Cold Opening – January 6th Hearing
members of the House January 6th Committee give their closing statements
- Boy, just from the initial shot of this, it looks like I’m in for a pretty overlong, tell-don’t-show cold open that feels right out of the past-his-prime Jim Downey years.
- After experimenting with the first two cold opens, it looks like we are back to the overused checklist & mad libs hellscape of an open once again…
- I like Michael quite a bit, but he’s not convincing me at all here. I guess him being baby-faced is making it a little hard for me to buy him as a congressman.
- That big Dick Cheney energy line had me groaning out loud.
- Holy hell at the visual of Sarah as Chuck Schumer! Also, a pretty good Nancy Pelosi impression from Chloe, even when her bug-eyed mugging tendencies are a bit much at times, it’s surprisingly fitting this impression of Pelosi.
- After a few initial laughs from Chloe & Sarah, this cold open is continuing to make me zone out, much like how the aforementioned past-his-prime Jim Downey used to regularly do. This is not as nightmarish as I feared, but still very flat & dull.
- I just realized that Mikey & Andrew are the only ones keeping this whole thing afloat; Andrew’s lines and general demeanor here is keeping me entertained.
- The whole Trump conversation excerpts bit is awful, despite Andrew, being the consummate pro that he is, trying his best to save it.
- Did we really need to see James’ Trump again so soon?
- Ok, Mikey’s tough questioning bit made me laugh, as it made Kenan, who’s been corpsing in half this cold open, for some odd reason.
- Jesus Christ, this cold open is going on for EIGHT MINUTES so far. Just end this already!
Rating: **
Monologue
recent college graduate host promotes value of mental health awareness
- Good energy from Megan right from her entrance.
- Ok, Megan is possibly displaying too much energy for me here, but she’s coming off fun & her fast-paced, quick delivery is impressive for a non-actor.
- Some of these jokes are passing through my head, but that Popeyes joke did make me laugh for how random it was.
- An overall passable monologue that Megan handled well, especially considering the robbery of her home before this episode. The advocacy for the website she mentioned was especially classy and admirable.
Rating: ***
Hot Girl Hospital
medical personnel only address aesthetic emergencies
- Hooooo boy. This is giving me very unwanted flashbacks to the notorious Gen-Z Hospital sketch from two seasons ago. Not a good sign.
- While I’m happy to see Punkie & Ego getting good airtime so early into the night, this is not the type of humor I think SNL can pull off well. The sketch is coming off a bit tryhard so far, despite the fun energy in the air.
- Devon’s delivery of his line absolutely killed with the audience and with me.
- The hell happened with Michael just now?! He seemed to have missed his cue causing dead & uncomfortable air. Yikes to say the least.
- Yeah, this sketch is not working for me AT ALL. It seems to be designed specifically for Megan’s fans. I appreciate the energy here, but this is NOT WORKING for me. I won’t be grading this sketch lower than what I’ll give it, but I sure hope this isn’t a preview of how tonight’s show will go on to be.
Rating: **
We Got Brought
at a nightclub, third wheels endure social awkwardness
- Our obligatory rap pretape with Megan. And our very first musical short of the season.
- Great to see Punkie getting good airtime so far into the episode.
- Bowen seems a little out of place compared to the rest, even though his energy is as infectious as always.
- This pretape feels a little by-the-numbers so far, a bit glossy & too colorful too. A decent effort but one I won’t remember by tomorrow.
Rating: ***
Deer
at a house in the country, an elusive deer exasperates (host)’s dad (KET)
- This seems to be the first sketch tonight with an actual concept behind it.
- Why does Kenan always wear the same wig & mustache combo each time he plays a dad or an elderly figure?
- The turn with the deer is so dumb, yet it’s making me laugh. This goofy concept is cracking me up so far in spite of myself.
- This sketch is going on for a bit too long and the Kenan React turn of it is making me worried of how it’ll end. The energy is helping, at least.
