Okay, here's my review. This episode wasn't exactly an easy one for me to get excited about because I remembered how disappointing Daniel Craig's first show in October 2012 was. Daniel gave it his all both now and then and, despite being a tad uneven in small spots this episode turned out much better. I guess Daniel had weaker writing last time or they were all just a bit overworked from doing another early start heavily frontloaded election season where they had to write the regular show and the Weekend Update Thursday specials simultaneously. Also, John Mulaney hosted an alarmingly run of the mill show last week compared to the two previous episodes he hosted in the recent past which both felt unique for this era so at least with expectations being much lower first this show we weren't being near deliberately set up for crushing disappointment (much like how J.Lo's episode was followed up by ScarJo and then Eddie). It's nice to see they're steadily giving Chloe and Ego more parts. As far as the rest of the cast, airtime seemed pretty evenly distributed but Pete was invisible once again and I legitimately can't wait to find out what his excuse for missing THIS show was. Anyway, let's break it down.
Ingraham Angle - Well, after all the cameo loaded debate cold opens they've done recently I was pleasantly surprised that they were thinking a little outside of the box this week. Then, I realized how underwhelming this specific cold open template was the two times they did it last season. They started out hitting pretty much all the same beats as those ones with Pirro and the fake sponsors (which I did like along with the list of things to worry about) and I did like the gag with Eric Trumps' fever (the Trump bros are best used sparingly at this point). I'd have to say the highlight of this sketch for me was Darrell Hammonds' return as Chris Matthews doing some of the most pointed criticism of Matthews they've ever done. I also appreciate that they bought Darrell back for an impression that's a little outside the usual trifecta of "greatest hits" he's been known for (Clinton, Connery, Trump) and surprisingly none of the new knowledge I have about Chris Matthews has made this impression any less funny to me now than it was 15-20 years ago. As for Senator Warren, at least I can say I genuinely didn't see this one coming (even though I definitely should've given how Kate appeared in a sketch alongside Hillary Clinton during the same election cycle where she played her). Still, Warren being there just felt like a throwback to a previous era when active (or recently active) politicians and presidential candidates making cameos on the show (or even commenting on the shows' representations of them) was seen as fun and safe and not at all damaging to our democracy or political discourse. Perhaps I'm wrong and reading a bit too much into this but that's the only reason I can think of that Bernie was among the last three presidential candidates to appear on the show (not too recently obviously, I mean the last time he ran in early 2016). I will say I appreciate seeing her on the show at the exact point when she has nothing to lose even though none of the material they gave her really stood out to me. It's also good to see Kate is still the queen of the cold open quick change even if we didn't really need to see her in dual roles here.
Monologue - I'm glad they decided to insert a pretape in the middle of this monologue more for the format breaking than for the fact that the live portions of the monologue didn't quite work for me. Plus, I was a little disappointed that the PWB mention wasn't just a call for Melissa do come on stage and do her impression of her. Gradually turning James Bond into a trashy, Vegas tourist type of gambler seemed like such a simple premise I was surprised I hadn't remembered seeing it on SNL or anywhere else previously (although this did remind me a bit of the James Bond sketch they did in 2008 when Tim McGraw hosted). They pulled this off well and I did appreciate the twist at the end, too. B-
The Sands Of Modesto - This also felt like it was plugged into a template for a specific type of sketch the show has done before but updated for a current health scare. Still, it felt a little labored and telegraphed but I did like the prop heavy romance scenes between Kate and Daniel. Cecily's sneeze was a little predictable but it was the perfect note to end this sketch in terms of length. C+
On The Couch - This felt like the simplest of premises, but the only thing the show had done before that was reminiscent of this was "Jizz In My Pants" and possibly the inverse of "Slow" from Adam Drivers episode. The Weeknd really added to this sketch and I'm glad they used him in a sketch outside of Update. The sketch really picked up once he got the increasingly instant quick jumps to the couch going. Plus, this was another rare moment where the show actually made some use of Melissa's singing skills. B+
The Deirdre Show - I'm glad they keep giving Ego her own showcases. This was all right, but it took a little long to get going for me. Fortunately, that's my only real complaint about it because Ego really saved it with some assists from Kenan and Heidi. Craig really held his own here and there were some shades of the absurdist hyperfocused Comedy Bang! Bang! style of humor from Ego's pre-SNL background. B-
Debbie Downer - I feel like I should've been one of the people expecting this given how frequently Rachel Dratch has been making cameos this season (in fact I do have to wonder if this was deliberately kept in the live rundown to make up for a possible Amy Klobuchar sketch being scrapped at the last minute) but this actually caught my by a pleasant surprise. I was never crazy about this flagship character of hers but I guess it just suddenly grew on me here since her performance here is stronger than I remember. Sure, it also seemed to hit on all the same beats that the previous ones did but the "removed for trespassing" and Trump jokes really made this for me. B-
Update was serviceable but not much to write home about. Josts' only jokes that stood out to me were the Biden/Michigan/brain disease ones. I also liked the brief callback to Ches' "drinking problem" from last week but I didn't like how he didn't commit to it as much. After reading about how Bowens' "Bottle Boi" got cut from dress last week, I'm glad to see this got on because it seems like quite a departure for him. He was pretty funny and again, I liked his commitment, but I couldn't get past how this character seemed like a direct cross between Tracy Morgan's "Woodrow", Kenan Thompsons' "Willie" and Beck Bennett's "Bayou Benny" with a little dash of Bowen Yang's "Chen Biao" sprinkled in for good measure. I'm not totally sure we needed to see "TheWeeknd Update" once more but I appreciate the commitment to the continuity there. Normally, I could go either way on Cecily's party girl but it's been a good long while since we've seen her and this may start providing me some closure on this possibly being Cecily's farewell season. The Joaquin Phoenix joke, Colin sunglasses and illness reveals were the only things that stood out to me. C+
Southern Accent Coach - I wanted to like this sketch more but it didn't quite seem to know what it wanted to be. At times it seemed too subtle when it called for absolutely zero subtlety and there was just too much buildup to whatever little payoff there was. I do appreciate Beck and Daniel really giving it their all and that they chose to end this with completely unexpected vomit tubes. C+
Movie Quotes - Good to see that Heidi was finally able to get this on the air the third time she submitted it. I'm also glad to see that Heidi's character was a lot more low-key than I was picturing based on the dress description I read. Other than that, it's basically exactly what I was expecting so even though I feel like I can barely judge this fairly I'll say everyone played well off of each other. B-
Overnight Salad - I did like this just for the sheer absurdity of it that made it feel far outside of the realm of what SNL would even attempt now. I also liked how it felt like the closest thing this era could've had to a "blackout" sketch that they would do in the first season. This got in, got it's fairly obvious joke out there and got right out. B-
Now, for my updated rankings of this 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. Adam Driver/Halsey
8. Daniel Craig/The Weeknd
9. John Mulaney/David Byrne
10. RuPaul/Justin Bieber
11. J.J. Watt/Luke Combs
12. Jennifer Lopez/DaBaby
13. Will Ferrell/King Princess
14. Harry Styles
15. Kristen Stewart/Coldplay
Well, that episode delivered better than I expected given that I barely expected anything. At the end of the month, John Krasinski makes his hosting debut. It's nice that we're getting a first time host who feels like a natural fit for the show. Plus, it's good for him to finally get this in before he fully completed his ongoing transition from low key funny man to high key action hero and people's general perception of him fully changes. I mean, it would've been nice if he'd done the show when he was still on The Office but at least we're getting this now. See you in a few weeks!
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