November 13, 2021 – Jonathan Majors / Taylor Swift (S47 E6) 

Cold Opening – Cruz Street

Newsmax version of Sesame Street skews rightward

• You can imagine my reaction in response to the return of Aidy’s Ted Cruz.
• Come to think of it, having a cold open making fun of a far-right version of Sesame Street is quite clever, it could be a four-star or even a five-star worthy cold open when done properly. Yet, not in this way and NOT with this specific cast member.
• About a minute or so into this open, and I’m very bored, aside from occasional expletives in my mind while watching this self-indulgent “impression” play out.
• This is just a series of mad libs and few meme/checklist moments, just like nearly every single other open from the previous Trump era, with very few, if any sprinkles of actual satire or jokes.
• WHAT THE FUCK is the purpose of this open so far, aside from a couple of one-liners badly delivered to an audience that already made their mind regarding this open since the very start??!!
• So tragic to witness such a brilliant concept being wasted so far, where are the jokes? what is the direction of this open? Are there any actual points being made? so many questions, so little laughs.
• Here comes Cecily to indulge more into this piece, and take screen time from talented performers like Melissa and Chloe.
• Ugh, cue the applause for Pete’s Turgid Joe Rogan ”impression”
• Ah, here comes Melissa injecting some life into this trainwreck and to give me a rare laugh, good delivery of her line ”I’m almost 30”.
• Good Bert and Ernie impressions from Mikey and Alex. Reminding me of their part in the classic Grouch parody from David Harbour’s fantastic hosting stint in season 45.
• Good reveal and an ok laugh when Bert and Ernie announce their engagement.
• Aristotle is funny as the Count, and I’m still FLOORED that the fantastic Angelo skit didn’t help him with airtime. And as I remember, he barely gets airtime after this episode, even after a certain commentary on Update. I still think he is safe from getting fired, but he seriously deserves more time. It’s insane that his airtime didn’t even reach 10 minutes in half a season.
• An applause break after Chloe’s Britney appears, again to garner some headlines like the Rogan appearance.
• Finally this cold open is over.
• Overall, not only this cold open was weak for me and featured the typical mad libs with an even more halfassed Ted Cruz “impression” from a performer so past-her-prime, but wasted a clever & creative concept with a bunch of lazy one-liners and clapter moments. Not to mention a “satire” as sharp as a puddle. To put it simply, fuck this cold open.
• Overall, not only a horrible start to the episode, but a depressing and demoralizing sight to begin an SNL show in terms of not just momentum, but also pacing, energy, and you know ACTUAL COMEDY.

Rating: *

Monologue

host recounts his journey from military brat to Yalie to successful actor

• Energetic & fun entrance from Jonathan.
• He looks great in this suit, very stylish.
• I’m so happy that new writer, Mike DiCenzo is a big part of the monologues this season, they’re generally solid, and a nice way for us to know some real-life bits about our hosts. And, not mention they’re always written with good length and enough jokes to make them solid.
• Interesting to hear that he used to work at Red Lobster and Olive Garden, to see his success right now is touching in a way.
• Lovely that this over already, it was short, sweet, and made Jonathan appear even more charming & likable than before.

Rating: ***

The March of the Suitors

19 year-old Matilda The First (CLF) receives suitors

• It feels somewhat weird to see a medieval skit in modern SNL.
• Great to see Chloe getting an actual leading role this season.
• Mikey still cannot do an English accent, hell I’m not a native English speaker and I can do a better one.
• As expected, a solid English accent from Chloe, as for Aidy’s …. I better not comment.
• This feels like a part that Kyle did to death before, a sign that he should’ve left with Beck.
• Great English accent & voice from Cecily, but I could’ve not heard those tired dick jokes.
• Fun entrance from Jonathan, and he’s actually less awkward than I remember him being.
• Some awkward direction as Ego enters the scene.
• Surprisingly, Punkie is getting an actual role in a skit! She’s coming off very likable as expected.
• Ok, so the skit just ended, good and with barely anything annoying.
• According to dress report, Aristotle was supposed to have a part in this sketch, it got cut due to a surprise appearance on Update being approved just before going on air.

