Eddie Murphy/Lizzo (12.21.2019)

Okay, here's my review. This was the shoe that seemed to make the biggest promises of the entire season and it certainly delivered on the great things it promised as well as it's not so great obligations. It was without a doubt the strongest episode of the season so far and viewers couldn't have possibly asked for a better season. It was to season 45 what Sandler's episode was to season 44 times ten and at a point in this new season when it was almost desperately needed. Some of you might argue that David Harbours' or Scarlett Johansson' episode were the true best if this season but I personally think it's this one since the highs of this episode were stronger and more consistent than the previous two. Yep, the highs were higher and the lows were practically nonexistent. Eddie proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he's still got it and that he's still on his way to a successful comeback (coming hot off the success of "Dolemite Is My Name"). His sheer presence was enough to make the viewer forget that we were inundated with another string of special guest cameos before he even got a chance to take the stage. He managed to dominate the entire show without making us forget that this show does indeed have a cast and each member of said cast got to appear in something. Anyway, there's a LOT to unpack with this episode so let's just get right to it. Shall, we?

PBS Democratic Debate - Well, at least this is the SECOND worst way the could've opened Eddie's episode. At the very least, it seemed like they were really racing through this one compared to how bloated the last two were until I noticed that this one was also ten minutes long. I guess it just seemed that way because I was just anxious to see Eddie (which is kind of the same way I watch a lot of recent episodes hosted by former alums). As much of a mess as it started to seem like toward the end, at least they made an effort to combine this with the inevitable non-Update Trump impeachment material they had to come up with so the rest of the episode. Plus, this was a decent way to tease the audience who just wanted to see Eddie. Nice to see they cast Heidi as Judy Woodruff as expected but did they even think about casting Lizzo as Yamiche Alcondor or Melissa as Amna Nawaz or even Alex or Mikey as that guy from Politico? I gave my divided attention to the debate and they covered the "wine cave" stuff decently. I'm still not crazy about how Jost is exaggeratedly portraying Buttigieg as a child but at least he is only doing so through his written lines on these skrtched rather than being on his knees at the podium. Rachel had some of the best Klobuchar material they've ever given her. Larry had some of the second best Bernie material they gave him. Fred and Maya's cameos felt unnecessary (Fred was the real low point of this sketch but at least he only had two lines. I guess Ferrell couldn't make it) but Maya's still somehow appropriate given who the host was. Those were two of the cameos I was looking forward to NOT having to see any more due to their respective candidates having dropped out just before this debate or just not qualifying for it somehow (so much for my "tighter and more focused debate sketch" theory). I do appreciate how they keep switching up their takes on Kamala even if they've never managed to have an appropriate one. It was fun seeing her as some sort of Beyonce/Ariana/Nicki/Lizzo (I'm sure she appreciated the shoutout) but I still could've done without it (ditto Cecily's Tulsi as much fun as it is to see Cecily anywhere in any capacity even if the candidate she plays is no longer running but made a strange impeachment vote). Now, Sudekis is always a welcome cameo (as is Woody whenever he's available which I guess he wasn't this week). Although I was a bit surprised to see SNL switch horse teeth midstream here, I was pleasantly surprised to see they can still make Jason's Biden work just as well in 2019 as he did from 2008-2013. Plus, Sudekis making a cameo in Eddie's episode makes some sense if you're aware of Sudekis' rather urban background. He had said in an interview that he "basically became a black kid" who played basketball and watched Arsenio and In Living Color from 1984-1992. I'd imagine getting to be on the same show as Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle was as big a thrill for him as anybody. I do also like how their take on Andrew Yang seems to be evolving to the point where he is becoming a more cartoonish caricature of a Silicon Valley "tech bro" (either that or they're just confusing him with Elon Musk?) Kate was put to better use here as Pelosi than as Warren. C+

Monologue - Well, THAT was a lot of fun! I was hoping for Eddie just doing his solo standup on stage but I guess he's still working on that and saving that for the road as he hasn't even gotten to do that much work on "Beverly Hills Cop 4" yet. I guess that one "Who's Americas' Dad Now?" joke was the "Bill Cosby thing" that Eddie teased in that Al Roker interview? I guess a one liner every few years is as much addressing the Cosby situation as Eddie can take? That's alright with me because both times he did it he really hit those jokes out of the park. I know we were all a bit worried about this show being overloaded with unnecessary cameos but I think we can all agree that THESE cameos in particular were quite appropriate. Not all of the jokes Eddie, Tracy, Chris and Dave told sounded like they wrote them themselves but they sure as hell elevated their material they were given! Beck and Kenans' cameos were also a welcome addition but I am a bit surprised that Leslie Jones didn't show up to "pitch" a sketch of her own. A-

Mr. Robinson's (Newly Gentrified) Neighborhood - Seeing just how much Eddie has aged in the past 35 years immediately took a bit of getting used to (did anyone else think the salt and pepper wig wasn't that necessary?) but despite stumbling over his theme song a bit judy before getting back into his groove, Eddie sure hits all the same comedic beats just as perfectly as he did back then once he shook those last bits of rust and cobwebs off. I guess I should've expected a simple gentrification premise over a Tom Hanks parody but this still fits 2019 perfectly. I'm guessing Che collaborated with Blaustein and Sheffield on this one (or at least pitched the whole "gentrification" concept to them seeing as that was a staple of Ches' pre SNL standup). The highlights were "Squatters' Rights" and "Racist" as shown on a new Samsung TV were among the highlights here. Mikey, Heidi and Chris (in semi-absentia) fit into this sketch well and had perfect chemistry with Eddie. This was definitely the strongest "fan service" sketch of the entire show. A-

Holiday Baking Challenge - See, this is an example of when a recurring sketch in this era hits all the same beats as the previous installments but in a bad and slightly frustrating way instead of a good fun way. Still, I didn't mind seeing this again as it was the strongest live piece in Don Cheadles' episode and Eddie didn't feel wasted or out of place at all here. I didn't like that they didn't seem to be able to make it as outrageous or disturbing as the first one felt since again, everything felt so telegraphed. I also didn't think it was a great sign that the only thing that made this stand out from the previous one was Eddie's seemingly accidental "shit" slip (which unfortunately got muted out during both of my local affiliates' airings of this episode and is still muted out on YouTube). C+

Home For The Holidays - It was odd seeing this again as well considering this has been a recurring template for the past three seasons rather than just the previous one or two and last year's Christmas episode (that they aired a one hour version of right before this one) had a one of these that wasn't entirely set at the dinner table. Still, Eddie, Maya and Ego were welcome additions to this template and the fact that it was pretaped and followed by a much shorter live piece really helped make the episode as a whole feel that much tighter at a point where it could've used that. Does anyone know if any of Eddie's actual children were in this? B-

The Masked Singer - HOLY SHIT! I PREDICTED (more or less) THAT SNL WOULD DO THIS EXACT THING!!! I mean, I was picturing all the judges being too clueless to actually guess who Buckwheat was but yeah, that would've dragged this out unnecessarily and it was the exact right length to begin with. Plus, they were obviously going for sweetness and heart first and foremost which is absolutely necessary when you're dealing with a character like Buckwheat in any era. I was also thinking recently about how one of the few other things they could've possibly done with this character would be to do a sketch showing preparations for a Buckwheat hologram tour and dealing with social media criticisms of Buckwheats' potentially problematic nature. Still, I can certainly see why they didn't think it would've been appropriate to bring up the fact that Buckwheat has supposedly been assassinated twice and is supposed to have been long dead according to his own canon. Then again, that was 35 years ago under a different executive producer. Plus, continuity rarely has a place in sketch comedy anyway. I liked how he did some more classic songs (although there might have been a slight technical miscue with "R-E-S-P-T-T-D") and then threw us a bone with something more modern (the Beyonce "Tinga Nadies" cover). This was a great way to inject the live portion of the show with some much needed heart and it made a great back-to-back companion piece to the Christmas dinner short. This is a close second to "Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood" for best "fan service" sketch. A+

