Woody Harrelson/Jack White (02.25.2023)

Okay, here's my review. I went in expecting an episode more like Woodys' 2014 one and sadly what I got ended up resembling his 2019 episode but more focused yet still uneven and less cameo dependent. This episode was fine. It will probably be one of the weaker episodes of the second half of season 48 but it just felt like it was too front loaded with its' weaker material up top. I didn't mind that the show was pretty much dominated by Ego, Chloe, Kenan and Mikey but a little more Sarah, Molly, Marcello and Longfellow wouldn't have hurt either. Anyway, I'll just get right to it since I didn't have much to say about this episode anyway.

Trump Visits Palestine, Ohio - Well, that was...certainly questionable. This is definitely my least favorite use of JAJs' Trump so far. Still, I'd take this over literally any Baldwin Trump cold open any day. I appreciate that they threw in Chloe as someone for JAJ to play off of but she didn't do anything for me here either. C-

Monologue - Hmm...I'm not quite sure what to make of this either. I mean, I would appreciate an overly long set up to a straightforward punchline if said punchline had a much bigger payoff (of if said overly long set up didn't make keep needlessly coming back to the "Woody likes his weed...and naturally he tends to forget things because of it" well because I'm starting to think he naturally forgot this ISN'T the first time he's mentioned this on SNL). What I DID appreciate was the false set ups to the five timers jacket (along with the callback just before Jack Whites' first performance which was pretty solid and the payoff at the end with them both getting jackets from Kenan and ScarJo respectively) and the fact that SNL is finally starting to give 16 minute monologue slots (or at least monologues that FEEL 16 minutes long) to hosts with an actual likable presence. Also, was anyone else expecting him to bring up "Triangle Of Sadness" when he kept mentioning that script he was reading? C+

Visiting Hours - Thank God this turned out to be a two hander between Ego and Kenan. I don't think I would be that interested Woody and Chloe (bringing back THAT voice...or God forbid Chloe) as the main focus. The only thing I didn’t care for was how repetitive Ego and Kenans' lines felt. C+

PDD: The Stakeout - Ok, I know that some of us are souring on PDD but I definitely appreciated them giving us something with a little absurdist energy just when the episode needed it (even if it just feels like a slightly inverted neo-noir take on the "Andys' Dad" digital Short with Jonah Hill). It felt like it may have been a little too soon to make Ben the odd man out in this since we just got that in the short they did with Steve and Marty two months ago but thankfully they built on that and added more to it. B-

Slingshot - This felt like it had the most wasted potential because it went absolutely nowhere. The performances did it justice but that still isn't saying much. If this were any later in the show I'd be more inclined to think whatever ending it had needed to be edited for time because this show was obviously running long. D+

Naval Base - Somehow, Andrews' brief dialogue in this gave me my first genuine laugh of the entire show, so...yeah, even though this was essentially a "Boaty McBoatface" sketch done about seven and a half years too late this somehow worked for me. This was an extremely dignified and dramatic setup to an extremely juvenile punchline being shouted and overexplained in great detail. It didn’t overstay its' welcome either (which is more than I can say for the Slingshot sketch) and even though it was a standard length sketch, something about this execution made this feel like the closest thing this era to a blackout sketch this era could pull off. B-

Cologuard - This first part of this felt like the standard "creepy, off putting fetish" sketch we've seen time and time again in Mikeys' era on the show but the menacing twist with the (literal) knives coming out followed by Heidi and Dismukes appearance and the reveal of Woody playing himself worked for me. Unfortunately, those parts were too short. C+

Update didn't quite come in too hot but I did like Josts' Trump Water/Chloride/Tucker Carlson/Oscars jokes and Ches' Ron DeSantis joke. What I did appreciate more how they gradually snuck in more and more "joke swap" energy starting with Che's "What Did They Even Do Wrong?" segment. I appreciate them giving JAJ some insane dialogue as Bill Walton and Heidi what turned out to be a wonderfully dark character piece (even if it did remind me quite a bit of that oblivious grandma sketch with Jim Breuer and Colin Quinn from Tom Arnolds' season 21 episode). B-

