Ariana Grande/Cher (12.20.2025)

Presidential Address

• I was a bit surprised that they would return to the standard "and now, an address from the President..." framing for a cold open centered around JAJs' Trump...until I remembered that the REAL President Trump actually did give an address like this so, again...they really had no excuse not to.

• Nothing really stood out to me here aside from the redacted Epstein files material and the random Indigo Girls reference (even if the "screen of heavily redacted files" gag is literally something I saw on Twitter earlier today) and the "second favorite r-word" joke. 

• Still, this is far from the worst cold open I could've envisioned for this episode (as part of me was envisioning a cold open similar to one we got in mid October...but our host tonight said that character was dead and buried and she stuck by her word). C-

Monologue 

• Well, I liked the "Domingo/sequel" joke even though it doesn't quite play as well after they actually made three sequels to Arianas' original Domingo sketch without her involvement.

• I liked the Mariah parody. I mean, it's FAR from the worst "All I Want For Christmas" parody I've seen this show do, but...this would've hit harder had I not come across this YouTube clip from Sabrina Carpenters' Netflix Christmas special from last year where she sings a song with the EXACT same premise with Kyle Mooney of all people as the mystery relative.

• I don't want to accuse the show of plagiarism or anything. I'll just say that I thought this monologue was the better execution of this concept simply for not being as heavily autotuned and utilizing the current SNL cast much better.

• One line I particularly liked was "I panicked and ordered a Yeti mug/the Christmas equivalent of a shrug". B+

Elf On The Shelf Support Group

• Hmm...decent premise for a sketch in a Christmas show.

• The further this goes along, the more I can deal with the high pitch voice modulator percmeating this sketch.

• I liked Jeremy, Ariana, Mikey and Kenan's performances the best along with the confetti explosions being triggered by "bad thoughts". Hell, they even found a way to work Kam into this sketch. B+

Home Alone

• Well, I was disappointed to see we were moving away from a showcase of Ashley Padillas' Catherine O'Hara impression to another anachronistic Christmas gore fest pretape. 

• Still, I was mostly OK with this since they mostly backed off if these for what felt like at least a year (probably more since the Grinch/Whoville themed one that got put up online was cut for time from Martin Shorts' episode).

• I did like the visual of Colin Jost as Buzz just getting absolutely shredded by a fan just before the reveal of this entire thing taking place in the mind palace of a sleep deprived Ashley (which, honestly, made up for this being another one of...those in my mind). B-

Coreographers

• At first it felt odd, that Marcello would be the male lead in this type of sketch in Bowens last episode until it became obvious from Bowens performance that this was very much an ensemble sketch.

• This sketch felt incredibly disjointed and unfocused (almost like it was five sketch premises jammed into one) but again, given the ensemble nature and the already odd structure to this sketch, those things actually worked in its favor.

• Everyone really got a moment to shine here (even JAJ and Chloe but especially Jeremy). Marcello and Ariana played strongly off each other and I liked his line about making diabetes "look like something you want". Plus, it was the perfect length for what it was. B-

Peacocks' Random Duet Spectacular 

• So, I guess they decided they should do an updated 2025 version of the "Christmas song" impression parades they did for each of Fallons' hosting stints from the early 2010s?

• I was a little wary of this given how modern SNL fans have pretty much conditioned themselves to be sick of impression parades and how...just, modern pop culture in general is way too soft on its celebrities (and especially pop music stars) in general (some times for perfectly valid reasons) for this to be worth anyone's time (maybe this was because I had just seen some tweets reminiscing about how In Living Color used to brutally roast their musical parody subjects 35 years ago) but there were some fun moments here.

• Ariana did a fine Katy Perry even if her inexplicable space trip seems like ancient news now (can't have her host SNL and NOT do some singing women impressions, can we?) and pairing her with JAJs' Bob Dylan was wonderfully odd enough for me.

• Not quite sure what to make of Sarahs' Kate Bush but Bowens' Yoko was funny.

• I liked how they used Dismukes' Springsteen (it seemed like they were just repurposing his and JAJs impressions from that red carpet sketch from last season at first) but Marcellos' Bad Bunny seemed too...needlessly jammed in for me.

• Kenans' Stevie Wonder was fine. I liked the visual of Benson Boone just flying into frame, crashing into things but part of me was hoping he'd just be played by a blue sequined dummy being brutally thrown around, but i guess they had to hire a professional stunt person.

• Boy oh boy, I'm sure SOMEONE I know who I hope is reading this was tickled pink that they let JAJ play Cameron Winter from Geese!

• Surprisingly, Chloe's Bjork actually worked for me and I got a kick out of seeing Veronika as Post Malone.

• I was glad to see they found an impression for Kam that works for him as well as a way for Jane to just play herself in this sketch.

