May 14, 2022 – Selena Gomez / Post Malone (S47 E20)

Cold Opening – MSNBC Special Report

video footage shows Johnny Depp’s (KYM) employees finding dookie in bed

• Finally, a non-political cold open!
• While I’m pleased that SNL has FINALLY decided not to have a political cold open this time (the last one was really great to be honest), it should be something other than THIS trial. Yet, I understand that SNL would most definitely have to comment on the Depp v. Heard trial as some point at least, so we’ve reached that point I guess.
• Odd casting of Kyle as Depp, but I see why they chose him.
• The audience is kinda dead here, or they realized that this whole trial is no laughing matter. Just sadness and lost souls.
• Really SNL?! You’re going to do poop jokes with the whole bed shitting bit?!
• It must feel so wrong to see Melissa as a Hispanic maid at this point in her tenure.
• That’s it?! The open is over now?! Mercifully that this was short and got to the point. Because I disliked almost everything in this open aside from the energy and performances.

Rating: **

Monologue

host thanks SNL veterans for show pointers & announces that she’s single

• Selena is already coming off very well, and has good stage presence.
• Some solid laughs from Selena’s whole bit about Steve Martin & Martin Short, especially the whole bit about banjos & using her credit card.
• Good Miley Cyrus voice from Selena.
• I’m enjoying the turn in this monologue, with Selena coming into 8H to find real love, and it’s a good usage of the cast playing themselves instead of cast members.
• Man, Kyle can play this role In HIS SLEEP, a sign of how long he’s been on the show.
• Good use of James & Punkie, and the latter is coming off her very likable and charismatic as herself.
• A sweet ending message from Selena, and our obligatory Barney theme song bit came off quite charming.

Rating: ***

Bratz Dolls

(SRS)’s Bratz dolls (AIB), (host), (BOY) come to life & give advice

• A weird choice for our lead-off sketch of the night.
• Is Sarah gonna play all the teen girl roles for the next few seasons, and in that same haircut? At least she’s pretty convincing in this role, and it’s a good showcase of her versatility beyond her trademark body horror style & wild roles.
• Much like Kyle, this is a role that Aidy could play pretty much while sleepwalking.
• Good straight man performance from Sarah, and it feels great to see her getting airtime this episode, after how inexcusably she was almost shut out from the previous one.
• A good laugh from the whole interrupting bit with Sarah & the dolls.
• A very cute visual before commercial with Bowen and Sarah jumping happily & high fiving after the sketch ended.

Rating: **1/2

Old Enough! Longterm Boyfriends!

(host)’s loser beau (MID) runs errand

• Wow, that toddlers documentary is REAL?! Thank God I don’t watch these types of shows.
• This seems to be a parody of a certain show, but I cannot but my finger on it. Again, I’m not that well-versed in reality shows as some others are. So, maybe this is parodying various tropes in reality shows.
• A very funny, and clever premise for this short.
• Mikey’s been getting TONS of airtime this half of the season, a byproduct of Beck’s leaving I think, and not to mention that Alex is sadly not in the episode tonight.
• Mikey’s bit with him getting distracted by an Ana De Armas is hilarious.
• Mikey’s very solid in this short so far, and Selena’s straight work is quite good. Both are performing their roles with very solid, lived-in characterizations.
• I’m enjoying how the stupidity of this whole short is being played so straight.
• Mikey’s childish meltdown at Sephora is fantastic, as well him being treated like a toddler by Heidi.
• A great ending with Selena’s frustrated reaction towards Mikey, coming off, yet again, very solid in her straight man reactions.

Rating: ****

A Peek At Pico

(MEV) & (host) tab items sad or good on daytime talk show

• A very rare lead role for Melissa, and I think her third showcase this entire season. It’s obvious that the reason is because we have a Hispanic host in the building. Yet again, she was barely, if not absent in the Oscar Isaac episode earlier in the season.
• An ok laugh from the abrupt ending to Mikey’s segment.
• How many times are they going to say “that’s sad!” in this sketch. Is that supposed to be amusing? At least Melissa & Selena are coming off well here.
• Chris’ very funny here, and this sketch is starting to get better as it goes along.
• Funny brief rapping from Chris.
• Overall, the definition of an average sketch, not bad, but nothing special at all.

