Alexander Skarsgard/Cardi B (01.31.2026)

ICE Meeting

• What the absolute fuck?

• A diffie opening text crawl followed by an even DIFFIER political impression.

• I don't know how far down the list of "People Who Should Play Tom Homan On This Show" fucking Pete Davidson was, but I'm pretty disappointed that the guy who would've been my first choice if they absolutely HAD to stunt cast this (John Goodman, of course...I mean, he's gotta have a good handle on the voice) was obviously unavailable.

• Hell, I'd have a slightly easier time buying Pete in this role if he used the same voice and facial prosthetics that he was using to play Andrew Cuomo a few years ago.

• I'll say Kenan, Dismukes, Ben, Mikey, JAJ and Jeremy as the ICE agents Pete is addressing are picking up the slack from Pete and just BARELY making this work for me...and it is at least mice to get a break from another JAJ/Trump centered cold open...and this is probably preferable to a sudden cameo from Cardi as Nicki as a few people online were suggesting.

• Is this reminding anyone else of the Airport Security sketch from the season 32 premiere back in '06?

• It seems like there's not a lot here just because of the slow pacing of this (well, not JUST because of that), but there are some actually funny and decent lines here to pick out that were delivered well.

• Another reason there doesn't seem like much to go on here is that the main take seems to be reiterating what incompetent unqualified doofuses ICE agents are (a point that has been beaten to death by both "real" and "fake" news shows alike).

• Beyond that, having Pete Davidson of all people just barely gloss over what a corrupt evil bastard Tom Homan is and then have Pete Davidson of all people portray him as a mild mannered school marm is WAY the wrong thing for the show to be doing. In fact, this is almost MORE toothless and tone deaf than what they did LAST week.

• You know, this was one of many, many different moments in my life in the past 48 hours where I had to just sit in silence and ask myself...what the fuck am I even doing with my life right now? 

• Granted, I find myself doing this a lot for a plethora of deeply personal reasons that are entirely unrelated to this particular SNL cold open that i refuse to divulge on this goddamn fucking blog right now (it's supposed to be a distraction from that, obviously)...but I'm starting to wonder how many people involved in putting this show on the air have the capacity to even ask themselves this and that makes me sad...well, not as sad as some of that personal stuff I refuse to talk about here...but still. C-

Monologue

• Wow, an actual mention of the 1000th episode. I like how Alexander underplayed that.

• Hey, this dude's legitimately paying tribute to the band...AND letting them speak! All right!

• Hey, Lenny's got jokes!

• Alexanders' saxophone bit was fun and a great capper to this.

• That monologue may just be one big clock punch for those of us who listen to (and even some times record and release their own) podcasts about SNL but...already this is LIGHTYEARS better than three of the last five episodes of the show put together (which already makes this episode better than but just as uneven as last week's show). A-

Mom's Confession

• Already this reminds me of the "bad thing" sketch from Kristen Wiigs' last episode but with Ashley trying to do a better version of it.

• ...and it turns out that Sarah, Tommy, Dismukes and Jane are her kids who are exasperated that she didn't turn on Trump sooner or more drastically. 

• I liked Alexanders' line about how Ashley "gets a different internet" because her laptop is old and Jane's line about Ashley asking her if she "just liked hats" when she came out to her.

• I'll give the show this, the smartest thing they did all year so far was make this particular sketch an Ashley showcase and make it the first post monologue sketch. B+

Winter Olypmics Profile 

• Hey, another weird ass Jane thing but as a flashy pretape and she's killing it with this already! All right! Alexander is pretty great as her coach, too.

• The only thing negative I could say about this is that it does remind me a bit of that Patti Harrison Shark Tank sketch from ITYSL which will probably make the discourse around this sketch/episode a bit annoying...but other than that I'm glad we got to see this on air. B+

Stench Of A Family

• Already I can tell this is going to be a sequel to that Chloe movie shoot sketch from Glenn Powells' episode. 

• Smart move. That sketch did kill the first time and it does fit Alexander like a glove. Even Jane is scoring in this.

• This one seems to be going in a darker direction but making it work. It didn't have much of an out either but at least the Stellan cameo lent it some credibility...but not an actual ending or a non-rushed out, it seems. B-

Immigrant Dad Talk Show III

• This was a pleasant surprise. I genuinely wasn't expecting this to return any time soon, but I suppose Alexander playing up the repressed Nordic stoicism his homeland is known for works here just as well.

• This felt a bit more rushed but that's probably because they didn't need to establish as much with this being the third one and the focus shifting from sons amd daughters to wives.

• I don't think we needed to see the exact same beat with Mikey amd Dismukes as the father and son who kiss but the Stellan cameo that moment spawned worked even better.

• ...and if Cardi was going to cameo in a sketch, I guess this would be the one for her to be in. B-

Viking Raid

• Hmm, this seems to be the "obligatory host sketch" of the night.

• Huh, this turned into more of a "host plays against type" as it became more focused on Alexander overcoming his own insecurity. 

• I liked how they played that against a backdrop of modern manufactured SNL pretape gore set during the crusades. That made for some interesting juxtaposition and this was well acted by all the cast members involved.