• Ending this on a duet between JAJs Andrea Bocelli and Arianas' Celine was very sweet...but almost too sincere of a note to end this on. C+

Black Santas' Burglary Trial

• OK, so...this isn't so much a goofy Kenam focused "Miracle on 34th St." parody as much as it is setting the audience up for a Cher cameo, isn't it?

• Stopping the "Believe" parody for this back and forth between Kenan and Mikeys' prosecutor is...kind of killing the momentum of this sketch.

• What killed the momentum of this sketch more in my mind was the dull thud of an ending where Arianas' judge sides with Kenans' character as they all march out into the audience to Kenan's "Believe" parody...with no Cher cameo at all? 

• Was this just an intro to her first song that sounded so much like "Believe" that it just as easily could have come out in 1998/99 as it did in 2025? 

• Was this a situation like the one Maya and Fred faced when they did Prince Show sketches when Prince and Beyoncé were actually on the show between 04 and 06 and they each made damn sure they never got to ask them in person?

• Maybe she was asked about this sketch and turned down a cameo here in favor of...a different sketch we'll get to later?

• Oh, well. Some cast members have all the luck in the world, I guess.

• Anyway, this sketch may have been a little uneven, but it was just fine on rewatch...so, I'll just leave it there for now. C+

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

• Josts' Best Jokes: RFK Jr, Trump/Santa

• Che's Best Jokes: Bill Clinton, "Zero Illegal Aliens", New Statues, MTG Engaged

• Nice to see Kam making up for lost time in this episode with a "character" piece that works for him and plays up on his supposed "bad boy" image without having to let him go full on Kill Tony.

• I'm glad that we not only got in a joke swap but that they changed the format and length of it so that only Jost tells Che written Jokes and the episode still has time for...more appropriate things.

• As much as the "trend forecasters" never quite hot for me, it was very sweet of Aidy to actually show up for Bowens' last show. Even if part of me was hoping for Cecily or Ego, it's nice to see Aidy make her first cameo since leaving outside of SNL50.

• This does make sense due the fact that they did this exact bit on Aidys last show in 2022. I am glad they decided to hold off on making any references to this being Bowens last show.

• Really, the only thing I chuckled at during this was the visual of Che in that Marge wig holding two rainbow pride flags. B-

Love Is Blind: The Reunion

• Wow, Mikey must've really liked playing the Grinch last week, hun? We know he must like playing the Grinch more than Pete did.

• Still, I got some mild season 20 vibes from this for how visually expensive and elaborate it looked in service of something that seemed so...empty.

• This felt like it was written by someone who wanted to parody specific tropes and moments from "Love Is Blind" more than anything and there wasn't much beyond this other than "what if we just drag-and-dropped Mikey as the Grinch and he just...played him like a regular douchey dating show contestant?"

• Still, I will say it was a very nice switch to have Mikey be the "weird" outlandish one with everyone else in the sketch questioning HIM in an incredulous manner! (and no, just as i don't buy the umpteenth jammed in joke about a wigged Sarah character being the ugliest or least pretty woman in the room...I WAY don't buy Dismukes & Chloe as Nick and Vanessa Lachey. What the hell was that casting?). C-

Cher Performs "Run, Run, Rudolph"

• I did get a kick out of Ariana introducing this song as her castration character "Antonio" from her previous episode. Now, THERE’S a sketch I did want her to genuinely revisit!

• Even if the sound mixing was more noticeably bad than usual and Cher was inaudible enough that one might think she was lip syncing, I also liked that they used the regular home base stage for this performance rather than the regular musical guest stage. For a second, it briefly felt like this performance came straight out of her 1987/88 episode.

Delta Sky Club

• I should've guessed that Bowen would've gotten the same type of thinly veiled low key meta workplace themed sketch that Cecily got around this time three years ago. 

• Seriously though, I was very genuinely touched by this and moved by how honestly, deftly and expertly it summed up his SNL career (from the good to the even self-admittedly bad) and how strongly he expressed his own gratitude toward the show for the opportunities it gave him and everyone he worked with (and for).

• I haven't felt this much emotion watching an SNL cast members' "farewell" sketch since Stefon and Seth got married 12.5 years ago (wow, it's really been that long, huh?)

• Say what you will about Bowen, you have to admit that on SNL, he bought his own voice and distinct semi-absurdist sensibility to everything he did. More importantly, he never once denigrated his own people and also bucked every cultural stereotype that people tried to put on him since before he even officially started in the cast.

• Yeah, he did a lot of gay themed sketches but they weren't ever "stereotypical". Coming from him they felt very genuine and from a place of Bowen being his true self.

• Boy, I've seen departing cast members get emotional during these types of sketches for them but Bowen...seemed like he was literally unable to keep from crying mid sketch. Kudos to him for keeping it together and pushing through this.

• I wonder if the bit of Bowen spraying Kenan with a bit of egg nog was planned or not?

