SNL Nagging Pre Show/Pre Season 51 Thoughts

• Well, Season 51. Here we go.

• First off, I have to say I don't feel confident about the decisions made as to which cast members…didn't make the cut for this season. 

• I think with the loss of Emil, Devon and Mr. Longfellow they're getting rid of the featured players who had the most untapped potential and the best chances of doing something actually interesting on the show and clinging on to certain “vets” who may not have been on the longest or anything but seem the most burnt and tapped out creatively (even if only one of them seems the most honest about it). Emil, Devon and Longfellow are definitely going to be missed more than the show realizes right now.

• Heidi and Ego, I get them wanting to leave on their own. Heidi has been a solid dependable anchor of the female cast who's had a respectable eight season run. It felt like the right time for her to leave on her own and she seems primed for a solid, respectable acting career at this point.

• Egos’ always had such a great presence on the show that I would’ve liked to have seen another year of her in the cast, but she's in the same boat as Heidi in that she's put in enough great work that this would seem like an ideal time for her to leave as well. 

• Seems like she might have decided last minute to leave in solidarity with Heidi for some reason and the fact that Heidi is the only departing cast member to have NOT posted some sort of official Instagram announcement at this point makes it seem like something went on behind the scenes that she didn't quite find to be on the level. Whatever it is, I'm sure we'll find out about it in due time.

• I'm not crazy about the fact that this leaves Chloe Fineman as the most senior female cast member in the show, though. Sarah being a close second isn't much consolation (and she honestly seems to be in the same boat as Emil, Devon and Longfellow except for the fact that she's still on the show) but she's still in the same boat as Ego in that I've always liked the idea of them both being in the cast even if they may not be getting used to their full potential (which is honestly the real problem with Sarah in that the show may be pounding a square Peg into a round hole with her since they obviously can't let her go full on “Squirm” on the show) but I do see an opportunity for Ashley Padilla to make major inroads in stabilizing (and potentially leading) the female cast.

• Most of the new featured players seem like decent enough fits for the show. I can see why Ben Marshall is the only PDD member they saw fit to legitimately add to the cast. I haven't gotten to have seen much of Jeremy Culhane, Tommy Brennan or Veronica Slowikowsas’ pre-SNL work but I've read enough of what their prior credits are to see why they would've been hired.

• Kam Patterson is the new hire that…concerns me the most. I don't even mind that he runs in the same circles as Gillis and Che as much as I'm concerned about the fact that he was plucked straight from “Kill Tony”. Having actually seen pieces of his standup, I don't quite see him fitting in with the show that well or bringing the show such great press for that matter (even though I realize that any attempts to “cancel” him the way they “cancelled” Gillis would be pointless). At best, I see him as another “one and done” type cast member.

• I am intrigued that they hired several new writers (so, I guess they did find SOME new women of color they liked enough to hire, huh?) so that alone gives me a tiny shred of hope that season 51 could be the start of the same transition between eras that season 31 was (that reminds me, I know my friend Jon Schneider is doing a season 31 rewatch podcast for their Patreon but if you want a podcast some full length season 31 reviews that aren't currently behind a pay wall then have I got the podcast for you!)

• Now, on to tonight's episode. I thought Bad Bunny was a rather unambitious choice for host at first but I'm OK with it. His season 49 episode wasn't the best of that season by any stretch, but when that season first premiered I remember being intrigued by the experimental feel of sketches like “Age Of Discovery”, “Telanovela” and the PDD Shrek short. I especially liked how they helped offset the “we're just gonna do some sketches about how hot this host is and just skate by on his charisma” vibe that the monologue and nun sketch gave off.

• I even liked how they bought in Pedro Pascal for a sequel to the “Protective Mom” sketch from his season 48 episode. That was possibly my favorite sketch from that one. I mean, I'm not as crazy about Pedro Pascal as the show seems to be but I hope to see another one of those sketches tonight. Hell, it might be a good breakout role for Veronika!

• I'm not going into this episode expecting much as I've learned not to expect much from modern SNL season premieres in general. They always tend to have that “dull as dishwater/just shaking off the old cobwebs/gotta get settled back into that old weekly grind” feel to them mixed with that irritating compulsion to catch the viewer up on EVERY single thing that happened this summer, but this one has a chance to be different.

• Specifically, a lot of what happened in pop culture over THIS summer revolved around late night comedy shows being taken off the air or chastised by government officials on social media for even the mildest criticisms of the current administration. As this is a subject that we all know affects THIS show dearly, I'm hoping that the cold open and Weekend Update can address it in a worthwhile manner (but I have a feeling this week's cold open with probably just focus on JAJs’ Trump rambling on to no one in particular about the current government shutdown. In fact, we might get a worse version of the season 47 premieres’ cold open).

• While I'll be going into this episode fully expecting it to be mediocre, I may be more generous to it than a lot of you as I'm using it as a distraction from everything else going on in my life right now (let's just say I'm writing this from my dad's hospital room and leave it at that) and I'm not even sure when my full length review of this episode will be finished enough for me to publish it by Sunday night at this point, but I just wanted to share this with you guys.

Scarlett Johansson/Arcade Fire (05.17.2025)

Trump/MBS Meeting

• Well, one more Trump cold open to end the season.

• Apparently “he found…love” with Mohammad Bin Salman. Not crazy about the “season 42 Beck as Putin sketch” vibes I am getting right out of the gate.

• I do like that JAJ has worked Trumps’ real life jerky back-and-forth power move handshake into his repertoire. It brings back fond memories of seeing Athony Atamanuik do that same thing on Comedy Centrals’ “The President Show” in 2017…oh, wait. Never mind. Forget I brought that up. Parallel thinking, I guess.

• I like that they're finally using Emil after a while…but I'm not crazy about the way they're using Emil in this sketch.

• I mean, I liked “oil/money/end of list”, “the late great Fred Flintstone” and the “they Dubai a lot of weapons” and “Utah” jokes but…the rest of this was just white noise.

• Thankfully, the fourth wall break was interesting. I especially liked the “season 50 Worst one yet” jab. (Hey, at least they're being semi-honest here, amirite?)

• God help me I even got into him ranking the attractiveness of the female audience members sitting around him as they…at least pretended to be? I mean, I appreciated it more on rewatch after learning from Jon Schneider that SNL actually does arrange audience seating by placing all the younger, more “camera friendly” people on the floor and everyone else up in the bleachers.

• Yeah, while I do like JAJ himself as a performer and a comedian…I'm really about as ambivalent about seeing his Trump as I am about seeing the real one l…anywhere, so no big loss there. 

• Also, I'm starting to agree with whoever first put forth the take that Trump doesn't deserve an impression that makes him appear likable or relatable like JAJs. He does actually deserve an impression more like Baldwins’ that makes you as sick of seeing both the impressions as much as you are of the real person. JAJ just does Trumps’ actual voice better and he seems like a nice, friendly family man in real life which he can't help himself from letting through in his impression. Baldwin captures Trumps’ other real life behaviors better and probably got even more sick of doing the impression as we got of seeing him do it. C+

Monologue 

• Hey, a sincere “Piano Man” monologue where the cast gently pokes fun at themselves. This is…pleasant.

• Honestly, this feels like it SHOULD have been the cold open (and probably would've been around this time three seasons ago).

• I…thought we all agreed that Bowen pretty much stopped playing “likable” characters about two seasons before he was given the role of J.D. Vance?

• I did like the jabs at Sarah's pants. She's one of the last people I would expect to be leaving unless she sees herself as, like, the Janeane Garafalo of season 50 or something which part of me suspects may be the case with both her and Bowen (and if she really is I would have some…pretty mixed feelings about that but I would wish her all the best).

• Kenan as an audience member was fun. I also liked Longfellow, Jane, Emil and Ashley poking fun at their own lack of screen time. Heck, I even liked how they worked Devon, JAJ, Andrew, Longfellow and Marcello in here 

• Huh…I'm a bit surprised we didn't see…oh, nevermind. B-

Channel 4 NYC News

• Hey, a wildly off key Pink Pony Club parody from Emil. Now, THIS is how I like seeing them use Emil on the show.

• Hey, Ashley has a big upfront role!

• Ok, so…apparently this is a reworked and slightly inverted version of the coffee shop sketch from Timothee Chalamets’ episode…except Scarlett is taking Ashley's role which is made the main focus along with the dark, upsetting nature of the various puns.

• Well, I have to say that leaning into the darker aspects of this sketch (especially on Scarlett, Devin and Heidi's parts) really elevated this for me. B-

PDD: First Class Flight….to Newark?!?!?

• Hey, these guys are back! I was wondering where they've been.

• So, it's a rap that keeps getting interrupted by ScarJo and the boys’ anxiety over realizing they're flying to Newark? Well, at least this is the rare topical short from Please Don't Destroy.

• Mikey as the pilot was…something that turned into a very Mikey-type role.

• I did also like the “who will make the article?/prayer hands/LOST pilot/Avengers money” jokes.

• I appreciate their slight subversion of the audience's collective expectations of when Bad Bunny was gonna show up in this…and how long it would be taking him to start singing. He does work surprisingly well as a dumbfounded, out of his depth, first day air traffic controller and this had a charming ending with the plane landing semi-safely…as Ben Marshall reveals he has urinated on himself. C+

Couples At The Bar

• Four people fighting over the same specific thing? What is this, a season 28 sketch?

• I guess this was the requisite “hey, Bad Bunnys’ in the building this week so naturally that means we HAVE to do a sketch where he and Marcello talk to each other almost exclusively in Spanish for 99% of the total runtime” sketch?

• Still, I do like how multilayered this sketch was where the men are just as much the butt of the joke for how they view the women in their relationships as the women are for how badly they misunderstand (or how they merely very selectively understand as the case may be) Hispanic language and culture.

• I also liked how JAJ and Dismukes characters accidentally display a better, more educated understanding of Marcello/Ego and Benito/Scarjos’ relationships from a complete outsider's perspective than they do. Even though their parts could've been cut without really affecting the sketch either way, I liked that they were there to add that extra wrinkle to it.

• I especially liked Marcellos’ intense, bug eyed stare down of Bad Bunnys’ character as he tells Scarlett what a great couple he and Ego make. C+

Bowens’ Still Straight

• So, they're just gonna do “Bowens’ Straight” again? Goddammit.