The Hippo - While I appreciated the specificity in the writing of this and the sheer Norm MacDonald-like melancholy Woody bought to his performance (and the petty bitterness Chloe, Mikey, Ego and JAJ bought to their parts way JAJ kicked his trash can) I have slightly mixed feelings about this imagining the online discourse just the visuals of Woody in the fat suit will bring about. Incidentally, it reminded me quite of a bit of that "I Can't Even" sketch that was in Dakota Johnsons' episode from season 40 that got cut from tonight's "Vintage" airing or that sketch from 1987 where Dabney Coleman played a blind man so, yeah...it was just a little derivative. C+

Two Men Speak Inside The Most Beautiful Gym In The World - This felt like a very "Bowen" piece but a very writerly "Bowen" piece. It felt like Bowen returning to his roots and giving us something he would've more than likely come up with before he joined the cast and found a questionable new niche in playing insects, demons and inanimate objects. I liked the Sarah appearance (and I would’ve probably liked it more if it weren't her only non voice over role of the night) as well as the "gym rat" and "torn ACL" jokes but other than that it felt like another one of those sketches you'd frequently get during the Wiig/Samberg era that's just a random string of one liners being barely held together by a threadbare premise that I just couldn't get into. C-

Now, my latest ranking of the season so far...

1. Aubrey Plaza/Sam Smith (01.21.2023)
2. Michael B. Jordan/Lil Baby (01.28.2023)
3. Dave Chappelle/Black Star (11.12.2022)
4. Steve Martin & Martin Short/Brandi Carlile (12.10.2022)
5. Keke Palmer/SZA (12.03.2022)
6. Austin Butler/Lizzo (12.17.2022)
7. Jack Harlow (10.29.2022)
8. Pedro Pascal/Coldplay (02.04.2023)
9. Woody Harrelson/Jack White (02.25.2023)
10. Brendon Gleeson/Willow (10.08.2022)
11. Miles Teller/Kendrick Lamar (10.01.2022)
12. Amy Schumer/Steve Lacy (11.05.2022)
13. Megan Thee Stallion (10.15.2022)

Now, let me revisit my rankings of Woodys' previous episodes and see where this one lands...

1. Woody Harrelson/Kendrick Lamar (11.15.2014)
2. Woody Harrelson/David Byrne (11.18.1989)
3. Woody Harrelson/Jack White (02.25.2023)
4. Woody Harrelson/Vanessa Williams (5.16.1992)
5. Woody Harrelson/Billie Eilish (9.28.2019)

Well, that was certainly one of the more underwhelming episodes of the season. Next week, Kansas City Chiefs Tight End (and recent Super Bowl champ) Travis Kelce makes his hosting debut. Huh, guess we were overdue for an athlete host? Oh well, I can't say whether or not he will be funny until I see him but the very little interview footage I've seen of this man (mainly when he professes to be a longtime SNL fan on Fallon recently) makes me think he will at least be game (no pun intended) for anything and have enough charm and charisma to pull it off so I'm keeping an open mind on this one. See you then!

(...and remember, I am still taking applications for guest blogger, so if you want to write your own guest post like Blood Meridian did or if you want to submit your own fan mailbag question for me to answer like I did for Ken George Jones, PLEASE let me know!)

Pedro Pascal/Coldplay (02.04.2023)

Okay, here's my review. This was definiteley the weakest SNL episode of 2023 but absolutely none of that was Pedro Pascals' fault. He was a fine host who certainly had fun and gelled with this cast but he didn’t exactly blow me away or anything. Still, there were fun moments to be had in a field of bland mediocrity so this was far from the worst episode of season 48. It's about what I would expect from the third episode of a run of three in a row. The cast felt a little imbalanced seeing as I really missed Dismukes after the strong outing he had last week and Molly was shoved into the background once again. Still, Longfellow, Marcello and Devon had great nights and JAJ and Sarah continue to make headway in a week where Bowen, Ego and Chloe dominated the show. I'd say the biggest thing this episode had going against it was their falling back on old habits when they should be experimenting a bit more in an effort to figure out what their identity will be going into the next era. Let me explain what I mean.