• Ah, THERE’S the Cher cameo we were all waiting for! I gotta say, his big send off got lined up pretty perfectly because I can hardly think of two better people to bid farewell to Bowen live on air than Cher and Ariana (as much as her performance makes me think Sarah may have originally supposed to have been a part of this but backed out suddenly).

• Farewell, Bowen Yang. We hardly knew ye...but we do know you came along at a time when SNL needed you the most. You always stood out on this show and you'll always occupy a very unique space all your own in SNLs' history.

• There's no doubt you got noticed by the powers that be during your time on the show and you're already making a big splash outside of SNL...so here's to the very bright future you have ahead of you. A-

Ranking The 51st Season From Best To Worst

1. Nikki Glaser/Sombr (11.08.2025)
2. Glenn Powell/Olivia Dean (11.15.2025)
3. Melissa McCarthy/Dijon (12.06.2025)
4. Ariana Grande/Cher (12.20.2025)
5. Amy Poehler/Role Model (10.11.2025)
6. Miles Teller/Brandi Carlile (11.01.2025)
7. Josh O'Connor/Lily Allen (12.13.2025)
8. Sabrina Carpenter (10.18.2025) 
9. Bad Bunny/Doja Cat (10.04.2025)

Overall Thoughts

• Well, SNL gave me just what I wanted from them specifically for Christmas this year; a lower key episode similar to the McKinnon and Butler episodes from previous years that wasn't loaded with cameos and was more sketch and idea focused.

• I guess with Bowens' departure being confirmed the day before the show and the host and musical guest already being two of the biggest names in pop music/culture they decided they didn't want anything to steal too much focus from them, huh?

• Speaking of, I wonder why mid-season departures are ALWAYS more quiet, low key celebrations compared to the big, flashy blowouts we tend to get when established cast members are announced to be leaving the show during a proper May season finale? Is it because the holidays are already an emotional budget-stretched time that they don't want too add too much to? Is it also because they know they'll be coming back from a Christmas show in three or four weeks vs the three of four months they usually take to come back from a season finale?

• Anyway, even though this episode did actually give me what I wanted from it and had a solid host performance...I still wouldn't name ot the best of the season. It was a top five episode for this half of the season for sure, but not everything worked for me, so it was a little uneven in a way that I was totally expecting given the lineup. Still, it was another Christmas episode hosted by a big name that got by on holiday cheer and good, cozy yuletide vibes without just completely coasting on them.

• It feels a little odd to talk about cast usage for an episode where the main focus was on one single cast member but I have to point out what I did notice. Bowen felt like he was going to be used surprisingly lightly this episode until the very end but Sarah was ACTUALLY used shockingly lightly for Bowens' last episode considering how close they are. 

• Unsurprisingly, Kenan, Mikey and Chloe otherwise dominated the show. Dismukes and Ashley quietly provided support when needed. JAJ still gets chances to branch out from the White House little by little. Kam, Veronika, Jeremy and Ben really got to make up for lost time (so did Marcello to a lesser degree). Jane and Tommy seem to have taken some small hits, though.

Closing Thoughts 

• In three weeks time, the show returns in a new year with Finn Wolfhard as host, no doubt promoting the seemingly endless rollout of Stranger Things' final season which had somehow been stretched into movie theaters. 

• I was thinking about what an interesting choice this might have been seeing as...roughly 95% of the main Stranger Things cast would be the closest thing the show would be able to have to a "child actor" host these days until I read that Finn Wolfhard is 22 which must mean that none of the Stranger Things kids are really "child actors" anymore. 

• Still, I can't say I've seen enough of Finn Wolfhard in all of the things he's been in to be able to get a bead on how he would be as a host...so, in my eyes this makes him another "wild card" host (and we didn't have much luck with the last one we got a week ago...and January shows tend to be a bit of a dull wash anyway but I'll go into this episode with an open mind).

• In the meantime, I would encourage you all to listen to the newest episode of We Heart Hader that Deej & I just put out (and maybe, make sure to do so sometime before Thursday). 

• It's our first ever official Christmas episode AND our first ever movie review episode. We review the 2019 Disney+ title "Noelle" Starring Bill opposite Anna Kendrick as the children of Santa Claus who must prepare to take over their father's Christmas eve duties in the wake of his passing. It's exactly as heartwarming as it sounds.

• After that, we will finally release our long awaited review of SNLs' season 33 premiere hosted by Lebron James on January 2nd. I will post my own review of that episode right here on this blog the same date and time as the episode is released. 

• This date is important to me because it's not just my 35th birthday, but also the exact to-the-date one year anniversary of the podcasts debut. I'd like to thank Deej for allowing me a space to call my own with her in the SNL adjacent podcasting world and I'd like to thank anyone who's ever listened to We Heart Hader or read this blog. I wouldn't be doing any of this without you.

• Happy holidays and happy new year everyone!