• Yeah, I just wasn't crazy about this the first time he did it with Sydney Sweeney over a year ago (no pun intended) but I guess…some people still liked it and that episode much more than I did?

• I wasn't too crazy about this one either (and that's not coming from a place of sheer jealousy over the mere implication that Bowen got to hook up with both Ego and Heidi in the same sketch) so I'll just stick to mentioning which elements of this I actually DID like.

• I do like how they're establishing some continuity from the last one with Gina Gershon making another cameo and not totally ignoring the elephant in the room anymore at this point in the episode any more re: Colin's relationship status with this week's host.

• I did like Bowens’ lines to Scarlett about how he just found out who she was this morning and “thanks for inventing A.I., by the way”. I don't like how this pretty much had the exact same ending as last time, though. 

• Was it ever established who wrote both of these? I'm guessing Bowen himself may have had a large hand in it but I'm just curious how it was determined which specific women Bowen would be “straight” for. Heidi and Ego must've come from him having bonded with them as a platonic friend and coworker over the years but Sydney and Emily must've just come from a specific preference of his or just him having the basic idea of “lol str8 guys just like big boobs, big lips and blonde hair”. Scarlett must've come from a place of all three of these things together. C-

Elevator

• Hey, Mike Myers is back! He's not playing Elon. He's playing himself…and Scarlett isn't. In fact, she is barely in the scene at all. This should be interesting.

• …and hey, look. Kenan is playing…Ye (neé Kanye West)? Ok, not too crazy about Kenan's impression, but…he can make it work well enough. I have faith in him. Still, I would’ve at least liked to see Devons’ attempt at a Kanye instead of just a walk on between him and Ego where she has lines and he doesn't.

• I genuinely wonder who had the idea of “let's imagine what it would be like if Mike Myers had a chance encounter with the stunningly bigoted and fully broken brained Kanye West of 2025 because there's no way that wouldn't be a million times more awkward and uncomfortable for him, right”?

• I definitely think that news of Kanye having released a new single that could be described as “slightly incestuous” at best would be the only thing to make someone come up with this because I haven't heard of this having been cut from any previous dress rehearsals but if this was ultimately scrapped from the 50th I can see why. I mean, that one aired in primetime on a Sunday night so I would see why they would want lighter fare than this to the point where they would've chosen Debbie Downer and In Memoriam over this.

• I mean, upon rewatch, I can see what Kenan is going for with Yes’ speech patterns but he doesn't quite have that nasal Chicagoan semi-angry whine down they way Pharoah and Redd did so it's coming out more Steve Harvey than Ye.

• I did like Mike's sudden line “my kids are safe” and Kenan's line revealing his next song is called “Squeezin’ On My Grandpas’ Booty” which gave me a legitimate laugh, but what was with that weird voice modulated line of Kenan's at the very end? Were the writers confusing Nitrous Oxide with helium or does Nitrous actually lower your voice?

• Also, why are all his front teeth gone…oooooh riiight, he blamed/tried to sue a dentist for getting him hooked on Nitrous. Was that what that was supposed to be a reference to?

• So, basically this is a slightly inferior remake of a sketch that Mike Myers had previously done with (unfortunately) the real Kanye West almost 20 years on the season 31 premiere? Hey, me and Deej actually covered that previous sketch in the first ever episode of our own podcast which you can listen to here. C+ 

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

• Out of Colins’ “regular” jokes, I liked “McJournalist”, “Qatar-a-lago”, “favors” and “Dick's/Foot Locker”.

• Out of Michaels’ “regular” jokes his “uphold the constitution” seemed surprisingly out of character but I liked “South Africa/Mandella Effect”

• Boy, that RFK Jr./parasites joke was a real throwback to Seth & Amy's era of Update, huh?

• Hey! Miss Eggys’ back! All right!

• I'd say the highlights from this one were “piss a biscoff”, “compote” “Miss Eggy stay strapped” and “hollandaise/benedict”

• Hey! Another joke swap to close out the season!

• For what Colin was given, I got a bigger kick out of the “Lorne, retire bitch/topping off priests/ bonobos halftime show” stuff than the “black CBS soap opera” and “Nick Kerr lover” jokes.

• Yep, I can definitely tell Che's part of this once Scarlett came out was crafted by her, Colin and her (presumably female) friends to humiliate him. I got a slightly bigger kick out of the “unattended drink”,“farm” “thousands of jokes/dozens of laughs” and “selling crack” stuff though.

• Yeah, this one was just as fun as the Christmas one. I know it might feel like a slight let down, but how else could they have possibly even TRIED to follow that roast beef joke anyway?

• I will say that the joke swaps we got this season were both much better than the ones we got last season but I've noticed both sets of joke swaps have followed the same pattern of “stronger one for the Christmas show, weaker and more uneven one for the season finale.

• I wouldn't say this was the best we could hope for for this season's final Update since, y'know…we were all at least hoping for some solid confirmation of who would be LEAVING the show tonight and the closest thing we even got to that was…Colin begrudgingly smearing on lipstick.

• Ok, I've also heard some people theorize that Colin may stay on to take Lornes’ position rather than leave the show at some point. I highly doubt Lorne is planning on retiring this soon anymore (if at all) but if that truly turns out to be the case with Colin some time down the road, then I have a theory of my own there.

• My theory is that Lorne is going to eventually talk Colin into stepping down from the Update desk if he wants to move into the executive producer position. He'll only do it by telling Colin the story of how he was originally planning to host Update himself in the very early stages of development for “NBCs’ Saturday Night” but decided to give that gig to Chevy because he realized he can't be the person who ultimately decides what sketches get cut and what gets taken from the rest of the casts’ airtime while also having secured his own guaranteed spot for himself on the show that he (for all intents and purposes) created each week.

• Of course, Lorne will put this forth to Colin in such a vague way that it may takes Colin days to figure out what Lorne was trying to tell him, but only time will tell if this truly turns out to be the case. B-

Penelopes’ Secret

• So, Kenan and Scarlett are intimacy coordinators, Mikey is a try hard male feminist type without the predatory vibes, Sarah is the assistant director just there to be the butt of a single “they/them” joke, Ashley and Jane are about to shoot a lesbian love scene and everyone is just trying to gently guide Kenan in the vague direction of “finally figuring out what ‘scissoring’ is for the first time in his life?

• Thank God this ended at the EXACT moment it wore out its welcome and thank God Kenan still has a likable enough personality to put this over.

• I did get a kick out of Kenan sweetly smiling as he tried to picture two women scissoring and then running through the wall (although the timing of Kenan's exit after “what's the wifi?” seemed visually botched a bit). C+

TV Takes

• Ok, so they're literally just doing a slightly more dumbed down version of the same “cast interview” sketch from the season 46 finale except with Marcello in Pete's role, Bowen and Scarlett in Aidy and Anya Taylor-Joy's roles and…Sarah and Jane being placed into Punkie and Bowens’ old roles?

• I did like some of Sarah, Jane, Ego and Heidi's roles in this (although I didn't like the return of the “hey, let's make Sarah the butt of a few ‘lol she's least attractive girl in this sketch’ when in reality nothing could be further from the truth” trope).

• Ok, so maybe this version of this sketch wasn't THAT bad. Upon rewatch the highs may have been a bit higher this time. In fact, it was probably smart of them to borrow a sketch from a much stronger season finale than this one. 

• Hell, it’s not even the fact that they're still so frequently bringing back old sketch premises from several seasons ago that bothers me so much here.

• I guess the fact that they borrowed a sketch from a previous season finale where absolutely none of the cast members people were expecting/secretly hoping would leave…actually left…is perhaps the most troubling thing to me here. C+

Victorian Ladies At Lunch

• A strange Victorian sketch featuring Scarlett Johansson? Could we finally be about to meet the mysterious Mr. Willoughby?

• So, I guess the whole point of this was to try and create a “THIS IS LIVE TELEVISION!!!” forced breaking type moment by making the women of the cast eat real blood pudding, jellied eels, candied clams and pickled cows’ feet on camera? Hey, they could've done worse.

• At first, this felt more like it belonged on Jimmy Fallons’ Tonight Show than SNL but then I noticed how the snappy live pacing of it and the over the top writing and dialogue delivery saved it.

• Kudos to them for executing this as a live sketch rather than a pretape. That was a very unusual and uncharacteristically daring move on the show's part. 

• I liked a lot of Dismukes' dialogue (probably because his was easiest to understand due to his mouth being the least full). It seemed like this sketch was structured dialogue wise to just have the women set him up to describe the ridiculously offensive way these endangered animal dishes were prepared.

• Perhaps the thing I got the biggest kick out of was seeing Chloes’ very real reactions to what she was eating. Yeah, she was clearly struggling the most here. She was even too disgusted to break like a normal person here.

• Meanwhile, the gross out queen herself Sarah Squirm seemed the absolute least phased by this out of anyone. Heidi and Scarjo are tied for a close second here since Heidi's one if the shows’ more fearless performers in the cast right now (which means something different today, I'm sure) and Scarletts’ just a friend of the show who's always willing to support her fellow women and who must've been in a prankish mood this week between this and the joke swap. 

• My guess is that some combination of Sarah, Heidi, Dismukes and possibly Scarlett were involved with the writing on this one and I have another (slightly less educated) theory that this sketch was designed by the other women solely as one big humiliation ritual for Chloe for missing so much airtime for doomed vanity projects lately. I mean, she must've been absent at least on Monday and Tuesday of this week because I believe this and the monologue were the only things she was even in this week.

• Damn, that is the longest title card I have ever seen on this show. They must've taken great care timing-wise not to overload the show because they knew they absolutely HAD to get this in along with the joke swap on Update. There wasn't even a band shot anywhere near this episode.

• Yeah, the Pepto Bismol button at the end was a bit of a bummer and something I too really wish the show would cease doing already but I had enough fun watching the rest of this sketch that I'm honestly not gonna let it bug me that much. B-

Goodnights

• So, we see Scarlett being handed flowers by Colin who kisses her on the mouth so that Emil can react with the most committed disgust out of a small group in the left hand corner of the stage that includes him and everyone else besides Sarah who joined the cast after season 46? I wonder how that was set up? I'm sure they were always planning to have the Victorian lunch sketch at the end of the rundown.

