Keiran Culkin/Ed Sheeran (11.6.2021)

Okay, here's my review. Any way you look at it, this was a much stronger episode than I was expecting. Keiran Culkin proved to be such a strong host that you might have had a hard time believing (no matter how reliable an Inside source you may have on this) that the show hastily made a lot of last second changes to its rundown because they didn't have the utmost faith in Keiran as a host. Well, whatever reservations he may have had throughout the week, he obviously got over them pretty quickly. I would put this episode at about the same level as the Rami Malek episode because the highs seemed a little higher and this one made up for what that one lacked in writing and pacing. Kate is still gone for now but everyone who remained (except for Aristotle who is the subject of a rather jarring rumor right now that I hope isn't true) got a fair amount of airtime tonight. Anyway, this show was pretty straightforward so let's just get right to it.

Justice w/Judge Jeanine - Well, it's nice to see Cecilys' Pirro works just as well (if not better) than anchoring a parody of Pirros' actual FOX News show as she does on Update with Colin. Pete as Aaron Rodgers is something that works better on paper or in one's imagination than it does when you see it but he did just fine with the material he was given. Alex was allright, he may have seemed like the weak link here but he set up Heidis' character (my first real laughs in this, shades of Cheri Oteri there?) and played off JAJ real well. Speaking of which, as much as it feels oddly stuck out of time James Austin Johnsons' Trump impression finally making it on air (I'm honestly surprised it only took them a month to find a way to work this into the show to be honest) was still a pleasant surprise nonetheless. He really nailed both the voice and the energy of modern Trumps' rambling pointless rally speeches better than anyone who came before him (especially Baldwin even when he was starting out before Trump actually got elected). Honestly, the only Trump impressionist I can fairly compare JAJ to would be Anthony Atamanuik. JAJs' Trump is a strong enough impression to make me wonder where the hell he was five years ago (y'know...when SNL REALLY needed him) and why he and this show weren't actively seeking each other out. Among other things, JAJs' Trump also makes me wonder if SNLs' political writing during the Trump presidency would've done justice to JAJs' impression (Chris Kelly & Sarah Schneider I could see having some fun with him, but Jost & Che maybe not so much) as well as what SNL plans to do if somehow the real Trump does launch another run for the presidency in 2024. I do know that they've done a partially pretaped debate sketch in 1992 (when Dana Carvey had to play both Bush Sr. live and Ross Perot on tape) but maybe it would work better if they actually DID try to keep Alex Moffat on until season 50 so he could play Biden opposite JAJs' Trump in a 100% live debate sketch. B+

Monologue - Keiran showed very faint early signs of nerves here that he quickly got over. Nice to see the "solo monologue streak" continues this season. It's also nice to see Keiran somewhat subvert our expectations of said monologue a bit by showing a clip of the goodnights of his brothers' show rather than a clip of the Lil Richmeister/Da Bears Thanksgiving/Medieval Scalders sketches we were all expecting and NOT just bringing out Macaulay for a cameo either. I mean, I certainly wouldn't have minded a MacCauley cameo but again, it's always nice when the show doesn't always just do EVERYTHING we expect based on who the host is. B+

Spectrum Call Back - I love how Andrew Dismukes pretty much walked away with this with only one line. Bowen was a great addition too. Nice to see the show remembers that Melissa and Sarah are still in the cast from time to time. Everyone else kinda washed over me (no fault of their own, just the very rapid fire pacing of this sketch). If I had to venture an early guess as to who wrote this, I'd have to say this just SCREAMS "Please Don't Destroy" (the pacing, numerous different characters, a banal callback twist on top of a surreal twist at the end, the slight need for some cuts). C+

The Heist - This seemed like an inferior retread of "That's The Game" from two seasons ago with Harry Styles. Chris Kenan and Mikeys' performances were honestly the best thing about this for me. I didn't really care much for the ending. C-

