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!

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!

John Mulaney/Chapell Roan (11.02.2024)

 Sudden Pre-Show Thoughts

- Ok, when I heard Kamala Harris was actually appearing on the show tonight, I had some... mixed feelings. For one thing, I've been feeling that we may be past the point where it would be considered appropriate let alone hip, cool or media savvy for an active presidential candidate to make an appearance on this show since...well, since the time one of THIS race's candidates actually hosted nine years ago at the start of his first campaign but that's also the least of my worries at the moment.

- I mean, as heavily skewed as the polls seem to be right now (at least not counting the ones you somehow see from Elon Musk on that damn former "bird" site he's been running into the cold, cold ground), all signs point to her gaining significantly on Trump in recent weeks. I certainly don't want for her or the show to accidentally jinx that. I mean, I think she's definitely held her own in recent "hostile" interviews and not taken any reporters bait or anything, so...she's not in any SERIOUS danger of losing at this point, riiiiiiiight?

- I immediately flashed back to John McCains' appearance on the last pre-election episode of 2008. It was pretty obvious that he was there to loosen up and have fun as even HE was aware he was likely going to lose that election. I certainly didn’t want anyone heading into a potential Kamala Harris cameo with that mindset (after all, if I were a supporter of TFG I wouldn't still be watching the show closely enough to be able to maintain this intensely detailed blog about it, would I? I mean, HE hasn't even TWEETED about it in at least five years). Speaking of...

Last Campaign Stops

- JAJs' Trump ramble seems a bit sharper, more biting and focused than normal. Getting their potential last possible jabs in before the show goes off the air, I see?

- ...and the Dem Ticket Cameo Crew comes in to lay on the schmaltz and slow the momentum a bit, I see. I liked Carveys' "riff" line and Sambergs' "Doug" lawsuit joke, but that was it. Also, it's strange to hear just the word "Twitch" alone get a round of applause, but...OK.

- I see the Kamala cameo is amounting to...literally just the Clinton/Poehler cameo of March '08 but just done 3 Coolidges 3 mirror style. I was a little disappointed at this being the conceit of Kamalas' cameola...yeah, Ok, I'm not gonna try to riff on that part but I will say that the real Kamala did make that "open doors" line land better than it had any right too.

- Still, for something that was obviously written and conceptualized at the last possible minute after the cameo appearance was arranged like, a day or two earlier, this was a nice sincere moment that I ultimately can't get too mad at in the moment (and I don't really see too much for Twitter to get mad at right now either). 

- I know there is a real sense of mutual love and respect for one another between Maya and the current vice president. I can see this as the real Kamala just wanting to unwind for a night and have fun before possibly the most tense moment of her entire life next week. 

- Depending on what happens on Tuesday night, we could turn a more critical eye to this later on, but for right now, I'm not gonna be too hard on it. C+

Monologue 

- Gee, I feel a bit worse for Mulaney having to follow that than I should've. Him starting off with a riff on "descending height asians" didn't exactly put me at ease.

- While this one didn't exactly charm me as much as Mulaneys' previous five SNL host monologues, I did genuinely laugh at his "hand bandaid/traditional catholics/118 year old grandpa jokes." His "physical therapy" bit was charming as well. C+

What's That Name? Election Edition

- Ok, the way they used this as the framework for the actual Tim Kaine cameo and Squirms' Margaret Atwood in service of stinging jabs at the emptiest, most overly performative kind of liberalism makes up for the "Longfellow filling in for Hader" thing.

- Don't get me wrong, I like seeing Lomgfellow get the game show host roles for as long as he can get them. He just may not have the timing or the stage presence that Hader bought to these sketches. This dragged in some spots, but that's not necessarily a dig at ol' Mikey Longs here. I'm still just as glad to be in the Longfellow business as anyone. 

- Jon Schneider raised an interesting point I hadn't considered in his latest SNN hot take show for this episode that the placement of this sketch right after a sincere emotional moment with the actual democratic party candidate currently running makes the jokes hit harder. B+

Midnight Matinee: Beppo Goes Home

- This was a long journey, but I really appreciated the focus on thoroughly unexpected sweetness over cheap gore and shock value. This is what the Squirm/Dua Lipa Elephant Man short from May should have aspired to be. 