• We do see Sarah over in the opposite corner tightly hugging Bowen (who appears the most emotional out of everyone on stage at this moment) with Ego a distant third behind him and Sarah. Miss Eggy doesn't appear on the verge of tears or anything. She just appears most ready to hug everyone.

• Based on this alone, I'd say the safest bet to make would be the announcement of Bowens’ departure some time by August or September. I'd say Sarah and Ego are the next most likely candidates in that order. I don't base that on what I'm now seeing could be their “meta moments” in the monologue and TV Takes respectively (because reading into that may be a bit much). I just get the sense that Bowen and Sarah may have developed such a strong emotional bond that they may not want to do the show without one another and this may leave together. Plus, Ego getting to reprise Miss Eggy so soon reminds me of when Vanessa Bayer did the same thing with her Dawn Lazarus character back in season 42, so…these might just be gut feelings on my part.

Ranking All Of ScarJos’ Episodes From Best To Worst

1. Scarlett Johansson/Death Cab For Cutie (01.14.2006)
2. Scarlet Johansson/Niall Horan (12.14.2019)
3. Scarlett Johansson/Bjork (04.21.2007)
4. Scarlett Johansson/Lorde (03.11.2017)
5. Scarlett Johansson/Bad Bunny (05.17.2025)
6. Scarlett Johansson/Wiz Khalifa (05.02.2015)
7. Scarlett Johansson/Arcade Fire (11.14.2010)

Ranking The 50th Season Best To Worst

1. SNL50: The Anniversary Special (02.16.2025)
2. Jack Black/Elton John & Brandi Carlile (04.05.2025)
3. Nate Bargatze/Coldplay (10.05.2024)
4. Bill Burr/Mk.Gee (11.09.2024)
5. John Mulaney/Chapell Roan (11.02.2024)
6. Quinta Brunson/Benson Boone (05.03.2025)
7. Chris Rock/Gracie Abrams (12.14.2024)
8. Paul Mescal/Shaboozey (12.07.2024)
9. Lady Gaga (03.08.2025)
10. Scarlett Johansson/Bad Bunny (05.17.2025)
11. Jon Hamm/Lizzo (04.12.2025)
12. Walton Goggins/Arcade Fire (05.11.2025)
13. Timothee Chalamet (01.25.2025)
14. Mikey Madison/Morgan Wallen (03.29.2025)
15. Dave Chappelle/GloRilla (01.18.2025)
16. Martin Short/Hozier (12.21.2024)
17. Ariana Grande/Stevie Nicks (10.12.2024)
18. Charli XCX (11.16.2024)
19. Shane Gillis/Tate McRae (03.01.2025)
20. Jean Smart/Jelly Roll (09.28.2024)
21. Michael Keaton/Billie Eilish (10.19.2024)

Overall Thoughts

• Well, that was season 50…and that was another typical “let's run out the clock” finale to end it. 

• Just think, this is the exact same episode that a few years ago some people were led to believe would be the last SNL episode ever. Makes you think, huh?

• Overall, I feel this episode represents this season as a whole (outside of the anniversary special itself) in that we might have proven ourselves to be fools for buying into any amount of hype and expecting anything bigger or better from the show than just…what it actually is now. Oh, well. Just standard operating procedure, I guess.

• At least after last week, it was nice to have another established host who has the proven ability to elevate material and boost morale around the show…even if there was still this gassed out feeling.

• I'm not gonna let myself get bothered by the fact that they're still digging out as many old, reused sketch premises from years ago as they've been these past two weeks. I'm not saying that because there was a fair enough level of buzz and hype surrounding it to distract even me from that but also because a few moments felt original enough to stand out and balance out this episode a bit.

• Still, there was fun to be had if you can see the forest for the trees tonight…and although Mikey seems to have had a light night, it looks like everyone in the cast got some airtime and no one was shut out of the finale (no matter how many times they may tell you it's happened to them previously on the show).

• Honestly, the thing that bums me out the most is that we're finding ourselves back in the same place we were four years earlier when season 46 ended and we were left with no clue as to who (if anyone) would be leaving the show.

• Of course, Covid isn't dictating those decisions as much anymore and back then we did find out that new people would be joining an already overstuffed cast after a couple of people did leave slightly unexpectedly, and the people we were expecting to have left dipped in and out quite a bit and ended up leaving at the end of season 47 instead (and in the middle of season 48 in one person's case who we just saw last week).

• This led to a promising new season that quickly lost steam leading us right back to where we are now and where we have been for the past two damn years at this point and I don't know if I can go through that whole cycle with this show again.

• Still, I guess we have the whole summer ahead of us to wait and speculate until we find out who's definitely leaving and who may be joining the show and if there's hope for things to take off in any more new directions creatively at this point.

• Maybe a complete season 21 style reboot is too much to hope let alone ask for at this point…but I agree with whoever been putting forth the take recently that this would be the biggest thing the show could do to keep them genuinely interested at this point (and you know who you are…even though I kinda doubt you're reading this right now).

Closing Thoughts 

• Well, that sure was season 50, wasn't it?

• Fear not though, because for a change of pace…this blog will actually continue on semi-regularly throughout the summer…by taking things back to season 32…for now.

• I can confirm that the next post on this blog is going to be posted this coming Thursday, May 22nd and it will be another full length SNL retro review of the Hugh Laurie/Beck episode from season 32 as Deej and I will be covering it on the next episode of the We Heart Hader Podcast.

• After that, we'll do a couple more episodes with season 32 specific topics that I will not reveal here yet. I'll wait until Deej and I nail down a few more things before doing so.

• See you in a few days and have a great summer!

Walton Goggins/Arcade Fire (05.10.2025)

A Mother's Day Message From SNL

• Huh…with as big a news week as this was you'd think they wouldn't do this as a cold op…HEEEEEYYYYY WAIT A MINUTE IT'S THAT GUY WHO PLAYS TRUMP AGAIN…WHAAAAAAAA?!?!?

• Well, at least he shoos away Kenan, Marcello, Bowen and their moms to shake things up.

• He is legitimately speaking for a large portion of the audience when he questions why the show isn't doing a “Chicago Pope/Daaaa Prayers” thing right now.

• I do like his blunt slams on J.D. Vance and…HEY, CECILYS’ BACK…AND SHE'S PLAYING JENEANE PIRRO AGAIN!!! YAAAAAYYY!!!

• I always liked Cecily in this role and was wondering why they wouldn't save this for next weeks’ Update until Colin came out as Pete Hegseth. Very clever way to revive the ol’ red wine spit take gag here.

• Ah, what the hell. Another format breaking JAJ/Trump cold open that actually worked for me. This is about the second best thing they could've done to a Chicago Pope cold open…well, distant second, but still. B-

Monologue 

• Huh…this wasn't what I was expecting either, but OK.

• A male host opens his monologue with a string of humblebrags about his status as a “sex symbol” right after yet another JAJ as Trump cold open? Are we sure this is a new one and they're not just rerunning the Bad Bunny episode from last season again?

• I liked the “I've had this same hairline since I was seven” joke at least.

• I do like how he transitioned into a sincere mother's day monologue with his actual mother in the audience. 

• Suddenly, I feel like I'm watching Gary Busey's monologue from season four…or Blake Sheltons’ monologue from season 40. C+

Second Amendment 

• A sketch set during the American revolution that DOESN'T have Nate Bargatze in it? Well, NOW I've seen everything!

• Already, I'm laughing at Waltons’ slick monosyllabic utterances about “guns”. 

• I love how his whole outfit appears to be a Leno-like jean jacket.

• JAJ really gets to shine here as do Mikey, Dismukes and Longfellow in support roles. 

• Anyone else think Dismukes’ voice sounded oddly like Bobby Moynihan at one point? 

• My one complaint about this sketch was that it felt like it got out before it made any point it might have had or gone anywhere.

• This felt like it had to be WAY edited down from dress rehearsal for some reason. B-

Tiny Baby Shoe (In The Middle Of The Zoo)

• Hmm…hard to get a bead on this but it's cute enough to work for me.

• Walton worked in an absurd small footed man and I liked the twist of Walton thinking he will date Jane and Jane immediately shutting him down.

• Sam Rockwells’ cameo worked for me as well in the exact same type of role as Walton…but he makes balloon animals.

• Maybe pretapes would be a better venue for Jane's musical talents if she makes it to season 51? B-

Mother's Day Brunch

• Ok, now we get a whole ass sketch playing off Waltons’ “sex symbol” status. Fine.

• I liked Heidi and Sarah in this. I did like how Walton played off Mikey and Andrew.

• I actually liked how Mikey delivered his line “LOVE to peek at some menus” as well as how Walton just thunked down Mikey and Andrew's menus on the table.

• I get the sense that Walton isn't quite used to performing in front of a live audience yet because he was noticeably tripping over his own lines all night and this sketch had the most instances of that.

• This sketch suddenly got WAY raunchier in a way I wasn't crazy about but I did like how it ended right when it felt like it was overstaying its welcome. C-

Handful of Hope

• Hmm…service dogs being trained to sit through a Tennessee Williams like play seems like an original enough twist on modern era SNLs theater sketches.

• Seems like they're drawing on Waltons southern heritage a lot in this episode. I guess some of the writers are big “Righteous Gemstones” fans?

• I liked how they used Longfellow and Jane as the trainers in this sketch.

• I wonder how they pulled off the eye roll effect on the one dog. Speaking of which, I did like the gag of the “not asleep” fake eye glasses being put on Jane's dog.

• I liked the speech buttons gag with Longfellows dog. That reminds me, did Dismukes write this? That part feels like a direct callback to his commentary from Billie Eilishs’ episode from season 47. 

• I also got a kick out of the “didn't go to Juilliard” back and forth between Walton and Bowen. B-

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

• I liked Josts’ Pope material (as well as Che's “juvenile” crack). I also liked Che's Trump/Eric Adams, Elon/Ye and penis size study jokes, Josts “yacht carrying influencers sinks/aircraft carrier/Dick Splinter, ND/GTA” jokes. This was that rare Update that was worth watching for the jokes just as much as it was for the commentaries.

