Cold Opening – TBS March Madness
TBS panel discusses women’s sports
- Good seeing a sports-centric cold open for the second time this season, even when I am not exactly into sports; it’s a good change of pace.
- Surprising basically nobody, James’ vocal imitation of Ernie Johnson is very spot-on and funny.
- Very likable, fun performance by Devon as Kenny Smith, even when I don’t feel he’s getting as many moments as James & Kenan.
- Good conceit to this cold open and Kenan’s Charles Barkley is always fun to watch, even when the cut sketch about him from last week didn’t sound that good to me.
- Heidi’s impression of Kim Mulkey is very fun, funny and easily one of her best moments in these hit-or-miss latter seasons of her run. Heidi comes off rather Cheri Oteri-esque here, but in a way of emulating the SNL legend in the best way possible.
- That “resting Q-Anon face” line from Heidi, complete with her facial reaction, made me laugh more than it should’ve.
- I am surprised this cold opening ended, but it had a good energy, enough funny lines and is starting tonight’s episode on a likable note.
Rating: ***
Monologue
KRW gets inducted to the Five-Timers Club; Jon Hamm, Paul Rudd, Matt Damon, PAP, MAS, WLF, FRA, Ryan Gosling cameos
- Very hot crowd so far. I especially got a laugh from that shrieking lady as soon as the applause began to die out.
- Oh, a musical monologue, I guess? At least it was really fun hearing Lenny speak, though very briefly.
- A Paul Rudd cameo? I wish I was more excited for him, but I guess he’s fine as usual. It’s odd how this monologue has now transitioned into a Five-Timers Club/Q & A monologue all of the sudden, which feels a little odd with Kristen, who did three musical monologues prior to this one.
- Very sweet seeing Paula Pell back in the audience, as it reminds me of how often she stole the Q & A monologues she used to participate in.
- Matt Damon! Awesome to see this fantastic host back. How in the world is he not in the Club, and the likes of Jonah Hill are? I really liked his explanation of why he is in the Five-Timers Club. Him flubbing a few of his lines strangely added to his moment here and made it funnier.
- This monologue has turned into a cameo orgy, but it is always fun seeing Jon Hamm on SNL, as well as the great Will Forte in a decent appearance. I also really love the subtle detail with all the cameos coming from former hosts who didn’t even host five times! (Thanks to fellow SNL reviewer/blogger Vax Novier for that little tidbit.)
- We get ANOTHER cameo with Ryan Gosling showing up, but he came off fun as always handing Kristen her Five-Timers Club jacket.
- The musical turn by the end is quite charming and reminds me of Kristen’s sendoff. There is a very special, joyful vibe seeing all these stars singing for Kristen’s entry into the Club as we go to commercial.
- A bit of a messy monologue as a whole, but there was lots of infectious charm, energy and the cameos were handled nicely. Kristen felt overshadowed, which is very rare for her caliber of talent, but came off endearing; the special feel it had made it a little better for me.
Rating: ****
Ticket To Ride
KRW’s fear of being Juamanji-ed is a reason for her avoiding board games
- Kristen’s deadpan delivery of not wanting to play board games is fantastic and getting big laughs from me and the audience; classic display of Kristen’s stellar deadpan delivery.
- Good seeing James playing Kristen’s partner, instead of the expected (and boring) choice of having Mikey play him.
- Hmm, this premise feels primed for a deadpan, strong Kristen Wiig showcase. She’s always been, to me, the show’s very best straight man, so I am excited for this sketch. The fear of being Jumanji-ed when playing board game being her reason for not playing board games is a silly, solid and fun premise that’s being executed well.
- Much like the brilliant Beep Beep, I LOVE the whole talk here that’s being taken so seriously, and this time being about Jumanji; the many ways Jumanji is used as verb, subject, noun, etc. is fantastic.
- Yeah, the more this sketch goes on and on, the more I’m convinced Andrew had to have a hand in writing it; it feels so much in his unique voice. Man, between this, Wine & Cheese Night and Loud Table, Andrew’s been absolutely crushing it these past few episodes, and having a very strong, impressive showing.
- I’m loving how very absurd-yet-serious the whole talk about Jumanjii is, and Andrew (continuing his amazing season) and Kristen are fantastic in their back-and-forth here and I am getting so many laughs from him losing his cool at Kristen; Kristen’s response to him was no slouch either.