Rating: ***

Please Don’t Destroy – Three Sad Virgins

PED tabs Ben Marshall, Martin Herlihy, John Higgins [real] 3 Sad Virgins

• Great to see these guys back.
• Interesting choice to have this be outside their office, but I always trust these guys.
• I usually groan when we have a “Pete raps” sketch, but this one is more interesting than others.
• Some funny visuals and good lyrics here, really liked the Dune part.
• I’m loving that we are seeing this supposed music video as it’s being made, with interesting behind-the-scenes moments.
• Some really great cinematography so far, and a great part with the three guys just throwing their hands in the air in frustration.
• Come to think of it, these three guys have great stage presence & natural likability, I seriously think that we might see one or two of them join the cast after the hopeful exodus by the season’s end.
• Ben as Wendy’s mascot is a surprisingly good look for him and not to mention a funny visual.
• The obligatory Taylor Swift sketch appearance, I won’t be complaining as this is a pretape and I happen to like her hosting job in season 35, and especially her performance in the great Save Broadway sketch from season 34.
• OH NO, I shuddered remembering a certain piece toward the episode’s end.
• Pretty catchy lyrics & music as we would expect from Taylor, and fun and somewhat fitting descriptions of our three boys.
• Overall, this was pretty great & different.

Rating: ****

The Audacity In Advertising Awards

The Audacity In Advertising Awards celebrate shameless promotional spots

• Given SNL’s very polarizing record when it comes to awards skits, I’ll delve into this with no expectations.
• Solid idea for an awards skit and it reminds me of the solid The Poddys sketch from Liev Schreiber’s vastly-underrated episode from season 44.
• Heidi as Flo reminds me of the fantastic Dershowitz in Hell cold open from Adam Driver’s all-time great episode, and another sad reminder of how much of a bomb this episode’s open was.
• Kyle in another skit tonight.
• Surprisingly, this is one of only two parts for James this episode, and both are not live. Insane to realize that due to how much he dominated and took a lot airtime (deservedly) in the first quarter of the season.
• Funny scene just now between James and Kyle.
• Great & impressive Limu Emu voice, and this part was pretty good.
• Great bit about Amazon from Melissa, who’s again giving me the expected laughs.
• Overall, for an awards skit, this was a pretty good piece & thankfully didn’t go ”How do you do, fellow kids?”. Nor did it go corporate and had some sharp takes.
• I’d chalk the solid anti-corporate & youthful Gen Z style writing to the influx of new writers just before the season began.

Rating: ***1/2

Strange Kid Tales

paranormal children give (KET) & (host) the willies

• This role for Kenan feels like a throwback to the first half of his tenure, when he used to phone it sometimes & getting disrespected by some of the writers.
• Good pairing of Jonathan & Kenan, I would assume because we have a black host. Then again, Bowen nearly vanished during the upcoming Simu Liu episode.
• Ah, Kenan gave me such a good laugh during the stare-down part with a classic ”Kenan reacts” shot.
• Quite a lot of kid performers here & later tonight, I would assume that’s due to the vaccine getting distributed around the country.
• A good laugh from Pete’s part, he’s surprisingly is not annoying me as much outside from that downright awful open.
• What an adorable sight with that girl bowing down and Heidi clapping for her after the skit ended.