- I think "Midnight Matinee" has more than earned its place in the SNL pretape pantheon with this short. I just hope if Dan Bulla keeps making "it's about the journey, not the destination" style comedy his WHOLE thing he branches out a little more in terms of how to pull off exposition. B+

Port Authority Duane Reade Milk Medley

- Ah, I should've figured another NYC centric musical medley would be what Pete Davidson cameos for.

- This was as much of an unfocused mess as most of the rest of these, but I still liked it better than "Subway Churro". 

- Kenan struggling not to break through parts of the Possum Lion King number was perhaps the best part of...that number. I wasn’t crazy about the "bum fights" joke.

- Sadly, Marcello as singing shampoo was my least favorite part of this. Pete and John calling each other by their real names were the funniest part of that one. 

- Bowen singing "Master Of The Bus" to "Master Of The House" was...well performed but not something I knew what to make of right away. Was that Pete who giggled loudly upon Bowens' entrance.

- Chloe singing "Chalamet" to "Cabaret" is something that probably should've been more hated if it weren't the best possible use of her Timothee Chalamet character (I can hardly call it an impression)

- I liked seeing Devons' Eric Adams again, but the "Prince Of Turkey" number was lost on me.

- Andy Samberg singing "Baby Bear Carcass" to "Alexander Hamilton" was the best possible way to end this. Too bad the lyrics to that closing Grease parody were swallowed up by audience applause. C+

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

- I liked Josts' "audited" joke but wish he could've gone a little darker with it. His "Yankees fans stealing" joke was solid. Plus, he addressed that Kill Tony/Puerto Rico controversy in the classiest way the show possibly could (for better or worse). Che's "MSG rally" jokes were...serviceable but his "popsicle" joke was possibly the most soul crushing thing I've ever witnessed on a 21st century Weekend Update.

- Heidi's Reba commentary was a mess, but she had decent lines in it. That impression was way the hell off (her voice ain't that deep) but I liked the Gwen Stefani/methodist-athiest/papa Pennywise jokes.

- The Marcello/Jane pairing was stronger than it had any right to be. I mean, I probably laughed more than I should have at what amounted to "Marcello turns your eardrums to fine powder while Jane is ten times mousier than normal" but somehow they both pulled their weight to put this over for me.

- I see that Pete didn't appear on Weekend Update at all...and I didn't see Jost during the goodnights at first glance. Hmm, doesn't do much to squash those rumors of beef between the two, does it? B-

Sitcom Pioneers: Family Bonds 

- Ah, a "Switcheroo" retread? OK, let's see where this goes.

- Speaking of performers putting things over way more than they had any right to be put over, Kenans' Little Richard was quite fun here. I mean, I've seen better Little Richard impressions in sketch comedy, but Kenans' was very unique to him, and it livened up this sketch quite a bit.

- The only real complaint I have about this is that the Bowen/Mulaney scenes dragged a bit and hurt the pacing. I thought this was a fine "Switcheroo" sequel even if it didn't quite measure up to the densely packed writing of the original. B+

Harvey Epstein For City Council

- This comes across as a direct cross between Jon Hamms "Pat Finger/Deldeaux" and Will Ferrels' local candidate who had his genitals burned off in a fire from season 24. I liked those sketches, and I liked this too.

- Mulaney really sold the hell out of this (and I say this not having seen any footage of the actual Harvey Episode Mulaney is impersonating here) with some assists from Heidi, Sarah, Andrew & (thankfully) Ashley. They didn't have to do too much heavy lifting here as the writing behind this was strong enough to support it. B+

Ranking The Season (Best To Worst)

1. Nate Bargatze/Coldplay (10.05.2024)
2. John Mulaney/Chapell Roan (11.02.2024)
3. Ariana Grande/Stevie Nicks (10.12.2024)
4. Michael Keaton/Billie Eilish (10.19.2024)
5. Jean Smart/Jelly Roll (09.28.2024)

Ranking Each John Mulaney Episode (Best To Worst)

1. John Mulaney/Thomas Rhett (03.02.2019)
2. John Mulaney/Jack White (03.14.2018)
3. John Mulaney/LCD Soundsystem (02.26.2022)
4. John Mulaney/Chapell Roan (11.02.2024)
5. John Mulaney/David Byrne (02.29.2020)
6. John Mulaney/The Strokes (10.31.2020)

Overall Thoughts 

- For better or for worse, this IS the first time that SNL season 50 felt like the exact type of "event" it deserved to be in 2024. The show was still a bit uneven writing wise but the energy in the studio was the highest it's been all season at this point (even as much as that's due to Mulaney being hyped up as host and certain other cameos).