- I absolutely love the bizarre ending, complete with train barriers and fog filling the room, as we get Will Forte(!) being greeted rightfully with a big round applause for his obligatory sketch appearance as the creepy conductor who saves Kristen, due to her refusal to play the game. This is a perfect way to end such an oddball piece and who is better than Will Forte to sell it to you?
- Man, Will is fantastic here; both menacing and funny in the right way. His whole scene reminds me of the many times he would leave me in awe by just watching him; he’s always been in my top favorite cast members in SNL history.
- Love the “All aboard!” delivery by Will as the real game, one of life and death, truly begins for the remaining players.
Rating: *****
Pilates
working out is the greatest fear
- Ooh, while this is the usual mock-horror SNL short, I know I’m in for a fantastic Kristen Wiig showcase.
- Very funny reveal of working out being the horrific thing we are supposed to be terrified of; this hits with me, as person struggling at times keeping fit.
- Pretty solid dramatic acting from Sarah throughout the short; one of the more underrated sides of her talent, in my opinion.
- The cameo of Kaia Jordan Gerber makes sense as she is in Kristen’s new show: Palm Royale.
- This short is solid but is suffering a bit from being a bit overlong and overexplained, but the energy (once again tonight) is there, Kristen is excellent as expected and there is a good number of funny moments, such as the absolutely priceless reveal of a pregnant Heidi in the horrific workout gym; second hilarious moment with Heidi in the first half of this episode alone. See, SNL, this is how you use Heidi’s talents, instead of the God-awful Fowlie pieces.
- This surprisingly ends up being the only pretape we get tonight, which is unlike the usual 2-3 shorts. Considering the hit-or-miss quality of shorts this season, I guess I should be satisfied we got a solid short that didn’t derail the episode’s vibes and featured terrific work by Kristen.
Rating: ***1/2
Secretaries
Trudy (HEG) & Tooty (KRW) flirt with lawyer (Jon Hamm)
- Oh, we are bringing back this tepid sketch from the season premiere? Man, between this, the muggy office worker and the Big Dumb girls, Heidi seems to really want to become known for big recurring characters for the latter part of her tenure.
- Great seeing Jon Hamm in an actual sketch tonight, even when it would be natural to have him in this Mad Men-esque setting.
- Hopefully, the addition of Kristen will save this sketch for me.
- While they are doing the same beats with Kristen that Heidi did in the first one, this is coming off looser, funnier and with good rapport between Kristen and Heidi; the latter clearly heavily influenced, or in these latter years in particular by Kristen’s tenure.
- Words cannot express how much I love it when JAJ does an old-timey voice, and his part here is even funnier than the solid one in the first sketch. Look at him also getting his second recurring character for the second episode in a row!
- This sketch as a whole, while not exactly great, is an improvement over the first, especially how much Kristen added to it with her commitment and nailing that ’60s cadence, as well as having better structure, gags and pacing.
Rating: ***
Retirement Party
Jerry’s (KET) retirement party is invaded by oddball characters
- I can already tell from the setting of this sketch that it is going to be one of those toast sketches the show did with a bunch of oddball characters back during Kristen’s era. I always enjoyed these. Sweet she’ll probably be reprising Gail the oxygen lady; one of her more obscure-but-fun characters.
- Nice seeing Paul Rudd in a sketch tonight, even when I’m not the biggest fan of his movies; he’s always a charming presence on SNL.
- Hate to say this, but Mikey is no Jason Sudeikis when it comes to playing a frustrated straight man. This is another episode that I am noticing Mikey giving forgettable, deflated performances in.
- While a typical Fred Armisen role, Fred is cracking me up here, and this character of his actually utilizes his more oddball qualities which were a real gem in his earlier seasons; his rambling about the body especially, and the brief inclusion of Sarah here, was pretty funny.
- Kristen’s reveal that Jerry assaulted her “with guidance and information” is hilariously dark, particularly her warning about not being in a room alone with Jerry.
- I love Matt Damon on SNL, but his moment I feel is making this sketch a little longer than it is and feels unneeded, but it is still fun seeing him in a sketch tonight.
- Ah, Hamilton! Great to see Will in another sketch tonight, after how he stole Ticket To Ride. His part here is easily the strongest of an already-good sketch, and his raspy-voiced, creepy delivery as Hamilton never fails to crack me up (and clearly cracking Kenan off-camera); the “death in this room; comes for us all” line is fantastic and one of my favorite moments from this blast-of-an-episode so far.
Rating: ***1/2
Musical Performance – “Escapism.”