Rating: ***

Man Park

outdoor venue facilitiates socializing for men in relationships

• This is a pretape that I remember getting a lot of hype & praise online.
• Quite a busy night for Pete.
• I’m loving this clever & relatable concept, and as a person who’s always been described as an introvert and a hermit this speaks well to me.
• Here comes James with his second and last appearance tonight.
• Loving the Chloe & Sarah team up, and Sarah sounds totally different from what she’ll sound later tonight.
• Funny how Sarah asks ”which one’s yours?” like their men are bunch of pets instead of humans.
• LOVED the ”Marvel? Marvel? Marvel! Marvel!” part.
• Good ending with Heidi.
• Great commercial but not the classic that some claim, at least to me.
• So far, this is the best fake ad I’ve seen this year after a certain brilliant one coming soon.

Rating: ****

Musical Performance – “All Too Well”

• An epic, mesmerizing all-time musical performance from Taylor Swift. This will easily be near the very top of my favorite SNL musical Performances that I witnessed live.

Weekend Update

SRS fashions slanted headlines that cast COJ in an unfavorable light

robot stand-up comic Laughintosh 3000 (ARA) computes jokes & impressions

• HUGE reaction from the audience at the beginning of this, I would assume Taylor’s epic performance had them energized even more.
• Pretty good Opening joke from Colin regarding Taylor, and yes return the damn scarf!
• Colin: “Steve Bannon, seen here moments after shooting out of a sewage pipe”.
• Well-deserved applause regarding Britney FINALLY gaining her freedom and own agency.
• YES!!!! An Update commentary from Sarah!!! About time for people to fall in love with her.
• Let me just quote what I wrote the episode before this back in Jesse’s blog to humble brag a bit, ”hopefully Aristotle gets to do his great standup robot bit which I LOVED, by the way, and please get Sarah on Update!!”.
• Quite the applause for Sarah early on, I’m hoping that this is because she already made her mark with the audience with the little airtime she had so far.
• Sarah’s look here kinda reminds of young Kate Bush for some reason, probably the makeup and hair. Funny enough, I’m actually listening to Kate’s “Babooshka” on loop as I’m writing this review.
• So far, Sarah is coming off lovable and charismatic, again NAILING that delivery.
• Decent premise with Sarah asking questions regarding the nature of the show as a newbie. It’s a great way to make the audience know her better & make them like her.
• A HUGE laugh from Sarah’s comment regarding the audience being lied to.
• I heard some people whining that this is a tired trope when Sarah starts to drag Colin, who’s always a great sport in these pieces, but again this is meant to be an introduction of Sarah to the audience.
• Big laugh with Sarah’s nipple comment, elevated again with a well-timed & strong delivery.
• Very funny visual with Colin’s eyes ogling toward a scared Sarah like the Roger Rabbit movie.
• The graphics continue to be a killer.
• Sarah is killing it with the crowd so far, and getting them on her side.
• Another HUGE reaction from the audience and me with the Sarah saying ”Local Wet Blanket, Colin Jost is Keeping track of the amount of Jews at SNL. He’s making a list, and he’s checking it twice” It was huge to the amount of Sarah stopping for a bit.
• Another hilarious graphic of Colin accompanying the aforementioned comment.
• Sarah: ”you’re saying that I’m beautiful” uh.. well, you are.
• Michael is laughing his ass off in the background, and I cannot blame him one single bit.
• Colin seems to be laughing out of character also.
• Sarah: ”Noted white feminist Michael Che, protects innocent jewish girl from gorgeous fascist Colin Jost”.
• Hilarious photo of Sarah & Michael.
• Huge applause after Sarah’s commentary ends, and even Michael gives a quick nod to that. I only wish I could’ve heard what Sarah said to Colin before sliding away.
• This was such a great moment for Sarah, and a huge turnaround that her tenure needed after struggling badly after the premiere. Thankfully, she’ll be getting decent amount of airtime in the next two episodes, effectively more than doubling her airtime in merely three episode.
• I do remember some people hyping Sarah up to be the next Update anchor, I’m sure she would be very solid, with her great timing & what a hugely successful Update commentary this was. Yet, I prefer her to have a Will Forte-esque trajectory, without the horrible final year that he had.
• The “Giraffe-rey Dahmer” joke is a groaner on paper, but the delivery and both of the guys laughing at it saved it for me.
• Great to see Aristotle’s debuting a new character of his on Update especially, a place so perfect for his style.
• Dead-on robot voice & eerily accurate expressions from Ari.
• Good delivery with the Staten Island joke, getting a pretty good reaction from the audience.
• So far, this is as solid as I remember it being.
• Man, I’m loving the dark turn after Colin’s question about dating.
• Aristotle nearly breaks right now, I’m hoping that he won’t turn into another Fallon or Sanz, he’s far too talented to become a giggly mess every two episodes.
• Aristotle: ”It’s very hard to date as a robot”.
• Aristotle’s bit about dating a GPS that gives him directions during sex is absolutely hilarious, and that accurate robotic delivery just makes it a little better.
• A phenomenal commentary by Aristotle overall, glad it got quite the response, especially by the GPS bit.
• Aristotle & Sarah’s commentaries tonight were FAR better and stronger than every single other commentary this season, and about 90% or more of last year. Again, showing us how damn strong the current trio of newbies are, far outshining how mostly bland & underexposed the newbies from season 46 were.
• Sadly, I recall all of the upcoming commentaries being pretty much snoozefests.
• I would argue that this is the best group of newbies since season 31, and it’s starting to feel like this is the early beginnings of a new era for SNL.
• Overall, my favorite Update of the season so far, and a better Update than all of last year, and without a couple of groaners this one could’ve gotten a five-star rating from me. As I think only Mulaney’s and Craig’s Updates from season 45 deserve the perfect five.
• So far, this episode is on FIRE. Much better than I remember it being.

