Quinta Brunson/Lil Yachty (04.01.2023)

Okay, here's my review. Unsurprisingly, this turned out to be a successful episode but not one that exactly blew me away. Quinta Brunson turned out to be a great host who certainly showed up to put in work but she blended in with the cast more than I expected (perhaps her time on "A Black Lady Sketch Show" was what helped her the most here). Surprisingly, this turned out to be a great night for JAJ of all people, but he's been ingratiating himself into the show for some time now, so that's to be expected. I agree with whoever has dubbed him the "backbone" of the show. You would expect Ego, Sarah, Heidi, and Punkie to have as good a night as JAJ did just given the way the show has been going but they still had their moments as did everyone else and thankfully no one got shut out of the show entirely. Anyway, let’s get right to it, shall we?

Trump Bopz - Well, it may have been a little too long and not every joke landed with me but at least this was the most outlandish and absurd "left field" framing device for a JAJ Trump cold open we've seen so far. I did like how their obligatory Trump indictment cold open was just a wild free association off the horrifying real life fact that a former president is plugging a new single by an actual group calling themselves "The J6 Prison Choir" who just sampled him. I'd go as far as to say this was more reminiscent of Tony Atamanuiks' "President Show" on Comedy Central than SNLs' typical approach to Trump sketches since his presidency (mostly because "President Show" was known for its flashy musical numbers). Plus, now I can name precisely one (1) song by Ice Spice. C+

Monologue - Unlike the cold open, this monologue was quite a bit different from what I was expecting. Quinta did make a sincere personal statement, but it was less about her connection to SNL and much more about her much more personal connection to education and the public school system (after a series of asides on how black women deal with sudden fame). I was half expecting various "audience members" or cast members to ask Quinta various questions about how to solve problems at their own local schools (mainly because this monologue made me flashback to those of Paul Reiser, Kerry Washington, Lena Dunham) until I realized we are well into the era of solo host monologues dominating SNL. It showed less energy and eagerness to please than it did laser-focus and wanting to educate (pardon the expression) the SNL audience on a cause that is near and dear to this host. I guess it's on me for expecting a bigger and showier monologue. I didn't realize her character on "Abbott" was the sincere, earnest voice of reason, and this monologue showed me how much of a real place in Quintas' life that came from. B-

Cocaine Bathroom - This felt like a very one-note, tired premise, but the casts' commitment (Marcello, Quinta, Dismukes, and Kenan in particular) put it over for me. Longfellows' Camouflaged Black Tar Herion Guy was genuinely my biggest laughs of the night. B-

I Was A Bridesmaid - This was more unexpectedly deep niche humor that I was not the target audience for (and not JUST because I still haven't been invited to a wedding in my life nor would this be what I would be a part of if I were). In fact, I'd say this felt more like something Baroness Von Sketch Show would've done (and I'm not just saying that because Molly reminded me quite a bit of Jennifer Whalen in the most decidedly feminized role they have been given on this show so far). They used JAJ and Squirm quite well in this, though. C-

Couple Goals - I do love how this took a dark turn toward exploring a very grim and specifically detailed premise. It had an unexpectedly great payoff. Quick side note: Is it just me, or did anyone else get the impression that when the camera cut to Devon and Ego in the audience as Kenans' parents that it was supposed to stay on them much longer but either there was a miscue or a major change was made at the last minute? C+

Traffic Charades - Honestly, the most notable thing about this sketch was the directing choices that were made. Visually, this felt like a season 32 sketch. Sadly, it also felt like it was written during season 39. Shockingly, Chloe may have been my favorite part of this sketch. I'm sorry to say I'm not as high on this sketch as everyone else seems to be. I recognize it had some decent writing. Maybe this is one of those things that would need to grow on me over time, but I don't know when I would find myself watching this again. C-

Update was carried by sheer audience energy tonight. Thank God Che pulled his biggest prank on Jost yet because his Trump jokes were real duds. Still, he made up for it with his biggest all-time break and that Christmas card joke. It's about damn time that SNL finally did SOMETHING to break its own format for an April Fools episode. Longfellows' David seemed like an attempt to top himself in terms of "character" character pieces like Dilbert and Punxsutawney Phil. This didn't quite live up to the high bar that granit head turn set, but still... good effort even if not everything worked. Marcellos' "short king" commentary was another great shortca..er, showcase, excuse me, for Marcello but it's very weird to me that he ended up getting to do this the week that the only person in the building shorter than him is the host. B+

Time Midwife - Well, this may have seemed far too thrown together at the last second for it's own good but I'm glad this turned out to be another writerly, detail heavy sketch instead of just another hammy Bowen showcase. His breaking near the end nearly ruined it for me. Kudos to that child extra for getting one of the last two laugh lines. C+

Penis Brothers - Great time for an insanely cartoony Squirmcase with an assist from Quinta. Sarah must've been watching a lot of Kids In The Hall lately. It's obvious her two favorite characters are Bruce McCullochs' Cabbage Head and Dave Foleys' AT&Love boss and thought it would be fun to combine them into the SAME character Make no mistake, I say that with love. B+

PDD: NY Street Eats - This was Please Don't Destroys' strongest outing to date. What especially made this work for me was how unafraid they were to gleefully plumb the absolute depths of their characters' sheer stupidity, ignorance, and cowardice. Marcello, Quinta, and Punkie made the absolute most out of their parts. A-

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. Quinta Brunson/Lil Yachty (04.01.2023)
6. Keke Palmer/SZA (12.03.2022)
7. Jenna Ortega/The 1975 (03.11.2023)
8. Travis Kelce/Kelsea Ballerini (03.04.2023)
9. Austin Butler/Lizzo (12.17.2022)
10. Jack Harlow (10.29.2022)
11. Pedro Pascal/Coldplay (02.04.2023)
12. Woody Harrelson/Jack White (02.25.2023)
13. Brendon Gleeson/Willow (10.08.2022)
14. Miles Teller/Kendrick Lamar (10.01.2022)
15. Amy Schumer/Steve Lacy (11.05.2022)
16. Megan Thee Stallion (10.15.2022)

Well, that may not have been as greater than the sum of its parts, but it was still a good show. Next week, Molly Shannon returns for her second time hosting in only 16 years. This is sure to be a great week for the current cast, but I am more curious to see how Molly might adapt to the current show. How might she be able to take a less physical approach to characters like Sally O'Malley and Mary Katherine Gallagher in 2023? There's no doubt in my mind that another Delicious Dish reprise would make the most sense (hey, if Will Forte could host last year to promote the MacGruber series on Peacock than Ana Gasteyer certainly deserves a chance to at least make another brief cameo to plug American Auto) but will they feel forced to top themselves in terms of homespun faux-raunch and search for the next "Schweddy Balls" or "Dusty Muffin" or will they be willing to scale themselves back towards the more dry subtle absurdities of the earlier installments? Maybe Molly could surprise us by going the route Ferrell and Sandler did just a few years ago, giving us a show full of (mostly) original non-recurring material. The possibilities are endless, and we'll certainly see what happens next week. 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!)