• I did like the various gags that involved vikings just casually holding severed limbs. C+

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

• Che's best jokes: Kristi Noem, Jost/ICE Mask, Jamaican bobsled team, Luigi Mangione, Obese Americans

• Josts' best jokes: Dry January, Walz/Epstein, Kash Patel/Mr. Bean, Waffle House, McDonalds Decaf Coffee, UPS

• Well, this Update seemed like it might slowly grind this episode to a halt at first...but Che and Jost actually had some decent jokes later on.

• I dunno, editing Melania footage into Rush Hour still seems a little beneath SNL to me.

• Interesting coincidence that we're seeing Sarah's "out in the cold" weather report the same week That Week covered the episode with "Dratch On The Ones" on Update. 

• It's MUCH less interesting that she immediately turned it into another perverted Jost roast but I liked her dress (and how she interacted with the audience during that reveal). The Jack McBrayer cameo was nice.

• Speaking of now recurring sketches that debuted in November, it was smart of them to being back Ashley and Andrews "two people who just hooked up". I know Ashley does most of the heavy lifting in these (and she did great as usual) but Dismukes had a lot of the lines I liked (especially "game of inches" and "tush push"). C+

Agnes

• So, Alexander is in very basic low frils drag...and shouting at the girls in a Farleyesque manner when they are incredulous about what she does and doesn't know about things...and Ashley is the mom

• This may be the dumbest thing ever on paper but I kinda like the absurd direction this is going in with the repeated Sarah dummy toss.

• Even Jane had the line that made this sketch for me: "Stop asking her if she knows things". C+

Tarzan & Jane

• I like the use of miniatures here.

• Anyone else get slight CBS era Kids In The Hall vibes from Alexander here? This does seem like something a Don Ohlemeyer type would casually suggest.

• I do like how this is fundamentally reconstructing the basic relationship between Tarzan and Jane in a way that makes it feel so evergreen that it COULD have actually been done as early as 1993.

• Kenans' leopard bit was cute but I could've done without it.

• I do like the fourth wall break that suggests "Jane" is a long islander faking her English accent. Did she cowrite this with Martin and Ben? Some of the other slight Sarah self depreciation (the "boobs" line mostly) makes me think so.

• Overall, another decent sketch in a standout episode but probably one of the things that "blew me away" the least. B-

Funny Boyfriend

• Hmm, a sketch built around "Cards Against Humanity"? This sounds like something that had been cut from many dress rehearsals...since about 2011.

• I didn't care too much for the reveal but I'll say that I liked how Andrew, Ashley, JAJ were great at dramatically calling out what they just found out Alexander said on his cards earlier that day.

• Also, Alexander did great with his dramatic origin story. I didn't even mind how telegraphed the ending was since I had just enough fun with this sketch to enjoy it. B-

Ranking The 51st Season From Best To Worst

1. Nikki Glaser/Sombr (11.08.2025)
2. Glenn Powell/Olivia Dean (11.15.2025)
3. Alexander Skarsgard/Cardi B (01.31.2026)
4. Melissa McCarthy/Dijon (12.06.2025)
5. Ariana Grande/Cher (12.20.2025)
6. Amy Poehler/Role Model (10.11.2025)
7. Miles Teller/Brandi Carlile (11.01.2025)
8. Finn Wolfhard/A$AP Rocky (01.17.2026)
9. Josh O'Connor/Lily Allen (12.13.2025)
10. Sabrina Carpenter (10.18.2025) 
11. Teyana Taylor/Geese (01.24.2026)
12. Bad Bunny/Doja Cat (10.04.2025)

Overall Thoughts 

• Well, if nothing else, this episode shows just how well this season of SNL can dig itself out of a hole. This is at least the third time this season alone that this show had managed to pull off a shockingly strong episode just after a demoralizingly bad and empty one just in time for a notable chronological milestone in the show's history. 

• We've seen this at the very start of this season with Amy Poehlers' episode following by Bad Bunnys' on the actual to the date 50th anniversary of SNL and if you want to count Bowen leaving as such a milestone we saw it with Ariana Grande/Cher following Josh O'Connor/Lily Allen. 

• Now, we just saw them pull this off in time to give us a surprisingly fun 1000th episode that honestly may not have seemed quite as good had it not been preceded by that dreadful one two punch of Finn Wolfhard/Teyana Taylor.

• Yes, Alexander was a much more game host than Teyana who bought the right energy and showed quite a bit more range, but the writing is still a bit uneven and their political commemtary does still fail to "meet the moment" in a way that makes one wonder why the hell they are even still doing this show anymore (hell, SNL can't even tell "the moment" from either it's own collective asshole OR a hole in the ground let alone find it with a map in a flashlight) but still, there were a lot of refreshing little elements to this that made me glad to see such a feel good episode close out its January run.

• One thing that I think is the leading cause of the show's instability problems right now is the shift in cast dynamics in Bowens' absence but it is still great to see the show remember how best to use Jane, Ashley, JAJ, Marcello, Dismukes, Sarah and even Chloe lately.

• It's a shame we didn't see as much of Kam, Kenan or Jeremy and that they're still figuring out what to do with Ben, Tommy, Mikey and Veronika at this time.