Rating: ****1/2

Broadway Benefit

act of Broadway veterans Blythe (CES) & Brick (BOY) is all about drugs

• Hey, look everyone! We are getting our umpteenth Cecily vanity piece that would go on ENDLESSLY because it’s Cecily.
• I wish I didn’t comment regarding the episode’s quality as here comes a big bomb from this episode.
• I’ve read that this skit is supposed to parody a certain old & obscure video, is this why Cecily looks like Bea Arthur??
• So far, this is pretty boring with a voice that Cecily did a billion times.
• Sad to see such a true professional and a sketch-saving performer like Bowen stuck here. Not even him could save this.
• Another skit tonight that heavily features children.
• I’m not that familiar with Broadway and musicals in general, and I know that I need to rectify that ASAP. But how in the world is the aforementioned Save Broadway skit MILES funnier and more fun than this dreck, and I only knew Wicked and Cats from the majority of musicals there, the latter due to that nightmare fueled live-action movie.
• This is waaaay too inside joke for me so far, and I properly should appreciate this as a somewhat of a love message to Broadway in times like these, but it’s honestly just the epitome of a vanity project.
• Jonathan is fun here, and he’s trying his hardest to save this.
• Okaaay, so the joke is that he cannot dance as legend has it? Is that it?
• This feels like it’s dragging on forever!
• (*sigh*) Here goes the same joke again.
• This is torture so far, end this NOW SNL!
• Awful ending. And yes, this is as big of a bomb as I remember.

Rating: *

Bone Thugs-n-Harmony’s Dog Bones-n-Melodies

Dog Bones-N-Melodies is Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s pet chew retail outlet

• Tonight’s episode continues to die a long, miserable, painful death. This sketch is a pure one-joke; a joke that’s never been funny in the first place.
• Singing the word “bone” over and over and over and over… How in the world is this supposed to be amusing?
• I know this is parodying a certain group, yet I cannot care enough to research it.
• Yes, I don’t think it’s important to get the reference for the joke to work, as I consider the Del Taco, Bertucci’s, and Sara Lee pieces from season 45 to be an absolute classics without me realizing that they were actual brands.
• Pretty convincing drag makeup on Ego at least, yet they could’ve had Michael in a rare appearance outside of Update.
• Good to see Chloe, and thankfully she didn’t start singing.
• Overall, it looks like they forgot to write, you know, actual jokes in this.
• (*sigh*) Tonight’s episode is continuing to sink lower and lower.