Update was a REAL rollercoaster but I guess that's the best we could've hoped for given what the rest of the show has been like. Jost and Che had some pretty clunky jokes but that was gonna be the case anyway as this was not gonna be the main focus of the show (or at least it seemed that way early on). Gumbys' appearance was the true highlight, obviously. I'd say this is the second thing I "predicted" all night just because after seeing how the show was going so far and mentally ticking off my "Eddie's recurring characters" checklist I thought this might be how they ended up having to use Gumby. I figured we would either get this or an updated 2019 "Merry Christmas, Dammit" special where Gumby just yells at modern day celebrities being impersonated by this cast. He may have crossed a line with (especially with that "coon boy" remark and meta humor just came off as a little confusing here) I have no idea what was being censored on his entrance) but he was just as brilliant as ever (especially when he started berating Jost & Che). I guess this might have been Blaustein & Sheffields' way of getting Eddie to do the "Gumby roasts celebrities" bit they didn't get the chance to pitch to him at SNL40 four-and-a-half years ago? Still, I'd have to say this takes third place in my personal "fan service" rankings. I'm glad I'm far from the only one surprised they decided to follow Gumby with Pete (hell, I'm shocked Larry could stand being even in the same building as Pete even once this season seeing as he stayed for the good nights but I guess any bond he might have formed with Eddie 35 years ago supercedes any animosity Larry may have with Pete) but I am glad to see he chose to use this time to get meta about his and Colins' public perceptions, admit when he may need another rehab stint and publicly kiss up to Sandler to possibly boost his own potential movie career. Also, I'm sure I'm not the only one who is aware that Anthony Michael Hall was younger than both Eddie AND Pete when he joined the show but I am however surprised that Lorne would rather us fondly remember characters from years he didn't even work at the show than literally any tidbits about his first year back. I do have to wonder if those tweets they read about each other were real or not (regardless, I'm sure Jimmy Kimmels' attorneys may like to have a word with them). I thought the new tradition of Jost & Ches' end of the year Christmas gift joke exchange would be the best thing for them to end on (but previous year's versions of this have been much better) but then they busted out Cecily's Jeneane Pirro (she even shouted my name! Yeah, I know it's it's nothing more than a meaningless coincidence, but still) and fitted her with an expertly hidden vomit sleeve hose (although they really should've brushed up on how to use those properly rather than figuring out how to make them invisible to the naked eye). Good to see Norms' lesson about never following vomit spewers with jokes really stuck with the current Update team (which reminds me that this is oddly the second time in the show's 40 year history in which Update has ended with a white male anchor getting a castmates fake vomit inside their own mouth whether intentionally or not and causing the show to run long enough for material to have to get cut). A-

Black Jeopardy VI - Well, I guess this was inevitable. It's nice to see that the character of Eddie's that arguably needed to be confronted with his own status as an outdated, problematic sketch comedy relic in 2019 (if they even found a way they could get away with bringing him back) had that exact thing happen to him. I was surprised it was this late in the show but then I remembered that Drakes' Black Jeopardy installment was this late in his 2016 show (and is fortunately still the absolute weakest of them all conceptually so far). I wanted to like this as much as Eddie's previous recurring characters but something felt a little off about it. At one point in the middle of this sketch, it seemed like every body seemed to lose their timing all at once (those "Idris Elba in Cats" jokes were pretty well written and seemed like they should've gotten much bigger laughs than that so maybe it was just the audience?) I was gonna say that it seemed like Update ran just long enough for them to have to cut something from this but then again this seemed like it was the ideal length based on how it followed the same pattern of the previous "Black Jeopardy" installment. Just like Black Panther suddenly became truly "black" after two wrong answers, Velvet Jones suddenly became "woke" and respectful of women's sexual autonomy (and suddenly knew what Instagram was) after two wrong answers. Still, Eddie got the audience back with his "Ass For Cash" and "You Like Hoes? #MeToo" lines. Still, this was the weakest "fan service" segment of the whole show. Also, is it just me or does it seem like the hair and wardrobe departments specifically went out of their way to make Ego Nwodim resemble Sasheer Zamata as closely as possible? C+

North Pole News Update - Even though parodies of over excitable black eye witnesses on the local news seems like a very dated comedy trope, Eddie was really the glue of this. Good to see Chloe get some face time right next to Eddie (even if it was at the very end of the show). Cecily, Alex and Mikey all played their parts very well. B-

Now, for my updated rankings of the entire season so far...

1. Eddie Murphy/Lizzo
2. David Harbour/Camilla Cabello
3. Chance The Rapper
4. Phoebe Waller-Bridge/Taylor Swift
5. Woody Harrelson/Billie Eilish
6. Scarlett Johansson/Niall Horan
7. Jennifer Lopez/DaBaby
8. Will Ferrell/King Princess
9. Harry Styles
10. Kristen Stewart/Coldplay

Now, just for fun, I think I'll go ahead and rank all three episodes Eddie hosted so far...

1. Eddie Murphy/Robert Plant & The Honeydrippers (12.15.1984)
2. Eddie Murphy/Lizzo (12.21.2019)
3. Eddie Murphy/Lionel Richie (12.11.1982)

Well, that was an episode that certainly delivered on its biggest promises AND expectations (both good and not as good but still inevitable). In a little over a month, Adam Driver returns for his third hosting gig with Halsey as his musical guest. I realize he's a string host and the cast loves working with him but it does feel a little soon as he just hosted last season's premiere. Hell, this will he the second time he hosts the first show back after a long break. He should at least keep up some if the morale that Eddie just bought to the show and make people's wish that this is a turning point for season 45 come true. Also, I do hope they mix things up a little more by having Halsey participate in sketches as she was such a fun host last season (and yeah, I'm calling this now since they do this exact thing every year in January...they're gonna do another Bachelor parody that involves both Driver AND Halsey). See you next decade! Happy Holidays!

Scarlett Johansson/Niall Horan (12.14.19)

Okay, here's my review. I went into this show with pretty low expectations, so I was more than pleasantly surprised at how this show turned out. Scarlett Johansson may be a polarizing celebrity now but at least she gets along quite well with the SNL cast and crew. There must be something about her behind the scenes that makes everybody at SNL love working with her so much to get her to keep getting asked back. She's obviously more fun to work with than she is to watch in most things (especially SNL these days) but having her around studio 8H obviously boosts morale somehow because they turned out one if the most solidly well written episodes in recent memory. Some say she blended in very well with the cast but I think the was just underused. Thankfully, her presence wasn't just diminished by an onslaught of guest cameos that would've easily washed most other hosts off the screen. Plus, by taking a backseat throughout most of the show she really let the cast shine. Everybody got an amount of airtime that was beneficial to them. Chloe, Bowen and Ego especially had really strong nights. They finally figured out how to use their cast to the show's full potential. There were far less recurring characters and premises than there were last week but what recurring sketches and premises there were did feel earned or justified. They also seemed to touch on comedy tropes that seemed to have been referenced elsewhere but they delivered fresh takes on each of them. Anyway, let's break it down, shall we?

Three American Households - Well, first off, thank God for Kenan Thompson. If his performance here didn't convince you he really is the heart and should of current day SNL, nothing will. Part of me is glad they got this out of the way before Eddie comes back next week but then another part of me wondered if there was a possibility that adding Eddie to the Kenan/Redd/Ego scenes would have improved this or not. I suspect this was another Che/Tucker joint. Whoever wrote it, it was smart of them to spend the bulk of this sketch focusing on him while minimizing Cecily, Beck and everyone else's parts. The only laugh I got from Beck was his mentioning he was somehow made a federal judge just because Trump retweeted him. Good to see Chloe (two weeks in a row) and Bowen get visible supporting parts in a cold open. Seeing Aidy as the snowman narrator from Rudolph was a bit of am oddity. I guess it was inevitable that Kate would portray Greta and somehow her being named Times' "Person Of The Year" somehow made it appropriate for them to do this. Anyway, it was pretty much the same standard boilerplate Kate European accent stuff that one would come to expect. C-

Monologue - Well, this monologue is certainly better appreciated on repeat viewings. It definitely helped ger the show off to a better start than that cold open. It's nice to see SNL get meta about something other than the overabundance of random "well outside of the current cast" cameos they keep foisting upon us every damn week (except for this one, thankfully). I liked the first part of this monologue a lot more for how ambitious and packed with jokes and an actual through line it seemed but after Che and Jost made their first walk ons it seemed like an unfocused scattershot mess that they struggled to write an ending for. I have to say the things I liked most about Pete's apperance were the background details in his office (namely, the cue card and Machine Gun Kelly posters pinned to the wall). Still, that random peacock promo felt out of place and I wasn't exactly crazy about how they chose to acknowledge the romantic elephant in the studio either. I mean, it was still sweet there at the very end but that doesn't make up for how awkward and tacked on it felt (especially when Che first walked on). Also, it bugged me that they placed Cecily and Heidi against a green screen when they obviously survived the snap until I noticed that the backstage llama didn't. B-