- The ending with the deer & Kenan had me laughing out loud, even when it was extremely dumb & predictable.
Rating: ***1/2
Girl Talk
counsels guests (host), (PUJ), (AND) with a single word
- Great to see an Ego Nwodim sketch in such an early spot in tonight’s episode.
- Some good dynamic so far between Ego & Megan, and their performances are fine enough, but something feels off so far about this sketch. Not helping it is how pretty one-note it feels.
- Good to see Punkie in this sketch, as her style of delivery seems perfect for its premise.
- Ok, the very long text explaining the Ukraine situation, after initially tricking us that we would get yet another “Girl!” was great and gave me a huge laugh.
- Ah, Andrew has come to save the sketch! Just his look as this character is cracking me up without much effort from him.
- The heck with the audio glitch just now? This is giving this somewhat off sketch a weird, hollow feel. Moreso than it already had.
- All-in-all, a mixed bag of a sketch. Ego was very solid as usual, and I get what the sketch was trying to go for in its format & presentation, but it wasn’t helped by the pacing, overall length, and especially that bizarre audio glitch during Andrew’s scene. Not bad, but a rare miss from the usually-solid Ego.
Rating: **1/2
Please don’t destroy – Wellness
Ben Marshall, Martin Herlihy, John Higgins [real] are bad at wellness
- Another PDD short, for the second week in a row? I’m certainly not complaining.
- So, we’re back at the office this time around. I’d say that’s a good thing, as it’ll hopefully feel more contained than some of the earlier sketches of the night.
- A pretty fast-paced pretape so far, with tons of gags, snappy comments, and energy. It feels like a piece they would’ve done for early last season, but this was probably filmed for this episode.
- No Megan appearance? It feels odd not having the host appear in a pretape not even halfway through the show, especially one as popular as Megan.
Rating: ***1/2
Musical Performance – “Anxiety”
Weekend Update
volatile Texas moms Debbie (CLF) & Stacey (HEG) say Halloween is satanic
Texan DEW is amazed by NYC awfulness & wants break from male stereotypes
- I didn’t care for the Pelosi/Pence joke. At least it wasn’t one of those tired “LOL gay!” jokes about Pence.
- Another Mitch McConnell joke? Are these going to be in every Update ever? Blah.
- Wow, a Heidi/Chloe pairing behind the Update desk? I see that SNL isn’t wasting any time building up Chloe more and more as one of the show’s leading ladies alongside Heidi, although the latter to a somewhat lesser extent.
- This is shockingly Heidi’s very first Update visit since very early on last season. I hope she returns more frequently this season, as her absence was greatly felt last year.
- ”Debbie Hole” and ”Stacey Bussy”? Are you kidding me with this SNL?!
- I’m not caring AT ALL for where this commentary is going, even with the usual commitment from Heidi & Chloe. I’m getting major late-stage Kristen Wiig vibes from this piece (in particular Chloe’s characterization) and that’s not a good thing.
- Will this commentary ever end?
- WTF with the whole demonic possession bit just now? Chloe & Heidi gave it all, like the consummate pros they are, but this commentary is both baffling and unfunny to me so far.
- Ah, for the third week in a row, we get a newbie Update piece. This time with Devon as himself.
- I’m liking Devon’s personality; he just seems so likable as a person.
- Oof, some of these jokes are NOT landing well with the audience, which is weird considering how hot they’ve been so far into the night.
- I’m enjoying Devon’s delivery & presence, and I’m glad we’re getting to see more of the newbies’ personalities so early into their rookie year.
Rating: ***
Workout Class
flat-bottomed girls (CLF) & (HEG) complement curvy fitness trainer (host)
- I’m getting flashbacks to SoulCycle from the initial setup of this sketch.
- Chloe & Heidi have been ALL OVER the show so far tonight.
- This is another sketch tonight that’s clearly directed toward people other than me, just like the Hot Girl Hospital sketch earlier tonight.