Dionne Warwick Talk Show III - I'm not always the most hyped for this sort of thing but I have to say the real Dionnes' cameo pretty much saved this from being the weakest of the three of these for me. Chloes' Miley was all right (not sure yet if I'd say I like it better than Vanessa's but considering these two sketches used the same set I'd say it's a nice moment of this sketch coming full circle) but Jason Mraz was a real random choice for an impression for Keiran that (along with Petes' Malone and Andrews' spurned vaccinator) didn't do much for me. Ed Sheeran certainly was...there.. After him and Nick Jonas, I'm starting to hope they end the Dionne Warwick Talk Show here just for the sake of not having to see that weeks male pop singer host/musical guest just lazily rolled out into one of these just as themselves. B-

Men's Room - This may have been my favorite live sketch of the night. Chris really carried this early on (based on his bit from the cold open of last seasons' finale, I'm guessing he cowrote this?) and the assists from Bowen, Keiran, Andrew and (especially) Alex and (out of nowhere?) Tracy certainly helped. The ending seemed a little odd and rushed for time to me though (did everyone just decide they were gonna step on Alexs' closing line there?) A-

The Jockey - Just when I thought the pretapes as a whole were going to be the weakest part of this episode, this wonderful piece of '90s flavored, green screen fueled ska absurdity comes along! I loved the sheer level of commitment to a premise that seems to cartoonist both visually and conceptually. Plus, Keiran showed he had enough confidence in his (taped, at lesst) sketch comedy ability to sing which is something he's not known for. B+

Update was a little uneven in terms of jokes. Jost & Che got off to a bit of a slow start but I did genuinely like their Jersey/Durr, Virginia Lt. Gov/Trump Tomahawk Chop jokes. Kenans' Ice Cube is always fun and although some of the fake movie titles made me laugh, dragging and dropping Kenans' Ice Cube into his Lavar Ball template (anyone still remember that guy?) isn't the best use of this impression. Cecilys' "Goober The Clown Who Has An Abortion Just Before Her 23rd Birthday" was something that it took me a minute to get an accurate read on. At first, it seemed like something that would've been firmly in Sarah's wheelhouse until Colin addressed her as "Cecily" early on and then I realized this was WAY more in Kate's wheelhouse (she's the cast member I most associate with the recent SNL trope of what I like to call "fourth wall breakdowns" where cast members wrap their true life confessionals or just general real world anxiety in a goofy character or costume and then just stop and address the audience and their scene partners as "themselves" but...weknowdis). Anyway, I do know Cecily has been going through some rough personal developments in her life while doing this show, Schmigadoon and other projects these past few years (she even wrote a book about some of them) so for her sake I'm actually pretty relieved to see her finally work through some of her deep personal issues on the show. Also, did anyone else think that she and Chloe might have been having a bit of an emotional moment over this at the goodnights? B+

Wake Up, Rhode Island - Thankfully, this turned out to be something much more ominous and chaotic than either of the two sketch templates I was expecting when I saw a local morning news sketch being set up. Keiran and Punkie turned in solid performances here. Too bad this couldn't realistically escalate any further though. B-

Please Don't Destroy - Wow, even as a setup for a turn I usually never expect any dramatic acting from these guys but this turned out pretty funny. I'm more sold on them continuing these types of short films on the show after this one than I was after the Selzer short. Good to see them work Sarah into this one, too! B+

Now, for my updated rankings of this season...

1. Jason Sudeikis/Brandi Carlile (10.23.2021)
2. Keiran Culkin/Ed Sheeran (11.6.2021)
3. Rami Malek/Young Thug (10.17.2021)
4. Owen Wilson/Kacey Musgraves (10.2.2021)
5. Kim Kardashian-West/Halsey (10.9.2021)

Well, that was certainly another fun show! Next week, Jonathan Majors makes his hosting debut. Since he is another in a string of hosts who I've seen very little of acting-wise (I understand he's been in Marvel's Eternals and HBOs' Lovecraft Country) I'll be going into this with the same lack of real host expectations that I did for this and Ramis' episode and just hoping that the surprises will be pleasant ones. See you then!