Santa Land - Here was something I ended up liking exactly as much as I wanted to (and felt this sketch deserved). Good to see Chloe get another noticable (but again, still supporting) role in something. I like to think of this as Kenan and Scarletts' characters from the Deep House Dish sketch they did the first time she hosted back in '06 went through a rough patch after MTV4 cancelled their show and her career didn't take off. Beck and Heidi's reactions and back-and-forth was what made this for me and Bowen's entrance gave me my first laugh of the night. He obviously wrote this as it has too many Todrick Hall references and isn't nearly campy enough for James Anderson to have been involved. Speaking of, the way Beck referenced Todrick Hall makes me think Bowen may only appreciate him ironically. B-

Macy's Uncomfortable Winter Wear For Children - Speaking of who wrote what, at first I was sure Anna Drezen must have written this one if she was the one who wrote the "Duolingo For Talking To Children" ad from Kristen Stewart's episode. Then, my second suspicion that Mikey wrote this was confirmed by his frequent writing collaborator Streeter Siedell on Twitter (since we now know Mikey has a five year old son of his own who probably made a "blink and you'll miss it" appearance in this). I have to commend Mikey for pulling off the once thought impossible feat of writing a pretape that is at once longer than it needed to be and funny throughout without belaboring the point at all. This could've used a trim, but didn't absolutely NEED one. Then again, a lot of his sketches feel exactly like that. Chris, Mikey, Heidi and Kenan all had the best lines in this. B+

Charlie (Inexplicably) Returns - I'm actually a little surprised they would make this Kenan character recurring, but I don't mind that they did since I did like the first version of this sketch and it obviously workd much better with Scarlett Johansson placed in (ugh, yes, really) James Franco's role. This sketch arguably needed a do-over and they thankfully didn't do it too soon. Still, it pretty much reached season 35 levels of cut and paste/by the numbers recurring script rewriting. Bowen's presence kind of made up for this sketch lacking some of the same rapid fire energy and tightness that the Franco version of this sketch had. I even liked that they still ended it with Beck rattling off a brief laundry list of outrageous unrelated reasons Kenans' character was really getting fired for but even that felt a little sluggish compared to last time. B-

A Conway Marriage Story - This was one of SNLs' most (if not THE most) unexpected "obligatory host sketches" in recent memory. This is mainly because a) what's now commonly known as "film Twitter" is really the only place making the Netflix release of "A Marriage Story" into a big deal and b) while they're parodying something the host had one of the lead roles in, they place Kate in her role here while swapping her out in the supporting therapist role here. Also, I don't think Kellyanne Conway or her husband and their ongoing public social media spats have been in the news THIS week and it feels like SNL finally referenced this LONG after every other late night political comedy show did (y'know, BEFORE George Conway and his tweets reached their news cycle "sell by date). Still, at least this being taped allowed this to have the right, fast pace it needed to be watchable and they went the extra mile by parodying more than just the wall punching fight scene that the aforementioned "film Twitter" just made into their latest recurring meme. C+

Update was the most uneven it's been all season so far. As far as jokes, I only really liked Josts' Joe Manchin and Ches' Kamala/"rob a bank" line and his Jost/Cosby comparison (just for how Che put their real chemistry on display) at first but after the first commentary every other joke seemed to work (mostly Josts' spelling bee/IHOP and Che's Hallmark channel ones). I'm surprised they thought Bowen's Chinese trade daddy Chen Biao was more than a one off bit but I still liked and laughed at this one despite this suffering from diminishing returns and lacking the same energy as the first one. I really liked his Chinese social media "cleanse" and "CBD oil/Ainsley/pick a lane" lines. After that, it seemed like they were just checking off a list of Twitter memes that haven't been referenced on SNL yet. I'm glad we finally got to see Kyle's cut Baby Yoda from last week (although I wished they'd stuck with the green screen effect they reportedly used to pull this off then rather than this jarring green prosthetic frenzy). I wanted to like this more but Kyle just wasn't as funny as he usually is here. It reminded me of one of Kyle's old pre-SNL era YouTube characters that obviously could never make it on the show (namely, the ten year old boy who gives viewers tips on how to get laid and caused a big controversy at something called "VidCon" by presenting a list of what different candies pussy tastes like) if he had a bastard abomination love child with Sambergs' Total Recall Kuato from season 32. Thankfully, they didn't keep this going on too long. C+

Ghosts of '70s Hot Tub Drowned Strippers Past - This was another thing I wanted to like more if not for some of the little things that bugged me. First off, the green screen ghost effect was very badly botched. Cecily's face disappeared way before Ego's hand even reached it. I'm glad they fixed this in the YouTube version, though. Plus, the song itself dragged a little too much for me. I guess I did like how they worked Niall Horan into this sketch. Honestly, he seemed to be a more natural sketch performer than his former bandmate Harry Styles was and Harry's the one we just had to sit through a whole episode of. Chris and Ego pretty much made this sketch for me. Chris had the best lines and Ego entered the hot tub wearing a swimsuit. Seriously, I try to avoid writing comments like these into my reviews now, but they at least consider putting Ego and Cecily in swimsuits much more in sketches than they are currently. Oh, that reminds me, did anyone else get strong "Bless The Hearts" vibes off their Southern accents? C+

Hallmark Dating Game - Hallmark movies are definitely something that have been broken down and dissected for their tropes more than outright comedically parodied over and over before. I was about to give SNL credit for being the first ones to turn them into a game show until I realized that even this is the second time they have done that exact thing (see "What's Wrong With Tanya?" from the Anna Faris/Drake episode from October 2011). Still, I guess I should give them credit for their apparent realization that Hallmarks' Christmas movies are an entirely different genre from their regular "every other time of the year" movies and should this be treated differently. Among the highlights were Scarlett saying she lives in "stock footage of New York that still has the twin towers in it", Chris having a mental breakdown once Scarlett questions any part of his character and Mikey as Scarletts' dad reminding her that her mom exploded. The ending seemed like a jumbled, confusing, disjointed mess but I guess all Hallmark movies (Christmas or otherwise) are jumbled, confusing, disjointed messes and naturally, SNL had to reflect this in their parody. C-

I Saw Daddy Cucked By Santa Claus - I feel like this song has also been parodied and or comedically referenced before elsewhere but I enjoyed the sheer level of committment that went into this one. I liked how well the incongruity of the skeeviness of a rough Craigslist hookup between Santa and a married couple worked when pitted directly against the sheer adorableness and charm of Cecily singing (and quite well I might add) an faithfully early '60s styled novelty Christmas jingle about it and then going on a deep dive into the uncomfortable parts of her own psyche and coming to terms with herself. I also thought both Mikey and Scarletts' lines in their own voices in the middle of the song as themselves were funny. I also liked how they just happened to mention that "Santa" just happened to drive the exact make and model if a car my dad once had. B+

Heimlich Models' Night Out - This was one of the more creative premises of the night. It felt vaguely like something that had been done before somewhere in comedy on general but I can't quite put my finger on where. I didn't love it or hate it. I liked the low key vibe they were going for with this much more than I liked whatever they were going for with that hot tub sketch. The zombie like ending was the real highlight of this piece to me. C+

MAGA Mind Pug (much MUCH less inexplicably, let's face it) Also Returns - This is the third vaguely topical thing that the show did previously that I expected to remain a one off (and the second one that made sure to hit the exact same beats by the numbers as the first one while lacking the same energy) but given this seasons' penchant for placing Cecily in live sketches that heavily involve live dogs, I definitely should've seen this one coming (but at least this one had a sweeter ending than the first). Still, I appreciate them establishing continuity from the first one. I do have to say though, as far as potential political material for this week goes, I would've certainly rather taken this and "A Conway Marriage Story" over another Ivanka sketch. I'm glad they had the restraint to at least avoid that. C+

Now, for my updated rankings of the entire season so far...

1. David Harbour/Camilla Cabello
2. Chance The Rapper
3. Phoebe Waller-Bridge/Taylor Swift
4. Woody Harrelson/Billie Eilish
5. Scarlett Johansson/Niall Horan
6. Jennifer Lopez/DaBaby
7. Will Ferrell/King Princess
8. Harry Styles
9. Kristen Stewart/Coldplay

Now, time to update my rankings of each of Scarletts' previous episodes...

