Cold Opening – Trump/Zelenskyy Meeting
Trump (JAJ) & Zelenskyy (MID) meeting is a disaster
- I expected the Trump/Zelenskyy meeting to be parodied on the show. Yet, as much as I love seeing JAJ on my screen right from the get-go, that aforementioned meeting was beyond parody, in a really sad way.
- Ugh at the sassy Vance take. I’m noticing how the show seems really afraid of having an actual satirical take on the VP. It doesn’t help that this is a bit Bowen did to death by this point of his tenure and is both unfunny to me and toothless satirically.
- I guess Mikey is alright as Zelenskyy, even when this is a role anyone in the cast could’ve played. Same with Marcello as Marco Rubio.
- Not even the parody of Vance’s thank you comment by Bowen is making me laugh. This feels like a “moment” for Bowen, and despite his usual commitment, I’m not laughing.
- JAJ is fantastic as always playing the President in this, and I admit getting a laugh from his tie line, though his latter rambling, or “The Weave” as Trump isn’t really making me laugh much, surprisingly enough.
- I understand this is trying to parody the mess of a meeting between Trump & Zelenskyy but having basically the whole thank you moment as its hook, is nothing funny or creative. It feels like a ChatGPT version parodying a typical shitty SNL cold open.
- And now we get random Mike Myers cameo taking over the Elon Musk impression – making him the second SNL alum to yank the impression from poor Mikey.
- Mike is just being his typical muggy, over-the-top self from his last two seasons here, complete with cross-eyed looks and muddy accent work.
- Not even Andrew Dismukes is saving this much for me. And ugh at the DOUCHE joke.
- Ugh at the billionth annoying group LFNY, complete with mouths wide open.
- All-in-all, besides a few fun lines from JAJ as the President, this was nearly as bad as the first two cold opens this season. A shame, as I really want the show to use JAJ’s Trump more than just having him deliver a 5 minute monologue to the audience, but I guess they are struggling with that for now.
Rating: *1/2
Monologue
host talks Trump/Biden, dating and Civil War documentary
- Considering that I absolutely love standup sets on SNL (and this season has been spoiling me with those) and how great Shane’s standup set from the previous season was, I’m very excited to review this one.
- Interesting to see Shane starting political with Trump jokes. Considering I always loved his political jokes, I’m into this already.
- I love the Greenland/Iceland/Trump material, even when the audience seems not into politics by now. The awful cold open didn’t help the mood, I guess.
- Now Shane is doing a solid Biden voice after his great vocal impression of Trump just now. His ad-libbing towards the audience is cracking me up, even when it is distracting from the jokes.
- The dating material is cracking me the hell up, especially when he is mentioning his black friend Jamal, and pretending not to be phased by his date being into his black friend.
- The whole history documentaries portion in the set is pretty funny & relatable, especially as I’m a massive WW2 buff, and often struggle to finish some of those lengthy documentaries.
- I love the whole Ken Burns Civil War/Shelby Foote portion in this set, especially that I’m very familiar with the guy himself. His talk about how horny Foote gets talking about the South is priceless.
- A good callback to Shane’s dating punchline at the end of the Shelby Foote bit.
- An overall fairly fun standup set as I expected, though I’d say I enjoyed his first set better.
Rating: ***1/2
Winery Tour
girlfriend (HEG) demands many photos next to orange tree
- I still feel odd seeing Andrew playing older figures, instead of someone like Mikey or JAJ. Ashley, on the other hand, is a natural already in such roles. She manages to convincingly play moth moms & younger women very effortlessly.
- Not sure where this sketch is going so far, with Heidi posing in front of the orange tree, but her performance is fun.
- OK, Heidi got me. I got a big laugh from her “be a man” line towards Shane. This sketch remains a good mess, still.
- Not sure I’m caring for this sketch so far, especially the portion where Heidi is making fun of Shane’s parents.
- I absolutely loved the look Ashley slowly gave to Andrew. Great little moment from her. She’s just terrific in nailing even her smallest moments & making them memorable.
- I got another laugh from Shane’s smile as Heidi is taking photos of him.