Weekend Update
Earthquake (MAH) and the Eclipse (KET) face-off a la Wrestlemania
Aunt Linda (KRW) discusses Barbie, Oppenheimer and The Bear, amongst others
- Man, rough start with real dud jokes; the bridge & podium ones being especially embarrassing.
- OK, the Trump airport joke was pretty good.
- Showing how very predictable SNL is, we now get a commentary, just as predicted, about the earthquake, and now getting instead of Bowen Yang wearing a goofy costume, Marcello, which seems so lost to me that he is now aping the Bowen/Michael niche, but just much more poorly. This is such a bad use of a naturally likable performer and person.
- Good, committed work by Marcello and he is certainly coming off better than that God-awful piece he did last time, but…. I cannot react to such tepid, derivative humor anymore, especially about such a nothing story. I mean, I hate to say it this way, but how low should I keep my standards nowadays?
- OK, the part with Kenan as the Eclipse is so dumb, but I did crack up and this is thankfully turning to be different than that prior Bowen ripoff Marcello did. I still would have preferred a different kind of a desk piece than the “cast member dressing up in a goofy outfit” shtick that’s been overdone this season. Still, as a whole, I did not hate this piece as I expected.
- I am not seeing myself laughing after Marcello’s commentary ended and a lot of these jokes are just making me sleepy instead. Yep, definitely the burnout has settled with me with these two.
- Ah, Kristen comes to save the day, with the return of Aunt Linda, which has always been one of my favorite things she ever did on the show.
- Like her earlier SNL pieces/characters, Kristen looks and comes off very Mo Collins-esque, especially how she looks (I’m probably thinking of Stuart’s Mom here), but it is harmless and comes off more as a clear influence, not derivation of Mo’s work. I’ve seen also some say this character feels Carol Burnett-esque, which I can definitely see.
- I still see Kristen still got it as Aunt Linda, despite not playing her in almost 15(!) seasons. And while predictable, I got a big laugh from her calling Colin “Seth.”
- Kristen is killing me here! I’m getting pretty much non-stop laughs from all her Aunt Linda complaints about the various shows and movies she is supposed to review; the part where Aunt Linda realizes Che is there and basically asks who the hell he is killed me.
- I am loving Aunt Linda’s whole rant about The Bear (which I have yet to see), especially her wondering at first that it was about real bears and then gay bears and their real-life struggles and challenges. I’m dying here with laughter.
Rating: *** (the final 1/2 due to Kristen)
Go-Karts
Parents (JAJ) & (KRW) try to delay a bad secret
- Fantastic getting a lot Andrew & James, continuing their steady, strong seasons, in tonight’s episode.
- James playing Kristen’s partner in another sketch tonight is kinda funny, but it truly shows his utility and how convincing he is in such roles. It feels like a while since James starred in sketch outside of playing one of his many utility roles, so it makes me thrilled to get into this sketch.
- Yet another sketch that uses Kristen’s fantastic delivery the right way. Man, this episode is utilizing Kristen’s talents perfectly.
- I do not know if he ever intends it, but James is coming off very Phil Hartman-esque in his role (I remember also getting those vibes in both the funeral sketch with Jerrod Carmichael, gameshow host/announcer roles and his noir detective sketch from last season, amongst others), but I don’t know if James ever intends to emulate Phil and Dan, as he feels like the closest to them since Jason Sudeikis & Bill Hader, though it shows how truly he has their spirit within him; even more than Bill & Jason ever did; all three have similar zest that’s so real, and makes you feel like you know them.
- It says a lot about the level of trust he has gained backstage that we got James paired with Kristen to co-star in such a sketch; continuing this steady, strong season of his, as well as his growth into that much-beloved, essential utility leader I was hoping this season would continue to pivot him to be. So glad my hopes early in the season were proven correct thus far.
- A hilarious moment with Troast in her birthday getup during this awkward, increasingly dark Go-Kart ride; one of the many quick, funny moments with Chloe in this quietly solid rookie season of hers.
- Like always with these JAJMukes sketches, I love the odd, offbeat vibes, with us still not knowing about the bad thing that happened between Kristen and James.
- This sketch is non-stop bizarre moments and laughs, some of my favorites: Kristen’s get ready moment, the mysterious Sheila being part of “the bad thing” and James’ question if how the kids will feel if he started drinking again.
- The decision not to tell us what the “bad thing” really is a great way to end this piece, which is a great twisting-of-the-knife moment that this sketch did by its end.
- Very strong sketch overall and an excellent showcase of both Kristen and James’ deadpan qualities in selling even the most bizarre of sketch concepts.