1. Scarlett Johansson/Death Cab For Cutie (1.14.2006)
2. Scarlet Johansson/Niall Horan (12.14.2019)
2. Scarlett Johansson/Bjork (4.21.2007)
3. Scarlett Johansson/Lorde (3.11.2017)
4. Scarlett Johansson/Wiz Khalifa (5.2.2015)
5. Scarlett Johansson/Arcade Fire (11.14.2010)

Well, that was the first episode all season that delivered beyond expectations. Next week, for the last episode of both the year AND the decade, Eddie Murphy makes his long anticipated return to Studio 8H to host the show for his third time (but his first under Lorne Michaels as the show's executive producer). I don't know what's left to say about this one except that I'm glad season 45 (and Eddie's career now if the reviews for "Dolemite Is My Name" are to be believed) are now in enough of an upward trajectory that there's a better chance for this to be the best episode of the season. Let's hope Eddie brings some of his old writers and takes some creative control when necessary while ingratiating himself with the current cast and crew. I'm just glad Scarlett could tee up the show for Eddie to potentially knock way out of the park. See you then!

Jennifer Lopez/DaBaby (12.7.2019)

Okay, here's my review. This episode was, at best, part one of a pallet cleanser between Ferrell's chaotically unfocused episode (and the two mediocre episodes that preceded it) and the sheer terrifying uncertainty of what the next two episodes hold (we've been conditioned not to expect too much from ScarJo on SNL at this point but at this point, more and more people are expecting Eddie Murphy's show to single handedly turn this season around based on what we've seen so far). Jennifer Lopez was just as capable a host as she's ever been and has become more and more likable as a celebrity (I guess she's mellowed out as she's aged, hasn't she?). It wasn't enough to totally distract us from how this show managed to achieve 1997 levels of recurring characters and concepts being packed wall to wall within a single episode, but her presence surely boosted morale around studio 8H this week and kept things entertaining. Another thing to like about this show is not a single cast member was shut out. Everyone appeared in something and the newer (female) cast members were even lucky enough to get multiple speaking parts in the show (which I guess starts to make up for not being in anything fairly recently?) Anyway, this episode left us A LOT to unpack so let's not waste anymore time and just get right to it, shall we?

NATO Cafeteria - Well, I'm proud of Chloe for getting to have the first few lines of the cold open after getting all but shut out of the last few shows. I also hope this is their way of getting their monthly Baldwin cameo out of the way in time for Eddie's big return. As far as the rest of the cameos, I have to say Fallon made the least sense. He certainly wouldn't have been my first choice to play Trudeau (I barely see any resemblance) but I suppose he was available and didn't have too much trouble with an understated Canadian accent. Rudd may not have been my first choice to play Macron either but I actually see a resemblance and he was really committed to doing a French accent. James Corden of all people is something I have very mixed feelings about. I mean, I'm not the biggest fan of him as a host, interviewer OR comedian (and I don't think I'm alone in saying this either) and I'm surprised SNL didn't think he was beneath him (and not just because he's up against Seth on another network but he just shared the stage with Fallon so I guess late night hosts gotta stick together all across the board). On the other hand, he came off surprisingly funny and likable here (although I certainly hope they're not possibly grooming him to be a future host because I could very easily take just some more cameos from him than a whole episode of him) in a role that could've just as easily gone to Beck or even Aidy (dare I say there were shades of "The Chris Farley Show" in his characterization of Boris Johnson?) and I guess when somebody like Corden with such a bizarrely inexplicable career as he's had since being bought over to the states has an equally bizarre and inexplicable upcoming movie to promote, all bets are off, huh? I don't totally get how he can do a talk show four nights a week in L.A and still be able to do movies (I guess that explains why he's always in reruns on Fridays, huh?) but I digress. I thought the rest of this sketch really meandered and belabored the point and since I don't want this portion of my own review to do the same, I'll start wrapping this up here. Alex and Kate were serviceable in this and I liked the twist with Cecily's Melania trying this back into her failed bullying campaign and getting part of whatever Peloton material they could be bothered to come up with out of the way up front. I just hope that those that are fed up with the recent overload of guest cameos in political roles didn't die of massive rage strokes and lived to give the rest of this show a fair chance. C-

Monologue - Well, I appreciated J.Los' sheer sincerity (even if it was used to disguise her blatant self promotion here) and how this monologue felt much tighter and more substantial than Ferrell's one from two weeks ago. I didn't mind the amount of sincere emotional monologues we got last season and I think at this point we could use another one. I maybe could've done without the song and dance number but then again, it was obviously her only chance to sing and dance as for the first time, she is hosting WITHOUT pulling double duty as a musical guest. Plus, having the rockette join her onstage justified her wearing a tearaway tux. Oddly, she is the second host this season after Woody to start their monologue in a tux and finish it having changed into a totally different outfit. The only thing close to an actual joke in this was Beck headsplosion (mostly for how cheaply it was pulled off). Honestly, the best thing about this monologue was how it bought some focus to this episode early on when it desperately needed some. B-

HGTV's Surprise Home Makeover: Holiday Edition - As soon as I heard the name Matt Shatt, I knew exactly what was coming. Still, I was intrigued at the possibility of more outrageous details of Mr. Shatts' home life being casually revealed (namely how his relationship with Alexandria Kennedy fell apart and what exactly drew Jacqueline to him). Instead, we got more of Kenans' patented incredulous reactions to the whole situation and Beck and Bowen attempting to analyze their relationship (they were the better parts of this, by the way). At least the sketch itself realized it had nothing new to present and ended itself pretty quickly so it wasn't as long and drawn out as the first Matt Shatt sketch (when this was at least an original sketch concept). C-

The Roadie - Well, I hope this is their way of making it up to Pete for cutting the "Chad" film he did with Sandler. I liked the slow dance and the first part of this where Chad revealed he didn't know who J.Lo and A-rod were because they were the only parts that didn't just feel like they were trying to just hit the exact same comedic beats as the previous "Chad" installments. A-rod himself was a good sport (no pun intended) to make a cameo in this. Also, is it just me or is there a certain irony or collective cognitive dissonance to the show airing this right after a Matt Shatt sketch? Sort if the same type of ironic collective cognitive dissonance behind Baldwin's portrayal of Trump on the show bearing less resemblance to Trump than Baldwin's portrayal of himself in real life and on Twitter? Two sketches in a row about guys who inexplicably managed to attract with multiple beautiful women and the second one starts a guy who has done this exact thing in real life? Think about it. C+

What Do You Suppose Is Going On In That House? - Well, I'm glad Kate and Aidy have figured out how to keep their breaking under control if we're going to keep getting these two-hander with the both of them all season. Their best moments were presenting each other with weapons during that brief moment J.Lo was offscreen. That and Beck immediately entering, pointing at J.Lo and saying "HER!" were the only laughs I got out of this. The rest of this just felt like they just put all of Wiigs' Shana sketches in a blender with ScarJos' season 40 monologue and a DVD of Disney's "Cinderella". C+

Them Trumps The Third - Well, Leslie's absence is definitely noticable but fortunately it doesn't have an adverse effect on these sketches just yet. I did like Darius Jr. being shown holding up his book. Frankly, I was hoping with the reveal that "Darius" Trump was about to speak at another one of his rallies that there would be a change in the formula of this sketch but it still managed to be a carbon copy of the previous two. I actually had to suspend my disbelief at the fact that his rabid supporters going along with everything he said until the moment when he utters the immortal phrase "even though I'm black" and the sharply turn on him. Then again, I also realize how that might have been intended as a commentary on how real life supporters (of seemingly all but mostly two different ethnicities) will blindly swallow anything the real life (white) Trump says while conveniently ignoring all the evidence disputing his statements that is staring the rest of us right in the face. I guess they touched on the one thing that Trump's real life supporters WOULDN'T be able to ignore about anyone, didn't they? I guess "Darius" Trump's slogan being MASA ("Make America Swag Again") was also a subtle (yet very biting) allusion to this concept, right? That's not a terribly original observation either but still, this may quietly be the most sharply written and executed Them Trumps sketch yet. I'm sure it will hold up much better on repeat viewings even if it plays out like a very watered down version of Dave Chappelle's infamous Clayton Bigsby sketch. C +