Katy Tur Reports - Something told me this would be the cold open...and something else told me it would be this goofy and aimless...as that's pretty much what this warrants, anyway. I'm getting the sense that somewhere my friend Rubys' nose must be bleeding right now and she will remember none of this by tomorrow and neither will I. Bowens' obligatory role makes me feel like this was supposed to be an Update commentary originally but had to be hastily rewritten once news broke that the baloon was shot down and then they were just like "fuck...ok, we gotta completely change the greenscreen effect we were going with now". Yeah, I'd find it hard to believe this was the original cold open in dress and I'd like to see them try to top this for "worst cold open of the season".D+

Monologue - Pedro seemed like a bundle of nerves at first when talking about The Mandalorian but once he started talking about his Chilean background he seemed more at ease. Near the end, those nerves seemed to have transformed into raw emotion. He was a little more low energy than recent hosts but he handled "charming self effacement" about as well as the rest of these past two seasons of hosts. B-

Big Hollywood Quiz - Well, Bowen hosting a game show (and a rather campy one that seemed to be written just for him) is something different at least. It's more low key and focused than typical "post monologue game show sketches" and it makes a salient point about our current media landscape (especially streaming shows...boy, Taylor Swift must've laughed her ass off at that "Ginny and Georgia" slam, right?). I remember how our friend Ruby made a similar point about how binge watching and streaming affect our memories. If I didn't know any better, I'd say either she wrote the entire show so far tonight or one of SNLs' current writers is stalking her. The only criticism I have of this is it somehow still felt like something we've seen before (like with "What Is Burn Notice?" or any of the Kate Mackinnon post covid "is my brain ok?" sketches) but it was at least a fresh spin on such a vaguely familiar framework. B-

HBOs' Mario Kart - Well, we got our obligatory host sketch and it seems like they were trying to recapture the lightning in a bottle they caught with the David Harbour Joker/Grouch parody from a few years ago but this felt way too telegraphed and predictable for me. I mean, it felt like another one of those pop culture parody sketches where you're meant to admire it more for how much it wrings out of such a thin, simple, nothing of a premise but even looking at it from that angle there seems to be nothing there. I mean, they made good use of Marcello here but Chloe as Princess Peach just made me flashback to Grimes as Miss Peach a couple of years ago and I have a feeling people are gonna react to this the same way they reacted to, well...that. Hell, after that "swole Grimace" sketch from the premiere I'm just thankful that Yoshi and Toad being bisexuality weren't the ENTIRE joke. D+

Coma Patient - This felt like it was written by an A.I. that was fed nothing but Mikey Day and Kroll Show sketches (yeah, I'm aware of how hacky that sounds so don't bother pointing that out. I just bring up A.I. because I was watching aboyt 25 minutes of that endless "Nothing Forever" Seinfeld Twitch feed to kill time before the show and I finally figured out that it was Jon Daly in those Kroll Show "Rich Dicks" sketches that Pascals' voice reminded me of). Pedro seemed to be breaking hard enough to guarantee not one but TWO band shots later in the show, so it's nice to see he was at least having fun here. Other than that, I was just glad to see that such a dadaist nothing of a sketch could have such a sweet, heartfelt ending. C+

Fancam Assembly - Ok, this HAD to have been written by the same writers behind "M3GAN 2.0" since it's mined heavily from GenZ social media lingo (yeah, thankfully I must've missed when "no crumbs left" became the hot new Twitter buzzword) and it features a cameo from Sarah Paulson (was she actually IN something with Pedro Pascal or was she just there because she fit the theme this sketch was going for so well?), so...yeah, whoever wrote this was either very in touch with "the gays" or just paid enough attention to the actual SNL fancams in the replies to tweets from the shows' official Twitter account and could only get this sketch on the air two years too late. I can tell Che DIDN’T write this (not for the obvious reason) but because it was written to humiliate the audience instead of the host and the cast. Plus, you could tell it was written by someone who didn’t hate their job with a burning white hot passion and thus was desperately trying to get fired. Molly's character was my only genuine laugh of the whole sketch (well, along with Devons' "mid" line and the wat he delivered it). I'm honestly not that shocked to discover how badly I missed that the "big boys" song from the Keke Palmer/SZA episode was the song used in all those fancams because I think I've made it pretty clear as to how and why that song left my brain permanently pretty much immediately after it aired. Still, I did appreciate how this sketch also went for a semi-heartfelt ending that tried to make a point about the relationship today's teens have with their social media (even if they just absolutely HAD to go and dip back into the "lol Covid broke all our brains" well ONCE AGAIN). The way this was acted made me realize that the only time I don't like Ego or Sarah as performers is when she leans to heavily into the trendy, social media buzzword/slang heavy stuff that's more in Bowens' wheelhouse than theirs (but at least when Ego does do this she appears completely at ease and it comes off as more believable and natural than when Sarah takes part in this). I was about to question how high schoolers would have access to that much footage of their teachers or how the students would avoid getting caught and written up for blatantly filming their teachers in class but overthinking this particular sketch anymore would just make me frustrate me more, so I'll just move on. C-

