Cold Opening – So You Think You Won’t Snap?
- Well, this is certainly different than what I was expecting this time around. The season seems to be going experimental with its cold opens so far, which is always a plus in my book.
- Good choice with Bowen as a gameshow host, instead of Kenan for the billionth time. Let’s hope they utilize his underrated straight man skills properly here.
- I’m still not caring for the running gag in the last few years with the gameshow host having a “funny” surname; a tired James Anderson leftover that should be in the mothballs, where it belongs.
- Some good lines here & some decent digs at the President, even though some of which feel a bit of a low hanging fruit, in my opinion.
- Ok, I do like the digs at Elon Musk, even as they come off a little hypocritical considering that SNL had him as host just last year.
- An overall decent cold open despite the checklist moments, for the second week in a row; quite the accomplishment for modern-day SNL. Let’s just keep these experimental opens alive for the rest of the season please.
Rating: ***
Monologue
- I absolutely love Brendan’s voice & accent, and his delivery is great so far. He has always been one of my personal favorite actors, which makes me more than pleasantly surprised to seem him host SNL.
- I’m liking the whole Irish mandolin turn here, and Brendan is handling it very well.
- Funny bit with the Fahrenheit/Celsius mixup, even when it feels kinda done before, yet Brendan made it funny.
- Colin Farrell!!! And it’s so fun seeing him and Brendan together again, reminding me of the underrated host he was back in 2004.
- I’m loving the charming, yet funny interaction between Brendan & Colin. I see that they are still just as good together as ever then.
Rating: ***1/2
The Try Guys
- I’m very wary of having our lead-off sketch being centered around a group of people I’ve never heard of before, but I’ll keep an open mind.
- Ego is looking even more beautiful than usual here, and she’s always perfect for news anchor roles.
- Brendan is solid as the reporter, and at least I’m getting some enjoyment from his delivery and excitement over the scandal.
- Ok, I now know these guys, as that YouTube video of theirs was in my recommended list for a while now.
- Bowen’s initial look had me laughing out loud, he’s so good at milking laughs without saying much.
- Some good laughs & decent take on these guys, even when I know nothing about them, this take is working well for me, and Ego’s great straight man skills are used well in this sketch.
- The whole brief breaking bit was funny, and showing what a consummate professional he is, Andrew manages to keep the sketch afloat.
- I love Brendan’s ending message to the Try Guys.
- Overall, this one worked surprisingly very well for me, and it did a great job in familiarizing me with these people without feeding me too much information right out of the gate.
Rating: ***1/2
New Cast Advice
- Fantastic seeing a newbies showcase this early into the night. And I’m LOVING the meta, pretaped approach to it as well.
- Molly’s whole dark turn with the gun is KILLING me, they’re absolutely stealing this short for me so far.
- Marcello’s whole scene & the gag with him not being in sketches so far is hilarious. This short in general is doing an excellent job showcasing the newbies’ personalities and talents.
- I love Michael’s deadpan here, his delivery is so good.
- Man, Molly is STEALING this short from the rest of the newbies, their whole rant about going on a secret mission to kill Putin is absolutely great, and their delivery and energy are making the great material even better.
- Ha, Marcello’s whole interview is still making fun of how little screentime he’s gotten so far into his tenure, he’s a great sport for making fun of himself already.
- Great ending with Kenan, and a perfect first showcase for the newbies together.
Rating: ****1/2
Blonde
- A pretty no-brainer decision with Chloe being cast as Marilyn Monroe. And as expected, her impression is quite solid.
- Great old-timey voice and delivery from James, as well as Heidi.
- Holy hell at the look of Brendan in that drag, and I love the detail of him not even bothering to shave his beard.
- Why is Heidi almost cracking up as she’s delivering her lines? Is this how she sounds when attempting an old-timey voice?
- Ok, this sketch is kinda getting repetitive with all the fan mail sent to Marilyn calling her a “whore”, but the energy & performances are making this work just fine.
- I do love James’ ending line delivery and it feels good to see him in this role instead of Mikey for example.
Rating: **1/2
Headshots
- Oh, I must be in heaven tonight, we’re not only getting another newer cast showcase, but another Andrew Dismukes sketch!
- So far, this is such a dumb, silly sketch, but it’s working in a way that only Andrew could make it so.
- Brendan is so game with all the silly poses he’s doing; Andrew’s always-funny delivery & the voice he’s using is making the material funnier than it is.