Update felt just as "middle of the road" as the rest of this episode. I liked Josts' Catholic Pelosi joke and Che's stereotype terriff joke as they were the jokes that felt the least telegraphed and done to death elsewhere all week. I didn't like Josts' TikTok joke as it felt too shockingly close to the exact type of thing Trevor Noah frequently does on The Daily Show now (as well as the pro-Trump meme Lords out there on Twitter and Reddit that Trump himself has retweeted surprisingly). Also, did anyone else notice that at this point there have now been two J.Lo hosted SNL episodes where men in suits make references to the XFL? Kate's Pelosi didn't do much for me but I did like parrs of her prayer. Honestly, the return of Beck as Jules might have been the funniest moment of the whole show for me. He had several great lines and provided my most genuine laughs of the whole show. The only other thing that stood out to me was Colin mentioning Kohl's in one of his jokes because I was just there earlier in the day trying to get the bulk of my Christmas shopping out of the way and I saw a couple of Josts' Izod ads with Aaron Rodgers were on full display in the menswear section. C+

Hip Hop Carolers - As soon as Kenan said "late '90s early 2000s" I thought this was going to be a Steven Castillo piece. Then, I noticed Melissa Villaseñor was nowhere to be found in it (or the entire show in general at this point) and barely anything about it was inappropriate at all. This was pleasant enough but once they got to the Bone Thugs N Harmony "Crossroads" parody it started to drag just a little but they knew exactly where to end it. I'm not sure it was totally necessary to work DaBaby into this but he helped provide this with a pretty solid ending. I also liked the "Ghetto Superstar" parody. Speaking if the music, does anyone out there know if that was a real City High song they used for their first number? I don't remember that particular group very well and thus I'm not as familiar with them as well as Bone Thugs or Mya. B-

Hoops - Well, thankfully I spoke way too soon about Melissa! I liked seeing her get placed in her own two hander with J.Lo after what feels like an eternity of underused cast members who can do impressions of certain hosts get shut out of any sketches with them (Melissa wasn't directly doing her J.Lo impression right next to the real Jenny from the block but let's face it she might as well have been). This worked for me even though it felt like an exact cross between the sectional couches ad from Louis CKs' last (and I really DO mean last here obviously) episode and the "Huge Jewlery" ad from Julia Louis Dreyfus' last episode (with a couple of Kate and Aidys' recent live commercials from the past two seasons thrown in for good measure). B-

Potty P.M. - This was honestly the strongest taped piece of the night. I liked how once the mechanics of the device were explained the stupidity of this sketch that unfolded soon after was a bit more subtle and understated than you were expecting (right when what you probably WERE expecting was some kind of groosout mishap in the same vein as Office Potty from Bill Haders' last episode). Kyle's extreme lack of knowledge of women's basic anatomy got my second genuine laughs of the night. B+

Hardware Store - This sketch was also kinda longer than it should've been but I liked Cecily and Kate's performances (even though they were going for midwestern/Minnesotan accents and unintentionally did better Canadian accents than Fallon did). J. Lo seemed expectedly out of place here but given how derivative this entire episode has been I wouldn't be surprised to find that this sketch was also originally cut from last season's dress rehearsal with Emma Stone or maybe Halsey or some other recent white female host. I'm also glad to see they threw Chloe another bone here. I liked the dummy, the bear suit and the selfie ending with Heidi. C-

Barry's Bootcamp - So, Bowen pretty much took the SoulCycle sketch from David Harbours' episode, took out the excercise bikes, placed Beck in Kate's role and Mikey in Alex's role (as he was apparently too sick to be the first one) and resubmitted it. Still, I can totally understand why the show would want this to be done with a host like J.Lo. She and everyone who played the part of a trainer had the best lines here. This almost seemed funnier than the first one. B+

Now, for my updated rankings of the entire season so far...

1. David Harbour/Camilla Cabello
2. Chance The Rapper
3. Phoebe Waller-Bridge/Taylor Swift
4. Woody Harrelson/Billie Eilish
5. Jennifer Lopez/DaBaby
6. Will Ferrell/King Princess
7. Harry Styles
8. Kristen Stewart/Coldplay

Well, that was certainly another show that delivered what it promised (but with less original material). Next week, the future Mrs. Colin Jost herself, Scarlett Johansson returns to studio 8H to host for her sixth time. What's left for me to say about her SNL performances that I haven't previously said elsewhere? After hearing about that "Disney+ vs Netflix" Family Feud sketch that got cut from Harry Styles' recent episode, I'm hoping we can at least see that next week (and it's possible we will given how big they are on allowing previously cut dress rehearsal sketches to see the light of day in some form lately) but with ScarJo as Black Widow taking the place of Harry Styles as Keanu Reeves. See you then!

Will Ferrell/King Princess

Okay, here's my review. I honestly didn't find this episode as horribly bad as most people in the internet did. The overall energy in studio 8H is way up from the previous two episodes and those plus Ferrell's episode from last season taught me to keep my expectations fairly low. The worst things I can say about it were that it was too heavy on cameos (which given the news of the week was to be expected, I suppose) and the episode overall was wildly uneven but still, the highs were much higher than they had been in previous weeks. Everyone got some airtime among all the cameos except for Pete (who was mysteriously absent) and Ego (which is sad for her but at least the she was in one of the two dress cuts that got posted online). Anyway, let's just get right to it since there is a lot to unpack here.

Trump & Sondland By The Chopper - Well, this wasn't what I was expecting. I guess THIS week's impeachment hearing wasn't as much of a slog as the previous weeks was? I was really too busy to catch much of it anyway. I'm surprised they didn't give us what they had on this week's Democratic debate right up front in the cold open. I guess THAT was boring compared to new impeachment developments? Mostly, I was just a little disappointed that they decided the week Ferrell hosted had to be one of the weeks Baldwin had to make a cameo just to play Trump (although I did like his "you have to tell me if you're a cop" line). What disappointed me even more was that they appeared to be giving us a carbon copy of the underwhelming Trump cold open that they did in last season's also just as underwhelming Don Cheadle episode but with a helicopter added in. Thankfully, they decided to cut this one short and get on with the rest of the show once they introduced Ferrell as Ambassador Sondland (not the political impression I was expecting from him, by the way). It's also cool to see they didn't break the streak of Ferrell appearing in the cold open of every episode he has hosted this far because he really breathed some much needed life into this despite how he seemed to blow his very first line. His performance kinda reminded me of his appearance as Dubya in that third Weekend Update Thursday special from '08 where he tried to get everyone to think of him when they voted for McCain. C+

Monologue - My expectations were pretty low here. Ferrell's usually just as great a host as you'd expect him to be but historically, monologues have proven to be his weak spot. To his credit though, his previous monologue from January 2018 was perhaps his strongest so far (it'll grow on ya) and I didn't find as much fault with his 2009 monologue as some SNL fans on message boards did at the time. Still, even though this can be said for literally any host at least you never know what to expect from him here (and that is pretty exciting for SNL fans to think about when Ferrell or almost any other beloved alumni hosts). One thing I actually did expect is that Ferrell wouldn't be acknowledging his new five timer status as much as previous five time hosts have in the past. I couldn't picture Ferrell being taken back to the lounge and presented with his own smoking jacket because it seems a little square and corny for him.  That's not necessarily true for other hosts but Ferrell's comedic sensibilities have always been a bit more "out there" than someone who would just want to make that cheap callback and call it a night. Hell, that opening host bumper of him was as much as I was expecting them to actually reference it. I wasn't totally crazy about what we got presented with instead but I at least wouldn't have preferred that to this. I wanted to like this monologue more just for the sheer level of commitment to such a silly dumb premise and the unexpectedness of a Ryan Reynolds cameo (compared to the short laundry list of people I totally WAS expecting to see cameo). I mean, I'm not sure what Reynolds even has to promote right now either. Still, while this was a little longer than I would have liked it to have been I did get a bit more into it once Ferrell started imitating Tracy Morgan and then the real deal himself showed up. Plus, I did like his "in da house" and Backstreet Boys references followed by his straight up admission that "the monologue is terrible". C+

Heinz Relax - This was a premise I could get behind. Even though literally no one has ketchup with their Thanksgiving dinner and this this ad could've been done at literally any other time of year besides Thanksgiving, this was executed perfectly and was kept to the perfect length for what it was. B-