- John Mulaney did a fine job hosting as expected (as seriously "hands off" as he felt this time), but this episode is better viewed through the lens of season 50 and the history of elections playing out on the show than among the all time pantheon of John Mulaney hosted episodes. It's definitely going to be better remembered as a big "of the moment" episode for its time (like his 2020 episodes were but in a much less dire way) since it lacks some of the more unique comedic experiences that made Mulaneys' early episodes (and his second to last one) stand out as well as they did. 

- The few attempts to call back to the recurring sketches he first helmed as a host mostly fell flat and came up empty. Still, the few highs were decently high this week (again, mostly energy more than writing) and the lows were merely "mid".

- Cast airtime feels slightly imbalanced but this week, but that's mostly due to Mulaney and outside cameos dominating the show paired with Ashley and (now sadly) Emils complete underuse in live sketches (at lesst Ashley delivered one of the better standalone lines in the back half of the show). 

Closing Thoughts

- Well, that was the energy and enthusiasm boost this show needed to help push season 50 over. SNL may have just earned it's keep.

- Next week, Bill Burr hosts for his second time, and I know I'm not alone in stating that I'm so relieved that they didn't make a worse choice here.

- I may have to reevaluate Burrs season 46 episode. I remember liking what Burr bought to the show, but I also remember still having ranked it at the bottom of my rankings list from that season while othersI know ranked it at the top. Keep in mind, this was still the second episode ever from that season so that just may be me not being used to the far less electric, much more muted vibes that a limited, masked socially distanced Covid era audience bought to the show. 

- Maybe THAT audience just didn't know how to react to him in sketches. Oh, well. Maybe a full audience will elevate him and help him push through some potentially awkward and REALLY dead energy to come (God forbid it comes to that). See you then!

Natasha Lyonne/Japanese Breakfast (5.21.2022)

Okay, here's my review. This is a finale that was made for the Twitter stans and the Twitter stans only. Yes, Kate, Aidy and Pete did get the lovely goodbyes they deserved on air (Kyle is also leaving and he could've got something too but it's not like he was one of the cast members whose presence on the show required a big blowout send off) but other than that this episode seemed wildly unfocused and uneven. Natasha Lyonne showed endless promise as a host which is a shame since she only got to be used very sparingly throughout the show. I fully understand this wasn’t going to be a regular finale where the host was reasonably in focus but I still expected the show to use her more than they did. The only reason any other cast members got on was mostly due to one of the pretapes I'll get to later but still kudos to JAJ at least for managing to have a stand out night. 

Before we go any further, I want to say that I don't want to sound like I'm being too hard on Kate, Aidy, Kyle or Pete on their last shows or anything just because their goodbyes didn’t hit me as hard emotionally as some of you who may be reading this. I do feel the show has been misusing their talents so much in recent years that I'm less sad to see them leave SNL and more just relieved to see them finally get the opportunity to move on and pursue bigger and better things full time. It's more that this season in general has left me burnt out with the way it concluded after starting out with such promise in the beginning. Anyway, let’s get down to it.

Colleen Raffertys' Final Close Encounter - Wow...interesting choice to have this as the actual cold open. I wish I could have more of a reaction to this beyond how impressed I was that they closed this season with a non-political cold open (although that establishing Pentagon shot was an impressive fakeout) but these always kinda washed over me. Still, I guess this was to be expected tonight seeing as we finally got hard confirmation that two performers in this scene will not be returning in the fall and these characters certainly have their fans. This sketch seemed to have been written a bit differently than the others though (while still suffering from an acute version of palpable Debbie Downer syndrome courtesy of Aidy). I did like Natasha's line (who is an interesting fit for this sketch) about the Pentagon being her favorite shape and Kate's lines about her "wonderwear" and Yankee Stadium lines. I especially liked how the ending tried to bring some closure to this characters' storyline (the whole sketch felt oddly subdued up to that point). Incidentally, it's nice for me that we get some official confirmation that this characters full name is actually "Colleen Rafferty" as I just remembered I went to high school with a girl who had that exact name and I am genuinely curious what she has been up to all these years later. B+