Closing Thoughts

• At the end of thext month when the Milan Winter Olympics are over, Connor Storrie makes his SNL hosting debut. At this point, I'm glad that Ben Marshall has already gotten "Heated Wizardy" out of his system but given that the current show's staff still let that on the aid as their first big pop cultural parody pretape of 2026, I'm extremely wary of how such an episode COULD go.

• Well, I hope you've enjoyed my reviews of both SNLs' 1000th AND 638th live episodes (the latter of which is the subject of of the latest episode of the We Heart Hader Podcast as well as my previous blog post). Later this month, we'll be reviewing more of Documentary Now (the "Dronez" episode specifically) and I'll be a guest on the "Cover Wars" podcast (more on that later, closer to when my episode comes out).

• See you soon!

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!

Nikki Glaser/Sombr (11.08.2025)

The following regular blog post is also a companion piece to the newest episode of Saturday Night Ladies, whose cohosts have graciously allowed me to be a guest on this week.

Saturday Night Ladies is the sister podcast to We Heart Hader launched by my regular cohost Deej Barens along with Shari Fesko and Demi Constantine (whom you might also know from the Saturday Night Network Patron Feedback shows).

As you can probably tell, I timed this publishing so as to no spoil what I would say on the podcast.

Give us a listen, won't you?

White House Press Conference 

• Hmmm....very bold, very risky choice. Let's see how they actually tackle this.

• Apparently Marcello is Dr Oz instead of Mikey? Ok. Fine, sure.

• Great RFK Jr there, Mr. Dismukes.

• Apparently, they're doing this JUST like they've done pretty much 99% of the JAJ/Trump cold opens they've done the past three seasons. 

• Don't know why I should've expected this to be that drastically different, but there are a few small touches of slight variance from JAJ here that I do like such as him tripping over the collapsed man and the "MRI/punch card" line. C+

Monologue 

• Ok, HERE'S what's sure to be the highlight of this episode.

• I wasn't that into the Trump/spray tan stuff until she transitioned into the insane "tan lung" class action lawsuit commercial.

• While I like how Nikki demonstrates her ability to flawlessly command the room with this set, I feel like I might prefer one of her previous specials to this monologue for how "safe for TV" this material had to be.

• I'm more used to seeing her starting with the raunchy sex stuff before winding down and transitioning into relationship stuff so it feels a bit strange to see her do the complete opposite here but the plus side is it brings the energy going up going into the first post monologue sketch (which is a crucial element to the show that they need to realize applies to live viewers)

• My biggest laughs in this monologue were the nails/short boyfriend "they go inside him/gun on the top shelf" stuff. 

• The "showering with her nephew" stuff was the perfect thing to end this on. B+

Family Karaoke Night

• Yeah, I figured the entire joke here would be "lol oblivious incest vibes" once Nikki & Tommy got on stage.

• Having attended the taping of Nikkis' "Good Clean Filth" special where she talked about having kissed her dad on the lips until she was 26, I figure this must be a Nikki-centric idea she bought to the show. Knowing now that Tommy has gone on tour with Nikki, I can definitely see more how this got on.

• Speaking of, this might be the first Tommy-centric sketch so far in his tenure. He already seems to be a slightly divisive cast member, but...this really didn't sway my opinion of him either way. We've seen his standup on Update but I haven't really gotten to get a bead on him as a sketch performer yet.

• Ok, I think this would be as good a place as any to say I'm really not crazy about this fairly new trend of Sarah being relegated to "straight woman sitting at table reacting in shock and disgust at everything" roles in sketches (even as much as she sells the absolute shock and horror of it all here).

• I do like how hard the sketch ground to a halt after Sarah's "humping his sister" line (especially after that Boyz II Men needle drop felt a little too obvious).

• The bit about the brother and sister sleeping in the same room until Nikki went to college and getting separate beds at 17 definitely felt like a Nikki punchline.

• I did get a kick out of Dismukes' Dad character singing "Too Close" with Nikki and Tommy singing "You've Got A Friend In Me" to Sarah but it felt like it ran a couple of beats too long in between those moments.

• Ending with Nikki deeply tongue kissing Sarah? Ok, I don't have a huge problem with that. C+

Hudsacillin

• Hmm. "The Jennifer Hudson Spirit Tunnell"? This feels like something I don't quite know was a thing because I've only see one or two clips of this on social media completely removed from any real context.

• Hell, I didn't even remember Jennifer Hudson even still HAS a morning show until just now. Do Kelly Clarkson or Drew Barrymore still have either of theirs?

• The biggest kick I got out of this was Nikki listing various bad dancing styles she tried at home in front of the mirror that didn't work.

• The thing that makes this work is, again, how specific this idea feels to Nikkis' mind that only she could do this and would have to play herself in it (although if these "spirit tunnel" videos truly are enough of a viral phenomenon that an SNL pretape could be based around them, I find myself agreeing with Jon Schneiders' take that some other testimonials could have saved this. I truly wouldn't have minded some extra cameos here because I can't really see how a cast impression would've improved this...especially not one of Chloe's).