MSNBC Democratic Debate - Oh, I guess they DID find this just barely interesting enough to tackle this week. That's good because it's still pretty obvious that the writers have a lot more fun writing about the Democratic primary than they did about the current administration. Still, this sketch kinda felt like it was meandering all over the place. I mean, they literally spent more time just introducing each cast member and who they are impersonating than your average Celebrity Family Feud does. I can totally see why though as I actually did watch the real Dem debate and their seemed to be only one substantial moment of substance they felt the need to address so again, they were just reduced to giving us the same basic "take" on each candidate that they did in the season premiere. Kate's Warren, Redds' Booker and Bowen's leader of the #YangGang were just kinda there (although the latter two had funny lines). Seeing Larry's Bernie again was nice but he has had better material in the past. It's a bit disappointing to realize his funniest line in a sketch was a Billy Joel "Movin' Out" reference. Seeing Woody's Biden again was also nice. They haven't changed much of their take on him, but it didn't feel like they needed to since the audience is still getting used to it. I liked the Harold and Kumar reference and the "I can win the election in 2016" line. I could've done without Fred's Bloomberg, though. I know he's a candidate and I know Fred's impression of him is fairly accurate but it's still an impression I never cared for. Colin still does a competent Mayor Pete. They obviously know he's not that short in real life but they should know that that's not a good way to jokes about his relative youth compared to the other candidates. It was actually smart of them to essentially have Cecily and Melissa switch roles. Melissa is more believable in the Rachel Maddow. The voice she uses is pretty much just her own, but the characterization of Maddow obviously came more naturally to Melissa than it ever did to Cecily. Speaking of which, I'm glad to see the show has a fairly accurate dark take on Tulsi Gabbard as "the villain". Sure, they may have gone a little easy on her but the writer's heads seemed to be in the right place on this one. They seem at least vaguely aware of how big of a right of center war hawk Tulsi is (and how wildly out of place she seems running as a Democrat given her record) and Cecily sells that much better than Melissa could've. Seeing Maya's Kamala again was nice, but they seemed to take a step backward with their take on her. It came off lame that she went from being a "smooth talking lady lawyer" to a try hard "how do you do fellow kids" one woman meme factory but I did like the "cool aunt" fake out. Honestly, Will as Tom Steyer was my most genuine laugh in this whole piece. I would've cast Beck or Kyle in the role but I guess since Delaney is still running but not pulling high enough to be in the debates this is how they have to use Ferrell. The impression wasn't dead on, but I love how well he captured the whole "deer in headlights/in way over his head" vibe that he gives off. B-

Thanksgiving, 1600s - Even though this sketch eventually acknowledged it's own inherently problematic nature (even performers as ethically ambiguous as Fred, Maya and Melissa would likely get "cancelled" for playing native American roles let alone someone as white as Ferrell) and it repeated a couple of the same heavy handed jokes a few too many times, it was nice to see the moldy old "bigoted older Male relative goes off on race related issues at Thanksgiving" trope inverted and applied to a situation where it would actually be appropriate and warranted. I also like how the ending was treated with the utmost serious as well. C-

Teen Party - I could tell exactly where this was going as soon as Mikey said "school" but I still enjoyed it for what it was. It belabored its' point a bit but I got more into it once it just became a deep dive into the psyche of Ferrell's character and Heidi showed up. For the most part, it was executed flawlessly. B-

Horny For Pizza - I heard this was cut from last week's dress rehearsal with Harry Styles. I actually listened to the SNL Standby Line podcast and it played out exactly the way they summarized it, but they made it seemed like much more of a "look at me" Kate showcase than it actually was. I do like how they worked Ferrell into this. It seemed like his part just seemed tacked on, but I just went back and listened to the last episode of the Standby Line podcast again and apparently they rewrote this sketch just a little so that Will had the emotional breakdown that Kate was supposed to have. That was a smart move. That really made this sketch for me. B+

Update was pretty uneven but was still mostly enjoyable. Jost and Che frontloaded their segment with some solid material on Nunes,  Sondland and Bloomberg (at least it was good to see them have SOME investment in the impeachment hearings this week) but some of the jokes in the back half (particularly the Julia Roberts/Harriet Tubman/Mayor Pete/Meth & Cocaine/nazi auction jokes) felt so much like they were putting a hat on a hat that they shouldn't have even been addressed on Update as the stories themselves were outlandish jokes with their own punchlines. Plus, David Spade almost did the exact same vagina museum joke on his Comedy Central show that Che closed with. I'm not sure we needed to see Guy Who Just Bought A Boat again as I don't know where else Alex can take this character (unlike his Eric Trump) but I did like his "fighting over Cs" joke and I was surprised to see just how dirty NBC can allow this show to get even at midnight eastern time. I did appreciate the assist from Ryan Reynolds and his "winter's fap" jokes, though. Even though I was expecting Ferrell, Reynolds was actually a better fit for this sketch. C+

Wizard Of Oz Alternate Ending - Even though Wizard of Oz parodies seem incredibly hack in 2019, this angle didn't seem like it was done to death. It also seemed to belabor the point much like the monologue did, but at least it didn't go on as long. Plus, it was a nice way to work in Bowen and Chloe (especially since the latter got inexplicably shut out of last week's show entirely) and it was nice to see Kenans' Reese De'What again (even though he hits literally all the same beats as this character every time he appears). C-

People For The Ethical Treatment Of Puppets - Unlike in the monologue, this was an example of how doubling down on the same one joke can actually make a sketch work. This actually did get funnier the more gravely serious it got. Ferrell going for the Vaseline really sold it (even though it almost undid the whole sketch). B+

Now, for my updated rankings of all of Ferrell's hosting stints...

1. Will Ferrell/Green Day (5.16.2009)
2. Will Ferrell/Queens Of The Stone Age (5.14.2005)
3. Will Ferrell/King Princess (11.23.2019)
4. Will Ferrell/Chris Stapleton (1.27.2018)
5. Will Ferrell/Usher (5.12.2012)

Now, for my updated rankings of the entire season so far...

1. David Harbour/Camilla Cabello
2. Chance The Rapper
3. Phoebe Waller-Bridge/Taylor Swift
4. Woody Harrelson/Billie Eilish
5. Will Ferrell/King Princess
6. Harry Styles
7. Kristen Stewart/Coldplay

Well, this was an episode that obviously hit the rest of you much harder than it did me. In two weeks J.Lo hosts for her third time, but this will be the first time she is not pulling double duty. I'm.not excited for this one, but I do know not to expect the worst. She didn't blow anyone away in the same way that other mega pop stars turned hosts like Timberlake did but she has proved her self to be a dependable host before (which is odd considering that while, yes, she was on In Living Color she was only on as a dancer and NEVER as a sketch performer). See you after Thanksgiving!

Harry Styles (11.16.19)

Okay, here's my review. The energy and quality level of this week's show were demonstrably above the previous episode with Kristen Stewart but not by a whole lot. The highs were a little higher and the general consistency level of the show was better but I still couldn't shake the feeling that something was still missing. As a host, well...Harry didn't exactly make anybody forget why he and his former bandmates were only used in one or two sketches per episode with as few speaking lines as possible. Cast airtime seemed pretty lopsided, but in a way that was almost encouraging. Chris, Ego, Mikey, Heidi and Melissa seemed the most "front and center" throughout the show while everybody else made scattered appearances throughout (except Chloe who sadly seemed shut out of the show entirely). Since we have a lot more to unpack here than I was expecting, let's just get right into it, shall we?