Rating: **1/2

A Storm Within

in a play beset by Covid, incompetent understudies can’t remember lines

• Uh-oh, a Cecily Strong showcase, and taking place on a stage? What horrors await me this time?!
• A very weak & lame conceit to base an entire sketch on with actors forgetting lines, reminding me of that wretched Short Term Memory Loss Theatre sketch from season 38.
• An ok laugh from Selena’s accent here, and she’s bringing nice stability and energy to an otherwise lethargic and dull Cecily Strong-starring vanity piece.
• I’m not caring for the reacting bits with Kenan that much, and again I’m reminded of that aforementioned horrendous sketch, even when this sketch so far is nowhere near as bad or insufferable.
• Now we get even more reacting, with Mikey & Melissa as the audience members.
• As always with these Cecily pieces, I’m getting very bored, not only these are creatively bankrupt, but also feel very lethargic & slow. A sign of hopefully Cecily deciding to mercifully leave next week.
• Blah ending.

Rating: **

American Inventors

wife (AIB) was (Steve Martin)’s whoopie cushion muse

• Solid anchor delivery from Selena.
• Ah, Steve Martin! I couldn’t be happier to see this comedy legend up on my screen for the third time this season.
• Solid old-timey voice & delivery from James, he’s just perfect in these anchor roles.
• Perfect casting of Aidy as Steve’s muse, and her natural likability and charm is radiating from the screen.
• Man, I’m LOVING the feel of this short, if feels so old-school, and from a different sketch show than SNL. This short feels like a throwback to Aidy’s typical brilliant work in the earlier seasons of hers.
• Great choice of using old 70s photos of Steve, and he still looks fantastic to this day, aged really well.
• Big laughs from the various terrified reactions from Aidy here, even the fart gag worked quite well, and the stupidity here is PERFECT as this piece does not collapse on it, but builds slowly, yet surely on the momentum to its current great presentation.
• I’m really enjoying how the wife’s actions here inspired Steve’s inventor character to create all these famous gags, such an inspired premise that’s being executed flawlessly.
• I love the ending.
• An overall great, great piece. I’m surprised by how much I loved this. The inspired, yet funny premise, the execution, Aidy’s energy, and EVERYTHING else worked perfectly for me. A major season highlight, and if Aidy’s leaving next week, this will be a great way for her to go as she got some solid showcases throughout the season, and this felt like the perfect capper to her ten-year tenure.

Rating: *****

Musical Performance – “Cooped Up”

Weekend Update

despite his spiritual turn, Baby Yoda still has a beef with Baby Groot

SRS disparages COJ while giving a backstage tour of his dressing room

• Very energetic audience applause at the beginning of Update.
• I’m loving the whole Mad Max-esque voice-over bit from Colin.
• Colin: “Mitch McConnell, seen here watching a shelter dog be passed up for adoption..”
• OH, NO. The return of that godforsaken & wretched Baby Yoda character, one of the ultimate nadirs of this era. Please let this be a sign that Kyle’s leaving next week, it’s becoming sad to watch him sink on weekly basis like this.
• As usual, the material is boring me to death and I’m pretty much getting ZERO laughs, not even a chuckle.
• Now they’re bringing up these tired photo-based jokes to “save” this D.O.A. mess of a commentary.
• Ah, God bless Sarah Sherman who has come to save this Update with her lovable, chaotic energy and fun presence. Continuing yet again her fantastic first season on the show.
• A very fun conceit to this commentary with it being away from the Update desk, and with us following Sarah backstage, this is so much fun and really speaks to Sarah’s creativity and uniqueness as a performer.
• I’m loving how this commentary is giving me late 80s/early 90s SNL vibes, especially the Kevin Nealon bits with Dennis Miller.
• As usual, I’m getting tons of laughs from Sarah’s line deliveries here, and she’s great at teasing Colin, and this different setup to this commentary is a nice change of pace from another behind the desk bit with her.
• Like an ultimate pro, Sarah handles the screwup with the photo with total ease, and most importantly with no breaking into giggles like some others would’ve done if they were in her place. She’s been such a constant highlight throughout this entire season, and you could see such sheer joy radiating from her eyes each time she’s on-screen and I love her for that.
• The usual great, fun commentary from Sarah Sherman.

