October 23, 2021 – Jason Sudeikis / Brandi Carlile (S47 E4) 

Cold Opening – The Ghost of Biden Past

• Good to see James’ Biden returning after a solid debut in the premiere.
• Always great to see Chloe, and she fits Jan Psaki’s part well, even when’s she not trying to sound anything like her.
• Funny list by Chloe’s Psaki regarding Biden’s blunders so far as president, and a good satire of the current administration without sounding too preachy or corny to either side.
• Well, good to see you Chloe, goodbye for now.
• Ah, the obligatory return of Jason’s Joe “Amtrak” Biden, and such a jarring site to see versions of the same man from different decades. Jason’s Biden, while fun, is no longer with us, the ”uncle Joe” and basically walking meme machine is long gone now, due to age mostly, and probably change in political strategy, James’ Biden remains the most accurate take on current-day Biden.
• Funny moment just with another good take on Biden’s creepy touching and sniffing of others while messaging their shoulders (Yes, he did that NUMEROUS times when he was VP).
• Nice to see Alex in this, even if his version of Biden pales in comparison to Jason, and especially James’
• Pretty good & energetic ending with both of our Bidens delivering the LFNY line.
• Overall, this the first great political cold open since the Britney one from Regé-Jean Page’s episode last year, and yes I liked the sequel too, perhaps slightly more.

Rating: ****

Monologue

• It feels just so right to see Jason up on the monologue stage.
• Lovely words just now from Jason, you could tell this means the WORLD to him to be here right now.
• I’m loving the turn where Jason is telling us his personal history with SNL.
• Really touching to see Jason reminiscing about SNL and this room, so glad the monologue didn’t turn into another camoefest from cast members from his era, like the infamous Samberg episode from 39.
• I’m loving how Jason is telling the crowd that all of their favorite skits were performed in this studio; it’s surreal to think of all the great laughs that SNL brought, and continues to bring to me and others, that all of that joy is in one simple room.
• Great visual of Jason going over to the musical guest stage, again it feels like he deservedly owns the room, and the moment itself.
• Jason seems to be choking at parts, and in turn I’m getting somewhat emotional just now.
• Overall, a perfect and beautifully sentimental love poem to this stage, and the many laughs and joy that SNL brought to us. My favorite monologue since Mulaney’s strong monologue from the previous year.

Rating: *****

The Science Room

• YES!!!
• I always love seeing this occasionally-recurring skit, as it’s always funny & works greatly with the host.
• Good recognition applause at the beginning of this, hardcore fans I would assume.
• Jason is basically perfect for this role, as he happens to be my favorite straight man that the show ever had.
• By the way, funny look from Jason here, and I loved his line “I don’t study this table all the time, just periodically” Which got a very good laugh from me & the audience.
• Cecily & Mikey are always very funny in these pieces, and strangely endearing for some odd reason.
• Regarding Cecily, this is by default her best role so far this season.
• The constant clueless clapping is both cracking me up & quite adorable to witness, Jason’s controlled frustration and quick lines contribute greatly to the rising tension & anger that his character (understandably) feel.
• The Matter lines from Mikey gave me good chuckles.
• Cecily: ”my sister says you should never ignore the balls”.
• I’m loving the slowly building tension, Jason is a master at this.
• Hilarious sudden outburst from Jason, going crazier than Adam & Sam did, and it’s working very well with me.
• Melissa as Cecily’s mom? Really SNL??
• Jason’s outburst towards Melissa especially got a great reaction from the audience, and Melissa’s character walking in front of the camera was the icing on the cake.
• Overall, another great installment, even if I would still rank it as Adam-Sam-Jason. This one was still great, and Jason did a masterful job as expected
• Boy, the episode so far is FANTASTIC.

Rating: ****1/2

Mellen

• A solid parody & a biting take on Ellen and other POS celebs that take advantage of their positions of power to abuse others.
• Jason is simply perfect yet again in this role, and he looks hilarious with that getup.
• Pretty good recreation of the Ellen set design, props to those who work tirelessly behind the scenes.
• (*groan*) Here comes Aristotle with another silent role, at least he performed it funny enough.
• Chloe’s brief scene was both Solid & hilarious. It’s always good to see more Chloe.
• James’ look as Louis C.K is UNCANNY, and a solid vocal impression of him, even if the voice could’ve been improved.
• Hilarious to see the return of Alex’s Connor McGregor.
• Hey, look everyone, Pete does another celebrity ”impression” so amazing how he did it, omg he’s so cool & awesome [/end sarcasm/].
• Overall solid, I could’ve trimmed Pete’s part, and focused more on Mellen.

Rating: ***1/2

Annie

• Ah, it feels so right to see Melissa starring in a skit for a change, instead of our umpteenth Cecily or Aidy vanity pieces.
• Great sets again, the decorators on this show are doing a killer job weekly.
• (*sigh*) I don’t want Cecily to sing here, she’s pleasant enough, but it brings back unwanted memories of that god-awful Cowboy skit with Musk(*shudder*).
• A somewhat thin premise, but the cast is selling this well.
• Great to see Chloe in her THIRD appearance tonight, and what an interesting voice she’s using, masking her true voice very well here.
• WTF with Aidy just now??!! Why was she about to break?! Boy, between her constant line flubs in that Wooden Signs skit (almost derailing it entirely) last year in Regina King’s episode, and her self-amused and halfassed ”impressions” of the likes of Cruz & Manchin this year, she’s starting to make me truly hate her as a cast member.
• Overall, an okay skit with an actual decent ending.