- All-in-all, two solid laughs, some slice-of-life feeling and a fun lead performance from Heidi, but I felt this was forgettable as a whole. Not terrible though. A very odd leadoff sketch pick, however. This probably would’ve worked better much later in the night.
Rating: **1/2
CouplaBeers
CouplaBeers are just bears to help you get through the day
- Interesting to see Shane playing a solo commercial pitchman in this – giving me old-school vibes already.
- A solid laugh from the revelation of the anti-depression medication being a couple of beers.
- Shane is doing a solid job like last time playing a pitchman, after that fun performance in Rock Bottom Kings last season. He is adding both likability and relatability to his role.
- The “aLilBump” part was hilarious.
- This feels more directed towards a more bro-y audience than me, but I love its throwback feeling. It does feel like a commercial Will Ferrell would’ve done in the late ‘90s era.
- A pretty solid piece as a whole.
Rating: ***1/2
Mid-Day News 2
white & black anchors use news stories to make points
- Wait, a sequel to the classic sketch from season 45? Many seasons afterwards? Quite odd.
- Heidi is dominating this episode so far.
- Ego is just as fantastic as last time, back when she was a very promising-but-underused performer.
- This sketch is going the exact same route as the last sketch, though I did love the whole meth and looters part. Two live sketches in and Shane is already more comfortable than last time.
- Poor Devon Walker. Figure this type of sketch would get some airtime. Still, as likable as he often is, he was nowhere near as good as Chris Redd was in the first sketch.
- Loved the Florida teacher portion. Heidi is excellent here too, keeping up her great year in general.
- A guilty laugh from the “chicken people” line from Shane.
- While this sketch easily pales next to the all-timer first sketch, I still found this pretty good with some killer lines here and there.
Rating: ***
Dad’s House
divorced dad (host) attempts PBS Kids show
- I’m getting flashbacks to those excellent Science Room sketches with Mikey Day & Cecily Strong right from the intro.
- A big laugh from Shane’s sober line.
- I see Andrew is still wearing Kyle Mooney’s legendary wig.
- Oh, I’m loving the concept of this sketch and how its dark nature is contrasted with the cherry, child-friendly presentation of the program.
- The word of the day being alimony is fucking hilarious.
- Shane is utterly perfect for such a sketch concept. Another part I easily could’ve seen Will Ferrell playing back in his tenure. Sarah & Andrew are also great as the disturbed kids.
- Wow, Heidi keeps dominating the night. Her voice acting as the love-torn puppet is excellent and her interaction with Shane is a standout moment of the episode.
- Ashley’s freaked-out reaction as the mom is hilarious. Her performance as the ex-wife is also excellent. Between this & the Winery Tour sketch, nice to see Ashley quietly fitting into roles/moments that are usually given to vets of the cast – not newbies in their first season.
- JAJ is always priceless as the cheesy middle-aged dad. His look is great here, too. Loving that Ned Flanders-esque voice he is using. Never heard him do it before.
- I loved this as a whole. Excellent performance from Shane, great concept that was explored very well, and quick, sharp pacing filled with tons of solid gags. This is exactly in my alley of humor.
Rating: ****
Please Don’t Destroy – The Sound
problematic contestant (host) repulses judges
- We are still getting The Voice parodies? Still nice to see these guys still on the show, at least.
- I admit laughing at this clear The Voice parody being named The Sound. Maybe due to how humorously half-assed it is.
- Interesting to see Ego as the only cast member in this short, in a role Heidi probably would’ve played. Considering the great year she is having and how always effortless a performer she is, I’m not complaining.
- A hilarious reveal of Shane’s killer singer being on a scooter and getting rejected immediately from all the judges.
- Shane is killing me in this! I love how his answers are making the judges constantly turn away from him. The editing and deliveries in this short in general are very funny.
- Loved the birthday/14 years-old bit with Shane & Ego. Her wheeling away with the chair is the sketch-stealing Ego moment she always nails.
- Not sure the Tate McRae portion ending in this short was needed, though I guess it makes sense to have McRae in a segment for her fans.
- One of the better PDD shorts in quite some time, with a hilarious performance from Shane to boot.