• Still, I guess that's one of two things that separate this from most SNL fake prescription ads with the other being that it's a pill that actually makes you sick (similar to "Flaritin" from season 38?) instead of helping you achieve your goal which...yeah, seems like a better ending than just having Nikki dance happily. Steve Higgins voice over at the end really hung a lampshade on what a cop out that would've been.

• Speaking of the ending, I did also like the meta twist with Marcello dancing on the tunnel because he really wants it. C+

Beauty & Mr. Beast

• Boy, this sure feels like a non idea someone blurted out when called on at the Monday pitch meeting who had no other ideas.

• Nikki, Kenan and Bowens' costumes looked as slapdash and thrown together as the writing of this whole sketch felt but I did get a kick out Kenans' line about realizing $2500 isn't a lot if money.

• I liked how they at least found an impression for Ben Marshall that he could legitimately pull off. I did get a kick out of Bens' line about his "top half being beast and his bottom half being completely smooth". 

• This almost seems like another case where a cast member has too much of a soul or just too much behind the eyes to play whoever they're impersonating but Ben pretty well captured Mr. Beasts' empty eyed, soulless, half rictus grin that I keep seeing on all these weird snack products he slaps his name and likeness on at every frigging store I've gone to in the past year and a half which due to my advanced age are the only thing I know him from and thus  the only cultural context I have for this fucking guy.

• I guess beyond that Mr. Beast is a YouTuber who makes videos where he has regular people undergo bizarre challenges for amounts of money that are still less than the obscene riches he makes off doing this? 

• Hmm...maybe my only takeaway from this sketch SHOULD just be that it's just another one of those pieces where they explain some YouTuber or social media influencers' whole "deal" just to point out how sadly ridiculous it is that they're worth billions of dollars? That premise alone is becoming the new "tale as old as time".

• This started off feeling like something that would've been RIGHT at home on the old "MAD" Cartoon Network show if Mr. Beast had been around 15 years ago. Once Kenan and Bowen began singing "You're Depressed" to "Be Our Guest" (which parsed about as well as the rest of this sketch...which is to say not very well), it started feeling like something out of a Family Guy cutaway gag (and apparently there's evidence out there that this exact premise was done by Studio C, produced as early as last year but only aired/uploaded as early as last week, which isn't a great look for either side. I'd chalk it up to "parallel thinking" if the timing didn't seem so wonky, but...this sketch seems like it was destined to catch a fair amount of shit from smug pissant GenZers on social media anyway...and if you are one who's managed to find this review and make it this far, congratulations)

• The "I Don't Get It" - Every Person Over 25" review gag was my biggest laugh in this. That really hit and may have been the only time that a fake review gag in an SNL sketch was legitimately funny. Also, I'm vaguely familiar enough with who Kai Cenat is to get a chuckle out of "Kai-sablanca". C+

American Girl XL

• I can't believe the sheer number of sketches SNL has done about creepy grown ass men behaving inappropriately inside an American Girl doll store in the past eight years. 

• Ok well, now that I think about it's only been three but still...it's pretty weird that SNL has mined that very specific idea for comedy that many times.

• Of course, the guys all sold the creep-tastic nature of this and the timing of Nikkis concerned sideways looks at each of them was flawless. Due to the rapid fire pacing of this pretape, there were too many individual moments to list as favorites but I will single out most of Bens' lines and Kams' "biracial" doll being made to look like his brothers' wife as favorites.

• JAJ just suddenly barging in to take over the spokesperson role from an increasingly creeped out Nikki got possibly the biggest laugh of the whole show from me here. A-

Runaway Mechanical Bull

• I was hoping we'd get some kind of fun Nikki & Sarah (!!!) collab and even though there seemed to be quite a lot going on here for a live sketch, this turned out to be quite fun for the sheer heights of detail heavy absurdity it reached. 

• JAJ singing an Arlo Guthrie type score to this was just the icing on the cake. He reminded me quote a lot of the "train traveling/riding the rails" song from MST3Ks' "Girl In Lovers Lane" episode.

• Even Janes' first lines before suddenly just bailing on the sketch made me laugh (even if that's something they did before too in last season's Timothee Chalamet Starbucks sketch, IIRC)

• This functions well as a white trash companion piece to the "Two Bitches Vs A Gorilla" sketch from last seasons' Quinta Brunson episode.

• I liked the fourth wall twist of Sarah being called by her real name and the unintentional one of a pair of errant panties lying on the platform Jeremy was supposed to lay himself across to make is appear that was floating through space. A-

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

• Che's best jokes: Curtis Sliwa/squirrels, FOX News on Mamdani, GenZ/"paying w/cash is 'cringe'"

• Josts' best jokes: RFK Jr, Mexican President, SeaWorld

• I'm genuinely surprised the extended applause break at Josts' first mere mention of Mamdanis' victory didn't result in another quick band shot at the end of the show from something getting cut for time.

• Oof. Yeah, that "Trump doesn't have to pay SNAP benefits" joke should've been cut...and the "Michael Jackson biopic" joke should've been rewritten.

• This wasn't a great Update Joke-wise for Jost & Che but at least it's great to see them actually having fun doing this again.

• Wow. Genuinely wasn't expecting a Pete Davidson cameo this...or any week really (especially to talk about his Staten Island Ferry fiasco w/Jost) but in spite of his reminding us that he did, in fact, play the Riadyh Comedy Festival...I enjoyed this more than I thought I would (which...I can say about a lot of stuff Pete did, but nonetheless).