• I was OK enough with Marcellos’ “movie guy” the first time that I didn't mind it being bought back once more. I did get a kick out of his whole Jurassic World rant and the “Gary Fields/Garfield” rant (as wholly unoriginal as the whole “why does he hate Mondays?” joke was) and “Gatorade Zero” jokes.

• Speaking of which, if nothing else bringing back Marcellos’ “Movie Guy” was worth it for no other reason than hearing Che's callback to Marcello's new catch phrase “am I right, guys?” during that K-Pop singer joke. I laughed just as hard at that one as Colin did.

• I liked Mikeys’ “guy who just walked into a spider web” as just an excuse for him to be extremely physical. What I liked even more was the rapid fire black out nature of it. This felt like a piece Mikey may have auditioned with or just wanted to get on the air before he left.

• I liked Heidi's new one off Update character much more than I thought I would (especially the “porn/sunglasses” joke). B+

Deathly Diner

• Hey, Ego and Ashley aren't completely shut out of the live show! Good for them!

• They, along with Bowen, performed their parts well. I liked that this sketch wasn't quite as repetitive or as one note as I was expecting it to be and I liked that Bowen was used in a more restrained role here.

• I also liked their interaction with Heidi and Kenans elderly characters. C-

Midnight Matinee: Squatty Potty

• Ok, I think this one sets some kind of record for being the shortest Dan Bulla short ever produced (certainly felt that way compared to all his others).

• Thank God this was as short as it was because it was the second piece of the night that went absolutely nowhere.

• I did like the ending with Dismukes suddenly running screaming and jumping out of a window.

• Speaking of the ending, until the entire caveman sequence, none of this felt unique to Dan Bullas’ style. It was like anyone on SNLs’ current staff could've written or produced this up until the talking slug came out. D+

Ranking The 50th Season Best To Worst

1. SNL50: The Anniversary Special (02.16.2025)
2. Jack Black/Elton John & Brandi Carlile (04.05.2025)
3. Nate Bargatze/Coldplay (10.05.2024)
4. Bill Burr/Mk.Gee (11.09.2024)
5. John Mulaney/Chapell Roan (11.02.2024)
6. Quinta Brunson/Benson Boone (05.03.2025)
7. Jon Hamm/Lizzo (04.12.2025)
8. Chris Rock/Gracie Abrams (12.14.2024)
9. Paul Mescal/Shaboozey (12.07.2024)
10. Lady Gaga (03.08.2025)
11. Walton Goggins/Arcade Fire (05.11.2025)
12. Timothee Chalamet (01.25.2025)
13. Mikey Madison/Morgan Wallen (03.29.2025)
14. Dave Chappelle/GloRilla (01.18.2025)
15. Martin Short/Hozier (12.21.2024)
16. Ariana Grande/Stevie Nicks (10.12.2024)
17. Charli XCX (11.16.2024)
18. Shane Gillis/Tate McRae (03.01.2025)
19. Jean Smart/Jelly Roll (09.28.2024)
20. Michael Keaton/Billie Eilish (10.19.2024)

Overall Thoughts 

• This episode was wildly uneven until after Update when it was just kinda…blah. It had a strong enough start despite sputtering a bit, but completely ran out of gas in the last third. Still, there was some fun to be had in the first half if you were willing to look for it.

• Walton Goggins seemed like a game host who was just a bit too full of himself for me to fully get into. I guess all the hype surrounding “The White Lotus” is making him start buying into his own to take himself too seriously, huh?

• I mean, it was foolish of me to expect a Mother's day episode to be anything above “middle of the road” since the second episode in a May run is usually a total wash but this host got a ton of comedy buzz from stuff like “Vice Principals” and “The Righteous Gemstones” which themselves got rave reviews from comedy needs, so…I guess I also should've expected that “White Lotus” hype to kind of ruin this guy for me.

• Chloe got shut out. Devon and Emil almost did. Apparently, I blinked and missed them. Oddly, Kenan felt like he was barely in the show. Other than that, everybody else got a fair amount of airtime.

Closing Thoughts

• Well, next week is SNLs’ 50th Season finale with host Scarlett Johansson and musical guest Bad Bunny.

• Part of me is expecting another real “running out the clock” type episode, another part of me is expecting an episode full of big tributes to those players who may (or may not) be leaving (guess we'll find out soon, huh?)

• Another part of me is expecting a possible fourth Domingo sketch. I mean, we've established Bad Bunny as a canonical part of the “Domingo-verse” and ScarJo seems like she's always gonna be down to sing purposely off key for laughs. If they are planning a big blowout for next week, all signs point to this as a distinct possibility, so…watch out.

• Anyway, my next blog post will be a full review of this season's finale and the week after that I will be posting a full length review of the Hugh Laurie/Beck episode from October 28, 2006 because it will be the subject of the next episode of the We Heart Hader Podcast coming out on Thursday, May 22nd. That's right, we're officially creeping into season 32 now!

• See you then!

Qunita Brunson/Benson Boone (05.03.2025)

Trumps’ First 100 Days/Executive Orders

• Uh, Ok. I guess we're running out the clock on these standard JAJ/Trump cold opens.

• The way JAJ shouted the word “POPE” and the “Elmo deportation/Harry Potter” jokes got me (although maybe they should've went a bit harder on JK herself than Harry Potter fans in general, but hey…who am I to judge?)

• Mikey Day as Stephen Miller is a nice touch and at least Marcello as Rubio accurately mirrors my own reaction to seeing him in this role.

• On the surface, JAJ as Trump just listing off a bunch of real and fake executive orders doesn't make for much of an entertaining cold open (hell, anything involving politics doesn't, really) but at least this broke from the typical format of these “JAJ as Trump speaks directly to camera” cold opens and was also fairly short and directly to the point. C-

Monologue 

• Sorry Randy Newman, but Quinta Brunson, Sabrina Carpenter and…Dwayne Wade? Ok, have just officially given short people many reasons to live!

• Anyway, while I would’ve much preferred another sincere monologue from Quinta over this 2010-ass song and danceologue, I have to say Quinta and some genuinely surprising cameos (seriously I'm surprised Sabrina could squeeze this into her schedule on such short notice, isn't she still on a big tour right now?) livened this up enough for me to stay interested.

• I did like Quintas’ joke about how they tried to cast her as one of the children on “Abbott Elementary” and that was her one show that she wrote and created. B-

Will & Todds’ Radical Experience 

• I liked the idea behind this once it was established (after that everything felt heavily telegraphed) but it felt like a very unambitious premise saved by the performances of Kenan and Quinta. 

• Yeah, Dismukes and Marcello didn't quite do the most convincing Bill and Ted impressions ever, but hey…they weren't playing Bill and Ted, they were playing Will and Todd. That's different. These may be technically “original” characters for all we know (and even if they weren't, they weren't dissimilar enough to completely obscure what they were legally “parodying” here, so…yeah, I got what they were going for and I'll let it slide).

• I did like how this ended on basically a cheap reveal of everyone leaving the phone booth they literally just disappeared into and basically just blew a special effect immediately. B+

OnlySeniors

• Speaking of very static premises only Kenan and Quinta could save…

• I liked the execution of this, but my only problem is that it felt like the exact type of thing we've seen before. It's pretty much just the same OnlyFans type sketch from Halseys’ 2019 episode but executed in a pretape much like Rectix from Adam Sandlers’ 2019 episode.

• Ego and Devon were great in this and Mikey and Heidis cameos really helped keep this going (no pun intended). C+

Leadership Summit

• Hmm…this reminds me of the sexual harassment sketches from Oscar Issacs’ episode in season 47 or Shane Gillis’ first episode in season 49…but it's not about sexual harassment, it's about two different ways to misunderstand the phrase “compliment sandwich”, so…it works a little bit better from me.

• They really gave all of the best lines to Quinta in this. I liked her back and forth with Sarah and the “BurSweeto/baby back ribs” stuff was…okay.

• Hey, two different references to The Simpsons theme song in the same season within a month of each other! Am I the only person who's OK with that?

• Ok, I’m not crazy about the idea of Bowens’ long hair white trench coat cookie crumbles guy becoming a recurring character 

• This sketch seemed a little too unfocused in spots, but not to its own detriment or anything, so…I didn't hate it. B-

Ferry Altercation

• Oh, I see they're bringing this back for a third time (second this season alone). Well, it was worthy of the buzz it got the first time, so…I get it.

• …and I guess that wasn't a glaring technical error, it actually does look like that if you were to drive to the Staten Island Ferry?

• I did like Mikeys’ Coke lines/single ladies bits and Chloes’ “nuts/kiss my ass” bits.

• I don't hate that they appear to be trying to top the sexual raunchiness each time. 

• I'm glad they didn't go for the obvious joke of having Dwayne Wade appear as Quintas’ “big, cool boo” and rather went with Kenan as her father who served in “eye-rack”.

• Colin as himself referencing that money pit ferry of his (and Pete's) was a fun way to end this.

• I can't fully say this beats the one from Quintas’ first episode yet but it for sure beats the one from Martin Shorts’ episode this season. B+

Forever 31

• Well, I like seeing that the show still has enough faith in Jane to trust her with the “cute young 20 something chick” but this felt a little too much like something we've seen before, too.

• More specifically, it felt like they were trying to do another “big dumb hat/tiny red glasses” sketch but executing it as a pretape in the style of “Chonk”, “Fashion Coward” or that Temu parody from last season's finale.

• I guess my main takeaway from this sketch is that it's another piece satirizing female fashion and beauty trends so I'm not the target audience for it at all. C+

Two Bitches Vs. A Gorilla

• Hey, speaking of female led sketches that I immediately recognize are not written for me…

• Yeah, I feel like this is gonna get a ton of shit on line since it's another SNL sketch that solely exists for the show to reference an online meme in order to cling to whatever shreds of relevance to a young audience it still has…but I can tell Ego and Quinta had a lot of fun with it. JAJ did fine with his part, too (even if you could kind of see him waiting for his cue for a sec on camera).

• Plus, it feels like it was constructed in a very different manner from pretty much any other SNL sketch in recent memory (aside from The Continental), so…there's that.

• Come to think of it, there is a chance that Quinta being in this will be the main thing that keeps it from getting SNL “dragged” online (do the kids still say “dragged” anymore?) 