- Great seeing Colin Farrell in an actual sketch tonight.
- Even the dumb magazine article ending worked fine for me.
Rating: ***1/2
Please Don’t Destroy – Tommy
- Yes!
- Great change of pace with the boys being outside of 30 Rock, as this is making these come off fresh and different, avoiding being stale and unpredictable in the process.
- Great cinematography & color grading, and the atmosphere of this short is already having me so on board with it.
- I love Brendan’s reveal of his age being 67, and the guys’ reactions to it is providing really solid laughs.
- Very funny flashback with Brendan drinking whisky and the guys drinking some random beer brand.
- While the back-and-forth feels a tad old hat by now, and very PDD, they always manage to add a certain freshness to it each time.
- Love the reveal that Brendan slept with John’s mom, and the latter’s slow-burn realization is hilarious.
- Love both the ending line & visual.
Rating: ****
Weekend Update
- Ok, that tired Biden dementia joke did make me laugh out loud.
- Ego! Great to see her back behind the Update desk as always.
- Ego looks great as Ariel, and her line deliveries and down-to-earth demeanor are perfect here.
- The Jamaican line is hilarious and caught me off-guard so much that it’s having me pretty much in stitches right now.
- What was early on could’ve been a flop of a commentary is absolutely made by how effortlessly funny, charming, and incredibly commanding Ego generally is. She is now 5-for-5 when it comes to solid Update commentaries.
- Great to see another newbie getting a showcase behind the Update desk, for the second week in a row.
- Already, Marcello is bringing tons of energy, coming off fun, confident, and loose. And I’m also noticing some Jim Carrey-esque vibes in his performance, especially his mannerism.
- I know nothing of baseball, but Marcello is selling the hell out of his commentary for me. The part where he’s playing with his hips is very funny to me; a good display of his physicality as a performer.
- A fun way to end Update tonight, overall.
- Great Update, and a major improvement over the rough one from last week.
Rating: ****
Ancient Empires
- This sketch was cut from last week’s premiere, and from what I’ve read about it, it seems to be in the tradition of the SNL projectile bleeding sketches, such as Julia Child & Acupuncture.
- It feels good not having Mikey & Kenan dominate the night like how they frustratingly did last week.
- Great costume design & sets, and I especially love how Brendan looks in that getup.
- A good laugh from Brendan cutting himself a little too much as he makes his blood oath, which is I’m sure is just the setup of where the sketch is going.
- LOL at Brendan’s blood going everywhere, especially messing up the map.
- I love Brendan’s semi-dramatic monologue as his blood is covering Chloe’s face, and showing what a pro she is, Chloe is keeping a straight face throughout it.
- A pretty dumb sketch on paper, but Brendan, once again tonight, absolutely saved & elevated it for me.
Rating: ***1/2
Eyes
- Man, after getting so much newbie airtime tonight, we now get our 10-to-1 patented oddball Sarah Sherman sketch, it’s official: I’m in heaven.
- It’s also fantastic for us to FINALLY get that live body horror sketch instead of it being a digital short. This only shows how much Sarah’s been building herself up on the show with each passing week.
- Great, disturbing initial reveal of Sarah having goggly eyes, and I especially love the audience’s reaction towards it.
- Is Sarah looking at the cue cards here? Or did she memorize her lines entirely? It’s damn impressive in both cases.
- Per usual of Sarah, this is a solid, silly, and creative concept that is being pulled off flawlessly. And it’s more than welcome this week especially after the sketches that I had to suffer through last week.
- Great reveal of Sarah forgetting to put her real eyes in the refrigerator. This is body horror done both well & very subtly without trying too hard to be shocking.
- I absolutely love Sarah’s ending monologue, and how she’s taking all the wrong items with her on her way out, she’s killing it here & the great audience reaction after her monologue ended tells it all.
- A fantastic 10-to-1 to end with this very fun night with.
Rating: ****1/2
Segments Ranked From Best to Worst
New Cast Advice
Eyes
Weekend Update
Please Don’t Destroy – Tommy
Monologue
The Try Guys
Ancient Empires
Headshots
So You Think You Won’t Snap?