Josh O'Connor/Lily Allen (12.13.2025)

Air Force One Press Briefing

• Yeah,they didn't fool me for a second into thinking this wasn't going to be Trump themed...but it's interesting from a visual/directing standpoint to see them try something different by framing this as a parody of Trumps Air Force One Press Briefings.

• Seeing the show seemingly comment on Trumps' treatment of female reporters seemed like an interesting angle until it was more about Trump "simping" over Karoline Leavitts' mouth (which did lead into a neat segue into "the line" at least) and then they backed away entirely.

• Seriously, this whole cold open just reeked of wasted potential. It seemed like they had plenty of new ideas from what was on the news this week to focus on but just glossed over each of them. Also, they've been making so much progress in changing the format of these and suddenly they throw that away to go back to doing the exact same things they were doing two years ago.

• Other than that, there sadly wasn't too much to differentiate this from any late season 48/season 49 cold opening centered around JAJ as Trump. I thought the "ambien vs adderall race" was OK. The Santa drone strike footage was cheap amd stupid but I liked Jeremy's reaction to it. C+

Monologue 

• O'Connor seems like your typical charming, self-effacing British actor host, but that's not enough to mitigate my own personal disappointment at a "host gets stuck on the idea of him being the lead in a live action Ratatouille remake" monologue that DOESN'T involve a sudden walk-on from Patton Oswalt.

• At least this was a fairly short monologue where O'Connor just got his plugs in and got out. Still, seems like he'll be a good host despite me not being into that monologue. C-

Let's Find Love

• A post monologue game show sketch where Kenan is a host named "Garth Vader". Ugh.

• Is this somehow going to be another play on Joshs' role in "Challengers"?

• Nope. Instead, the premise is the age cap is lifted to "as old as we can find".

• Well, at least Ashley is the obligatory 84 year old rolling in on a scooter.

• My basic take so far is that even if sketch feels too...empty for me to fully get into, it's still fun to watch Ashley make an absolute meal out of her part.

• The only lines from Ashley I really liked were "I've got a joke; my sister's a bitch" and the "Toy Story 5" stuff. C+

Uber Eats Wrapped

• Oof. Yeah, there's no way this didn't hit a little too close too home...conceptually with everyone watching this in one way or another.

• I liked both of Sarah's scenes in this and JAJ and Ashley played great off each other (as did Ben and Kam). Andrew did fine here, too. B-

Teaching Hospital

• Ah, a Bowen character I never got into. That's just great.

• Look, I'm not saying I'm hoping Bowen leaves next week or anything...but I am hoping that IF he is that it's the only reason he bought this character back this week.

• At least Josh and Andrew are doing...decent with the material they were given. Didn't care for the Bowen/Josh "hope" we're not related" stuff.

• I like Joshs' "plain English" line and I'll admit Bowens' "All That AND a bag of chips" line did get me. D+

Bachelorette Party

• Hmm...sensitive male strippers. Ok, at least this has a little bit more of a "concept" to it...and Ben being one of the male leads in this should make it worthwhile.

• This is a play on the type of "softboi" roles Josh mentioned he is known for playing in his monologue, isn't it?

• Ha, I wonder who did that sad, slow Bon Iver sounding cover of Ginuwines' "Pony"?

• I gotta say every line Jane shouted got me and Ashley played into the premise of this pretty well.

• Ben and Josh had great visuals (like them tearing off their sweaters and pants to reveal another sweater and anothe pair of jeans on each of them and them beating the hell out of a dummy of Mikey at the end). 

• I also got a kick out of Josh's line "I think the President should be Cynthia Erivo" but I wasn't crazy about the "Zorhan" tattoo on Bens' abs or the buildup of them kissing though. B-

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

• Josts' best jokes: "Not My Fault, Sell Your Blood", Noem/Excorcist, "Trumps' days are lettered", Michael Che in "Hold Up, Madea Got A Daughter?", Waffle House Parking Lot

• Che's best jokes: "Fatmentia", Trump/Kennedy Center Events, Skydiving Accident

• Hmm, Marcello as himself? Doing his own standup? What is this, October 2022?

• OK, I liked the "you don't like the food, you just like having sex with my cousin" line.

• Isn't the "unwarranted sexual advice" bit just straight up lifted from that "ChatGPTio" sketch he did with Bad Bunny (which was apparently "lifted" from some random TikToker? Eh, nevermind).

• OK, he kinda lost me somewhere around the "phone calls from Santa/Spiderman/'Lorne'" bit.

• Ooh, another Jane Wickline song about the end of the human race. At this point, why the fuck not?

• Now, she's singing about how we should kill the cast of Stranger Things for absurd reasons. Because again, at this point...why the fuck not?

• What does it say about this episode that...THAT was genuinely the best part of it? C+

Wizard Of Oz: Deleted Footage

• A fake lost scene from "The Wizard Of Oz? Wow, what a truly innovative, original sketch concept that absolutely no sketch show has ever done before. I'm dead serious right now.