Days Of Our Impeachment - Well, I guess those rumors of Hader being seen walking into 30 Rock this afternoon were just that; mere rumors and nothing more.  That's actually pretty disappointing since I actually preferred his take on Jim Jordan to Mikey's who previously played the Adam Schiff role that Alex has now been placed in. Man, they're really throwing continuity out the window tonight, aren't they? At least we still got Jon Hamm. From what little of the hearings I had the free moments to keep up with, he was a decent choice to play that second guy who testified on Wednesday. Pete, Kate, Heidi, Beck and Kyle did just fine, too but I could've done without Kenans'part as it made too little sense to include the guy he was playing in this story. Also, I was wondering why Cecily was playing Ambasador Yovanovich (sp?) instead of Melissa until I saw they needed Melissa to play AOC. Hell, I wasn't even sure they'd find it appropriate enough to have anyone portray the ambassador as I saw a few comparisons between her and Dr. Ford from the Kavanaugh hearing. Still, I think this was a more fitting and prescient cold open than most people will be willing to admit. These impeachment hearings weren't exactly on the same level of national spectacle as the Kavanaugh and Cohen hearings that they show famously parodied last season. From what I saw, they were pretty dry and straight forward. No one even bothered to put their brazen, petulant ineptitude on full display, not even Jim Jordan. Even he didn't warrant a Hader cameo apparently (but maybe Mulaney not having any reason to be at 30 Rock this week either was another bigger part of it). In fact, I wasn't even sure SNL would even be able to cover it in a cold open this week but I'm sure they felt obligated to in this era where every single cold open just HAS to focus solely on politics until at least next January. So, in a way, it makes perfect sense that they would have to get themselves through this by writing up a poor man's cross between the "Palm Beach" sketch from Val Kilmers' season 26 episode and that news soap opera sketch from Tom Arnold's 1996 episode. Hell, they themselves admitted that this was "necessary" to get people's attention. Hell, I have a feeling that it was more than just the audience being full if Harry Styles stans who couldn't have given two shits about whatever parts of the show he wasn't gonna be in that led to the low-key DOA vibe of this cold open. This is actually the most open, honest and "in the moment" I've seen SNL in quite some time and for that, they've earned my respect. C+

Monologue - Okay, here the audience really perked up here compared to what preceded it. Still, Harry seemed to be just a tiny bit more into doing the show up front than Kristen Stewart was two weeks ago but at the same time he seemed a little too laid back and aloof for his own good. Still, his best lines were delivered from behind the piano. I especially liked his "Simon Cowell grew 1D in test tubes" joke and all the "secrets" he revealed about SNL. C+

White Get Out - This seems almost like it was intended as a companion piece to the local mid-day news sketch from the PWB episode. I got the same impression that Ego at least cowrote this with Tucker and Che like she did the news sketch. It got better the more the dramatic music stings were played up. Also, I get the impression that this may have been cut from at least Kirsten Stewart's dress rehearsal since Harry's role was so generically white and non descript it could've been filled by any white host (or musical guest) this season has had under the age of 30. Plus, we got the third Jordan Peele reference the show has made this year here. They either must really be trying to lure him into a future hosting stint or they must be vocally kicking themselves on missing the boat on him as a even cast member playing Obama let alone a host. B-

Joan - This was pleasantly catchy and very cute. I'm sure it wasn't intended to be a whole lot more than that. The whole Harry Animorph number felt a little telegraphed but hey, they must have seen this as giving the people what some of them were going to want this week. Mostly, I'm surprised Aidy was in this instead of Cecily. This seemed like it was writtem specifically for Cecily given that it was essentially a song about how much a woman is in love with her dog and Aidy is a happily married woman while Cecily (according to what I've been told via Twitter FM by one of the girls from the SNL Standby Line podcast) is totally single and not romantically involved with anyone. I thought maybe this actually was written for Aidy because I can't see why Cecily would turn this down until I heard Anna Drezen co-wrote this. She obviously decided to cast Aidy as her analogue as they seem like similar women. C+

Lamaze Class - This was such a very niche piece that I suspect the only two people on staff that could've written it are Anna Drezen (as we saw with Duolingo for Children she tends to wrote a lot from her own very specific personal experiences that only small handfuls of viewers can relate to) or Mikey Day (as he may be the only person actively writing and/or performing on SNL who I know for sure is a parent in real life). Still, I can appreciate what this was going for even if I wasn't directly a part of this sketchs' target audience and didn't find this laugh out loud funny. Harry seemed well within his comfort zone here (as did everyone else, but especially Harry it seems) as he played a European man. This was obviously another role that didn't require him to do another accent he might have been unfamiliar with in any way. B-

Jet Blue - This seemed like it was going to be more derivative and ine note than it was going to be. It ended up being something I could appreciate for having a series of escalations as telegraphed as they seemed. I guess this was our obligatory live dog appearance of the night? I guess one live and one taped dog appearance is the equivalent of one full on loose animal free for all? I'm surprised Kate had what was obviously supposed to be Cecily's part. Ego held her own next to everyone pretty well here. C-

That's The Game - This was something I could appreciate just for the sheer foolhardiness of it. The increasingly ludicrous incompetence of Chris's character was very funny. Kenan and Mikey played off him well. My only real criticism of this piece was just how useless and miscast Harry felt in a role that Pete could've easily replaced him in and no one would be any the wiser. B+

Update was pretty inconsistent tonight. Jost started out with some decent commentary on the impeachment hearings but they started running out of steam once Che flat out admitted he didn't watch them. Still, he managed to make up for that with the Jost/Stephen Miller comparison. By the way, someone may want to check on Dennis Perrin tomorrow just make sure he doesn't die from a massive rage stroke if he sees this week's Update since comparing Jost & Che to Hitler and Nixon were totally his original moves. I guess this is either just a coincidence or confirmation that Che and/or Jost sometimes reads Perrins' tweets. I didn't think they would ever have a valid reason to bring back Kate's Jeff Sessions again, but I guess his Alabana senate run keeps him in the news for another week. It was mostly Kate hitting the same standard old beats but her variations on the "deep fried dumb Southerner" out downs and "apple cores" line made me chuckle. For some reason, I also liked the way she chose to wear that MAGA hat sideways. Kyle's dairy diary representative was genuinely the funniest part of the entire show. Seriously, he bought me my first genuine laughs of the night. Nice tribute to Rick Ludwin at the very end, too. C+

Sara Lee Instagram - This was a close second for funniest live segment of the night. The sheer shameless raw inappropriateness of the material paired with Harry, Cecily and Bowen's characters' very real shame in having to reveal it in a professional setting made me giggle. This definitely seemed like the exact type of "hontent" most if not all of Harrys' stans were crying out for. It seemed just like Bowen and Julio got together and set out to write this almost specifically for all of them (since they're both pretty prominently featured in this). Speaking of Cecily, I wonder why all of her sketches were buried in the back half of the show? When she, Kate and Aidy introduced Harry's first song I first realized what a light night this was for her. She wasn't even in anything with a dig in it which indicated to me that something may have been seriously wrong this week. On an unrelated note, am I the only one who noticed that this is the only sketch in the entire show where they bothered to have Harry affect an American accent? He didn't struggle with it or anything. B-

"Baby" Faye - Well, the thing I liked most about this were Beck, Harry and Mikey's various padded "introductions" to Cecily's character, Cecily's whole performance in general, Harry's "Joel Hodgson imitating a 1940s newspaper boy in the old 'Hired: The Musical' sketch from MST3K" voice, and the fact that we were just thrown into this premise with as little explanation as possible. The heavily conceptual/premise based nature, rapid fire pace and old timey 42nd street nature of this sketch gave me a  it of a Mr. Show-lite vibe, like someone on the current staff was trying to emulate Bob Odenkriks or Paul F. Tompkins' old writing style. I could've done without Aidys' part but I guess something had to tie this all together. C+

Funeral DJs - This is tied with Kyle's Update feature for funniest live segment of the night. It felt like the type of sketch premise we've seen before both on and off SNL for the past several years. The simple contrast of loud EDM at a funeral paired with Beck, Aidy and Alex's expertly outraged reactions worked well for me. Melissa's part felt telegraphed and I'm sure we could've done without Pete here but everything else I liked. The fact that they parodied LMFAO so obviously says to me that this must've been someone's white whale passion project that had been getting cut from several year's worth of dress rehearsals. B+

Now, for my updated rankings for this season so far...

1. David Harbour/Camilla Cabello
2. Chance The Rapper
3. Woody Harrelson/Billie Eilish
4. Phoebe Waller-Bridge/Taylor Swift
5. Harry Styles
6. Kristen Stewart/Coldplay

Well, that was a show that managed to at once meet and fall well below my already lowered expectations. Next week, Will Ferrell officially joins the five timers' club. While I'm definitely looking forward to this the most out of all the November shows since it was announced, I find it a little harder to get as excited for this as I was for his previous two hosting stints in 2012 and 2018. This is mostly because those two are so far apart compared to this one so considering Ferrell last hosted less than two full years ago, it feels a little soon too soon to be bringing him back. Plus, those last two episodes were so disappointing for a number of reasons compared to his first two in '05 and '09 that I've already been reconditioned to tamper my expectations for this one given how this season's been going in general so far. Still, it's Will Ferrell. He pretty much has an endless supply of goodwill with the show and should at least keep people's spirits up right before they all leave for Thanksgiving so at least the overall energy level in 8H will be much higher. See you then!

Kristen Stewart/Coldplay (11.2.2019)

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!