Rating: ****
Musical Performance – “Sports car”
Weekend Update
The Movie Guy (MAH) gives Oscars predictions
JAW gives dating advice w/ song
- Jesus, that meeting is still so painful to watch. Colin’s opening commentary is pretty solid as expected, especially his talk about Zelenskyy being on Fox News.
- That Kash Patel photo will never not make me laugh out loud.
- I didn’t care for the DeSantis boots joke. I thought these types of jokes stopped being funny with how endlessly they were used.
- Loved the Cuomo joke from Che. Low-hanging fruit, yes, but I admit cracking up to it.
- I see Marcello finally got on Update after a few shows with him being cut from there. He is also displaying “range” by playing a heavily-accented character with shouting & catchphrases.
- A pretty derivative, lame desk piece so far, complete with Marcello doing his typical Hispanic accent shtick, alongside Colin giggling his way through it. I wonder what much-better desk piece was cut in favor of this.
- Can Marcello go through a single performance without acting like some hyperactive kid? I really want to be fair to this guy, but his style of performance often feels more at home in some shitty kids show than on SNL.
- This is going on a lot longer than it needs to, as often the case with everything on Update of late. It doesn’t help this that Marcello is far amused with himself than we are with the piece. Reminds me of typical shitty Horatio Sanz desk pieces back in the day.
- An overall waste of time. I guess those into stanning & starfucking would eat this up, but sorry, this isn’t my type of SNL entertainment.
- Eh at the one-armed basketball player with the “it’s the ‘90s” catchphrase again.
- I’m not finding many jokes in this edition of the desk to be anything special. Shame, as Colin & Che have been on a roll the last few Updates before this.
- OK, so I guess we are now pushing Jane Wickline again, with another overlong song for us. Seeing how this performer is nowhere to be seen in both live sketches & pretapes, yet sucking up airtime on Update, annoys me more. When will we get Ashley on here or Emil once again? Truly nepo ties and being a niche online is better than raw talents to the show then.
- Typical awkward, halting singing from Jane Wickline. I’m sure she is a great person, but if your only appeal as a performer is being basically “not like other girls” and mumble through your lines, you got nothing to show for then.
- Much like the prior desk piece, when will this end?
- Wait, we are seriously ending Update with another lame-ass, overlong Jane Wickline song? Ugh.
- I overall found this edition of the desk to be disappointing compared to the past few. Barely any standout jokes and two desk pieces I could’ve done without, to say the least.
Rating: **
Wedding Interruption
coupons reveal (SAS)’s broken offers in the past
- As the sketch started, I was terrified we might be getting another Sucka sketch, but it seems Shane’s ex-boyfriend character is its comedic center.
- I got a huge laugh from the coupon Shane displays is about a hand job Sarah used to perform as his ex-girlfriend in the past.
- Why is Ashley cast in this sketch just to stand there saying nothing so far? She has proven herself to be a very solid performer, so it is odd. I’m however not mad seeing more Ashley Padilla on my screen, though.
- The “Butt Stuff” coupon reveal from Devon gave me a solid laugh.
- Sarah’s performance is one of her better ones this season, as she isn’t playing the audience as she’s often been this season. Her acting here reminds me why I was such a huge fan of her work in her first two seasons in particular, even when I feel Ashley or Heidi would’ve been better-suited for the material.
- Kenan’s Glue performance is very fun, and the type of likable, laid-back Kenan Thompson performance I’ll greatly miss when he eventually leaves the show
- The coupon reveals as the sketch goes on and on are hilarious, especially loved the moment with Ashley displaying a coupon about being a lesbian in college – Ashley killing it 3-for-3 in her roles tonight.
- A solid ending.
- An overall very solid sketch. One of those I felt got better and better as it went along.
Rating: ****
Musical Performance – “Dear god”
Doctor’s Visit
patient (host) recognizes doctor (EWA) from his past
- Poor Emil. This is his first appearance all night. If the show is eventually firing this solid performer for Jane, I won’t be a happy camper to say the least.
- I got a big laugh from Shane disclosing Emil’s character did third base on himself back in the day while in the middle of a serious medical checkup.