• So, we got Squirm as Dorothy...Kenan as the lion...Josh as the Tin Man...and Andrew as the Scarecrow...and Bowen as the "wizard"? Ok.

• The lion wants a "big ol' thang"? He...wants a big...ass or something?

• Oh, he wants a DICK! Like, a big, super long penis. I see.

• Yeah, this was something I was far too mentally checked out of this episode by this point to be able to get into...but I did admire the effort put into this by the performers (especially Kenan who seemed to be the only one trying with his impression...Dismukes came in a distant second...Sarah an even more distant third because I don't know what the hell she was even going for with that voice).

• As much as I disliked this sketch, I did appreciate it ending on a shot of a chroma keyed prostheticized Bowen. D+

Brad And His Dad

• Hey, it's...nice to see a Christmas one of these (even if I wasn't as into this one as I was into the first one from Nikki Glasers' episode from last month).

• Again, maybe I'm just mentally checked out if this episode at this point...but I liked the overall heartwarming nature of this more than anything. B-

College Class

• I have a feeling that pretty soon, the writers of this sketch may have to publicly claim (on the advice of their lawyers) that they've never seen or heard of "Young Sheldon" and that this is all a big coincidence.

• So...this sketch is half Bowen and Ashley screaming at each other and half Ben, Josh, Sarah and Veronika?

• Again, this is another sketch where I respect the performers commitment (Bowen and Ashley) specifically but I'm a bit too mentally checked out if this episode to get into it.

• Also, this feels like it went on way too long and as much as I saw the ending with Chloe and Josh coming a mile away, I just appreciated them ending it there. C-

Varietys' Characters on Characters

• OK, I do appreciate the absurd character nature of this, but maybe I'd appreciate these a bit more if I'd actually watched any of those "Actors on Actors" videos this is parodying...or, again, if I hadn't already burned myself out on this fucking episode about a third of the way into it.

• I did like the Mikey/JAJ and Chloe/Ashley scenes. Wasn't that into the Josh/Bowen and Marcello/Kenan scenes though. I did get a kick out of JAJs very last line as the announcer, though. B-

Lily Allen Brunch

• Wow, a sketch set around a restaraunt table. That's another fresh and innovative concept SNL is bringing to this season.

• So, someone mentioned tonight's musical guest, Lily Allen, and now this sketch turns into everyone going around the table...singing in her accent about however they've just been minorly slighted or inconvenienced?

• ...and presumably this is a musical parody sketch to the tune of one of the songs she sung earlier in the night? 

• Actually, going back and looking at her performances from the episode this doesn't sound like either of those songs, so maybe it's a parody of an album cut she *didn't* perform?

• Come to think of it, the running song in this sketch reminds me the most of Lily Allens' song "The Fear" which came out nearly two decades ago. Huh.

• ...and this ends with the real Lily Allen coming in and bring mistaken for a waiter because she is too polite to raise any objections?

• I didn't dislike this because they pretty much set up the audience for what this was but I feel like this will be lost on people who haven't listened to Lily Allen's new album who watch this on YouTube completely out of context from the rest of the show due to how fractured modern consumption of music is now.

• Still, it grew on me a bit on rewatch. I didn't hate the concept or the framework of this or anything but I did like the individual performances more, so...yeah, it kind of fits the theme of the night.

• I liked Veronikas performance (glad to see she got some standout moment for once) as well as Kenans. I did get a kick out of seeing Chloe just plain get steamrolled by Bowen. 

• Most of all, I liked Jane's performance just for the sheer strangeness of her talking at length about her ferret who mysteriously shows up and singing about her telepathy.

• I guess the thing I liked most about Jane's performance was her choice to not to her part in the hackiest cockney accent she could conjure. 

• I don't have much else to say about this sketch, so I'll just say that it doesn't bode well for the episode that I found the most interesting part of this episode to be the point where i figured out that it was actually Dakota Johnson hidden in the shadows at the end of Lily Allens' second musical performance (and that was at the very end so I figured it out at the same time you guys did. C+

Ranking The 51st Season From Best To Worst

1. Nikki Glaser/Sombr (11.08.2025)
2. Glenn Powell/Olivia Dean (11.15.2025)
3. Amy Poehler/Role Model (10.11.2025)
4. Melissa McCarthy/Dijon (12.06.2025)
5. Miles Teller/Brandi Carlile (11.01.2025)
6. Josh O'Connor/Lily Allen (12.13.2025)
7. Sabrina Carpenter (10.18.2025) 
8. Bad Bunny/Doja Cat (10.04.2025)

Overall Thoughts 

• Yeah, if you've read this far, you can probably tell by now that I didn't care all that much for this episode. It wasn't the absolute worst of the season, but it's definitely in my bottom five. Nothing in it was egregiously or aggressively bad, it was more like passively bad. This episode just felt like one big...nothing. Only two sketches felt like they had any thought put into them at all.

