Jenna Ortega/The 1975 (03.11.2023)

Okay, here's my review. This episode of SNL was a little uneven, but overall, it felt like the show was headed back in the right direction. Jenna Ortega proved to be a dynamic host who proved she belonged on that stage immediately. It was clear from the beginning the show knew exactly how to use and play to the strengths of (given all the creative control she took on the set of "Wednesday" she was probably glad to tell the writers exactly how to use her in sketches and what her strengths were as an actress). Honestly, it was nice to have a host who didn’t bring an "off" vibe to the show. It's nice to get back to hosts who aren't just relying on their own overconfidence and actually have the performing chops to be on the show. Plus, no one felt shut out of the show completely (although a little more Punkie, Squirm, and Longfellow and a little less reliance on Mikey wouldn't have hurt). Anyway, let’s break it down, shall we?

Access Hollywood Oscars Red Carpet Show - Well, we get another left field cold open that was, unfortunately, too scattershot for its own good. Still, I really liked how they used Marcello, Molly (their Brendan Gleeson was the sole highlight of this), Dismukes, Devon, Sarah (minus the Chuck Schumer tag at the end), Kenan (he had funny enough dialogue to make up for his disappointing Tyson) and Longfellow (yeah, I could tell that was him as Del Toros' Pinocchio). The only things that didn't work for me were Heidi as...well, Heidi, Mikey as Colin Farrell, Bowen as Santos (played out) and Chloe Fineman as Kate McKinnon as Kristen Wiig as Jamie Lee Curtis. C+

Monologue - Already, this monologue feels halfway between Aubrey Plaza and Selena Gomez (in terms of material and how much faith the host had in delivering it). Still, Jenna bought the exact right energy the show needed at this point. I'll admit that Facebook/TikTok joke made me laugh even though it sounds like a lone that would’ve gotten cut from an episode of "Velma." I liked the "happy, extroverted people" joke, too. The only part I could've done without was Armisens' cameo, which just made me feel...uneasy on multiple levels. I was a little nervous when Jenna named "The Californians" as her all-time favorite sketch, but thankfully, I realized how many more cameos they would need besides Armisen to pull off another one of those. Now that I think about it, I could've done with less reliance on her old toothpaste commercial. Also, as someone who has watched this show in their infancy, I can never imagine someone being "too young" to watch the show. C+

School Vs. School - Hmm...I'm torn between thinking this sketch didn't go far enough with its premise of "Not! X-Men cause chaos on a college competition game show" and thinking "the over the top acting from Jenna/Mikey/Molly justifies it's short length because they left it with nowhere else to go". I mean, it's been decades since I've seen any of the X-Men movies or even one of the cartoons. I wouldn't be able to tell you for sure if the acting in the movies really is that over the top so maybe this would've landed better with me if I was a bigger X-men fan, I dunno. One thing I'm NOT torn in is Kenans' rambling about Covid butt swabs could've been cut way down. I'll add that Jenna Ortega is definitely the right host for this sketch (as I could see her taking this exact role in an actual movie in an alternate universe). C+

PDD: Roadtrip - I really didn't know what to make of this. It just felt like four different sketch ideas crammed into one (and at least two of them felt like ones we've seen before, unfortunately). Still, I like that they tried to add some dark vibes to this. I just wish it had felt a little more focused, is all. I will say that JAJ as Billboard Jesus gave me my first genuine laugh in this. C-

Parent Trap Remake - From the moment Armisen walked in, I knew this was going to be a challenge, but thankfully, I've seen worse sketches than this one where Armisen plays inappropriately brash characters. Plus, Fred and Jenna do have a decent enough chemistry to make this work. C+

Ridiculousness - Now, this DEFINITELY feels like something the show should've just done in say...season 42 and been done with (which they kinda did if you go back and watch the Kristen Stewart episode) but adding Jenna Ortega as the one who just adds intense and horrifying personal anecdotes makes this worth putting on the air in 2023. This is honestly the thing that got me fully onboard with this episode. B-

Varsity Valley - I definitely liked the premise of "high schoolers being somehow oblivious to the insane chaos happening in the literal background of their unfunny romantic mellodrama." That's much more fun to watch than something where we just see Jenna and Marcello having a weird interaction. I didn't much care for the completely telegraphed ending reveal of Mikey being Jennas' Dad, but I did like him shoving Dismukes taser down his pants. I'd say if any of these episodes' pretapes could be used as a bargaining chip by the post production editors to get paid and otherwise compensated what they're worth and avoid the April 1st strike, THIS would be it. B+

Update was once again more worth tuning in for guests than jokes. The only ones that stood out to me were Che's Trump/DeSantis/great great grandchild jokes and Josts Rite-Aid/shower eating/RuPaul jokes (more swap vibes, at least...and we got a callback to something from earlier to make up for the callback we could've gotten during last weeks update that ended up getting cut). Molly, as a crusty, old closeted anti-LGBTQ Republican was something I wasn't sure I wanted to see at first, but then I realized she bought some things to this role that Aidy wouldn't have. Plus, this is not the first time in this episode let alone this season that Molly has played cisgendered men on the show and I liked both their Brendon Gleeson and their Terry Bradshaw just fine (...yeah, you guys understand why I'm extremely hesitant to use the word "drag" here, right? OK, good... moving on). JAJ, as himself just filling time with impressions on Update, was a nice touch. This feels like something the show only does once in a certain number of years. Even if the Adam Driver/Kyle Ren thing may have just been taken directly from his audition tape and I could see him getting some flack for the Jay-Z voice, I liked seeing this just for how he made it impossible for Jost & Che to not break. B-

Exorcism - Well, with this host, this sketch seems pretty much like a given. It's good to see another Ego/Kenan sketch, but this one didn’t really do much for me. It honestly felt a little too predictable and didn't go anywhere. C-

Soul Booth - A musical sketch with a JAJ/Dismukes pairing as the centerpiece that involves lots of shouting. I liked that part of it WAY more than I liked Bowens' wild over acting. B-

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. Jenna Ortega/The 1975 (03.11.2023)
7. Travis Kelce/Kelsea Ballerini (03.04.2023)
8. Austin Butler/Lizzo (12.17.2022)
9. Jack Harlow (10.29.2022)
10. Pedro Pascal/Coldplay (02.04.2023)
11. Woody Harrelson/Jack White (02.25.2023)
12. Brendon Gleeson/Willow (10.08.2022)
13. Miles Teller/Kendrick Lamar (10.01.2022)
14. Amy Schumer/Steve Lacy (11.05.2022)
15. Megan Thee Stallion (10.15.2022)

Well, that's a nice course correction for this season. Next month, Abbot Elementarys' Quinta Brunson makes her hosting debut. She's another name who has been overdue to host since the beginning of this season. She's definitely got the chops to host SNL, so I'm excited to finally get to see her. However, I still have to make up my mind as to whether or not I would watch live if the post-production editors strike does indeed happen that night. Some have said that even watching makes them feel like they are crossing a picket line (and that would make me feel like a big hypocrite for very personal work related reasons I cannot get into here) but to each their own I suppose. Still, I would like to take this opportunity to state that I personally wish the SNL post production team the best of luck in their negotiations. I hope they get everything they are bargaining for. I wish the same for the writers as well as I understand they may have to go on strike for similar reasons in two months. 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!)