Rating: ***

Parent-Teacher Conference

• I ask again: why the fuck is Kyle still on the show???
• It looks like Kyle will be playing loser guy #87493 of his tenure, frankly still baffled that he didn’t leave with Beck.
• To say something nice, I’m loving how the show is having interracial couples in many pieces without pointing it out, treating it as a normal thing, which helps at the end to normalize it.
• I’m loving the tension just now, Ego and Jason are performing this expertly.
• A somewhat predictable turn with Jason flat-out getting it on with Ego over the freaking table, and a hilarious reaction from the crowd, they’re really loving this.

Rating: ***1/2

Jake’s Non-Stick Underwear for Men

• This is giving me Undercover Office Potty flashbacks for some reason, probably because of the subject.
• Damn Alex looks great here, pleased to see this much of him.
• James without that makeup & prosthetics is still weird to look at.
• Funny visuals of men accidentally blowing it in various situations, this kinda speaks to me, as ashamed as I’m to admit it.
• By the way, interesting color grading on this piece, it fits with the subject.
• Ego & Chris’ bits are great, and Chris’ comments to the camera bring up the usual good laughs.
• Good ending.

Rating: ****

Weekend Update

• Colin is now Update’s longest-tenured anchor, very well-deserved in my view, great that they let him be himself after few months of Lorne & co wanting him to be Seth Meyers 2.0, which is the LAST thing Update needed, Colin is sharp & edgy enough on his own to carry himself, and he showed that with only half a season, and this current era of Update is my all-time favorite, tied with Norm’s. Part of that thanks to how Colin & Che made a Update must-watch segment of the show once again, and a place of sharp & funny commentary on current events.
• No comment from me regarding that Kanye news, as a massive fan of his, it’s just so sad to hear anything regarding him anymore.
• Michael: “Donald Trump announced the launch of his own social-media network he’s calling Truth Social. But most people know it by its original name, the National Sex Offender Registry“.
• Another welcome return with Jason’s The Devil, making his first behind the desk appearance since season 37.
• Very interesting to see how to eras are blending here, Jason’s commentary is fo fascinating to witness happen in THIS set of Update.
• Great laugh when revealing that Colin sold his soul to the Devil in exchange of dating Scarlett (hey, who wouldn’t??).
• The usual snappy comments, which Jason performs with general likability and smoothness.
• That’s it? Update is over? Well, that was short & sweet.
• I’ve heard that an Alex commentary as GWJBAB was cut only MINUTES before air, and it would be posted online afterwards, with a Melissa commentary as herself. I’ve watched both, and Melissa’s one should’ve gotten on air, especially to make up to how horribly she BOMBED with the crowd in The Adele episode last year, cringe.

Rating: ****

What Up With That?

• Great to see this back.
• Kenan & Jason still got it as their characters, so much fun to see.
• (*sigh*) Here comes Fred Armisen with cameo #33456 since leaving the show in 2013, he must’ve been living under the monologue stage these past few years.
• Happy to see Oscar Isaac, an underrated favorite of mine, and when will he host SNL??
• A Nicholas Braun cameo hot from HBO’s Succession, which reminds me of the host for the next episode. Man, I really need to watch that show soon.
• I couldn’t care less about the third guest, but at least she looked cute with that headgear & came of likable and loose.
• Chris is funny as Weird Al Sharpton, I only wish that part was more fun & epic than this, Chris was fine as he always is.
• So far, this is a blast.
• Interesting not to see a Bill Hader cameo for obvious reasons, I would chalk it up to personal & schedule-related reasons. Not to mention that Bill, unlike Armisen, isn’t that desperate to cameo every three months on SNL.
• Overall, this was a lot of fun, everybody came off harmless & likable. Even if would still rank the Martin Short one from 38 as my favorite of these pieces.

Rating: ****1/2

Declaration Pitch

• Already, I’m on board with this silly concept.
• James looks like he could be transported from that era.
• A HUGE laugh from Andrew’s ”What if we put like a sick ass treasure map on this thing?”. Andrew always kills with me with his flawless delivery of his lines, similar to how solid he was with Sarah in the premiere.
• On that topic, pooooooor Sarah.
• Jason is a good straight man here, even if the concept is somewhat thin to stretch.
• WTF with Aidy and Aristotle’s heavy breaking when they appeared?? an inside joke perhaps?
• An overall harmless enough piece.

Rating: ***1/2 (the latter for Andrew)

Casino Proposal

• pretty weird concept for a 10-1 sketch.
• Kenan’s face here reminds me of his hilarious appearance in the classic Cast List sketch from Will Ferrell’s Season 45 stint.
• Well, the skit just ended with me puzzled over it. good performances at least from the three of our performers. An ok final skit.

Rating: ***

Goodnights:-

• such a sweet speech from Jason.
• (*sigh*) Sarah looks rough in the background, is she crying? I cannot tell well, at least Melissa is comforting her. Showing the world what an angel she is.

Segments Ranked From Best to Worst

Monologue

The Science Room

What Up With That?

Weekend Update

The Ghost of Biden Past

Jake’s Non-Stick Underwear for Men

Mellen

Parent-Teacher Conference

Declaration Pitch

Annie

Casino Proposal

Final Thoughts:-

• A great episode, with pretty solid & consistent quality throughout it.
• It was so great to see Jason coming home, being the host and brining down the house. He was in my view the most consistent & attention-avoiding cast member in the previous era, unlike Wiig or Armisen’s comedy poison & vanity pieces, Jason cared about quality & professionalism, which he showcased tonight also.
• Sad to see Sarah getting the shaft tonight, as this was a perfect episode for her to get a big showcase before Halloween. Her cut piece that I’ve read about on the subreddit’s page seemed to be solid enough, and it could’ve showed the female cast more in an episode that was pretty male-centric.

Next week:-

• Well, to be truthful, in about a day or so, as I need to catch up before the next episode premieres. Our host is Kieran Culkin, from HBO’s Succession. I’m hoping for a good episode, as It would be great to continue this hot streak.