December 3, 2022 – Keke Palmer / SZA (S48 E7)

Cold Opening – Herschel Walker Meeting

Mitch McConnell (JAJ) & other senators fret about Herschel Walker (KET)

• Good to see James’ solid Mitch McConnell back for the second time. Also, Kenan’s Herschel Walker is here.
• Is this the billionth southern Republican white lady Cecily’s played in her tenure?
• Man, the “Mitch McDonalds” line by Kenan’s Herschel is freakin’ terrible. This cold open is already putting me in a bad mood.
• Once again, we get Kenan portraying this dangerous, illiterate ghoul in his usual affable demeanor, which is the absolute WRONG take to have on him. I’m not expecting SNL to lecture us weekly & basically tuck us into bed with a security blanket of a cold open (e.g. Hallelujah & Biden’s victory), but this is both a weak satirical take & most importantly painfully unfunny.
• Holy hell, this cold opening is fucking TERRIBLE so far. There hasn’t been a single moment where I wasn’t groaning or cringing at Kenan-as-Herschel-Walker’s lines. The man is becoming more and more the bane of this season.
• And now we get a Kanye West mention? Right from the cold opening? And not to mention the obligatory Update jokes? Not even the audience is laughing much at this crap.
• At least the very solid James Austin Johnson got to deliver his first solo LFNY, which you could tell he was thrilled to do so.

Rating: *

Monologue

host talks about her career history & confirms rumors that she’s pregnant

• I have no idea who Keke Palmer is, believe it or not. I know she used to be the star of a Nickelodeon show back in the late 00s, but that’s about it. I do know that she’s been recently getting a huge coverage & acclaim all over the place, from press to social media sites such as Twitter & TikTok, as one of those performers who is about to “happen”. From what I’ve seen from her before this hosting stint, she seems likable & has distinct personality that it is making me feel safe with her as host.
• I’m enjoying Keke’s fun, fast-paced delivery of her lines, even when some of them are a bit too quick for me to catch potential jokes in them.
• The Laurence Fishburne story is hilarious.
• Wow, and we get an official confirmation of Keke being pregnant live on SNL?! That’s such a groundbreaking moment, I cannot remember if a host announced their pregnancy live on the air before, but I might be forgetting an incident or two.
• Good to see SNL keeping it with those real monologues & this one was short and sweet.

Rating: ****

Forceington’s Ridge

stunt doubles of (CES) & (host) fight in soap opera

• Oh, no. Another campy niche reference sketch starring Cecily Strong? I see that Kent Sublette is back with vengeance after being cut all over the previous episode.
• As expected, I’m being bored to death & getting pretty much no laughs. I can see this sketch killing it between the performers themselves, as I see nothing here for me. Like usual with these Cecily/Bowen/Sublette mugfests, I feel left out & I’m sure a lot of other fans do too, as these always get tepid to medium audience reaction.
• The gag with the stunt doubles is not making me laugh, and does not hold a candle to the hilarious dolls gag in The Sands of Modesto, which is a rare soap parody that worked for me.
• Ok, I do admit that Keke is giving me some chuckles here, as she is, by far, the best thing happening in this snoozfest of a sketch. And her beating the hell out of Cecily is coming off funnier due to her commitment

Rating: *1/2

Big Boys

musical guest & other ladies appreciate hefty guys in winter

• Interesting to see SZA starring in a music video tonight, considering how she wasn’t in any sketches the last time she was the musical guest.
• The shots of Marcello looking suave are pretty fun due to Marcello’s way of looking at the camera.
• The reveal of the short being about wanting big boys for winter is funny, but nothing outrageous or brilliant.
• Always happy to see Punkie getting the spotlight in a pretape. It’s a shame how rare it is to see her showcase her talents.
• Ego is so damn fantastic throughout this short, and her parts, alongside Punkie’s, are the best & funniest. This short really does a great job of showing Ego’s natural, effortless charisma and likability in particular.
• This pretape is very well-shot, edited, and choreographed, as per usual of SNL, but nothing really is happening here. I’m enjoying the energy, but this didn’t move forward as I wanted it to be, making this yet another passable yet glossy pretape this season.