Chance The Rapper (10.26.2019)

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.

David Harbour/Camila Cabello (10.12.19)

Okay, here's my review. As wildly uneven as this episode was, it's still the strongest one of the season by default because the highs were much higher than the previous two episodes. David Harbour proved himself to be a consummate professional who fit right in to the host role perfectly. The cast members who were either largely absent or still struggling to find their place on the show were featured almost enough to make up for it tonight (aside from Chloe who is sadly still getting washed off the screen as soon as she starts to feel visible). Ego was certainly used the most tonight during her entire SNL tenure so far but until the last third of the show I thought this was going to be a very light night for Cecily. Pete understandably made only two appearances all night and less understandably, so did Kenan. Other than that, cast airtime felt as balanced as it's been all season. Anyway, let's unpack this whole thing, shall we?

CNN Equality Town Hall - I wanted to like this cold open more than I did, but there just wasn't enough there. I guess they had to do it because the CNN LGBTQ town hall took place THIS week and the next actual Democratic Debate will be taking place NEXT week when the cast and crew will be taking off. At least this was still preferable to another Trump/Pence/Barr/Gullianni centric impeachment themed cold open. I'm not sure that the Billy Porter cameo was that necessary (or even appropriate) but at least he added some much needed energy. Redds' Cory Booker and Alex's Anderson Cooper are always solid. Nice to see they're sticking with Colin as Mayor Pete. It works, but they still seem to be struggling to come up with a take on him. I think they might be spreading Kate's Warren a bit thin but at the same time I'm glad they found a way to parody her already funny moment from the real debate in a way that didn't feel like gratuitous piling on. Nice to see Lin Manuel could be called down to 30 Rock in an attempt to shut up the detractors who complained that Julian Castro wasn't represented in the first debate sketch from the season premiere. Sadly, the only moment that stood out to me during his part was Melissa's brief look of barely concealed disappointment that she lost this part to Lin Manuel right before she asked her question (although I could be wrong and it may seem a little mean for me to say that, it's just what I was thinking). Good to see they're sticking with Woody as Biden this election cycle because it's been working. Having him REALLY pander to gays seemed a little off somehow though. Weird to see Bowen as an audience member in this but I guess Andrew Yang wasn't a part of this real event? I probably would've liked this a lot better had Larry been able to show up as Bernie. Wasn't the real Bernie at this thing anyway? C-

Monologue - This got the show off to a much better start. Even though, you could tell exactly where this was going after the first minute, that didn't necessarily spoil it for me. Harbour immediately proved he was going to be funny with his jokes about his Stranger Things castmates and mentioning his role as Hellboy after mentioning his classical training. I do wish they'd done more with the whole "cast gets trapped in the upside-down" concept but I liked the gag with Kenan having Lornes' job and Lorne being his intern. Also, as much as I kinda wish we'd be getting a slightly longer break from Pete I do appreciate how the show just let us know that this was the week he'd be returning (and that he'd be returning so abruptly that this was one of only two pieces in the live show they'd be able to place him in). B-

Little Miss Teacher's Friend Pageant - Okay, this had to have been written by whoever wrote the nephew pageant sketch from Kit Harringtons' episode last season. This was a very similar (yet slightly more abstract) concept. Harbour and Aidy were great at being the glue of this sketch. Kate's "epic tattle" story and Harbours' interactions with Bowen made me laugh. This was also a great way for the show to utilize the underused female cast members (especially Ego and Chloe). B+

Grouch - This was another one of those pop culture parodies where they took a very simple concept and ran with it executing it as expertly as they possibly could've. I'm even more impressed to learn that this was something Harbour himself pitched. This is likely the most successful host pitch in SNL history. Seeing Harbours' slow burn transformation and the rest of the cast as live action versions of Muppets were great. I especially liked Kenans' Snuffy the pimp, Heidis' Big Bird, Melissa's Elmo and Alex and Mikey as Bert and Ernie (Alex might have drawn from that Melissa impression he did with Mikey and Cecily that Melissa posted on Instagram). A-

SoulCycle Auditions - This was very fun and enjoyable sketch that helped keep up the energy the show had established since the monologue. It was also a great showcase for Ego and Bowen but Harbour clearly ran away with it. Alex, Heidi, Cecily and Kate were great supporting players in this. Since Bowen was prominently featured in this, I'm guessing there's a pretty good chance that he at least co-wrote it with some of the show's current crop of millennial female writers (Anna Drezen, Sudi Green, Fran Gillespie etc.) It does really seem like it's in at least one of their voices. B+

Update was pretty much the exact point in this episode when things started to get pretty uneven. Che had a strong night but it doesn't speak well for Josts' contributions to the show when his funniest Update jokes were a Trump slideshow set to the music of Thin Lizzy and him calling himself out on how bad he thought his own Mayor Pete impression was. Personally, I didn't think the impression was that bad. I mean, Jost looks the most like Pete Buttigieg out of the current male cast but he barely tries to sound like him so the best thing I can say about it is that I can still see what they are going for. The entire short form portion of Update completely fell flat for me except for Josts papal celibacy joke and Ches' sex doll joke. Heidi's latest Bailey Gismert commentary was pretty indistinguishable from all her previous ones. The only part of Pete's latest commentary that I actually liked were his and Josts' attempts at fourth wall breaking with the audience. The rest of it seemed so unfocused and meandering that it really made it obvious just how late in the week Pete made it back to Studio 8H. C-

Folk Of The Past - This felt like the most aimless sketch of the night. Alex was funny as the cloying host but the song seemed to go nowhere. There were some funny lyrics here and there but they were too few and far in between. C-

Father-Son Podcast Microphone - This is another piece I wanted to like a bit more but I really wasn't sure what it was going for. I guess the main joke here was that podcasts in general are such a white Male dominated field that they're now the only way said white men can genuinely communicate with each other (thank you very much, Marc Maron). Still, there were some pretty solid acting moments between David and Kyle here. C+

Grandparents - This sketch had a very 90s feel to me. Specifically, it was very reminiscent of when Steve Martin played Grandma Pugga in '91 as well as those Kirstie Alley Italian restaurant sketches, that sketch where Dana Carvey and Linda Hamilton played a couple, that dinner sketch with Danny Aiello, that sketch from when Gullianni hosted and he played Cheri Oteris' grandmother in drag and those Zimmerman sketches with Oteri and Kattan. Other than that, it just seemed like a gender swapped Morning Joe sketch but if they were non-famous old world Italian grandparents mixed with every "Last Call" sketch Kate has done. That's all I really care to say about this sketch. It just seemed like an excuse for Kate and David to act very inappropriately broad and for Kyle, Cecily and Melissa to react accordingly. I did like David's performance but he didn't need to prove to us that he would be a strong and fearless host anymore by this point in the show. D+

Dog Court - Well, given her well documented love of animals in general (but especially dogs) it's pretty obvious that Cecily cowrote this with either Anderson/Sublette or whoever wrote that Judge Court sketch from Emma Thompsons' episode (which she wasn't even in) and aside from Cecily's pug near the end the dogs were surprisingly well behaved here. The intro from Cecily and the brief cutaway reactions from the dog jury were the real highlights to me (especially the Tim Allen grunt after the reveal of Kate's stretched out shirt). Also, does anyone remember that Chris Farley documentary where David Spade talked about the week that Farley tried to write that "puppy lawyer" sketch that bombed at the table read? This sketch reminded me a lot of that but in a good way because I was glad to see something at least with a similar enough concept to that actually can make it to air 27 years later to honor his spirit. Also, I have this theory that this sketch the real reason this sketch got on is because this may very well turn out to at least be Cecily's last season and people at the show happen to know it already and those same people also knew that this may have been a sketch concept she had been wanting to get on the show all these years but she just couldn't get it off the ground (sort of similar to how Jason Sudekis only got to do Maine Justice in his last season in the cast). B-

Now, for my updated rankings for this entire season so far...

1. David Harbour/Camilla Cabello
2. Woody Harrelson/Billie Eilish
3. Phoebe Waller-Bridge/Taylor Swift

Well, this was a bit of a shot in the arm for this season. In two weeks, Chance The Rapper returns for his second time as host, third time as musical guest but his first time pulling double duty on SNL. It feels a little soon and it almost seems to go against the vibe of "variety in hosts" this season has been establishing so far but I honestly don't mind seeing him again as his first hosting stint two years ago was such a strong episode. See you then!