- A pretty messy sketch so far, with some direction issues, messed up lines, and expected breaking.
- Megan’s flubbed lines & her attempt to hide her breaking gave me a good laugh. It came off strangely endearing to me.
- I’m not sure we needed the occasional cutaways to Chloe & Heidi throughout the sketch.
- Yeah, the more this sketch goes the more it feels like a big mess, an endearing one at least with all the mishaps occurring. These are sadly, much like the Hot Girl Hospital sketch earlier, more interesting than the sketch itself.
Rating: **
Musical Performance – “NDA” & “Plan B”
Women’s Charity
St. Andrew’s Center For Shivering Girls gives sweatshirts to single women
- It feels that Chloe has been in practically every single sketch tonight. It just shows the huge push she’s been getting this season with so many veterans out of the show.
- Did we really need Kenan singing here? His inclusion is both unnecessary & annoying, as this piece could be a pretty solid showcase for the host and the female cast members without him being shoved down our throats.
- A very well-shot & performed piece, but this seems light on comedy so far and the Kenan moments are starting to annoy me. Between his self-indulgent breaking in the cold opening & now this sketch, Kenan is starting to come off checked-out of the show to me.
Rating: **1/2
Classroom
inept substitute teacher (EGN) gives inapt speech to honors physics class
- Fantastic seeing Ego dominating tonight, getting the airtime & utility roles she deserves. Devon & Punkie are also all over the show, which is great, especially the latter.
- A classroom of only three students?
- Right out of the gate, I’m enjoying this out of the ordinary sketch concept; Ego’s very strong leadership skills seem perfect in handling it; the sketch concept itself is much better than a lot of what we got earlier tonight.
- I love the turn after Ego’s dramatic speech, especially her reaction after the reveal that this is an honors-level physics class. Ego’s great straight man skills are well-utilized here.
- Ok, it appears that there are more than just three students. Odd camera angles tonight in general.
- Ego’s various “Detention!“ yells toward the students are cracking me up.
- I even liked the silly ending. This was a fairly solid showcase of Ego’s talents and one that shows why she’s so important to the show today.
Rating: ***1/2
Goodnights
Segments Ranked From Best to Worst
Classroom
Deer
Please Don’t Destroy – Wellness
Monologue
We Got Brought
Weekend Update
Women’s Charity
Girl Talk
January 6th Hearing
Hot Girl Hospital
Workout Class
Final Thoughts:
- An overall mediocre effort, but not an episode that I would call flat-out bad. this one was all over the place in both quality and tone. Never finding its footing all night long. Lots of passable sketches, but with barely anything standing out as strong (I’ll make up my mind on that 10-to-1 soon, as I’m still trying to figure out the best rating for it), and a number of messy sketches, some desperate vibes, and a death march of a cold open to start off the night. Megan displayed energy & likable presence, even when she displayed the former too much at times. Aside from a few flubs & brief breaking, she was a game host. I only wish she was given better material. I’m also very pleased with the cast use tonight, for the second week in a row. Let’s hope this balanced airtime continues through the rest of the season.
My Favorite Moments of the Episode, Represented with Screencaps:
Up Next:
- Jack Harlow pulls double duty when SNL returns for the October 29th show. Bye till then!
My full set of screencaps from this episode is here.
Part 1
Cold Open: Man why can’t SNL stayed creative with these. Anyway this was decent here are the times I laughed. When Dismukes took a cupcake, Longfellow facial reaction(he kinda looked like Forte to me), Most of Chloe and Sarah’s bit, and a few chuckles at Trump. But yeah besides what I mentioned not a good one for this episode.
Monologue: I didn’t mind Megan’s energy in this but this was fine I did love that Popeyes joke.
Hot Girl Hospital: I also got Gen Z hospital vibes but this was better than that wrecked sketch which still means I didn’t care for it. I sorta like the bot with James and Marcello, Devon gave me my only real laugh though.
We Got Brought: Not the best music video but from what is was it’s still another decent sketch.