• Yeah, I think that it's quite a few weeks too early to be able to tell whether or not SNL or John Mulaney had the better comedic non social media take on this meme yet (I'm leaning toward Mulaney but we'll have to wait until the 28th to see if he actually does this or if there's another twist on this bit to be revealed later). B-

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

• I gotta say I really loved how Jost leaned into and then later called back to that “oh hell no/two dolls” commentary.

• I also liked Che's Pam Bondi/Tattoos/University of Alabama/Yeah on Nitrous Oxide jokes as well as Josts’ Bin Laden joke.

• This Update actually felt really fun because Jost & Che weren't really mocking the audience that much as they were each other and they had enough energy to really suggest that this is their third to last show.

• It's nice to see Longfellow as himself at the desk again. I liked how he gently moved away from his laid back, snarky persona and went for sheer outlandish silliness to put this one over.

• It's especially nice to see Sarah and Bowen at the desk as actual human characters, but this almost felt too unfocused for its own good, too. 

• The best way I can describe the voices they're using is “they're both doing Bowens’ Fran Liebowitz if she were learning how to do a Pittsburgh dirtbag accent in real time.”

• Yeah, Applebee's sure as hell is a trash ass restaurant but there may have been too much meta fourth wall breaking with those “Asian glaze” jokes and Benson Boone appearing as himself as an Applebee's waiter.

• This commentary was a nice break from Sarah and Bowens’ usual Update nonsense and it almost had everything going for it, but something felt…off. 

• Yeah, I'll say this about Benson Boone. He can do all the backflips he wants on stage, but it's not enough to distract listeners from the fact that they're trying to place this exact melody they've heard…somewhere before recently, they're just not sure from which other male pop act yet. (Who the hell was it his second song reminded me of? The Jonas Brothers? The 1975? Harry Styles? No…). B-

Narcotics Anonymous 

• Hmm…a sketch where Kenan infiltrates a cocaine support group in an obvious attempt to…score more Coke?

• I guess Quintas' gotta find a way to work in one sketch about cocaine into each of her episodes, huh?

• Well, this is a genuinely creative premise that I can't say I've seen before on SNL. Good On ‘em. Kenan, Mikey and Quinta in particular really sold the hell out of this.

• When you look at this and then look back at the sketches in Ariana Grande and Bill Burrs’ Episodes, season 50 actually managed to break the curse of Elordi and maintain a solid track record when it comes to “support group” sketches. B+

The Greats

• I guess Quintas’ always gotta find a way to play a man in each ten-to-one sketch in her episodes. Is that in her contract or something?

• Well, I suppose I like the idea of her playing an increasingly brain damaged Ali-style trash talker of the boxing world more than I liked her playing the horniest boss in the world alongside Sarah.

• I did like JAJ as the announcer and how this went for a more subtle style of performance based live humor rather than Sarah Sherman pretape style blood and gore.

• Anyway, while Quinta, Devon, Kenan, Andrew, Longfellow and…Jane? were great in this, is wasn't my favorite segment of the night that played upon Quintas’ height.

• More than anything, this reminds me of a Kids In The Hall sketch where Bruce McCullough kept challenging a guy to a fight, getting knocked on his ass and ignoring everyone else's desperate pleas (even from Scott Thompsons’ Queen Elizabeth) to stay down.

• What I really want to know is, when's Jerry “Jackrabbit” Tulane gonna fight James “The Gentlemen Masher” Corcoran? B-

Ranking The 50th Season Best To Worst

1. SNL50: The Anniversary Special (02.16.2025)
2. Jack Black/Elton John & Brandi Carlile (04.05.2025)
3. Nate Bargatze/Coldplay (10.05.2024)
4. Bill Burr/Mk.Gee (11.09.2024)
5. John Mulaney/Chapell Roan (11.02.2024)
6. Quinta Brunson/Benson Boone (05.03.2025)
7. Jon Hamm/Lizzo (04.12.2025)
8. Chris Rock/Gracie Abrams (12.14.2024)
9. Paul Mescal/Shaboozey (12.07.2024)
10. Lady Gaga (03.08.2025)
11. Timothee Chalamet (01.25.2025)
12. Mikey Madison/Morgan Wallen (03.29.2025)
13. Dave Chappelle/GloRilla (01.18.2025)
14. Martin Short/Hozier (12.21.2024)
15. Ariana Grande/Stevie Nicks (10.12.2024)
16. Charli XCX (11.16.2024)
17. Shane Gillis/Tate McRae (03.01.2025)
18. Jean Smart/Jelly Roll (09.28.2024)
19. Michael Keaton/Billie Eilish (10.19.2024)

Overall Thoughts 

• This was one of the better episodes of season 50, but it doesn't quite have Quintas’ season 48 episode beat.

• It is clear that Quinta is one of those beloved hosts who still brings a fresh spark and unique creative energy to the show. In fact, she blends in so seamlessly with the rest of the cast it's almost like she could've BEEN a cast member in another universe.

• Still, Quinta bought just a bit more to the show than Jon Hamm did, but still not enough to disguise the fact that the writers are leaning on old, reused sketch/parody templates and internet memes too much (which is the only thing that keeps this episode just out of the top five for me).

• As far as cast airtime, Ashley, Jane and Devon came very close to being shut out of the show entirely but narrowly avoided that fate. Everyone else got a fair amount of airtime

• Aside from that, I can't think of anyone who truly “dominated” the show aside from maybe Kenan?

Closing Thoughts 

• Next week, Walton Goggins makes his hosting debut. As I've said on my last SNN Patron Feedback Appearance and in a previous blog entry, I'm glad the show is going after (mostly) proven TV comedy stars to finish out the season instead of big names (or names from outside if the world of entertainment that are so big they have no business playing themselves on the show).

• Before that on Thursday, May 8th, I will post a blog of my top five Bill Hader sketches from season 31 of SNL as that is the topic of the next episode of the We Heart Hader Podcast (with special guest, SNNs’ own Jon Schneider!). After that, we will be doing a full length review of the Hugh Laurie/Beck episode as we enter season 32 (which will of course be released after my review of the Scarlett Johansson/Bad Bunny episode that will serve as SNLs’ 50th Season finale). See you guys then!

Jack Black/Elton John & Brandi Carlile (04.05.2025)

Trumps’ Tariff Speech

• Speaking of numbers, I guess we're back to paint-by-numbers JAJ Trump Cold Opens again, huh?

• Well, at least they're making, uh, improvements to his makeup here.

• The “Make America Great Depression Again” stuff was OK, I guess.

• Hey, Dismukes is a commerce secretary. Neat.

• The forced Borat reference was completely unnecessary and the Cheesecake Factory McDonald Island jokes were…eh.

• I did like the gag of Trump explaining the “formula” though. Kind of reminded me of the equation in the background of the White And Nerdy video.

• The “reciprocal/bedroom” joke was good for a “wait, what? Oh nevermind” type near shock laugh.

• C'mon guys, that brief “God's country” callback wasn't worth a frigging applause break. Even JAJ himself looked slightly annoyed at having to deliver that nonsense. I liked the 30 Rock/Tina reference just fine.

• At least Mike Meyers’ Elon likened this up a little. The “self vandalizing Tesla” animation may have been the true highlight of this. I also liked the “tariffs sound dumb” ending. 

• Part of me has to wonder if JAJs line “it's time to never see you again” could possibly mean that Mike Myers has too busy of a schedule to play Elon again at any point in the season and this is his last cameo of season 50? C+

Monologue 

• After everything I saw last week, it's so nice to see Jack Black call band guitarist Maddie Rice by her first name and then kick off the show with a big Tenacious D style musical number that sprawls around the studio…even if all he's doing so far is just listing all the big paycheck family friendly films he's done since he last hosted.

• Heidi and Marcello were great sports. You can tell Heidi was clearly having a blast.

• Huh, quite odd to see them not call ANY attention to Bill Burr and Kieran Culkin being in the audience (straight from tonight's performance of “Glengarry Glen Ross” I see). B-

Love Match

• Hmm…this is the hardest sketch to get a bead on I've seen on this show in YEARS.

• I chuckled a bit at Marcellos’ “the true answer is butt” line.

• The premise seems to be “what if a regular, sincere guy dressed like Indiana Jones whole vehemently denying knowing anything about Indiana Jones at all?”

• I have to say this feels like a premise we've seen numerous times but Black & Dismukes are acting the hell out of this.

• This does seem like a very Andrew Dismukes-centric idea too as it is reminiscent of his “Joker Wedding” and “Jumanji” sketches from the past few years.

• I chuckled a bit more at his line about Marcellos’ character looking 12 years old and JAJs’ character looking just like Jane Lynch.

• Most of all, I liked the very tight writing and pacing of this. Even once we saw Bowen revealed to be a guy dressed as Capt. Jack Sparrow (possible Lonely Island shout out there?) this never felt like it overstayed its welcome. B-

Flamin’ Hot Preparation H

• Ok, I liked how hard this leaned into its own gleeful stupidity and I liked how it gave us two back to back Jack Black/Andrew Dismukes pairings. (Yes, that was Andrew as the voice of the cheapest CGI Chester Cheetah you've ever seen).

• It was nice to see Jack Black INTENTIONALLY sweating his ass off for once (pun unintended but fuck it, I went with it anyway). C+

One Uppers

• Another “hip group of young, trendy people at a restaurant” sketch AND another “people constantly try to out do one another” sketch rolled into one. How…innovative?

• Ok, so maybe the framework of this isn't very new but I do admire the show risking a minor derailment and nearly throwing its own timing out if whack just for the sake of putting something on that very nearly defies accurate description. 

• Seriously, the best way I could describe this was just “Eagle Screech Whip Pans”.

• I did like the needle drop of Disturbeds’ “Down With The Sickness” during one of Ego's closeups.

• Even just a stupid fart noise punctuating Sarah & Dismukes announcing that they were “poly” just before Heidi summons the cheapest eagle puppet you may have ever seen made me chuckle when couched in with this chaos. B-

The First Play

• Another unique and creative premise on display here that genuinely feels the least like anything they've done before.

• I immediately liked the idea of people witnessing the historic moment of the first ever acting performance treating it as a dialogue or normal conversation because they may be unfamiliar with the basic concepts of “acting” or “pretending” even just “lies”.

