's a nice change of pace to see him in a pop punk band for once instead of rapping again for the umpteenth time. It actually reminded me of Fred Armisens' pro-Thatcher Britush punk singer from his final season but this actually went somewhere without belaboring the point. B+
Orphans - I usually don't comment on the musical performances but I do have to say something about this one. I don't typically care for Coldplay that much but I do appreciate how Chris Martin at least made good use of the studio space and moved around quite bit. Still, seeing this kind of thing still makes me a bit frustrated that SNL never got "Weird Al" Yankovic to perform at any point during season 40 right after Mandatory Fun came out and let him perform "Tacky" (which he had already performed on Conan that preceding summer but still).
Update was consistently strong aside from a few risks they took that didn't pay off. Che had quite a string if strong jokes (especially his laundry list of rejected "too gross" punchlines to that 67-year old birth joke) and thankfully this week he wasn't the one who had the awkward, off-color joke. That would be Jost this week. Hearing him call Trump's Florida move a "genius troll move" left a bad taste in my mouth and genuinely made me wonder if Ben Shapiro was a guest Update writer this week. His Kate Hill "come together" joke wasn't quite as bad but came off slightly more awkward. It was interesting to see that both Melissa AND Heidi both got to debut brand new original characters in the same Update segment. Was anyone else half-expecting Vanessa to make a cameo as her child actress character during Ches' intro? Anyway, I wanted to like this more but the buildup and payoff just weren't there. Thankfully, they ended it at just the right spot. Kate and Aidys' meat cousins definitely suffered from diminishing returns. Thankfully, there was less breaking this time. I liked there shame bios of each dead animal but I still don't think we needed to see them again. C+
Jury Room - The buildup really dragged to me, but the reveal was worth it. I also liked how they ended it right after said reveal had been established but before it had the chance to wear out it's welcome. This one was obviously more about the destination than the journey. It almost felt like something any other sketch show or troupe BESIDES SNL would do. C+
Nightclub - While I appreciate that they gave Ego another front-and-center type showcase in the same vein as "Thirsty Cops" and I also appreciate her and Kenans' commitment, I still don't quite know what to make of this sketch. It felt like possibly the most one not segment of the entire show. There also seemed to be too many disparate elements that weren't greater than the sum of their parts. Kenan and Ego's characters seemed too oblivious to the situation Kristen was putting them in to realize this wasn't the right place for them and yet they're in a sexual relationship with Bowen's character? I'm guessing he wrote this one since he's in it and it this seems well within his wheelhouse. D+
Stargazers - This felt the most telegraphed out of all the other sketches that aired tonight. There was a point where I even foolishly thought it wasn't going to be as one note as it was. Kristen played her role well even if any other female host could've played that part. She gave what seemed to be her most committed performance of the night here. Sadly, it was in the weakest live sketch of the entire show. Honestly, the thing that impressed me the most was seeing just how much studio space they got to use just for this sketch. If there was any local planetarium that helped them with this one, I sincerely doubt they would be eager to take credit here. D+
Now, for my updates rankings of this season...
1. David Harbour/Camilla Cabello
2. Chance The Rapper
3. Woody Harrelson/Billie Eilish
4. Phoebe Waller-Bridge/Taylor Swift
5. Kristen Stewart/Coldplay
Well, that was an underwhelming episode that didn't quite meet my expectations. In two weeks time, former One Direction pretty boy Harry Styles makes his hosting debut. He's also pulling double duty as both host AND musical guest. On the one hand, he was in the film "Dunkirk" a while ago which was well received. Plus, each of the previous four (!) times he was a musical guest and was gradually snuck into sketches more and more prominently he managed to hold his own pretty well. He can definitely handle hosting duties, but this season may be starting to his a serious slump and that worries me. Oh well. Let's just hope for the best. At least by the time that episode has finished airing, we should be getting to find out who the lineup for the 11/23 episode will be. See you then!
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