- I’m pretty surprised to see Emil getting to star in a sketch for a change, considering that he barely did anything since the great showing he had in the Paul Mescal episode months ago. He is doing a great job here and is a solid straight man.
- The fact that the only performers in this sketch are the host and a rookie in his first season gives it such a unique feel. It feels like I’m watching a sketch from several decades ago.
- I love the bit with how sure everybody is that Emil did actually go third base without any concrete evidence for it so far. This type of a sketch concept is one I cannot see being pulled off as well as it is now, but I’m loving this. The strangely slice-of-life feeling as well is also helping it.
- The faux-dramatic speech from Emil about missing pleasuring himself in third base is very funny and it really shows how solid a performer he is. How a certain other is getting more chances than him completely baffles me, besides the clear connections the other hire has.
- Very solid 10-to-1 as a whole. In fact, I feel this is easily one of the best sketches of the season.
Rating: ****
Goodnights
Segments Ranked From Best to Worst
Dad’s House / Doctor’s Visit (tie)
Please Don’t Destroy – The Sound
Wedding Interruption
CouplaBeers
Monologue
Mid-Day News 2
Winery Tour
Weekend Update
Trump/Zelenskyy Meeting
Final Thoughts:
- Not only was this the third episode in a row I felt really high about, but our second solid Shane Gillis-hosted episode. Outside of a few hiccups here and there, we got a good number of great sketches that were writerly & solid and the night as a whole went by smoothly. Shane himself, despite delivering a milder standup set, was an even better host than last time, gave more memorable performances, especially in the two pretapes and Dad’s House and helped the episode in having a different feeling than typical episodes from this era do, much like how Dave Chappelle & Louis C.K. did with their own hosting stints. Despite the low energy feeling in parts of the episode, Shane’s style of performance and rapport with the cast members he was paired with often made the night more fun.
- The cast airtime tonight was bizarre though, as besides of Ashley, Heidi & Sarah (JAJ, too, though he mainly was in the cold open) it felt barely anybody else made appearances, with poor Michael Longfellow being shut out. Maybe the fact due to most sketches barely having any cast members, but despite that, I still felt the episode as a whole was really solid.
My Favorite Moments of the Episode, Represented with Screencaps:
Up Next:
- Lady Gaga pulls double duty.
My full set of screencaps from this episode is here
As always, another great review from you Blood!
This was a rather interesting episode to watch live. It was overall solid and never quite bad (maybe Update approached that but outside of the two desk pieces, which I won’t waste time on as I’ve said all I ever wanted to say about both Marcello and Jane, it still wasn’t terrible), but the quality still felt a little all over the place, at least for the first half.
Call me crazy, but I actually didn’t HATE the cold open. Maybe it’s because my expectations are always crazy low for these political regurgitation sketches. Maybe it’s because the long break with the 50th special made me forget how middling these typically are. But regardless, I got a couple of laughs. Yes, Mike was being his typical hammy Cat in the Hat type self here as Elon, but given how much of a cartoon the real Elon is, I can’t say his take wasn’t solid, despite the dodgy accent work. The focus was still all over the place and the show still desperately needs better political writers, but I give them an E for effort. What can I say? My bar is on the floor so any chuckles give them points in my book.
The other sketch I want to discuss at length was the Mid Day News sequel. The sketch itself was fine…but why bring an all timer sketch like that back? I know I shouldn’t be surprised given how SNL always does this, but why five years later with half of the cast from the original sketch gone? It’s a sketch that can never be topped, so why bother? This, to me, almost felt borderline sacrilegious. Like, if they brought back More Cowbell during one of Ferrell’s hosting stints. This was still fine and had some funny lines, but it actually made me a little salty watching it live. Idk, perhaps I’m being unfair or OTT, but I just wish SNL would learn to leave well enough alone with their sketches. Much like with the Traffic Altercation sequel which was also unnecessary and following up on an all timer.