• I loved the gag of Longfellow pulling a red streamer out of Bowens’ chest plate to simulate his stabbing death.

• I feel like the promise of later nudity in the play was a kind of cheap ending but this sketch (and this host in particular) had enough gravitas to put that over. A-

Goth Kid On Vacation

• I liked the bait-and-switch/mislead of this better than the main joke once it got revealed but hey, nice use of Longfellow here.

• I liked Jack Black singing “Black Parade” (THEMES!!!) possibly most of all here. C-

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

• Come on, guys. Just let this Morgan Wallen thing die already!

• I liked Che's “Trump will not stand for plundering/Chinese tariffs/D.E.I. school funding/Matt Gaetz” jokes just for how much bite he gave them. Josts’ “#WhyVinDieselTrippin” and Kid Rock jokes were Ok.

• I'm actually pleasantly surprised to see Marcello and Jane's severely mismatched couple return. I actually liked these characters during their debut in Mulaney's episode from November and I still think this is the best use of Marcellos “loud shouting man” persona.

• Among Marcellos’ stand out jokes were Romeo & Juliet, going “stupid on a woodwind”, Doctor Who and doing dishes/cooking.

• The gag of Jane deadpanning risqué, suggestive/aggressive lines still works.

• The Russell Brand/Chris Brown flashback from Jost worked for me the way they intended, though. I ALMOST liked that code breaker joke.

• I liked Josts’ Subway Nachos/Goofy stuffed animal joke but the HBCU joke that preceded it may have been the point when the joke portion of this Update started to lose its sharp focus (hey, at least Che got through another whole Update without another “hey, it's the ‘90s”). The Hooters joke could've derailed it completely but the next commentary stopped this whole Update from falling off a cliff.

• I was DEFINITELY on board with Ego “Ms Eggy” Nwodim as a Queen Of Def Jam Comedy from the get go (even if her “voice” seemed to be a mix of Lisa From Temecula, Esther from Sanford & Son, her “TSIDDAHN!!!” teacher and her “Rich Auntie With No Kids” among possible others.  

• Her reaction to certain unexpected audience reactions really made this for me (and made me genuinely wonder if there could be any “fallout” from this or if this portion could be included in any possible 10pm “vintage” rerun slot). B-

Making Love

• Right off the bat, this seems like an exact cross between a similar high wire sketch from 2019 with Cecily Strong and Chance The Wrapper and both of Melissa Villaseñors’ “dirty talk” sketches with Aziz Ansari and Donald Glover.

• The “champagne” joke worked for me. Not sure we needed Bowen as the “third” but Brandi Carlile as the “fourth” fully justified his appearance.

• I could see this not quite working as well with any lesser hosts (or musical guests for that matter) but Jack Black and Brandy Carlile really had the gravitas to hit this out of the park. 

• I also liked how they pulled out to reveal the stagehands operating the cables on the side of the stage. B-

Bass Lake Jam Session

• Hmm, what if a cover performance of Tom Pettys’ “Free Fallin'” had so many bass players it literally caused structural damage to the pier it was being played on?

• Well, this proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jack Black is the only performer on Earth that can make this specific sketch premise work. I love how he provided the detail heavy nature that needed to work.

• Is that Dismukes on drums?

• Thankfully, this didn't turn out to be a sketch that Heidi would ruin with her newest impossibly dumb one off character being the main focus. I mean, I wasn't exactly worried this sketch would tank when I saw her show up. Well, let's just say I was more…distracted…than worried and leave it at that (‘cuz I couldn't quite tell if those were 100% her real ones either…but anyway, moving on).

• I got a kick out of Marcello bringing up spoons and then saying they were just for crack.

• I got a kick out of Bowen bringing up his base in a keyboard shaped carrying case.

• Hey, any sudden appearance of The Simpsons theme song is A-OK in my book!

• The gag with Ego's dog being a bass player too was just goofy enough to work for me.

• Oh hai, Devon & Ashley.

• This reminded me a bit of an MTV Spring Break sketch with Cameron Diaz where Amy Poehler is taking song requests and is increasingly frustrated that everyone keeps requesting “That Don't Impress Me Much” by Shania Twain…even Tracy Morgan. Anyone else? No? Care to watch the sketch on TikTok? No? How about this other sketch from season 27 that the Preparation H thing reminded me of?

• Anyway, a surprisingly strong sketch for the back half of the show. 

• …and yeah, while I'm posting links to random season 27 sketches i found on TikTok I might as well share this one with you since it was the one that this sketch apparently reminded everyone else of. B+

WWII Times Square Kiss

• Hmm, I feel like I may have heard a joke with this exact same premise somewhere recently, but that didn't stop me from enjoying this one. 

• All the performers in this did a fine job of selling those old timey ‘40s voices. Kenan and Mikey were…there, too.

• I did like the added detail of Jack's character just being an anti-Asian propaganda cartoonist whose work is considered too shockingly racist even for war time in the 1940s. C-

Ranking The 50th Season Best To Worst

1. SNL50: The Anniversary Special (02.16.2025)
2. Jack Black/Elton John & Brandi Carlile (04.05.2025)
3. Nate Bargatze/Coldplay (10.05.2024)
4. John Mulaney/Chapell Roan (11.02.2024)
5. Bill Burr/Mk.Gee (11.09.2024)
6. Chris Rock/Gracie Abrams (12.14.2024)
7. Paul Mescal/Shaboozey (12.07.2024)
8. Lady Gaga (03.08.2025)
9. Timothee Chalamet (01.25.2025)
10. Mikey Madison/Morgan Wallen (03.29.2025)
11. Dave Chappelle/GloRilla (01.18.2025)
12. Martin Short/Hozier (12.21.2024)
13. Ariana Grande/Stevie Nicks (10.12.2024)
14. Charli XCX (11.16.2024)
15. Shane Gillis/Tate McRae (03.01.2025)
16. Jean Smart/Jelly Roll (09.28.2024)
17. Michael Keaton/Billie Eilish (10.19.2024)

Overall Thoughts 

• Ok, this may or may not be a hot take but I say this episode may be perhaps the strongest contender for best episode of the entire season (if you don't count the 50th anniversary special from February as an “episode” like I do).

• I know that last week set a ridiculously low bar for this episode to clear but the show played so well to Jack Blacks’ dynamic energy and strengths as a host that you would think he may have been heavily involved with the writing and pitching.

• It also helped that after a week packed with old recurring sketch templates this episode gave us a lot of fresh, unique ideas that felt very original for this era of SNL (or at least put some new twists on some old concepts we may have seen before).

• While Ashley and Devon took some minor hits in airtime this week, it still felt like a week where no cast member was shut out entirely. In particular, James, Andrew, Heidi and Ego made great strides this week.

Closing Thoughts 

• Next week, another four timer Jon Hamm makes his return to hosting after a 15 year absence of his own (minus the odd cameo every now and then).

• Whether in cameos or as a host, Jon Hamm was always a performer the show knew how to use effectively and two of his three host outings are certified classics, so let's hope that SNL can keep this weeks good, strong vibes going and hopefully ride that energy all the way to the end of the season next month.

• After I review that episode, the next post you're likely to see on this blog will be a review of the Julia Loius-Dreyfus/Paul Simon episode from season 31. Of course, this is going to be the next full length SNL episode that me and Deej will review for the We Heart Hader Podcast.

• Oh, that reminds me. You'll also be seeing a review of the Steve Martin/Prince episode on both the blog and the podcast this coming Thursday, April 10th.

• Have a good one, guys!

Timothee Chalamet (01.25.2025)

Founding Fathers

• Huh, an opening text scrawl. This should be a slightly more creative and pointed/poignant cold open than normal. Hey, wait a minute…

• Ok, Lin Manuel Miranda reprises his biggest role. That's unexpected. 

• Ah, I knew it. Well, even as Trump it's at least nice to see more JAJ airtime.

• Aside from the Office/Barron/Melania jokes and calling out the waste of an LMM cameo, not much of this is hitting with me so far.

• Nice jab at Elons’ relationship with his kids but a lot of this feels sadly toothless and hard to get into (aside from those “makeup” & “Eric” jokes)

• I liked the idea of a meta-jab at SNLs political sketches but the Hegseth/Zuckerberg joke was pretty awful.

• Well, if nothing else it's nice to see SNL go back to making political cold opens feel like as much of a non-event as they did prior to season 42. Yes, we got Lin Manuel Miranda but that at least served this sketch well and it wasn't exactly them going heavy on the stunt casting like they did when Baldwin was still hanging around. I'm just grateful a current cast member who's been on the show less than four years so far is playing the sitting president. C+

Monologue

• Right out of the gate, we're already directly addressing the double duty bookings. Allright. I would’ve liked the Gary Busey shout out a bit better if he'd done more with it.

• I'm liking this lower key, more sincere, less energetic monologue. It's more reminiscent of his season 46 monologue than his season 49 one so I'm on board with it right out of the gate.

• I like the goofy, meta self depreciating nature of this monologue with Kenan STILL beating him out for an imagined award he just wanted to finally read a speech for (even though we all know damn well that Timmy still has plenty if good years ahead of him to win various types of awards. I mean, look at Leonardo Dicaprio).

• Yeah, I got news for you Timmy. I WISH SNL did more “weird stuff” like this because this feels like the “weirdest” thing they've done in at least three years. B-

Bungee Class

• Oh, is this a very slight twist on the SoulCycle sketches from season 45 or an even slighter twist on the “booty” workout sketch from Megan The Stallions’ episode from season 48?

• It's nice to see Longfellow in a sketch even if he's just there to be tag team emasculated by Hedi and Timmy.

• Oh, and I see it's mostly just an excuse for everyone to swing around loosely. Too bad we didn't get some genuine non-manufactured breaking moments out of this. Sadly, this feels like an absolutely minimal twist on the Cecily Strong/Jason Bateman mall Santa sketch from season 46.

• I will admit I liked the Jimmy Carter joke and the Cinnabon cake thing was alright. Among other things, this needed a stronger ending. Hell, it needed an ending in general. C-

Medcast

• Huh, another “lol dudes and their podcasts, amirite?” sketch. Ok. I can get into it (not just as a podcaster myself…which I don't think should disqualify me from being able to talk about this sketch, by the way)

• I gotta say while this isn't the most ambitious premise ever I do like the way Andrew Dismukes and Heidi Gardner are coanchoring this. I like how they snuck in Ashley, Emil and Marcello, too.