• With his jokes about his father's death, potential ICE run ins with Staten Islanders and him, Jost & Che being potential Epstein clients in an episode hosted by Nikki Glaser, it's nice to see an attempt at making gleefully dark humor a running theme throughout tonight's show.

• More specific things from Pete I liked were his Lorne/Tina joke and the Classic Pete/"New" Staten Island jokes. B-

Sorority Meeting

• I like how intensely specific and weird this premise was right from the get go. It felt like something modern SNL would otherwise never attempt.

• Am I the only one who legitimately couldn't tell whether that was Tommy or Mikey under that "Rocky Dennis in White Chicks" looking mask until it came all the way off? 

• Seriously, the face screamed Tommy but the voice gradually suggested this was Mikey.

• I liked how Ashley was just straight up shamed for being the only one genuinely catching on to Mikeys' ruse (for which no other explanation was seemingly given besides watching bikini car washes from inside a garage with towells on his lap) as he was literally peeling the mask off to eat a donut.

• I liked even more how the cast soldiered on with this sketch in the face of what appeared to be a crucial prop malfunction with the vape smoke not appearing through the eye holes as they were literally explaining how that was supposed to be happening and the tears just barely working or even being visible (and how they obviously put up the dress version of this on YouTube where the complete opposite of this happened).

• Fortunately, what made up for it was how flawlessly the cut to the pretaped segment of Nikki pulling off her "mask" and revealing herself to be Andrew Dismukes was. B+

SNL Animated Short: Brad & His Dad

• Of all the odd one off attempts at animated segments SNL has tried to get off the ground in the post TV Funhouse era, this one I definitely liked the most because it clearly had the most effort, thought and care put into it since any previous animated segment put on SNL since Robert Smigel was still regularly producing them.

• It felt different and a lot more heartfelt than anything we've seen on SNL since at least the Jack Handey era. In fact, it felt very noticeably and stylistically different from the previous animated segments Mikey & Streeter did for the show last season.

• Speaking of, I can definitely tell that's Mikey as Brad...but who did the voice of the father? Was that Streeter or Dismukes?

• Anyone else get legitimate Kids In The Hall vibes from this? It felt like a ditect cross between one of their filmed sketches and the [adult swim] shows "China, IL" and "Brad Neelys' Harg Nallin' Sclopio Peepio".

• Anyway, the best moments for me here were anytime the dad put on a video game headset (especially the brief "never say that to me because I'm white" rant) as well as the playground/drone scenes (especially the ending call back).

• I get how the football scene gave some people nice, warm Peyton Manning flashbacks but it didn't quite hit the same for me (pun unintended yet unavoidable). B-

Pilot Announcement

• Well, I have been wanting to see more JAJ character pieces or just more non-Trump sketches with JAJ as the main focus. This was definitely more the latter than the former but he did well with the role he was given here. Kam as his wilder copilot giving him sexting advice was a nice touch even if he didn't exactly steal the scene or anything.

• With as many sketches set on delayed flights with rambling pilots and sketches about dating apps and sexting in general the show has done in recent years, he really had the chops necessary to elevate this into something unique. 

• This also might have been Sarah's best performance all night. I know, she’s still just "reacting to something" but I liked how she at least showed she's capable of having a similar type of chemistry with Dismukes that he has shown he has with Ashley to the point where they can bring each other just barely noticeably close to breaking.

• I also liked Kenan and Bowen silently gesticulating at each other as JAJ described specifically what type of gay guy he wanted advice from.

• As much as I love Nikki, this is the one sketch she didn't particularly shine in but good on her for letting some underutilized cast members share the spotlight. B-

The Make Believe Meadow

• Not quite sure which specific children's book this is a loose parody of (I'm guessing a cross between Narnia, Alice In Wonderland & Winnie The Pooh?) but one thing I am certain if is that Mikey and Jeremy's obsession with pinwheels made this feel too much like a bad ten-to-one Fred Armisen sketch from sometime between 2008 and 2010.

• More specifically, I am thinking of Freds' "calculator" sketch with John Malkovich from December 2008 and his "sparkling apple juice" sketch with Bryan Cranston from October 2010.

• While I do appreciate everyone's commitment to this premise (especially Mikey and Bowen), I can't say they put this over because this fundamentally just wasn't for me. C-

Ranking The 51st Season From Best To Worst

1. Nikki Glaser/Sombr (11.08.2025)
2. Amy Poehler/Role Model (10.11.2025)
3. Miles Teller/Brandi Carlile (11.01.2025)
4. Sabrina Carpenter (10.18.2025) 
5. Bad Bunny/Doja Cat (10.04.2025)

Overall Thoughts 

• I think I can safely say without my person bias creeping in that this is the best episode of the season so far. It got off to a slightly uneven start but ended up being the least uneven episode of the season so far (which is probably the worst thing I can say about it).

• Nikki was an excellent host if not a slightly green live sketch performer and I definitely think she should return at some point.