Update and Winery Tours aside (like you, I found that to be a peculiar choice for a leadoff sketch and found it harmless if somewhat messy and dangerously close to “reacting to a wacky character” type sketches), this was a solid and fun night. Shane was a very fun and game host and I agree had improved quite a bit from last time. Dad’s House was my favorite sketch of the night. It reminded me of the also great New Boyfriend Talk Show from Jane Lynch’s S36 episode: a great combination of slice-of-life, dark undertones, great characterization, and escalation. Shane really sold it well, and I can definitely see myself returning to this sketch quite a bit as a favorite of the season.
I’m very glad that Ashley had a strong night (though I’d rather her Update piece not gotten cut, but that’s neither here nor there). She’s been such a great cast member right out of the gate with a lot of quiet versatility and a nice comforting presence. Ditto for Emil, whom I was very happy to finally get a lead role tonight. It may be too late to salvage his season, but we’ll see how it goes.
Overall, I’m happy that this season has seen a turnaround in the 2nd half with a string of mostly solid episodes with some great highlights. Here’s hoping the momentum continues!
WE’RE BACK (actually this time)
Great review as always Blood!
I thought this was a very solid episode as a whole. Despite some lowlights (even those still weren’t terrible), there was a LOT that really worked here.
Dad’s House is a new favorite of mine, and it might be my favorite sketch of the season. I loved the unsettling, dark vibe to it and Shane’s acting here was genuinely great.
His monologue was also great, even better than his first. I especially loved the bit about white guys asking women if they’ve dated black men. But for some reason, the audience was absolutely DEAD for it. Which was very confusing to me, as for everything else throughout the night, they were fine, but for some reason, they were insanely unresponsive for this.
CouplaBeers was a very funny commercial, and Shane was also great here. Also aLilBump was a very funny addition near the end.
I don’t know what’s going on with PDD but this is only their 3rd short to have made it to air all season. I don’t know if they are phasing themselves out to possibly leaving the show after this season, or taking more time with writing with others because this is insane to me. Especially considering that they would very consistently get their shorts on the air these past 2 seasons. Ok I’m done with my ramble.
This was actually their best short in a while in my opinion. I loved the change of pace with them playing characters, and having it focus fully on Shane. Shane was also hilarious here, and made this short in my opinion.
Wedding Interruption was a very funny, creative concept executed very well, plain and simple. Same feelings with Doctor’s Visit, and it was nice to see Emil get a showcase.
Now the stuff I didn’t care for,
JAJ carried the cold open, with him being fantastic as always, but everything else here was pretty boring to me. Not terrible, but it still wasn’t good by any means. Bowen as JD Vance was honestly a bit annoying here. The Mike cameo near the end was fun though, at least to me.
I understand what Winery Tour was going for, with its slice-of-life vibe, but I didn’t really care for it. It had an “off” quality to it, with Heidi’s weird performance as this character, and the fact it simply just didn’t work as the lead-off sketch at all.
I love Ego, but we did NOT need a sequel to the fantastic Mid-Day News sketch from Season 45. Everything here just felt copy-and-paste from the original, and it just wasn’t as funny for me.
Marcello’s Update commentary was VERY dumb, and I think he was aware that it was dumb while he was performing it. It doesn’t help that him and Colin were laughing at every other line he said, for no real reason.
Overall, great episode here, despite its flaws. I think it’s my favorite episode of the 2nd half of the season so far. Looking forward to Lady Gaga next week.
Man, try as I might, I just CANNOT see what others see in Shane Gillis as a comedian. I mean, I’ve seen him both on SNL and playing to his own regular audience, and I just don’t see the appeal in his standup. He just comes off as very awkward and halting to me which probably soured me on his whole episode (but yeah, great review, Blood).
I think he’s an okay sketch performer (he was one of the best parts of that opening Heidi sketch) and did some good work, but his monologue, at least only judging from this, was not good. Maybe this is his persona, but he appeared to be unsure of his material and gave the impression of like abandoning or veering off jokes quickly.
I actually liked the kernel of his Civil War jokes because I’ve seen that miniseries and had the same observations, but the audience didn’t react and it wasn’t exactly the most crowd-pleasing material.
Thanks, as always. I was looking forward to your review as you tend to provide a voice I’m not going to find elsewhere, especially on episodes like this.
First I wanted to say how much I appreciated the flavors Ashley brought to her roles, managing to bring energy without seeming muggy or selfish. I imagine she got at least two of Chloe’s roles, and she more than improved on what we would have had.