Monologue - Natasha is the second female host in a row to bring an odd low-key energy to her monologue. Thankfully, Natasha bought something fresh, worthwhile and non-frustrating to her monologue. It felt different than pretty much any other SNL monologue I have seen because it as catered to Natashas' life and career as they could pull off (nice of her to show us the origin of her Twitter profile pic, btw) and written in a way that only she could deliver. She kept this entertaining enough to justify this monologues' seemingly longer than normal length. The half-expected Maya and Fred cameos went better than they had any right to (especially Fred given both their history together and just...Freds' history with women in general) and I officially declare Maya Rudolph the winner of the Natasha Lyonne impression-off. The one thing I am still left wondering is if the real Natasha's "I also wish I was Harry Styles" comment a reference to a possible reference to Styles originally being booked as this episodes host but having to drop out last minute due to the concert he was putting on elsewhere in New York last night or just a reference to the show simply being aware of that pocket of Twitter pretty much praying through the knees for Harry to have been in both Natashas' and Japanese Breakfast places tonight? B+

Voters For Stupidity - At first, I liked how this was just going for sheer gleeful silliness but it got muddled a bit by its own surprise political "message" at the end and I was suddenly a bit soured on it. This started out well with a series of rapid fire gags (some of my favorites included Cecilys' unnecessary voice box/stained glass window joke/bubble blowing, Kenans facial expressions and cat/horse drawing and the use of JAJ in his role in general) but after a certain point it just felt all for nothing. C-

Yankee Stadium, 1951 - As soon as Natasha uttered the word "methamphetamine", this felt less different than the original sketches we've been getting in this era. Still, it was worth watching to see just her absolutely swing for the fences (if you'll forgive the expression). I also liked the continued use of JAJ in non-impression roles. Otherwise, it reminded me too much of the BBC soccer announcer sketch from Idris Elbas' 2019 episode. That wasn't necessarily a bad sketch but I just don't like being reminded too much of a previous sketch when i'm expecting something different and original. B-

Treece Hendersons' (Possible) Farewell Performance - Aside from this being an oddly fitting choice of farewell sketch for Kyle Mooney, I don't think we really needed to see this again. I didn’t mind seeing Chloe or Natasha dragged and dropped into this template at all and I didn’t mind seeing this hit all the same beats that these odd Kenan sketches usually always hit but still, my night could’ve done without it. C-

Places We'll Go - Wow, I loved the real low-key "theater of the mind" approach to this with Dismukes' narration but I feel like there could've been a few cuts made to keep this from feeling too telegraphed and "samey". Still, I understand how both the sheer size of this cast and the nature and timing of this piece necessitated it being a full cast showcase. This felt like it succeeded where the Zoe Kravitz wedding toast sketch with Kyle and Cecily failed. B+

Update once again had Che come out swinging with Jost only catching up with those Liz Cheney/Florida student jokes (and he just HAD to follow those up with those Trump/Segal/Swift jokes that HAD to have been cut from some dress rehearsal from 2016, right?). I would’ve rather seen Alexs' Guy Who Just Bought A Boat than Kate's Dr. Weknowdis (even though it's the more appropriate choice for tonight and the exact thing I thought Jost was setting us up for) but the only things I took away from it were Alexs' "this is the worst thing that happened in Germany" joke and Josts' sudden "people are visibly ill" joke. I understand that this is Aidys' last show, too but it feels way too soon for her and Bowen to bring back their "trend forecasters" since they were just on last month. Still, I genuinely did like the "time/greeting" trends and the "future trends" was a sweet way to end this (but if they were gonna bring back Che being "out" I would’ve appreciated it more with some more definite confirmation that this WAS going to be his last Update). Speaking of, Pete's official goodbye was perhaps my favorite of the entire night. I was thinking about which of his season finale commentaries I liked better between this one and the last one and I think I liked this one better because with this being the confirmation of Pete's last episode, the tone of it felt more sincere. I especially liked how he called out FOX News blatant hypocrisy and cognitive dissonance over the Crenshaw matter. As much as the Oscars slap is a beyond tired topic I like how subtle Pete's Trojan horse like segue into it was and his Lorne impression was a nice addition. Honesty, the only thing I didn’t like about this commentary is that it ended Update and thus deprived us of our possibly final joke swap ever but it might be more Alex's fault that we didn't get one. B-