• Josh O'Connor wasn't a bad host, not Elordi level bad or anything. He just seemed like a host who gave it his all in spite of the writing staff not really knowing how to use him at all. 

• Considering who next weeks' host is, I got the sense that the show was just on auto pilot and running out the clock this week because they were saving all their energy and ideas (and hopefully not just their list of potential A-list cameos) for the big Christmas blowout they were planning.

• Cast use mostly seemed balanced. If anyone really stood out from the established names, it would probably be Kenan, Bowen, Mikey, Andrew and Ben. JAJ got to do a bit more non-Trump stuff this week. The women as a unit really shined with Ashley standing out as usual. I was really impressed to see the show finally start to figure out how to use Jane and Veronika in a way that makes them shine and plays to their strengths.

Closing Thoughts 

• Next week is this season's big Christmas show as well as the last new SNL of 2025 with Ariana Grande returning to host...surprisingly soon after just hosting in the first half of last season but hey...who else are they gonna be able to get to plug "Wicked For Good"? 

• Also, Cher is the musical guest for some reason...just like Stevie Nicks was the musical guest in Arianas' previous episode for some reason. I don't know how she's able to do it but somehow Ariana Grande is able to pull impossibly big name musical guests when she hosts.

• A lot of people seem to think Bowen Yang may be leaving this season and this may, in fact, be his last show based on...I dunno, the fact that's he's in the same movie that Ariana is plugging and he's got a deal to make another one...and that he's made his mental health struggles with the show quite public and that he posted the shot of the corkboard announcement of this episode to his Instagram story with the simple caption "byeeeeeeeeeeeee"? 

• I mean, we thought the same thing about Colin when his wife hosted last seasons' finale back in May based on similarly specious reasoning...but cast members of Bowens' ilk have left at Christmas time semi-unexpectedly (Maya, Amy, Cecily) so...I'd say it's plausible but I'd believe it when I see it.

• Well, any way you want to look at it, this sounds like it's gonna be a BIG show...but it's pretty obvious they've lost a great deal of the momentum for this season they've built up back in November, so at best...I'm cautiously optimistic.

• I'm not the biggest fan of Arianas in the world and probably not the target audience for this episode but I will admit that aside from maybe one or two specific sketches (you all know which ones, I'm sure) she turned out one of the more solid episodes of season 50 that I did enjoy and she's always performed well in sketches on the show. 

• The Christmas episode of that season however (hosted by Martin Short, another beloved performer who has a strong history with the show) was one I wasn't as big a fan of. I got the sense that it was a big, flashy Christmas blowout but it was one too heavily loaded with big name cameos and retreads of previous sketches that didn't quite work for me.

• This year's Christmas episode has the potential to go either way and I'm hoping it doesn't go the way of big flashy cameos again (which thankfully isn't something that Ariana relies on in her episodes at all) and gives us something a bit lower key and idea- focused like recent previous Christmas shows hosted by Kristen Wiig, Austin Butler and Kate McKinnon (so yeah, maybe keep the cameos to a minimum of two or three and make sure they're all performers the host has chemistry with).

• Hey...speaking of Christmas episodes, you may have heard me mention on the last episode of We Heart Hader that Deej and I would be doing a review of the SNL season 33 premiere hosted by Lebron James. Well, we had a very sudden changes of plans. We decided to push that episode back to a later date. That episode will now be released on Friday, January 2nd 2026 which is Noth my 35th birthday and the exact one year anniversary of our podcasts debut (thanks to all of our listeners, we couldn't have done it without you).

• As for our next episode coming out on December 19th, well...that will now be OUR Christmas episode. As for what we will be talking about or why and how it's now holiday themed, I will reveal that in due time. Check my socials.

• See you again soon!

Melissa McCarthy/Dijon (12.06.2025)

Pentagon Press Conference

• Smart of them to open with another Jost as Hegseth sketch. He pretty much owned this whole thing. Bowen, Ben, Ashley and Andrew played off him extremely well. 

• For some reason, the "Dane Cook/Super-finger" and "Anmaniacs/countries of the world references got me the most. This might be the strongest "acting" Jost has ever done on the show.

• I initially wasn't crazy about how they snuck Sarah's Matt Gaetz in there, but watching Bowen easily resist her attempts to break him was...a nice touch.

• Even though I knew EXACTLY how this was going to end, I at least appreciate how they actually transitioned to the JAJ/Trump "stream of consciousness" (although the Mamdani jokes seem a bit out of date). A-

Monologue 

• Nice to see Melissa back on this show again. I wasn't too crazy about the "mouth horn" bits and the snow thing I kinda saw coming from 50 miles away, but I got a big kick out of the physical business with the piano.

