Rami Malek/Young Thug (10.16.2021)

Okay, here's my review. Despite being a little uneven, this turned out to be the strongest show of the season so far. Still, that's less "by default" and more due to the strong performances put on by Rami and the cast. Malek did thankfully contribute to this episode's high energy more than I expected him to and managed to blend in with the cast just well enough that you didn't forget he was making his hosting debut tonight. Speaking of, they continued to find a way to work absolutely everyone into the show (aside from the still out-of-the-country Kate). Let's get right into it, shall we?

NFL Press Conference - Well, I do like that they are continuing to make some more "out-of-left-field" choices when it comes to cold opens lately. I also like that they gave even Redd, Dusmukes and a heavily prostheticized JAJ a chance to shine. Alex and Pete definitely had the best material here and Kenan especially elevated what he was given. Casting Jost as Roger Goddell was a clever move. Heidi and Kyle's part I could’ve done without. B+

Monologue - Anyone else get strong Peter Saarsgaard mixed with James Franco and John Malkovich vibes here? Given how Pete's impression of Rami on this show seemed focused on his low key sinister intensity, I guess this is the monologue I should've expected instead of Pete coming on stage so they can point out how much they look alike. Kudos to Rami for making the most out of what he was given here too. B+

Bug Assembly - Hmm...I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that Bowen and Anna Drezen co-wrote this (or that this is the sketch that Sudi and Fran supposedly came back to write)? Honestly, I don't know what else I could’ve possibly taken away from this. Bowen anchored this just fine and Rami played well off him but I was a little disappointed seeing him run away with this after Dismukes and Sarah seemed to have such prominent parts upfront. Honestly, the funniest part of this for me was seeing everyone just play off the moment one of Bowens Daddy Long "legs" just fell of completely. I guess this is just another one of those modern SNL pieces that's best appreciated through the lens of "camp" and this will always be partially lost on me.. C+

Squid Game - Well, they certainly Trojan Horse'd this one on us, huh? This turned out quite funny for me. I'm sure certain SNL podcasters out there whose Discord server I just happily posted a link to this review on who would have a problem with this piece. This certain podcaster (who shall remain anonymous) would probably see this piece as SNL simply acknowledging a piece of hot current pop culture without really having anything to say about it but...as someone who has simply heard about Squid Game and not actually gotten around to seeing it yet...I found this quite funny. I especially liked the ending where Pete won and blew all his winnings betting on the NY Jets (I especially liked them having the Broncos being the team that beat them 28-3) but the funniest part to me was probably something they didn't intend. It was revealed on the latest SNL Hot Takes podcast that aired immediately after this episode did (by the way, if that certain other podcaster I mentioned earlier is reading this...you crushed it on that one, bro...and also watch out for me on the upcoming SNL Patron Feedback episode on the 28th) that the unnamed fat bearded guy with long hair who had a line in the song about breaking his cookie and thus being eliminated was NOT one of the new writers as I had suspected but was actually a real life country trap artist (hey, at least Pete found a new genre to move on to now) who goes by the name "Big Wet". That was truly the funniest thing to come out of this pretape for me. C+

Prince Auditions - I definitely have to say this seemed like a paper thin premise at first but everyone (especially a gleeful Kenan) kicking down the fourth wall really sold this for me. I really could’ve done without the Daniel Craig cameo though (not just because it felt like putting a hat on a hat and it made the sketch too long but because he obviously threw the timing of this sketch completely off. C+

Celebrity School - First impression parade of the season, huh? Man, it feels like an eternity since we've done one of these, so let's just run down the list real quick. Top prize definitely goes to James Austin Johnson for nailing that Adam Driver impression. It really helps that Driver is the first celeb JAJ played that he already naturally looks like without much makeup beyond fake facial hair. Melissa comes in a close second with her Wiig. She really showed us what got her hired five years ago. Meanwhile, her airtime bring so sporadic over those five years still sadly remains a mystery. Mikey does a solid John Oliver (almost over does it, really) but I'm still left wondering why Kyle couldn't at least attempt a John Oliver. Chloes' Jennifer Coolidge came out sounding more like Abby Eliotts' Anna Faris to me (or maybe that's a side effect of having seen quite a few Jennifer Coolidge impressions recently since it seems like every chick wants do their own Jennifer Collins impression out there on their social media since Ariaja Grande did hers on Fallon a few years ago) but she still managed to make it work for this sketch. Bowens' George Takei was exactly what I expected it to be and Redds' Lil Wayne was pretty much exactly what it was four years ago when we first saw it. Pete still does Ramis' voice well but Rami overshot Pete's voice (and Pete's overall energy) badly enough it actually made me see less of a resemblance between him and Pete. I mean, it was already obvious to me that Rami and Pete looking like each other wouldn't be enough to write a whole sketch around but this really should've bought it home for everyone. C-

Update was pretty strong. Jost opened with a couple of strong jokes about the climate bill, bats carrying things and Che's emails to him while Che continues to take all possible opportunities to push the envelope. Bowen and Che's commentaries worked for me just for the sheer conceptual absurdity of them Kenan and Mikey seemed like quite an odd pairing for an Update commentary but thankfully only they could make that material work. B+

Sleepy Town USA - Well, everyone really sold this (especially Bowen for some reason) but I was especially impressed with Aidys' performance. She's been criticized a bit for staying on needlessly but she really showed she can turn in a strong performance when paired with the right performer (namely just about anyone besides Kate or Cecily). If she is actually leaving this year (which given some of the rumors I've heard seems more and more likely) than hopefully she can keep this momentum going enough and do try enough different things to have as strong a season as Pete did last year. B+

Angelo - Kudos to Aristotle on finally getting his debut sketch three episodes into the season. Unfortunately, he underplayed it too much for my tastes. I'm still trying to get a handle on Aristotle Athari and what he brings to the show and this sketch didn't exactly give me any clues aside from possibly being the cast member who certainly nails "this sketch is based very closely on a real thing I once saw in my life" type material. At this point, the only other way I can really process this sketch is as sort of a self aware meta commentary on the show itself since most SNL fans I interact with say that they tune out most modern sketches that involve Cecily and singing to the point that they sound like total gibberish. This bring Aristotles' first sketch makes me think that was not what they had in mind when they wrote it, but still. D+

Now, time for me to start ranking this season more or less for real. Best to worst, here we go...

1. Rami Malek/Young Thug (10.16.2021)
2. Owen Wilson/Kacey Musgraves (10.2.2021)
3. Kim Kardashian-West/Halsey (10.9.2021)

Well, that was almost the exact show I was expecting. Next week, Jason Sudeikis makes his long awaited return to host. Personally, I'm just happy to see him on the show again. I really don't care about him parading out any old recurring bits of his (although I wouldn't mind if he bought Forte along for some Jon Bovi or some ESPN Classic) I just want to see how he interacts with this cast (and hopefully give us a more consistent show than this one). See you then!