Rating: ***

United Tingz Of Aubrey

host & other Drake-adjacent women have unionized

• I have zero knowledge of what this piece is supposedly parodying, but it is interesting to see the show making digs at Drake, who at some point in time, was a pretty regular presence on the show.
• I’m getting HUGE mid 00s SNL vibes from this sketch (and some of the earlier material this season, like the stuff in the Miles Teller & Megan Thee Stallion shows), and this is not a good thing in my book.
• Yeah, this sketch is just going over my head. It is not bad, but I’m not the targeted audience for this type of material.
• Man, classic blunder just now with the camera still focusing on Ego while Punkie is speaking leading the former to break character which is unheard of from her.
• Punkie’s whole restaurant bit was fairly funny & the best thing in this entire sketch.

Rating: **1/2

Hello Kitty

Hello Kitty’s backstory shocks NYC store employees; Natasha Lyonne cameo

• Tonight’s episode so far hasn’t been doing it for me and SNL throws THIS brand sketch at me?! You guys know how I feel when SNL does this type of material.
• Decent energy & fun line deliveries, but I hate to say it as I’ve always enjoyed him in the past, but Bowen is really starting to come off more and more in his own world as his tenure’s progressing. I don’t know if it is his work with Cecily, which is completely wasting his comedic talents, by the way, or him slowly moving away from the absurdist humor he so wonderfully leaned into a lot in his run, but I’ve not been enjoying Bowen as much as I used to starting really with the homestretch of last year. He has always been hit-or-miss to me (and the hits are usually excellent), but I sure hope he leans more into character bits & collaborations with Sarah instead of doing aimless sketches like this one & the lead-off mess.
• I’m really starting to zone out with the overlong reacting/shouting portions from Bowen & Keke, despite both doing well in their roles.
• Eesh, is this Andrew’s FIRST appearance all night?!
• This absolutely thankless role is a huge waste of JAJ’s great talents. When will the show allow this man to be actually funny in sketches for a change? Why waste him like that?
• Natasha Lyonne cameo. At least it is nice to see her in a surprise appearance considering how much I loved her as host last season.
• Aside from the energy & a fun cameo, this sketch felt like it was aiming to be way too many things & ended up being nothing in the process. Not bad, but a bit flat & average, like most of the sketches that didn’t work for me this season.

Rating: **1/2

Kenan & Kelly

host recruits KET & Kel Mitchell [real] for gritty reboot of Kenan & Kel

• First Hello Kitty & now a Kenan & Kel remake pretape, complete with an obvious soon-to-appear Kel Mitchell cameo? Are the writers just on a nostalgia fix this week or are they this creatively bankrupt?
• Yeah, much like both the Drake sketch & Hello Kitty, this isn’t working much for me, as I’m, once again tonight, not the targeted demographic for this stuff.
• Very dead-on recreation of the tone & feel of 90s sitcoms, and Keke is really shining here, despite me not caring much for the material. And to not come off as a Scrooge, I’m not laughing but I’m entertained. I guess a person far more knowledgable with this show (and All That, too), would possibly give this a higher score, but I’m rating what I’m watching.
• Keke’s overdramatic performance is fantastic and giving this piece a boost. I really don’t even think this piece is trying to be funny more than paying a tribute to Kenan’s past glories, but I’m being entertained by Keke’s fun performance and energy.
• And now here comes Kel Mitchell. Nice to see him still friends with Kenan after all these years.

Rating: ***

Arby’s

Ving Rhames’ (KET) cheap roast beef offers disturb customers at Arby’s

• Uh-oh, I’m not caring for this premise, as this is our second brand sketch in tonight’s episode alone.
• The customers’ reaction (complete with a Mikey Explains) bits in contrast to the Kenan-voiced commercial spokesman started getting old after a while. I’m getting some chuckles here & there, still.
• Boy, the Kenan mugfest near the end didn’t work much for me, and the reveal of him playing Ving Rhames was weak.
• Overall, this was just a time-filler & was padded to death at times.