Deer: When I realized what this was going for I groaned but this gotten hilarious around the end at Kenan made me crack up.
Girl Talk: Yeah…. another weak sketch the caption bit was a meh. I did like around the ending with good ol Dismukes.
Please Don’t Destroy: Unfortunately even PDD was off their game tonight for me but not terrible but not the usual PDD greatness we usually see.
Weekend Update: Typical Update decent to pretty good jokes and as for commentaries, Chloe and Heidi’s was alright I did love the whole demon bit. Devon I liked more than you the audience member saying yes to his question is my highlight for the episode (which kinda shows you how weak this episode was).
Workout Class: Bad camera work from Liz for most of this but that aside this was a weak joke the punch the booty was cute but not funny.
Women’s Charity: My local affiliate missed the first minute of this but watching on YouTube I actually liked this alot Kenan’s hallelujah singing cracked me up as well as Ego just stealing some random guys clothes and I loved that they ran in slow motion (yes, I know all of the scenes for their scenario were in slow motin) Oh and the guy (don’t know who was that) being bleep in slow motion.
Classroom: Didn’t like how they revealed the joke so late in the sketch but this was yet another decent sketch. I liked Ego calling out anyone for detention when they said anything.
Interesting were now 3 for 3 in terms of us agreeing on the episodes quality.
Excited for Jack Harlow NOT I honestly don’t know to expect but just hope its alot better than whatever this crap of an episode was.
Good review. I will make mine later today but I think this type of black-oriented humour was a bit more to my taste than it was to yours even if I still didn’t think any of it was like great. But I especially joined the Girl Talk and Hot Girl Summer sketches and will jot down my reasons why soon.
Solid review as always. I can’t think of too much to add as we’re pretty much on the same page in regards to where this season is going so far. I personally didn’t care for that Deer sketch, as it’s basically a sketch where Kenan is acting all stupid. To be honest, between this and last week’s episode, I’m starting to get a little sick of Kenan this year, as he’s pretty much doing the same things he’s always been doing, and not as funny. And as I said on Twitter, I don’t like how our next episode is another double duty one, and regarding someone who I know almost nothing about. I’d rather watch a double duty episode hosted by someone who I’ve heard of, but most people in this community haven’t, names like Lena Meyer-Landrut…or Grace VanderWaal.
Great review, as always. The fan reviews, like yours, put most of the professional reviewers these days to shame.
Glad to see Punkie get some needed screentime.
Sorry. I was thinking just yesterday, I guess i never gave my opinion. Its been a short while so, it’ll be a general review I guess.
First let me say, Megan Thee Stallion is not for me, and thats ok. But what its means is my least favourite were the ones that revolved around the character of MTS. I generally like the idea of a Hot Girl Hospital where the three behind the desk are relatively incompetent and opinionated. Take out MTS and put Bowen there and imagine what it could be.
MTS took me out of the Gym sketch. She took me out the Girl Talk sketch (although Andrew’s opening line gives me hope that he can be our new Chris Redd with crazy reaction lines). Im still not getting Deer, I don’t hate it, I just feel like they wrote the sketch, and the fan blew the pages off the desk and some intern tried to put them back in the correct order.
Classroom was head and shoulders the best live sketch of the night. Ego is winning at playing that kind of role.
Chloe was my MVP with a Solid Nancy Pelosi impression, and some great demon-possessed acting (ramping it up and playing with the timings a little)
All 3 pretapes were good, and were joint 2nd best sketch of the night.
My rankings for the Newbie WE bits
1st – Longfellow
2nd – Walker
3rd – Hernandez. (But Marcello was god, just not my cup of tea)
I’m quietly excited about the Harlow Episode.
Once again, I think we see eye to eye here on the episode overall but I’m a little higher on Women’s Charity and a little lower on Deer/Girl Talk than you seem to be but other than that, good job!
I just wish Megan had done a sketch or two about being a Hot Gurrl! It was hardly mentioned