I’m still so surprised and pleased we got a sketch on with just the host and a featured player and that Emil had a chance to shine. He did a great job with his speech and at trying to play a respectable person who was clearly broken underneath. And I appreciated how much the sketch avoided punching down or just the sex jokes (even though those were involved) and instead had a bond between the guys and ended on a positive note. I never thought we’d get a slice-of-life sketch about that particular subject matter. That variety and surprise is what I watch the show for. I’m still not sure if Emil is coming back, but I hope this helps him.
I completely understand why people would not want to watch this episode, and I understand that everyone has their own opinion, but I do genuinely think this was a decent episode (outside of Update – you said everything needed to say there, especially about self-satisfied Marcello) once we got past the cold open and the monologue. There was a certain sluggish energy, but I was appreciative of how well-constructed most of the sketches were. That isn’t something I can say very often about most of the show, especially for more than one (or if we’re lucky, two) sketches per episode. It helped that a number of the worst current writers on the show, like Fowlie and O’Sullivan, were barely involved tonight – their likely being all over the show next week is why I’m hesitant about the Gaga episode.
I don’t follow Shane outside of SNL, so his monologue may work better for those who have more of a history with him. I didn’t think it was bad to the level of the audience response – I think he just does not fit with a lot of the people who come to see SNL, which is why Lorne keeps asking him back in the first place. Those fans were more likely to enjoy Jane’s latest tiktok showcase, or the Gaga show next week. The show could possibly find another right-adjacent comedian who is smoother, but ultimately these are two worlds that aren’t going to meet no matter how much Lorne wants them to meet. With that said, I didn’t think it was anywhere near as much of a mess as Bill Burr’s monologue, and similar to that episode, I’m sorry this part is all that seems to get attention.
There was a comment from someone unhappy over his being there that said, “I miss Mad TV,” which was interesting, because so much of what Shane did in this episode reminded me of Mad TV. He probably would have been a better fit on Mad TV, although I do think his work in the live sketches was markedly improved this time.
I saw a review talking about how terrible the episode was, and Mike Myers saved the night, and I’m reminded of how much these moments still appeal to many, even as I find these cameos offputting and lazy (admittedly, this was such a hacky mad libs nothing of a cold open I couldn’t even bring myself to care about the cameo). But it’s regressive, it’s something the show can’t rely on, no matter how many headlines they get because of this curdled abortion with everyone’s favorites (Trump listicle, Marcello mug, shady Bowen, “star” cameo).
I did love Mike wearing the Canada can’t be bought T-shirt in the goodnights.
I can see why people were unhappy about bringing back Mid-Day News. I think I would have been more upset if a) I thought the concept was that original b) the show hadn’t already basically brought this back in the Carey Mulligan episode or c) if the revival had been bad. It wasn’t as good as the first, but the part was suited to Shane, and I think the coarser tone of his character was a good departure from the more upper-crust white stereotypes in the earlier sketches.
I do think the pre-tapes were stronger in Shane’s first episode, and felt more like his own voice getting through (and McKeever’s). Still, both were perfectly fine…and Ego wheeling away was one of the best laughs she’s given me in a long time. I still feel like PDD have reached a natural end on the show – they’ve spent all season having an oncamera identity crisis (the few times we see them), which is interesting, but probably doesn’t translate well to future SNL paths as the show wants you to find a type and stay with it.
I don’t really mind that Shane played the same roles in most of his sketches – most cast members do this and even many celebrated hosts (looking at you, Mulaney). As long as the sketches are decent, it’s fine.
If this is Shane’s final episode (and I’m surprised he wanted to return at all), it’s not a bad way to go, but as the show does need unique voices and episodes that shape to hosts, I wouldn’t mind if he came back a third time. Just with a monologue that might work more in the SNL format.
Darn, just read they made sequel to the church sketch from last time where now Shane’s character has left Ohio to live in Jamaica to be with the friends he made at the church last time and his family comes to visit him, wish that got in instead of that Heidi photo sketch.