• The singing and dancing with Kenan and the others was a fine capper to this. I guess I was just expecting something a little more...sprawling around the studio from Melissa and less...a more broad version of an old Adam Driver monologue. B-

Free Samples

• Hmm, intriguing choice to pair Melissa with Jeremy right up top. I do like the idea of a woman (totally platonically...until the very end) reading WAY too much into the intentions of a simple grocery store employee offering free samples to the point of offering him her mother's ring. This is definitely the type of concept that ONLY Melissa McCarthy could make work.

• For some reason, I was expecting the return of Melissas' "Hidden Valley Ranch" character but I guess this is more one of Melissa's dimmer "not all there" Barb Kellner/"pass that mash" type characters. Looks like we're about to go on a bit of a journey, here.

• Out of the non-Melissa bits of the sketch, I liked the business with Ashley and the cart. Mikey telling Melissa to untie her racist dogs may have been my favorite part of this. B+

Helping Hand

• Hmm, a slight twist on a similar short from Billie Eilishs' 2021 episode where the elderly neighbor is still a psycho, but this time just actively torments those who lightly tease a very young child.

• I already like how there are different elements to this one that escalate the sketch to some new height of absurdity each time.

• I'm sure I'm not the only one who got a kick out of seeing Marcello tied up...or Sarah and Chloe as Anora-esque hookers. 

• I wonder how it would take Mikeys character until he fired the gun to mistake it for a "Nerf" one?

• The ending was wonderfully deranged, especially with Jeremy as the cop and Melissa as the new "snowman". It gives this a real air of "who is the real unreliable narrator here?" B-

UPS Personell Management 

• This seems like it’s going to be a cross between the Harry Styles Sara Lee sketch from 2019 and the horror flick test screening sketch from Melissas' 2016 episode (but with Ashley in the role that Cecily would've gotten).

• Maybe they sprinkled in a little bit of Barb Kellner, Hidden Valley Ranch Lady and Sheila Kelly in for good measure? I draw those specific comparisons as this character came off as "dim witted yet wildly aggressive".

• Even though this sketch kind of meandered without really escalating or going anywhere, I did get a kick out of the "peoples' elbow", the live bat, Melissas' "fainting" and the tearful "17 Days" line. This whole sketch might have been the closest I have seen Mikey come to breaking...ever.

• I didn't mind the USPS button so much as I was expecting something like this at the end. I just wish they had executed that gag completely differently. Maybe Donna could've been promoted to CEO of UPS or something more absurd and/or ridiculous than another fucking "unexpected" commercial button? B-

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

• Josts' Best Jokes: Trump/MRI, Star Wars Ponchos, Epstein Island Photos, TikTok, White House Christmas Decoration

• Che's Best Jokes: Franklin/Dora, Speaker Mike Johnston, New Train Video Game

• Hey, Ben got his first Update feature! I mean, it's pretty much a way less one joke version of Alex Moffats' "Guy Who Just Bought A Boat" but still, good on him. He performed this very well.

• I wasn't crazy about the TV dinner stuff, but I loved the added detail that his extreme sunburn came from him falling asleep with his overhead reading light on from the plane ride to Ireland. The all ginger, all sunburned children's choir was a nice touch, too.

• As for Sarah's commentary, it's a lot different than previous update commentaries of hers where she played a talking animal or some other kind of non-human creature. Thankfully, she was less focused on Jost roasts to the point where the only two she got in really landed.

• This was a great showcase for her physical comedy skills, too. Honestly, part of what kept me drawn into this bit was the anticipation of how something so elaborate might fall apart so easily. For example, I don't know if her letting the bottle of alcohol fall over the desk was intentional or not, but she handled that along with the slight night vision Ring doorbell camera miscues like a total pro. B+

Truth Or Dare

• So, was this just "Mild Southern Lesbian Experimentation: The Sketch" or just a more repressed remake of "The Hunting Wives" without the guns or Amy & Aubrey? Either way, it was cute and charming and I certainly liked it.

• For some reason, I could see this sketch being done during the Kate/Cecily/Andy era. It was the first piece of the night that felt less like it was written specifically for Melissa McCarthy and felt more like any female host who could pull off a passable southern accent. Also, this seems to be Jane's first appearance of the night. Fitting.

• A mayonnaise AND yogurt dip? Ew, what the hell?

• I got a kick out of all the dares Sarah's character was involved in. I especially liked the use of the phrases "reveal our breasts" and "choke me sexually". I especially liked the visual of Jane and Sarah coming back from their pantry wearing each other's shirts backwards.

• This might go without saying but Ashley did a great job anchoring this sketch. I liked her revealing her Spotify age to be 210 (and apparently I don't even get to HAVE one myself right now since I only use Spotify infrequently to listen to certain specific podcasts...yes, including my own). C+

Sunday Supper

• This seemed like Andrew Dismukes just punched up and old Kyle Mooney sketch that someone submitted in, like, 2018 to better match his own "pure id" comedic style. Still, it might legitimately be the funniest sketch of the night.

• I got a kick out of the visuals of of Dismukes dressed as a hobo with a stick and bindle and a small suitcase with just a hat and feather boa from a "dress up box" and then just straight up drinking gasoline.

