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!)