Rating: ****1/2
Musical Performance – “Worth It”
La Maison Du Bang!
Tipi Tornade (KRW) dominates ‘70s French variety show
- This is a re-done, ensemble version of a Chloe Fineman-starring French band sketch that got cut from the Chalamet episode earlier in the season. I remember finding that sketch’s description to be very solid.
- As always, fantastic and very fun dance moves from Kristen here, and I cannot help to mention how adorable she is coming off, much like how she came off to me in the monologue and Pilates, which shows her natural warmth and lovability.
- The part with Troast as a heavy smoker is terrific and easily one of my favorite moments of the season; much like her hilarious moment in the prior sketch. You know, the more and more she is displayed, the more I feel Troast is quietly the best current female cast member and should be utilized more; this has been a truly great night for her in general, which is satisfying to see.
- The part with JAJMukes is very fun, and it goes without saying how purely funny and infectious these two are when paired together; the addition of Molly and then Kristen was great, catchy and fun (yes, this word again in this review). Yet another episode this season that’s been using JAJ as a quiet backbone, which is fantastic considering his airtime fluctuations in a few episodes this season (although this back half has been, outside of Ayo and maybe Brolin, quietly strong for him).
- This sketch is a fucking blast to watch so far. Not only am I laughing and being greatly entertained here by well-done absurd humor, but there’s great likability and looseness that makes this very solid sketch even better.
- I know I have been critiquing him for a while now, but the mime bit with Mikey is both very funny and scary; easily his best individual moment in this season of his. I got Dana Carvey vibes from how Mikey looked and acted here. More of this side of your talents please, Mikey.
- Even the silly ending with Kristen interrupting Ego during her presentation (rather similar to Electric Shoes) fit perfectly with the very silly, loose vibes this sketch had going for it.
Rating: ****1/2
Goodnights
- I absolutely love the visual of the whole cast, musical guest and her crew, wearing Five-Timers Club jacket. Such a visual is only the perfect way to end an equally perfect, joy-filled, special episode.
Segments Ranked From Best to Worst
Ticket To Ride
Go-Karts
La Maison Du Bang!
Monologue
Pilates / Retirement Party (tie)
TBS March Madness
Secretaries
Weekend Update
Final Thoughts:
- A very strong, fun episode, with lots of solid sketches all night, particularly a very strong post-Update half; one of the best episodes of the whole season. As mentioned in the review, there was a very infectious, joyful, special-feeling in the air throughout the night and I’d attribute that to Kristen Wiig, who, in my opinion, gave her best hosting performance thus far; she was absolutely fantastic, charming, funny and game in every single sketch, moment and line she had tonight. This episode is easily my favorite of her hosting stints and I give her a lot of credit for not going the predictable route and doing lots of hammy, indulgent pieces, and instead giving us the good type of nostalgia, with the return of fun, solid characters that I thought were long retired, and leading the cast as the much-beloved SNL legend she is. This episode, much like the amazing Nate Bargatze episode earlier in the season, is one of the biggest examples of the sheer capacity of joy SNL can bring at its best. (I remember the Lizzo, Brendan Gleeson and Austin Butler episodes also having that very joyful, special-feeling vibes that were in the Bargatze & Wiig episodes from this year.)
- Also, adding to the night were the musical performances by RAYE, as they were phenomenal and captivating; adding to the aforementioned charming, special-feeling of the night. All-in-all, I would argue this is one of the best, if not the best, alumni-hosted episodes in SNL history.
My Favorite Moments of the Episode, Represented with Screencaps:
Up Next:
- Ryan Gosling / Chris Stapleton.
My full set of screencaps from this episode is here
Awesome review, Blood! It’s been a while since I’ve comment, but this episode was fun. (I don’t blame you for saying it over and over because it’s the damn truth)
I loved the monologue; I am surprised some didn’t understand why others like Damon and Hamm were in it who haven’t hosted five times as I thought it was obviously part of the joke.
I really appreciate that they weren’t heavy on Kristen’s recurring characters as that, for me at least, wouldn’t have made it as fun as it was. I also like and was quite surprised the recurring characters we did see was ones probably NO ONE would’ve expected but were open arms for me.
As for the sketches themself, the Jumanji sketch i wasnt too crazy at first but the escalation was freaking incredible and i laughed ourt loud at Will’s character.
All i want to say for the secretaries’ sketch is: was there a bit of color changing in the sketch? It looked a bit more… I don’t know. darker?