• This episode delivered everything that I was hoping for from any episode hosted by a stand up comedian who is new to the show in that their unique presence delivers a creative spark in the process and encourages the show to try out ideas they wouldn't try any other week (even if some of those ideas don't quite have universal appeal).

• I'd even go as far as to say that with the way this season has been going, I got almost the same thing from this episode that I got from John Mulaney's first two episodes from 2018/19 (which is even more impressive when you consider the fact that Nikki doesn't have the home field advantage of having written for the show for a number of years before her stand up career really took off).

• Cast usage was still a bit strange tonight, but I liked seeing a lot of Kam, Jeremy, Tommy, Dismukes & Sarah (as they slowly but surely figure out how to better use her), JAJ (being highlighted in non-Trump roles) and Mikey & Bowen (as long as they're playing to their better instincts as performers).

• I'm not quite as down on Marcello as some others are (like I definitely am with Chloe) but it's nice to see them being put on the back burner for a bit to give others a chance to shine along with Ashley & Veronika this week (and I'm NOT down on them at all but again, they've been doing a lot of solid work this season so it'll be nice to see them give others a chance to shine.

Closing Thoughts 

• Next week, Glenn Powell makes his hosting debut for the last show before Thanksgiving. These Thanksgiving adjacent episodes are typically a wash and I'm certain there won't be the same spark there was this week but I'm also sure that Glenn will be a game host who will bring some enthusiasm to the show.

• Hey, don't forget to listen to me in the newest episode of Saturday Night Ladies talking about this episode!

• Also, don't forget to listen to the latest episode of We Heart Hader where we continue our "No Small Roles" series and talk about Bill's guest spots on animated TV shows.

• In the coming weeks on We Heart Hader, Deej and I will be doing another "Impression Spotlight" episode focused on Bills' James Carville followed by the start of our SNL season 33 coverage with the LeBron James/Kanye West episode. See you then!

Amy Poehler/Role Model (10.11.1975)

 Pam Bondi Hearing

• Hey, another “off the beaten path” political cold open (I mean, that describes any modern SNL cold open that doesn’t feature James Austin Johnson as Donald Trump as JAJ but still).

• Speaking of, I see JAJ is playing Senator Chuck Grassley tonight and the two new white guys are getting some airtime right up top. I did like Jeremy Culhanes’ “Jeff-rey Ep-stein” chant as Senator Whitehouse. Boy, Dismukes as Senator Kennedy from Louisiana looks like it will be a fun impression. 

• Among the miscues, I see Ashley Padilla is playing Amy Klobuchar…but, wait…this is supposed to be a Pam Bondi sketch and didn’t Ashley play Pam Bondi in last seasons’ “White Potus” or was that some weird random color blob? Wait, does this mean we’re getting…HEY!!! Amy as Pam Bondi! (or is this just Leslie Knope if she became a “bad girl”?)

• Well, it was smart of the show to have Amy helm this cold open since over the past several years she has proven herself adept at producing light political comedy that functions as comfort food for liberal wine moms. 

• She’s trying her damndest to put this over. I especially liked her Blumenthal/Durbin/Klobuchar roasts and her line about “who fell asleep in the middle of a sentence” but…something about this makes it feel like the energy is off. Maybe the audience isn’t into it because it isn’t quite what they were expecting? Maybe they just wanted to get past the current politics and get into the instant nostalgia?

• Kristi Noem? Wait, Heidi played her and she’s gone now. Who’s going to…wait, I recognize THAT voice more than that face at the moment. Is that…Tina under those prosthetics? Tina Fey impersonating a hardass right wing backwoods governor known for shooting animals with a goofy ass accent that makes her sound like a member of “Da Yoopers”? That’s totally new.

• I think, bare minimum, cameo-wise people were just expecting some combination of Tina, Rachel and Maya (even if she seems completely burnt out on the show and another Bronx Beat so soon after the 50th might seem like overkill). Those women have always been a package deal on SNL whether they were in the cast, hosting or just making a plethora of cameos during the height of the Wiig era. 

• In fact, I’d say Tina had the best material in this with her ICE ad copy and it’s still fine by me if she wants to do some political humor on the show sometimes. Still, this grew on me and struck the right balance between how to work Tina well into political sketches and what type of political commentary works best on Update from her. B-

Monologue 

• This monologue seemed a little “all over the place” but the things I appreciated the most about it were Amy giving this casts’ newbies the same treatment she gave Taran, Jay, Vanessa and Paul fifteen years ago as well as the very heartfelt acknowledgment of this very moment in time being SNL’s actual chronological 50th anniversary aimed at longtime fans and aspiring comedians watching (or just regular viewers watching considering her “tough times” comments). 

• I also liked the lines about no one having asked her to do full frontal yet, SNL “not caring after 50” (boy, does that ring true but thanks for being diplomatic about it, Amy) and the fact that Amy Poehler may be the first host in SNL history to only be plugging a podcast. B-

The Rudemans

• Umm, oookaaaaaayyyyy? I guess this is the Amy/Sarah/Ashley collaboration I’ve been wanting to see this week? Thanks? Especially for letting Sarah play yet another “generic grandma” role? Because that’s my favorite thing she does in this show, I guess?