• I liked Melissa's anecdote about him trying to hop a freight train after accidentally saying "I Love You" on the phone to the pizza guy but coming back because he got scared after bring offered some crack.

• I got a kick out of Melissa saying she hopes Dismukes doesn't return because he is a burden on her right before he comes back saying "the neighbors' dog was outside and I got scared".

• Strange that this would be Kams' first and only appearance of the night. B-

Cousin Planet

• Did anyone else think for a second from those brief three seconds of Windows 95 desktop graphics we got upfront that we were about to get another Jarretts' Room?

• The janky ass graphics, DIY homemade costumes and set design paired with the handicam shot video style do make this feel like it could've been an early Lonely Island Digital Short. It felt out of a time and place sometime between "Laser Cats" and "Virganica Horsen".

• This was a lot of fun. I especially got a kick out of Melissa as the "mayor" explaining the "flexible" no hooking up rules.

• It's good to see they're letting Jane Wickline and Veronika Slowikowska branch out with their songs and musical showcases and even with all the Obama First Term era autotune this was pretty catchy. 

• Still, I gotta ask. We've seen Jane do a song where she said she was supposed to be Sabrina Carpenter and heard of a cut for time Update feature where she said she was supposed to be Harry Styles. Was she supposed to be Charli XCX for this one? It sure sounded like it. From what I've heard of her more recent music, this sounded like it would've been right at home in her episode from last year with her in Veronikas' place in it. B+

Christopher & Guillaume 

• Does "Weird Al" Yankovic know Bowen and Melissa have been raiding his wardrobe?

• I got a kick out of the Minion Nativity Scene and the "Gingerbread Slumlords" line but beyond that, I didn't quite know what to make of this...other than that I wouldn't want Bowen or Melissa to run into Nick Kroll or John Mulaney for a while.

• My biggest problem with this sketch is that it's mostly crosstalk and high speed patter which we get a lot of right out of the gate so...that alone made it a bit harder to not tune out long enough to parse crucial elements of it.

• As for Melissa's presence, this didn't feel written specifically for her either. This feels like it could've starred any host (male or female) in another era if Bowen didn't decide to make this a vehicle for just him and either Kate, Cecily or Sarah and stick the host in Tommys' reporter role.

• Speaking of Tommys' role, him revealing his name to be "Ribbed Con-Dom"...yeah, that bummed me out a little bit. 

• Back to Melissa, again...this isn't a sketch that plays to her strengths nor did this feel like a sketch only she could enhance (maybe except for her line explaining to Tommys' character that she is, in fact, a woman) so...yeah, this was kind of a wash. C-

Ranking The 51st Season From Best To Worst

1. Nikki Glaser/Sombr (11.08.2025)
2. Glenn Powell/Olivia Dean (11.15.2025)
3. Amy Poehler/Role Model (10.11.2025)
4. Melissa McCarthy/Dijon (12.06.2025)
5. Miles Teller/Brandi Carlile (11.01.2025)
6. Sabrina Carpenter (10.18.2025) 
7. Bad Bunny/Doja Cat (10.04.2025)

Overall Thoughts

• Overall, this was a pleasant show that started off strong, but it was a rather uneven one. Still, this was strong enough to make it into my personal top five of the season so far.

• The strange thing about this episode was that it felt like a tale of two halves. The first half of the show felt like they knew how to play directly to Melissa McCarthys' strengths as a performer. The second half felt like they were trying to fit Melissa into the modern show's templates. 

• While the latter type of sketch didn't bring down the show or anything, it does show how far the show is removed from the era of "Big theater kid energy" in which Melissa has previously thrived on the show.

• Still, I guess the more subdued and less wildly sprawling nature of this episode is partly due to Melissa herself having grown and matured as an actress and wanting to move away from the type of broad, physical humor that defined her previous hosting stints.

• Melissa managed to dominate the show anyway with Sarah and Ashley tied for a close second and Chloe a distant third. Of course, Melissa got some assists from Mikey as well due to their long time Groundlings connection, no doubt. Aside from people like JAJ, Jane, Tommy and Kam who were seemingly only used once or twice, everyone else seemed to get a fair amount of airtime.

Closing Thoughts

• Next week, Josh O'Connor makes his hosting debut. Now, THIS is the true wild card of the season. Here's an actor who isn't known nearly enough for anyone to get a bead on how he might do as a host. 

• Glenn Powell was a first time host who has previously cameoed on the show but outside of that he's a popular enough actor that people would've accurately guessed he'd do well on the show. Josh O'Connor is a guy we've got nothing on, but I'm still going into this show hoping to be pleasantly surprised.

• Hell, I'll be starting a new job next week anyway so I'm sure my review of that episode will be a little...off.

• Also, please listened to the newest episode of We Heart Hader that just dropped two or three nights ago. See you next week!