I wanted to like the retirement party more than I did as I found it decent. Good character work from everyone.
Surprised how high you were on the last sketch as I found it okay but (Mikey and JAJmukes did give me good laughs) based on your review of them I need to do a rewatch. Go Karts I liked though i wanted a better ending, also JAJ and Kristen give make a nice duo.
Finally, Raye was freaking incredible and I definitely need to check out her music (I REALLY liked her first one).
I don’t know if this is the best alumni-hosted episode (I would nominate Jimmy Fallon’s first episode), but it’s certainly up there. This episode is also a perfect example on how to use cameos correctly, even if it may have impacted the lack of Longfellow used during the night. It’s definitely my favorite Kristen-hosted episode. Monologue and Jumanji are classics, Toast is damn near that, and I loved seeing Aunt Linda again. I think La Maison du Bang and Go-Karts could’ve used some tightening writing-wise, but still pretty good. If they replaced the CO and Receptionists with two other pieces that were solid (or close to it), then this would be a top 50 episode.
Have to shout out something Jon of the SNN said about Mukes in the hot take show, which is he went head-to-head with an all-time great in the Jumanji sketch, and was able to hold his own. Crazy to think in four seasons he went from consistently being shut out in the first half of S46 to this. While have I not liked this season, he’s been my go-to not only in his pieces, but everyone else’s. I hope the producers recognize his potential if they were to invest in him like they do with other players when it comes to publicity, because I think he’s got it now.
And like everyone else is saying, RAYE… wow. Just wow. I got goosebumps during that first performance and I’ve been replaying the second one all day. Not only the best musical guest of the season, but a contender for the best of the past ten years. I would not mind seeing her appear year after year.
What a great night to be an SNL fan!
Another amazing review Blood, keep it up!
To me Andrew is the heir apparent to Will Forte (which is high praise as Forte is my all-time favourite cast member), so seeing Will as a demented train conductor in a sketch written and performed by Andrew was a real treat.
I also like that Wiig was all over Forte’s episode and arguably stole the show and Forte stole the show on her episode.
Great review! (Late response, I’m on vacation)
I went to sleep before the e episode but I watched most of the sketches the next day and it did seem really great.
Great review Blood! You really summed up this episode very well, especially the fun, infectious energy that was on display here.
I too had fears that Kristen/the show would slog their way through the most tired and obnoxious recurring Wiig characters (Californians, Secret Word, etc.), but to my pleasant surprise, they instead focused on both her lesser known and more fun recurring characters as well as some great, highly original concepts. Someone on the SNL subreddit commented this, but this whole episode had the feeling of every sketch being a 10-to-1, which I think is pretty accurate. It was crazy in all the best ways.
Even the cameos (well, maybe outside of Paul Rudd or Martin Short) didn’t really come across as gratuitous or unnecessary. Will Forte especially was FANTASTIC in both of his roles and showed he hasn’t lost a single step at all! His monologue as Hamilton especially had me dying.
Jumanji/Ticket to Ride is easily a contender for the best sketch of this season, with fantastic commitment from everyone involved (especially Kristen and Andrew) as well as a unique, oddball premise that was executed damn near flawlessly. Even the ending was terrific!
I’ve been seeing some comments that say this episode and the cameos exposed how weak the cast currently is, but I’m not sure I entirely agree with that. JAJ and Andrew both had fantastic nights (continuing the strong season they’ve both been having), Troast had two excellent sketch stealing moments (her appearance in the 10-to-1 alone is such a great summary of her talent and oddball qualities), Sarah had a very good quiet dramatic role, and Heidi’s roles even came across as harmless fun rather than tired obnoxious mugging. While there are certainly some weak links in the cast, the potential is all there. It’s the writing that needs to utilize them properly, and thankfully tonight was a strong utilization of just about everyone.
Except…*sigh*…Marcello. I hate to say it, but I have truly grown to dislike him a lot. It’s even reached the point where I groan every time he shows up on the screen, and his Update piece was no exception. The first few seconds of it were so incredibly obnoxious that I was expecting to flat out HATE it. Thankfully it wound up not being too bad, as the wrestling promo turn with him and Kenan was alright, but between the desperate and pandering way that the show has been pushing him (despite being very one note), his transparent desire to be adored, and his general fame hungry tendencies, Marcello has easily become my most disliked cast member right now. Even Bowen, for all of his faults and MANY stumbles these past couple of years, still has had flashes of brilliance and some fun brief oddball appearances. I’m sure Marcello is a nice guy in real life, and it’d be great if he wins me back someday, but right now it’s looking very doubtful.