• So, this has a theme song? Like a season 30 sketch? Ok, thanks for giving us a flashback to THAT "beloved" era? I mean, whaaaaat? (all right, I’m gonna drop this whole tired ass “meta” bit here because I DID like this sketch a bit more than I am letting on)

• I’d say Bowen, Amy, Sarah and Mikey (as “on the nose” as he felt in this) came off as more passive aggressively confused than rude or offended but their performances worked for me. Ashley and Andrew as a couple provided a fresh new dynamic that they played off of well.

• I like how each beat came in at a specific point that felt like it was designed to keep the sketch from getting too stale. You can see this in the phone call bit with Amy, Sarah' s fall (as telegraphed as that felt with Dismukes final lines) and Mikey suddenly smashing his beer bottle over Andrews’ head. There was enough going on here in the end to keep this from feeling like someone just played one of Fred Armisen and Vanessa Bayers “dictators two best friends from growing up” bits on super slow speed.

• One last thing I will add. I heard in dress rehearsal of this sketch Sarah fell so hard her prosthetics ripped open and fell off and God dammit I've never wanted to see dress footage posted online so bad in my life. B+

Non-Non Alcoholic Beer

• Hey, nice to see a Dismukes led pretape after barely being able to remember that such a solid player is still in the cast!

• I loved the very detailed, writerly nature of this sketch. I especially liked Kam telling Andrew his breath smells like gasoline, the jokes about the hyphen/skeleton key/double negative marketing and the breathalyzer chase. A-

Miss Lycus The Fast Psychic

• Hmm, a real early 2000s topic with a very 2010s/20s premise specific approach. I like it 

• This is definitely a sketch that’s appropriate to put up top after the monologue due to its sheer rapid fire pacing and energy. This sketch even applied gastrointestinal humor well with the colonoscopy gags.

• I liked Amys’ comments to Jeremy, Ashley, Ben and Veronica. JAJ had some great asides. The speed round with the appearances from Bowen and Marcello were the perfect beat to end this on from both a pacing and writing perspective. C+

The Hunting Wives Season Two

• Well, my favorite thing about this sketch by far is how they glammed up Sarah the most they’ve ever done since she’s joined the show. I mean, damn…

• The Aubrey Plaza cameo was a nice touch (for something else we were all half expecting to see in the back of our collective minds after her hosting stint from a couple of years back was one of the few things that brought Amy back to the show after a long absence from just…acting in general).

• Other than that, it’s not a great sign that the fake Steve Higgins voiced fake reviews were the sharpest jokes in this. This sketch was…well, visually dazzling (which is as much as I CAN say about it) but there wasn’t enough here to distract the viewer from the basic joke was “hey, look how horny this fake ass country Netflix show is that you probably actually haven’t heard of until now”. C-

Work Birth

• Uh oh, after the last time Molly Shannon hosted I get a bad feeling whenever I see a sketch where a former female alumni is very visibly pregnant. Thankfully, this just focuses on the actual pregnancy and not gas…or anything else apparently.

• I gave this a chance based on the idea that this might be something Amy could draw from some of her own experience on from her “leaving SNL and heading into doing Parks and Rec full time” era but…this just didn’t go anywhere.

• Since there were no real twists, I’ll just say a few more things. I’m glad they finally gave Ben Marshall the chance to play a “character” character that wasn’t just a background straight man that any cast member could’ve played. Mikey and Kenan didn’t add much for me (when you don’t think about how weird it feels that this is Kenans’ first appearance in the whole show since he and Jost are the only onscreen regulars that were there when she was in the cast).

• Thankfully, this was also one of the few sketches that knew where it needed to end before it officially went on too long. Kenans’ walk on was a good place to wrap it up and Bowen being birthed Will Ferrell/Ted Brogan style was as good an ending as any. C+

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

• Gee, Che doesn’t LOOK that sick. Stage health?

• The only things I laughed at were Ches’ “MTG/Trump coin” joke and Josts’ RFK/Kristi Noem/Saw/German day gags. (boy, that Gen-z/trad sons joke hits close to ho….ah, nope…not going there right now)

• You know, as much as I like Sarah Sherman…I wish they would have her do more than just an inverse of Heidis’ “mom who’s only read about NYC from Facebook comments” but from the perspective of an actual New Yorker that took until it got very horny five minutes in to actually go anywhere.

• Dear GOD, I hope that clip of Jost strutting in the background of that old clip of Trump and Epstein at that party was made with a green screen and some good old fashioned video editing software and NOT Sora 2.

• Normally, I liked Grant and Alyssa and the energy Marcello usually brings to the show at this point but…for some reason I felt it necessary to tune halfway out to take some notes here (which is a better sign for this episode because last week I started doing this straight from the cold open).

• Weirdly, Jane had the better lines in this with her Sylvia Plath, “please calm down” and “jack o his lantern” jokes. Good to see her get this after being shut out last week.

• Ok, Amy has come out at the Update desk followed closely by Tina so we’re getting to the part most people really want to see (even if they don’t quite know why). Finally, we get a Joke Swap (which I liked probably a bit more than I should’ve) and suddenly the show feels like it’s somewhat back on track again. 