• I wonder how Theo Von is gonna react? (‘cuz that's clearly who Dismukes’ character is a parody of here). His interaction with JAJ cracked me up.

• The only other critical thing I can say about this was that while I didn't hate seeing Mikey in this, he definitely felt like he was playing a role he should've aged out of by now. B+

New Barista Training

• Jane Wickline had some good lines in this. Timothee somehow looks impossibly young in this.

• This seemed way too scattershot for its own good at first but then Timothee and Kenans’ stand up jokes made me crack up.

• I feel like they leaned a bit too hard on the “big ol’ woman” jokes (and Mikey may have lapsed a bit too hard on his old habit of loudly over explaining whatever's’ going on in any given sketch) but still this might be the live highlight of the night for me. 

• I've heard that Carl Tart wrote this. Good for him. Part of me was expecting that PDD wrote it given how similar it was to their “Jim Hensons’ Kings Of Comedy Babies” pretape with Pete from last season but Carl really got something notable on the map here. B+

Oedipal Arrangements 

• Ok, I could already tell this was headed straight into Incest Town from the get go. It lingered there for a bit too long before taking an all too brief detour into Longfellows’ Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy but I appreciated how strongly and intensely committed he and Heidi were to it. C+

Educational A.I. Podcast

• Hmm, while I appreciate the idea of a sketch where the basic message is “generative A.I. produces nothing but muddled trash and should be shunned” (and how restrained this was for something where Bowen was a main part of the comedic focus) I feel this sketch was a little too aimless and directionless for it's own good. At least Andrew, Ego and Marcello had the best lines in this though. C+

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

• Jost & Che each had their share of decent jokes this week among the detritus. I liked Josts’ Trump/Lincoln, I.C.E./Churches, D.E.I, Spelling Bee and Oatmeal jokes. I liked Ches’ Bobert/MTG, Emilia Perez and Price of Eggs joke. They almost made up for how much of a letdown his Elon Musk joke was.

• Nice to see Ego back at the desk doing a niche yet still accessible character that seems more subtly played and laser focused this time. I chuckled at her “bowl cut/plate/Appalachian trail” string of jokes. 

• I especially liked seeing Dismukes and his puppet papa at the desk. I felt like I knew exactly what it was going to be (especially since it seemed like Jost was going to be doing similar jokes himself when he first started) but Andrew sold the hell out of it and injected it with some much needed wholesomeness that made up for it not going for hard laughs. I even liked the reveal at the end that Dismukes wasn't the sole puppeteer. 

• Overall, this felt like one of the more friendly and welcoming Jost/Che era Updates in a while and I liked that vibe it gave off. B+

If A Bunch Of Dumb Little Dogs Talked & Acted Like People

• Ok, I DEFINITELY spoke too soon when I called Medcast “unambitious” but this was…cute. Timothee, Marcello and Mikey weren't bad in it and I liked all the ladies’ parts. 

• Bowens’ part could've been cut but Kenans’ was OK. At least they knew exactly how long they needed to linger on that one. D+

Grandmas’ Birthday

• Ok, I got a little nervous when I heard the name “Kelsey” but thankfully I noticed Marcello was playing a distinctly non-Domingo role.

• Well, the “sudden medical emergency” nature of this sketch has me intrigued.

• …and even though this is essentially a long drawn out fart joke, I appreciate how this is played fairly subtly and with a drawn out, uncomfortable shock at the sheer strangeness of what they just saw. C-

An SNL Animated Short: God

• Well, on the one hand, even if it ain't no TV Funhouse I like the idea of a new regular animated segment appearing on SNL.

• On the other hand, I feel like the idea of “Gods’ team pitching and working out the kinks on the universe” is an idea we've seen executed better on SNL before (particularly in the Anya Taylor-Joy episode and in a cut sketch from Kristen Wiigs’ season 42 episode) so I felt like I couldn't fully get into this.

• Still, while the idea of Chalamet playing God as a seemingly Coke-addled manchild/bro type wasn't exactly the best twist on this, I did laugh at the “Gooby, the creature with the sun in his mouth”. C+

Ranking The Season (Best To Worst)

1. Nate Bargatze/Coldplay (10.05.2024)
2. John Mulaney/Chapell Roan (11.02.2024)
3. Bill Burr/Mk.Gee (11.09.2024)
4. Chris Rock/Gracie Abrams (12.14.2024)
5. Paul Mescal/Shaboozey (12.07.2024)
6. Timothee Chalamet (01.25.2025)
7. Martin Short/Hozier (12.21.2024)
8. Dave Chappelle/GloRilla (01.18.2025)
9. Charli XCX (11.16.2024)
10. Ariana Grande/Stevie Nicks (10.12.2024)
11. Michael Keaton/Billie Eilish (10.19.2024)
12. Jean Smart/Jelly Roll (09.28.2024)

Overall Thoughts 

• I have already seen some out there declare this episode the best of season 50 so far. While I wouldn't necessarily argue with that sentiment, (hell, there's a couple things in particular that kept it well out of my top five for this season) I clearly didn't rank it that high myself (but this episode did cause me to rethink my season rankings so far and rearrange them in a way I feel makes much more sense).

• To me, this episode couldn't quite escape the January blahs (or just the season 49/50 blahs in general) it does stand out. I do appreciate the shows willingness this week to genuinely experiment in the writing department and try some new things instead of falling back on old recurrers like Tiny Horse and Rap Roundtable (although part of me does hope the one I heard they tried at dress rehearsal that got cut does find its way to YouTube)

• Most of all, I appreciate that this episode allowed cast members like Andrew Dismukes, Michael Longfellow, Mikey Day, James Austin Johnson and (to a lesser extent) Ashley Padilla, Jane Wickline and Emil Wakim to make up for lost time as they have barely been on at all lately.

• Timothees’ more matured and mellowed performances as host certainly helped as well. His musical performances were intriguing enough and part of me is actually surprised they got Sandler to cameo just to introduce him.

• Overall, this was a slightly better lead up to the 50th anniversary special next month that I was expecting. Even though I personally found it a bit uneven in spots, there was a decent spark to it. Even during sketches with derivative and slightly unoriginal premises on display, the execution had something that saved them.

Closing Thoughts 

• The next new live “episode” the show has advertised is the SNL 50th Anniversary Special airing in Prime Time on Sunday, February 16th. After that, there will be another new live episode airing on Saturday March 1st with an as of yet unannounced host/MG lineup.

• I may make it a point to watch the 50th anniversary special. I'll see if I have enough thoughts on it to cobble together a decent sized blog entry but in the near future, you may want to look out for a few more retro SNL reviews here. Specifically, ones for the Matt Dillon/Arctic Monkeys episode from season 31 and Shia LaBeouf/Avril Lavigne episodes from season 32. As far as Deej and I have talked and planned it out so far, those will be the next full length SNL episodes we cover on the We Heart Hader Podcast. 

• Who knows? We might be able to get our first ever guest to come on for one of those episodes! Only me and Deej have even the foggiest idea who that may be. Chances are that guest has no idea they're even gonna be invited on yet. Hell, it could even be you, yes, YOU out there reading this sentence right now.

• As far as what we HAVE set in stone for the pod, the next episode of We Heart Hader will be our first character spotlight on Vinny Vedecci which, with any luck, SHOULD be released this coming Thursday January 30th (and come to think of it, I may have enough notes to cobble together a blog entry for THAT one too!)

• In the meantime, feel free to check out our first two shows if you haven't yet. Feel free to leave a rating and review, if you'd be so kind. See you in a few weeks!

Chris Rock/Gracie Abrams (12.14.2024)

Crime Stories w/Nancy Grace

- Well, I've never cared much for any of the shows' previous takes on Nancy Grace (they haven't aged all that well)...but I like Sarah Sherman enough that I am willing to give this a chance...and I do like what Sarah's giving us so far. 

- She's making the absolute most out of this material. If anyone can make a sketch where the entire take on the UHC shooter story seems to be "lol he's a sex symbol in some corners of social media", it's Sarah.

- I especially liked the Jonbenets' ghost "YOU USED ME" joke as well as Marcellos' SCREAMIMG YOUTUBE AD!!!

- Kenans' the only one who can elevate those "lol McDonalds is bad for you" jokes that probably could've been cut. Ashley and Emil made the absolute most out of their own small parts.

- Overall, a lighter, sillier take on Nancy Grace's media presence in her YouTube era than Amy Poehler used to give us in her cable news era really saved this. I for sure like Sarahs' characterization which is exaggerated just the right amount over Amys' portrayal which was far too drawled and drawn out. 

- This turned out to be one of the better frameworks for the evergreen "three random guests on some news pundit show" cold opens they've used. Nice to have a sudden segue into LFNY for once though. B+

Monologue 

- Welp, here we go.

- So far, I liked that "50th anniversary/25 great years" joke at SNL & Lornes' expense. Reminded me a lot of his "25 years and only four funny" jokes from his 25th anniversary monologue.

- That "Baby oil sniffing dogs" joke and the Jake Paul stuff didn't do anything for me (I mean, I don't like Jake Paul either but that just felt pointless to me) but weirdly, the bit about how "it's all about looks" aged better in 2024 when applied between Luigi Mangione and Jonah Hill than it did in 1996 when applied between Clarence Thomas and Denzel Washington (but that just speaks more to how the rise of social media has degraded our society in general than anything else).

- I wasn’t crazy about him seemingly taking the UHC CEOs' side and humanizing him until that "sometimes drug dealers get shot" comment. He turned that around nicely.

- His Trump stuff was...well, it wasn't too muddled per se. I mean, he had a valid take on the "dignity" of America's history and all but I personally could've done without it. I did like the line "it COULD happen to a NICER guy".

- As far as his Elon adjacent material goes...well, it was better than what he said about Elon in "Selective Outrage" (and that's a very low bar to clear since he blatantly just kissed Elons' ass there). At least his Joe & Hunter Biden jokes were a sensible enough take to end this on.