Kristen, it cannot be emphasized enough, was absolutely INCREDIBLE as host! She was game for anything, delivered stellar performances all night, and displayed many of the qualities that made her such a beloved performer in the first place. I 100% agree that this was easily her best show yet and one of the best alumni hosted episodes ever. I still think Nate’s episode is the best of this season, but this episode is a very close 2nd for me. I’m absolutely thrilled that it turned out to be so much better and more fun than I ever could have anticipated!
Thanks as always for your reviews. I can imagine it’s tougher to write a review about an episode you enjoyed than one that doesn’t work.
Sometimes I wonder if my positive feelings on an episode are down to too low of expectations, if I am patting the show on the head for the bare minimum. If someone looks back at this episode, they may feel that’s the case, but even if I have my complaints (the cold open washed over me and felt detached, the monologue was overstuffed and meandering, the pre-tape overlong and underlit, Secretaries a vanity piece for Heidi that Kristen and some bloopers with the set gave most of its uplift), I would still say this was a very solid episode, one of the best of the season, Kristen’s best as a host, and yes, as you said, one of the best alum episodes.
The reasons for that are:
– this episode actually knew just what its host’s true talents were and went out of its way to showcase those
– this episode mostly kept the cameos to early in the episode and in throwaway roles (the biggest exception was Forte, who added to all he had [this was more of a standout night for him than his own show])
– this episode gave time to everyone in the cast (aside from poor Longfellow). The comment above about people who are saying this episode showed the weakness of the cast does not surprise me, as that’s what you get with cameo overload, but it does annoy me, as this was the type of week where you see what this ensemble could bring if given the proper chance. The wealth being spread also meant I was not as annoyed at certain cast members being given yet more chances (Heidi, Marcello)
– this episode allowed for a variety of material, which meant you didn’t feel like you were choking on too much of the same old gunk (often of the camp-n-vamp flavor)
– this episode had a genuine fun feeling, as you mentioned, rather than the rictus grin LAUGH OR SMILE HERE elements that can make the show so difficult to watch.
– Even if the first half had some bumps, I did feel like more care was taken in the sketches, like the rewrite on the French variety show sketch (via Bryan Tucker presumably) that opened up the usual star system mugfest.
You said everything about JAJ or Dismukes that I would want to say, but I am still genuinely very glad that the show trusted them enough to give them important roles in a night I thought they might get bit parts in. After last season I wasn’t sure they’d be in this position. And I’m not just saying it as a fan, because I’ve been willing to criticize moments that don’t work, but the Jumanji sketch was genuinely a terrific moment for Kristen and allowed her to go toe-to-toe with the cast while still playing in her best realm. The go-kart sketch broke down a little more but still had a very sharp cast dynamic and air of nuance that the show needs more of.
I genuinely do think this episode could be used as a template for the current cast and writers. It might not have the pop culture reach of Dune buckets, but it’s the type of steadiness the show needs as they phase out of this era. For all my complaints about Lorne and autopilot, you could see in his cameo that he still does feel a genuine connection to the show. I just hope he takes the success of this week and translates it to the end of his run on the show.
Are the “God-awful Fowlie pieces” actually God-awful? Or are they just not geared towards your specific sensibilities?
Everything I write in these reviews is purely subjective from my point of view. So, it is really just my opinion on the show/sketches, such as Fowlie’s.
And yes, I find a lot of the Fowlie-penned pieces to be God-awful, especially how they beg for laughs, with often the most desperate visuals, lines. This sketch, however, benefitted a lot from Kristen & Heidi’s chemistry and better pacing.
C’mon Justin be positive.
Wiig didn’t bring back most of her characters or impressions?
Honest Talk: Worse than Ramy (I didn’t think that was possible) mainly cause I’m not a Wiig fan, But I went in with an open mind.
Another one down
This episode was STRONG, the only segment I didn’t like was Secretary 2. Everything else in this episode ranged from pretty good to strong. Nothing was a classic but multiple segments got a 4.5 rating and the show overall had a fun vibe.
Go-Karts was my favorite sketch in the whole night, JAJ gave a strong performance and the Troast reveal KILLED me.
Pilates, Lu Maison Du Bang, and Ticket to Ride are also very funny, creative pieces that are some of my favorite segments from this season.
This episode might honestly be one of my favorites, it was a blast to watch.
7.7/10