Rating: **** (the last 1/4 for Sarah)

The Three Daughters

prince (MID) can’t accept royal daughters’ (EGN), (host), (KAM) normality

• Always happy to see period sketches on SNL, they give variety to the episode in general, and contribute to a fun feel for the night.
• I see that Mikey STILL cannot do a proper British accent.
• What is the ethnic makeup of this royal family?! Ok, I get this is an SNL sketch, so I’m being pretty nitpicky.
• Is it me, or is Kate’s being phased-out this entire season? It feels like we’re going to say goodbye to her next week.
• Very funny and solid straight man reactions from Kate here, and I’m enjoying how this sketch feels like a meta commentary, and a deconstruction of the typical SNL tropes.
• A cheap laugh from the whole butt reveal.
• I Love Kate’s smile and look to the camera at the end, a subtle, potential sendoff to her if she’s leaving next week, even though she’ll a billion percent get a big Hartman/Ferrell-level sendoff to close out the season. If so, at least she’ll be leaving after having a low-key solid final year.

Rating: ***1/2

Intuition

shoulder devils (PUJ) & (musical guest) make (host) & (CRR) paranoid

• Great to see another Punkie showcase in this 2nd half of the season.
• Good rapping & fun visuals to go with it, and as usual with Punkie, her energy is very infectious and is coming off great in this short.
• Our obligatory music video appearance with Post Malone.
• Post’s whole bit is great, and the way he’s making Chris feel suspicious of Selena is fun.
• Solid ending, and a solid showcase for Punkie. I sure hope they give her a third season, as she’s been getting good showcases in this 2nd half, and she just has real potential to do really great work on the show moving forward.

Rating: ***1/2

Guidance counselors

guidance counselors (BOY) & (EGN) tout modeling at a high school assembly

• This feels like a CFT sketch from the Kim Kardashian episode.
• Good to see an Ego & Bowen pairing, considering their friendship behind the scenes.
• Great look on Selena, and she’s doing a spot-on job as a typical model.
• As usual, Chloe’s delivery is always on point, and her smug portrayal here is cracking me up.
• The sketch is over?! This HAS to be one of the shortest sketches in this entire season. At least it wasn’t bad, but very underwritten and undeveloped.

Rating: **1/2

Musical Performance – “Love/Hate Letter To Alcohol”

Baby Monitor

(host)’s friends watch her younger siblings (BOY) & (SRS) on baby monitor

• Man, Kyle’s in his blonde teen wig for sketch #367373 in his tenure.
• Very good delivery & characterization from Selena here.
• Wow, big night for Sarah & especially Bowen, I’m so happy that Sarah’s getting TWO big showcases in this episode after how she was nearly shut out of the last one.
• A big laugh from the creepy visual of Bowen & Sarah.
• You could tell that Sarah & Bowen are having a blast throughout this sketch; the audience is absolutely loving this by the way.
• My goodness at the whole puppet bit with Bowen & Sarah, even Selena started to crack up from it a little bit.
• Post Malone in his obligatory second sketch appearance of the night. When will they have him pull double duty?
• A great, meta ending to this sketch, probably one of my favorites in this entire season.

Rating: ****

Goodnights:-

• A funny visual of Bowen & Sarah still in their costumes from the 10-to-1. And it’s so endearing seeing them filled with joy during these goodnights.
• (*sigh*) You could really feel the absence of Andrew here, I hope he’s back and safe for the finale.

Segments Ranked From Best to Worst

American Inventors

Old Enough! Longterm Boyfriends!

Weekend Update

Baby Monitor

The Three Daughters

Intuition

Monologue

Bratz Dolls

A Peek At Pico

Guidance Counselors

A Storm Within

MSNBC Special Report

Final Thoughts:-

• A reliable, fun episode, with not too many sketches that stood out as strong nor too many that flopped hard, and we got a fantastic Aidy Bryant showcase that reminded me of why I was such a big fan of hers earlier in her tenure, which might serve as her swan song, and a fantastic way for her to leave on top. Selena fit perfectly into the show, and I was so happy that the show didn’t cast her in mostly dull roles, or give her roles that pander to her fans alone.

My Favorite Moments of the Episode, Represented with Screencaps:

Up Next:-

• Next week, season 47 comes to an end with host Natasha Lyonne and musical guest Japanese Breakfast, but first, the season 41 reviews continue with Elizabeth Banks & Disclosure.

My full set of screencaps from this episode is here.