Wing Pit - Finally, this episode delivers on SOMETHING! This was definiteley my favorite segment of the night just for the sheer violent chaos and "Taco Town somehow gained sentience and tried cocaine for the first time" vibes of it. A+

Update was really only worth about two jokes ane one commentary this week. Ches' "Delaware beach house" joke and Josts' "16 year olds on social meda" jokes made me laugh just for their delivery and the "chicken wings" joke only made me laugh for Che's reaction to it. Good to see Mr. Longfellow get another commentary where he doesn’t just play himself. I have to give them credit for giving Michael Longfellow when we were being set up to expect Bowen Yang. It's also great that this was written for Michael and not Bowen. I could tell because they gave Punxsutawney Phil a real "burnt out dirtbag" vibe that only Michael Longfellow could pull off and I didn’t feel like this was supposed to be a Bowen commentary but Bowen suddenly fell ill so they just grabbed Longfellow, slapped Bowens' costume on him and threw him out there. JAJ and Devons' two hander was one of the highlights of the night for me as we finally got to see them break out of their shells (and see JAJ break out if his "political impressionist/southern gent" box) and experiment with some original and pleasantly silly character work. Whatever Kyle Mooney was going for with his "rapper from Holland" character JAJ improved upon a thousand fold with this. B-

Luis' Protective Mom - Nice to see Marcello get another one of his sketches on the air. Weird how this was the second sketch in this episode that made me flash back to David Harbours' episode but I was glad to see there was more to this sketch than just the host in drag and that this was able to focus up effectively mine it's humor from multiple culture clashes (which makes me all the more stunned to find out that PDD helped write this and not the next sketch). B+

Italian Restaurant - Well, I'm just shocked to hear that Sarah didn’t write or even help cowrite this herself because that's really the only way I could have even bought into the outrageously unbelievable and outlandish premise of "Sarah Sherman is repeatedly told by other men that she is ugly and/or unattractive". That's all I'm gonna say there. D+

Lisa From Temecula - While I'm glad to see Ego get another character on, I guess I was just expecting something a little different. This is the first time I've seen Ego do a Debbie Downer/Bill Hader/Kate & Aidy self-indulgent type pieces that seemed designed solely for her to get her castmates to break (or based on how quickly Bowen broke which makes me think this was based on some inside joke betweem them that the audience wasn’t in on), but I guess she's earned her right as a performer to do that at this point. Thankfully, this was short (or just had to be hastily edited for time) and felt more grounded and contained than I thought it was going to be. C+

Goodnights - I don't always comment on these but it was nice to see JAJ and Colin wearing shirts in solidarity with the increasingly-less-likely-to-strike-now-it-seems post production unit. Also, I noticed Chloe was wearing a brunette wig and a leopard print dress which made me wonder if that was her costume from one of the cut for time sketches?

Now, my latest ranking of the season so far...

1. Aubrey Plaza/Sam Smith (01.21.2023)
2. Michael B. Jordan/Lil Baby (01.28.2023)
3. Dave Chappelle/Black Star (11.12.2022)
4. Steve Martin & Martin Short/Brandi Carlile (12.10.2022)
5. Keke Palmer/SZA (12.03.2022)
6. Austin Butler/Lizzo (12.17.2022)
7. Jack Harlow (10.29.2022)
8. Pedro Pascal/Coldplay (02.04.2023)
9. Brendon Gleeson/Willow (10.08.2022)
10. Miles Teller/Kendrick Lamar (10.01.2022)
11. Amy Schumer/Steve Lacy (11.05.2022)
12. Megan Thee Stallion (10.15.2022)

Well, that certainly was another episode of SNL. In three weeks, Woody Harrelson joins the five timers club. Even though his last episode from 2019 has somehow aged the worst out of his existing four episodes (yes, even his 1992 one) I'll be looking forward to this one as Woody is always a welcome presence at the show. See you then!

(...and remember, I am still taking applications for guest blogger, so if you want to write your own guest post like Blood Meridian did or if you want to submit your own fan mailbag question for me to answer like I did for Ken George Jones, PLEASE let me know!)