Rating: **1/2

Musical Performance – “Shirt”

Weekend Update

MIL talks about growing up as the son of a divorced divorce attorney

Peppa Pig fan club president (SRS) is disturbed by show’s same-sex couple

• Boy, it is just plain tiresome to hear all of these Kanye jokes. I cannot even laugh anymore at these horrible people; that wretched cold open certainly didn’t help either.
• The HPV joke is a bit of a groaner, and not even Colin’s delivery made it work.
• Good to see Michael Longfellow back at the Update desk, continuing what’s been so far a fairly solid rookie season for him.
• Michael’s deadpan delivery always works for me, no matter what. This commentary, so far, seems to be using new material unlike how his (solid) debut commentary was basically a stand-up set repurposed for SNL.
• The whole “mom’s boyfriend being naked 43 times” bit is pretty funny.
• Ok, the jokes after Michael’s commentary have thankfully gotten better, once we moved away from the obligatory Kanye jokes. The McDonald’s birth joke in particular is hilarious.
• Fantastic to see Sarah returning to Update for the second episode in a row, and this time, playing a character instead of herself. Kudos for her not relying on old favorites each time she returns to the desk.
• I’m cracking up so much at Sarah’s nervous energy & interplay with Che, especially as she’s getting more and more into the type of obscene content she’s campaigning against. I’m getting simply more and more impressed with Sarah each passing week, and with her now branching out behind the desk & aiming for fresher, newer character pieces is making me even more proud of championing her from the start.
• After a rough start with the obligatory Kanye jokes, things got much better with two solid commentaries & funnier jokes as Update went along.

Rating: ***1/2

Ultrasound

ultrasound reveals mischievous behavior of pregnant woman’s (host) twins

• Wow, they’re making the great Baby Monitor sketch recurring? And it’s funny to have Bowen paired again with Sarah after I wished for him to focus more on such humor. Speaking of Sarah, I’m so happy to see her get both an Update piece AND an oddball sketch in a row in the same night. Awesome!
• Keke’s delivery of her lines is cracking me the hell up, and her various reactions to the babies are fun.
• Funny gag with the cigarette smoke coming off of Keke’s character’s body.
• The silliness here is really working for me, especially with the cutaways towards Sarah & Bowen, and the grossout moment with the hands of one of the infants showing up to pay the change is certainly funny.
• Very silly ending & Cecily’s scream was perfect for it.

Rating: ***1/2

Choir Practice

new student (host) at Catholic girls’ high school is top choir soloist

• It feels weird seeing Bowen play this utility role of a music teacher, but then again, I’m assuming this is just more evidence that Mikey is more and more slowly fading away as the season continues. Bowen’s delivery is funny here, though.
• So great seeing Sarah being all over the episode, this is by far the biggest night of her tenure so far.
• Some beautiful singing from Keke & the sketch seems more feel-good than flat-out funny. I’m definitely enjoying it, though.
• Bowen’s various reactions are really cracking me up, as he always delivers it with these types of quick bits.
• Solid sketch, overall. And I did enjoy how short & sweet it was.

Rating: ***1/2

Musical Performance – “Blind”

Hawaii Flight

flight attendants (host) & (EGN) reveal that the plane is old & busted

• More than pleased to see an Ego sketch to close out the night, much like the solid Classroom sketch a few episodes ago.
• This sketch is reminding me of various sketches in the past with the host being paired with a cast member as flight attendants doing wacky or weird antics.
• Solid energy & chemistry between Keke & Ego, but some of this is a bit too high energy for the 10-to-1, and I feel that this is not the type of material I expect from Ego.
• The straight man reacting/explaining feels way too forced, as the others are LITERALLY repeating what Keke and Ego are saying.
• Ok, Michael is proving himself a very solid straight man as his request for Ego & Keke to stop talking was pretty funny.
• Not the best way I would end an episode, but it was passable enough.

Rating: ***

Goodnights

Segments Ranked From Best to Worst

Monologue

Ultrasound

Choir Practice

Weekend Update

Kenan & Kelly

Hawaii Flight

Big Boys

Hello Kitty

United Tingz Of Aubrey

Arby’s

Forceington’s Ridge

Herschel Walker Meeting

Final Thoughts:

• The first half of this episode had a bit of a flat & shaky feel (including a wretched cold opening), despite a few things that worked, but with Update onwards the show overall stabilized to a passable effort. Keke Palmer played a role in my enjoyment of this episode, as she was a great host who gave funny & energetic performances, and provided me with most of my biggest laughs of the night. She is more than welcomed to return anytime she wants in my book.

My Favorite Moments of the Episode, Represented with Screencaps:

Up Next:

• (*Blood struggling not to scream in joy*) For the first time in quite a while, we get dual hosts, with the return of Steve Martin & Martin Short together to SNL! The former hosting for the first time after almost a 14-year hiatus! Brandi Carlile is our musical guest for this very special occasion.

My full set of screencaps from this episode is here