Rating: *

Pastor Announcement

congregants learn pastor (host) & wife (EGN) have opened their marriage

• I recall this skit getting some season 30 comparisons online, which I totally disagree with.
• Speaking of season 30 (*shudder*) Jonathan reminded me of Finesse Mitchell throughout this episode, and especially here.
• Sharp suit on Jonathan here, and I do recall this skit being his finest performance.
• Interesting premise to this piece.
• (*groan*) Here comes Aidy to get even more screen time, and after seeing Sarah on Update, it’s jarring how Aidy kept her job for 10 FUCKING SEASONS! Sarah or Chloe would’ve been much better.
• Ah, at least Melissa is here to give me some decent laughs, and she had a good amount of airtime tonight. Always a good thing.
• Funny part with Chris and Punkie, loved Punkie’s delivery of “Well, I do now.” and that head turn was the icing on the cake.
• Jonathan’s delivery as the pastor is spot-on and very solid.
• HUGE night for Kyle, as this is his SEVENTH appearance tonight, one of the biggest nights of his tenure.
• Funny quick part with Kyle, and he actually made me laugh here.
• Ego’s delivery ordering Kenan to sit his ass down is very funny, and again shows what a star Ego has become.
• The funny usual comments from Kenan, giving me the usual reliable laughs.
• Solid delivery from Melissa right now, and she looks even more endearing than usual here.
• (*sigh*) I could’ve done this without Aidy sucking up airtime, but I digress. Just imagine how funny Sarah would’ve been in her place.
• Solid bit with Ego & Jonathan listing off their favorite role-plays, I loved the Jenna & Hodor one especially.
• A good ending, and an underrated dialogue-driven sketch elevated by the solid performances.
• A true palate cleanser after the two big bombs previous to it, and a solid way for the episode to end.

Rating: ****

Goodnights:-

• Really sweet visual of Bowen & Aidy hugging and pointing at Sarah while pushing her to the centre of the stage, a true breakout moment. I only wish that Aristotle get the same treatment instead of few hugs and handshakes.
• It’s also lovely to see Sarah being congratulated and getting hugs from Chloe, Michael, Colin, and others tonight. A very well-deserved treatment.
• Bowen looks too excited when talking with Taylor, and after that performance, I cannot blame him.

Segments Ranked From Best to Worst

Weekend Update

Pastor Announcement

Man Park

Please Don’t Destroy:- Three Sad Virgins 

The Audacity In Advertising Awards

Monologue

Strange Kid Tales

The March of the Suitors

Bone Thugs-n-Harmony’s Dog Bones-n-Melodies

Broadway Benefit

Cruz Street

Final Thoughts:-

• The episode mostly lived to my recollection, while it had a fun-feeling atmosphere after the unwatchable cold open, with segments ranging from decent to strong culminating in a phenomenal Update with two fantastic, breakout, and season-highlight level commentaries. It took a huge nosedive post-Update in quality with two downright unwatchable pieces that felt too inside baseball with Cecily’s flat-out being a vanity piece for her. Thankfully, the episode ended with a solid and refreshing dialogue-driven sketch with two strong leading performances from both Jonathan & Ego.
• Jonathan Majors was a better host than I remember. While I do remember finding him very charming & energetic, I thought he seemed nervous and overshadowed by the cast & Taylor. It turns out that I was partly true, yet he proved himself solid enough and shined in the final sketch.

My Favorite Moments of the Episode, Represented with Screencaps:

Next Week:-

• Simu Liu is hosting. I do recall liking this episode overall, yet feeling that Simu was pretty much wasted all night long. I’ll be writing that review very soon, as I better catch up before Saturday.

My full set of screencaps from this episode is here.