- Well, that was FAR from Chris Rocks' worst SNL host monologue I've ever seen. Maybe it wasn't his best because it felt like he was going all over the place but that story about him storming out of that unnamed billionaires' party in a huff over an unauthorized recording (apparently of the same Elon/deportation jokes he told on this show tonight which had me a bit worried) had me guarding my expectations so, I'll say I was pleasantly surprised. C+

Santa's Village

- Hmm..."white Santas be like this but black Santas be like that" seems like almost too basic of a premise but I'm hoping Devon and JAJ can add something to it.

- Seems like they're making Rock do most of the heavy lifting which isn't doing this any favors. I did like Dismukes line "we just remembered we're Jewish". 

- Finally, Chloe...gives Devon and surprise Jane something to work with. Nice of them to work Emil into this too.

- Overall, not a bad sketch for what it was. Too bad it took about a full minute too long to get going. C-

Simpsons Christmas Boogie Gift

- Hmm, judging from the commercial bumper...this seemed like it's going to be done in the same vein as that "Yankee swap" sketch from last year's Kate McKinnon episode. Thankfully, this turned out quite a bit different. The brief back and forth between Sarah & Emil was funny.

- Rocks' enthusiasm at his "Simpsoified" portrait is a charming way to string this along. The back and forth between Dismukes and Heidi was funny. Chloes' "tampons" line was funny enough. 

- I gotta admit, Chris Rock suddenly free associating his own dark Simpsons fanfic with slight assists from everyone else is really winning me over. I know a lot of people have said they don't see how Chris Rock even makes sense as the right host for this but personally, I had an easier time picturing him starting on a tangent in his standup act about Homer drinking and strangling Bart. I would agree that he may not be the right host to go off on a fantasy about sleeping with Marge though.

- Maybe it's my longtime Simpsons fandom that's making me appreciate the string of fan service character references here, (I mean, hey...I ASKED for a couple of specific Simpsons themed items for Xmas this year, let's see if i actually get either one) but this might have been my second favorite live sketch of the night. I don't even mind that this feels pretty par for the course of any era of SNL where Mikey Day is involved in the creative processes. Chloes' Marge didn't do too much for me, though.

- By the way, is it more than just a coincidence that Chris was wearing the exact same outfit as Carl Carlsson here? B+

Grandpas' Magic Car

- Ok, the gag of "lol boomers and Gen Silent are racist misogynists" may not be enough to fully sustain this but the "living car" gags were executed well and this piece did have its own rustic cinematic charm to it. 

- The ending seemed kind of rushed (I wasn't even mad at that Lyft button at the end even though those are never ideal) but I didn't hate that slam on the brakes either (if you'll pardon the expression). C-

Sexual Harassment Charlie III

- I could immediately tell where this was headed the moment I saw how everyone was arranged, and I honestly didn't mind too much. 

- I mean, we did just have an overload of sketch retreads from 2019 a month ago with Charli XCX, but I honestly didn't mind another one of these. Kenans' silliness usually puts these over for me (even if there's very little variation to his lines), and it helps that they've only ever done three of these in seven years. 

- Plus, this sketch does make sense in a Chris Rock hosted episode. The only real hard demerits against this were that it was a little too long, it lacked a crackling energy the first two had and Dismukes isn't really believable in a office boss type role as Beck Bennet was. C+

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

- Josts' opening UHC CEO shooter rant was shockingly milquetoast but I like his Time magazine/RFK Polio/whale meat vaccine jokes

- Che's drone joke was unsurprisingly try hard but his Trump/Amazon joke was OK. Too bad it was immediately followed by his first "it's the 90s" joke.

- The rest of Colin and Michaels' jokes were pure white noise to me. Thankfully, the guest commentaries ended up greatly elevating this Update. 

- Dismukes as "a bald man"? OK, let's see where this actually goes. 

- His energy is putting this over and the bit with the turtleneck and "jury duty/eyebrows/lotion" jokes were pretty funny. The "Marvel money/impotence/DON'T LAUGH" joke was the exact right note to end this on.

- I had heard this was something that Beck Bennet tried to get on air in season 44. It's funny to see him believably pull off something Beck did after I just talked about a sketch where he...didn't just do that.

- Jane Wickline on/as Sabrina Carpenter? Let's see where THIS goes...

- Well, I can't say I've ever seen anything as "high concept yet stripped bare and straightforward about what it's going for" as Jane Wicklines' second ever Update song.

- This had the odd feeling of being "not aimed at me" but not in an off-putting way. Yeah, I wouldn't say I'm all in on the current pop girlie scene (I mean, I mostly some of the names mentioned here and some of the songs attached to those names) but let's just say I sometimes gloss over the right corners of Twitter enough to know what Janes' going for here. B-

Botched Surgery

- Another sketch where Sarah is the main character. Chris Rock is the only one defending here because he's not completely keyed in to Sarahs' extreme self-consciousness.

- Gee, I hope something else happens in this sketch because i don't think I can take much more of this Sarah charct...WHAT'S THIS?!?SUDDEN SANDLER!!! What a pleasant surprise! He played off the sudden blood tube malfunction well and transitioned that quite flawlessly into the meta moments between him, Ego, Bowen, Emil and Rock to keep this sketch at JUST the right level of "charmingly falling completely apart." Kudos to Sarah for being the one to step in and officially jumpstart the sketch again at that point to keep it going.

- This may have been my actual favorite live sketch of the night. Seeing a Gracie Abrams bumper as I type this makes me think she and Sandler each might have something to do with getting the other on this week. 

- I have a feeling Sandlers' daughters might be fans/friends of Gracies' and that may be why Adam agreed to at least cameo tonight? If that's the case, was Sandler originally scheduled to host tonight but had to drop out suddenly, resulting in Chris Rock being a last-minute replacement? That might explain why it felt like they took a little extra time in announcing this and next week's lineup. B+

Your Office Christmas Party

- Ok, so now we're bringing back a Pete Davidson/Jay Pharroh rap from ten years ago but stripping it of any music whatsoever and executing it more like the Christmas day church service pretape...also from ten years ago and the graduation pretape from...five and a half years ago. Is that it? Oh, I see. They did leave in the "one guy is still trying to finish his days' work as the party gets started" joke but gave that role to Emil. Ok.

- Well, the only real weak parts of this were when I suddenly realized how absent Michael Longfellow was the entire show and how often they felt the need to cut back to the cleaning crew getting drunk. I didn't care much for JAJs screeching son here either. 

- Jane, Heidi, and Ashleys' parts were fine but not my favorites. Jane's character reminded me too much of her and Marcellos' Update commentary from Mulaneys' episode last month (and Amy Adams' character from the now decade old sketch that clearly inspired this). Mikey and Marcellos' bit felt like something they could've done a teeny bit more with. I did appreciate the Easter egg of that Penne Ala Vodka callback, though. The Chris, Ego & Sarah scenes were definitely my favorite. C-

Blind Date

- Chris Rock blatantly lies to Ego Nwodim about being her blind date in order to get her to have sex with him in her car. Well, I can't say I've seen this exact sketch premise before on SNL, and I do like the very quiet, low-key, subtle nature of this.

- Marcello enters as the real blind date, which turns out to be a low-key suave skeeze. His performance made me realize how much I liked this whole sketch being underplayed so much. 

- Suddenly, Rocks' Character doesn't look so bad after all. I kinda saw that ending coming, but I'm not mad about it at all. I'm less enthused about how underused Longfellow, Wickline, and Wakim were here (and really the whole show in Longfellows case). B-

Ranking The Season (Best To Worst)

1. Nate Bargatze/Coldplay (10.05.2024)
2. John Mulaney/Chapell Roan (11.02.2024)
3. Bill Burr/Mk.Gee (11.09.2024)
4. Chris Rock/Gracie Abrams (12.14.2024)
5. Paul Mescal/Shaboozey (12.07.2024)
6. Charli XCX (11.16.2024)
7. Ariana Grande/Stevie Nicks (10.12.2024)
8. Michael Keaton/Billie Eilish (10.19.2024)
9. Jean Smart/Jelly Roll (09.28.2024)

Ranking Each Of Chris Rocks' Episodes From Best To Worst

1. Chris Rock/The Wallflowers (11.02.1996)
2. Chris Rock/Gracie Abrams (12.14.2024)
3. Chris Rock/Megan Thee Stallion (10.03.2020)
4. Chris Rock/Prince (11.01.2014)

Overall Thoughts

- Well, my expectations were pretty low for this episode, considering how Chris Rocks' previous two hosting stints went down. Still, there were a few small surprises here and there that made this episode one of his better ones for me, personally.

- I would place this one slightly above last weeks' episode with Pedro Pascal simply because the highs were higher even if the lows were about the same. While this episode was still far from the best of this season, obviously, it was far from the worst. Still, the fact that I somehow included both this weeks' and last week's episodes in my personal top five rankings is more just a damning indictment of this season than anything. Hopefully, Paul Mescals' episode gets pushed into the top of my bottom five in a week.

- Cast balance remains about the same. The newbies are still making strides while Mikey, Chloe, Devon, Bowen, Longfellow and (sadly) JAJ are still being cut back on. Sarah, Ego and Kenan had strong nights at least.

Closing Thoughts 

- Well, that was a nice little escape. Next week, Martin Short returns to host the big Christmas show of season 50!

- This is one I am cautiously excited for as Shorts' always been a strong comedic performer who I've never seen host even a remotely bad episode on the whole.

- Plus, Martys' officially getting to join the five timers' club at this point! By that, I just mean he should be getting to graduate from being a mere waiter/busboy to being a full time member! Gee, I sure hope the monologue involves someone explaining to him how it DOES count if he cohosts with Steve and/or Chevy as they officially induct him!

- SNL usually pulls out all the big stops for Christmas. It's not like they've never had a lackluster or just outright bad Christmas show in the past but a Christmas episode hosted by Martin Short of all people should be the big boost season 50 needs right about now as they head straight into their big anniversary show two months from now. If they manage to biff this one even slightly, I will be stunned. See you then!

...and by the way, the official trailer of the We Heart Hader Podcast is officially out on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music right now. It contains a sneak preview of our first episode where we discuss Bill Hader and Andy Sambergs' impression off from the season 31 premiere. Me and Deej will be recording the second episode on Tuesday and we will be recording and releasing new episodes every two weeks starting early in the new year.