Blonde
Final Thoughts:
- A very solid & impressive effort tonight, with lots of solid, fun sketches; a complete turnaround from the rough & creatively bankrupt season premiere. And even the sketch that I gave the lowest rating to tonight (Blonde) was nothing terrible at all. Some of the sketches tonight, are going to be an easy “Best Of” choices for me at the season’s end. We also got some good newbie showcases tonight, as well as solid cast use, and our much-anticipated first patented oddball Sarah Sherman sketch of the season. Brendan Gleeson was an outstanding host, even better than I anticipated him to be, and he played a huge role in the aforementioned fun vibes of the night. I wish he could host again soon, as he was more than game & elevated a lot of the material with his commitment and energy.
Next Week:
- Megan Thee Stallion pulls double duty.
Blood’s SNL Reviews 
Really solid review as usual. I think as horrific as Eyes was in the idea, I wouldn’t describe it as horror or body horror, it plays itself too cartoony and goofily for that to really come through. Still an amazing sketch though.
Part 1
Cold Open – I wasn’t really on board at first but then when Heidi started drinking her wine I started cracking up didn’t really care much for Chloe’s part I did however like Keenan immediately pushing the things on the table as soon as he heard Elon Musk and the end of Devin’s bit with him putting an iron to his face after all that Kanye stuff.
Monologue – I happen to also like his accent and they even realize he was in Harry Potter until they started announcing him as host, anyway this was fine for me I did like Colin Farrell coming in with a big fake mustache.
Try Guys – wasn’t initially on board but towards the end of it it got a lot better and made me like this a little bit more
New to SNL – Molly had me cracking up in this Molly’s whole thing was great the ending with Keenan and his gun what’s the cherry on top in this.
Blonde – A pretty one note sketch but I did kind of like the whole flower/whore bit. James saying he can’t read was great at the end.
Photoshoot – at first this made me grown with Andrew shouting shut up to Longfellow but towards the end this became a nice silly little sketch and Colin Farrell joining in later on in the sketch just added to the fun.
Please Don’t Destroy – can I change your face with them being out at the studio for once Brendan did great in this but for the most part this was pretty good and not really amazing for me in terms of Please Don’t Destroy standards. The ending was funny though.
Weekend Update – WU was a hundred times better than last week with hilarious jokes, a great commentary from Ego, and and even better commentary from Marcello .
Part 2
Ancient Empires – Wasn’t so sure what to think of this at first but like the photo shoot sketch it got better towards the end with the blood spraying on the map and then spraying on everyone else.
Eyes – Perfect sketch for Sarah and I love that this was the 10 to 1. Kenan and his “and I’m going to church” will be in my brain forever. Oh, and love her randomly grabbing things thinking they are something of hers.
Here goes. Sorry for any repetitive thoughts here. My overall impression is that this is night and day different and better than last weeks Premier. For example, last weeks CO was the best sketch of the night, whereas this week’s, which was probably as good as last weeks, was just so-so.
I think I have three sketches of the night, between the SNL Newbies, PDD and Sarah’s Eyes. Is this a safe space, can I say I’m quickly becoming a huge Sarah on SNL fan. She was so good in the Eyes sketch, but it just adds to her cannon of weird characters. Think Meatballs, 6 Flags guy, and Chuckie. But I also like it when she shows up in a regular role. She rocked it as whichever McDonalds person she was last week. And, while we’re on the Eyes sketch, can I just say that Longfellow was giving me some Bill Hader Vibes.
The New to SNL, or whatever it was called, gave a perfect vehicle for Molly (Was anyone else surprised this was written by Colin Jost alone, maybe stepping down from Head Writer has helped him rediscover his comedy chops. Marcello played out an Aristotle obiturary perfectly here.
I think I was higher on the PDD sketch than most. The whole “WHAT?!” of the office sketches was getting a little thin, so, I liked them playing other versions of themselves, and they play of others so well (Think Pete, Lizzo etc)
Ok, back to my safe space. I don’t get Colin Farrell. I think he thinks he’s funny, and I don’t see it. So, for that reason, the headshots was my low point of the night. This had Prince Sketch vibes to it, and well, I just missed the joke.
Alternatively, Though the joke was thin in both Blonde and the TryGuys, Gleeson sold it both times. I think I want him to be my crazy Irish Uncle.
What else? I enjoyed Longfellow’s WU piece more than Hernandez this week. I think Keenan looks lonely on the edge of the stage during goodnights. This is Bowen’s season so far.
Although you may have been a little higher on Blonde, Try Guys and Photoshoot than I was, I pretty much agree with you all the way here.