• Hey, A Seth cameo! Wasn’t expecting that…given how infrequently Seth has cameoed on the show since leaving. The lack of Jimmy Fallon here makes this feel a bit…unbalanced but at this point, I think we’ve all seen more than enough of Jimmy Fallon for one lifetime. 

• Anyway, I liked most of the jokes here enough that I don’t want to single out any ones in particular and the sheer energy from the previous eras’ Update anchors really carried this. C+

Experienced Lawyers

• Hey, we haven’t seen a JAJ/Dismukes pairing in a while. Let’s hope this is worthwhile.

• Ok, Amy as a jacked old man with disturbingly realistic arm hair (and painted nails for some reason) crashing through a break away wall is a strange enough burst of high energy to keep me intrigued. 

• I liked how they’re both giving Veronica a shot to play a “character” character instead of just a straight role and also excluding her from playing another old woman. Dracu-Law was delightfully dumb and felt more in Sarah' s wheelhouse.

• I wasn’t crazy with this winding down with the visual of Bowens’ face superimposed over a tree after we meet several clones of the JAJmukes characters and some turtles (I did like how you could clearly see the in studio monitor reflected in the turtle cage at one point) but Kenans’ line as Zeus and the closing jingle made up for that (and made up for his weird absence from this episode, too).

• The only real flaw is how all the lawyer introductions just wash out the client testimonials but I don’t want to split hairs here. B+

Perimenopause

• Amy is a goth/scene/punk/emo mom whose kids have to confront HER about her attitude and behavior. Wow, THERE’S a switch! 

• Again, this was another concept that only Amy Poehler could put over for me. Still, I liked the visual of Kam, Jane and Ben as goth kids. Chloe, JAJ and Jeremy played well off Amy, too (especially the “superintendent” line and his stumbling through the mosh pit to unplug the boombox).

• I also liked Amys’ “F my life” speech and the heavily infected tattoo reveal at the end (as well as how Amy and JAJ reacted to the camera panning away from them as the sketch ended). B-

Composers Symposium

• So…this sketch explores the rather common theme of “hey, why aren’t there any more early 90s Fresh Prince style expository rap theme songs to TV shows that explain the entire premise to you anymore?” and then spent the whole sketch insisting upon itself so hard it made you question why Mikey Day wasn’t in this?

• Ok, I will admit that Amy Poehler is literally the only comedic performer that would put this over for me (yet another sketch that carries this theme). Other than that, it does have very small but noticeable traces of tropes that remind loyal SNL viewers of what they haven’t liked about Bowen centric sketches since 2022 (or just sketches where people react to questionable songs since 2018).

• Bowen threatening to whip Jane's character with a belt felt very “Garrett From Hinge” to me. Kenans’ character didn’t add much either. C-

Ranking The 51st Season From Best To Worst

1. Amy Poehler/Role Model (10.11.1975)

2. Bad Bunny/Doja Cat (10.04.2025)

Ranking Each Amy Poehler Hosted Episode From Best To Worst

1. Tina Fey & Amy Poehler/Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band (12.19.2015)

2. Amy Poehler/Role Model (10.11.2025)

3. Amy Poehler/Katy Perry (09.25.2010)

Overall Thoughts 

• Well, it’s certainly nice to have had a seasoned comedy professional that got her big break on this very show to help right the course of this season. Granted, last week set an incredibly low bar to clear, but a lot of the pacing problems were non-existent.

• There wasn’t a lot to distract from the current shows’ ongoing problems but Amy’s performances and sheer commitment here reminded us of why she was considered to be such a beloved cast member during such a troubled era of the show. I’m sure the current cast benefitted a lot from her presence this week.

• Sure, we got to see a lot more of Kam, Jane, Ben, Tommy, Jeremy and Veronica than we did last week but it will still be quite a while before we get a real bead on this season's newbies to be able to figure out who they are and what they bring to the show. Still, it’s nice that Amy could give them a voice this week. 

• Nice to see lots of Sarah and JAJ this week (although when he’s not playing 47 he seems to be getting stuck with a lot of dorky dad type roles when he should be getting to play more original characters) and I even liked how they figured out the strongest ways to use Bowen, Marcello and even Chloe this week.

Closing Thoughts 

• Next week, Sabrina Carpenter makes her hosting debut. Her appearances at SNL50 make me think she is going to handle the show well. Still, this season hasn’t really gotten far enough off the ground yet for me to make any kind of call as to how her episode will go. Let’s just hope she brings some youthful, bubbly l pop star energy to keep morale up.

• Hey, one thing I know about Sabrina Carpenter is that she once did voices on an animated Disney show called “Milo Murphy’s Law” opposite one Mr. “Weird Al” Yankovic. Now, this show is probably too obscure for SNL even reference let alone parody in a live sketch but on the extremely off chance that it isn’t, one thing I would personally like to see is some kind of variation on this sketch with either a possible cameo from Al or maybe just JAJ playing him or something, I don’t know.

• Hey, be sure to listen to the newest episode of the We Heart Hader podcast where me and Deej react to all three Greg The Alien sketches. It’s a short one, but it’s a lot of fun. After that, our next episode will be a full length review of the Zach Braff/Maroon 5 season 32 finale (which you will also be able to read on this blog in two weeks). See ya next time!