9:15 To 5:10 - I liked this as a showcase for Heidi and Ego and eventually I got on board with the whole noisy, senseless, unrelenting chaos vibe this went for (in spite of Fred's presence in what one could say is a sketch seemingly designed to make its performers break) but I imagine the people that hated the Benedict Cumberbatch fainting couch sketch are really gonna hate this! Still, it felt less "old variety show camp for the sake of camp" and more "Tim And Eric try their hand at directing local Branson dinner theater". My only other real complaint is that the writers seemed unable to settle on wanting this to be a parody of "9 To 5" or "Weekend At Bernies'". They made a real mistake giving us a shot of Natasha in a mustache and suspenders during the commercial break. They were really setting us up to be disappointed based on that. C+

Grey Adult Pigtails - Hmm...from the opening shot of Melissa, Chloe and Sarah I was expecting more of a "long overdue passing of the torch moment" than just an Aidy & Kate two hander advertisement. Still, it was short and it was the last of these we will ever be seeing. Heidi and Natasha fit the vibe of this sketch well. Weird sketch for Kyle of all people to go out on, though (and Aidy and Kate now that I think about it given the lack of emotional significance this seemed to convey but then again, something was obviously just cut...probably the Pete/Eminem "Forgot About Lorne" video that was put up on IG/YouTube which while uncomfortably reverent toward Lorne and kinda soured by Marshall's cameo was better than a lot of what made it to air and hearing about the original cold open from dress made me realize they cut a lot of the wrong stuff from this episode which was another thing this one had going against it). Honestly, Japanese Breakfast was the big highlight of this for me given her being the absolute last of this season's musical guests I would ever expect to appear in a sketch and absolutely killing it in her part. B-

Now, for my final rankings of Season 47 of SNL.

1. Jason Sudeikis/Brandi Carlile (10.23.2021)
2. Keiran Culkin/Ed Sheeran (11.6.2021)
3. Simu Liu/Saweetie (11.20.2021)
4. Billie Eillish (12.11.2021)
5. John Mulaney/LCD Soundsystem (2.26.2022)
6. Oscar Issac/Charli XCX (3.5.2022)
7. Benedict Cumberbatch/Arcade Fire (5.7.2022)
8. Lizzo (4.16.2022)
9. Natasha Lyonne/Japanese Breakfast (5.21.2022)
10. Selena Gomez/Post Malone (5.14.2022)
11. Jerrod Carmichael/Gunna (4.2.2022)
12. Jake Gyllenhaal/Camilla Cabello (4.9.2022)
13. Zoë Kravitz/Rosalía (3.12.2022)
14. Paul Rudd/Charli XCX (12.18.2021)
15. Jonathan Majors/Taylor Swift (11.13.2021)
15. Rami Malek/Young Thug (10.17.2021)
17. Willem Dafoe/Katy Perry (1.29.2022)
18. Will Forte/Måneskin (1.22.2022)
19. Ariana DeBose/Roddy Rich Bleachers (1.15.2022)
20. Owen Wilson/Kacey Musgraves (10.2.2021)
21. Kim Kardashian-West/Halsey (10.9.2021)

Well, it's obvious we've truly come to the end of an era for SNL once and for all. At this point, we have the rest of the summer to wait for news of any further cast member departures than what we just got. There's a chance we might get some new additions as well, but with the cast size still as large as it is, I think that would be truly unnecessary. More cast members would still make it almost impossible for underused newer players to get airtime. I mean, it would be intriguing but the promise of the show being left in its most capable and creative hands (with its own featured players moving on up) is enough to make me want to keep this blog going into next year (or at least just not want to announce MY immediate retirement from SNL review blogging this year). See you all next year!