Man, Marcello just was not good this episode. It feels like they are trying to copy the Kate/Fallon formula of giving give a silly character and hoping that it sticks and it did NOT. He’s not a character actor, he’s a standup. And unlike Longfellow, he CANNOT do both
We’ve got a Shane Gillis episode and I’m here to defend…Jane Wickline.
OK, first, I’ll concede, the criticisms make sense. It’s not like she’s a ball of undeniable charisma. Her style falls somewhere between deadpan and just being a literal corpse. Charitably, I could say this is how things go when you are a one-of-one comedian. There really was no father to Sandler’s style, and I know it took my dad a while to come around (it was Happy Gilmore that did it). The “Wasn’t That Special” guys LOATHE Kyle Mooney. Some people are made to be divisive and maybe Wickline is a part of that lineage. She’s easy to dismiss because she is a different comedy animal and we’re all trying to attune ourselves to a new wavelength. Maybe. Like I said, I’m being charitable. That said, the musical Update segments have…kind of worked for me. A part of me is trying to will them into laugh out loud territory, but even being shy of that, I think these pieces have a lot of conceptual validity. This latest one, with the whole Trolley Conundrum conceit, was the strongest of the three. I think, performance-wise, Wickline’s rookie cohort have shown stronger performance strengths, but I still feel like there’s an interesting wrinkle to her writing.
OK, on to Gillis. The thing I like about this specific SNL community – and by that I mean the approaches taken by Blood, John and OneSNLaDay’s Matt – is that people are generally good at just taking the show at face value. Was this a good show? I think it really was. I think it was generally consistent, with even the weakest moments showing some value. Am I surprised that the usual suspects of reviewers trashed the episode? Not really. It’s disappointing, but as Gillis once said, everyone is doing EXACTLY what they were going to do. If you still cling to the culture war, then Gillis is your lightning rod – in either direction. The presence of Gillis gives people a chance to take some kind of morally righteous stand because apparently enjoying Gillis’ comedy and being able to hold his perspective in tension is a moral failing. I’ve read the comments online and the reviews (all pans save for this one) and it honestly feels like I’m being gaslit. Obviously it’s just on the Internet, so there’s no real world consequence, but it really does suck to be told that to be a Gillis fan means you are a Maga incel obsessed with the Roganverse and talking about how everything is so woke these days.
So…let’s talk that monologue. Before I saw it, I heard it was the worst monologue ever. A colossal bomb. Now, I remember that’s what they said about Burr and remember that’s what they said about Gillis last time (they never go after the charmalogues). Then I caught up with the monologue on IG (watched the rest of the ep Sunday night). And I laughed. And the audience laughed. And even members of the SNL band laughed. It wasn’t a perfect standup set (the last perfect one was Bargatze’s first monologue), but Gillis’ ramshackle style ultimately coalesced into a satisfying whole. His transitions sort of clang into each other, but I think that’s part of the fun. Him commenting on the audience is also very much a thing he does. I think fans tend to see it as a quality, whereas detractors see it as proof of his weakness. I think there are things that I would tidy up, but him tying his own masculine/racial insecurities to the Civil War was well-executed. I dunno. My take is if I had fun with it, then it was good. It becomes less fun when it seems like there’s a concerted effort to prove a thing I enjoy is actually bad and that I’m bad for liking it.
*Sigh* It’s all so exhausting…
As for the rest – honestly, very consistent with the potential of having higher highs than his first (very good) episode.
I can’t really pick a top sketch – it’s kind of a five-way tie between Coupla Beers, Dad’s House, PDD(!!), Wedding Interruption and Doctor’s Visit for top spot. Coupla Beers was an old idea executed to perfection. Dad’s House contained a legitimately dark tone that I really appreciated. PDD’s bit might have been the most fun use of Gillis and the best the boys have ever been outside of the office. Wedding Interruption and Doctor’s Visit both subverted their crass conceits with a surprising amount of groundedness.
But even the margins of the episode were decent for me. The Mid-Day News reprisal didn’t aggravate because a) I already thought of the Carey Mulligan episode having something of a spiritual sequel, b) it was a good vehicle for Gillis, and c) it was funny.
The Heidi vamp threatened to bottom out, but before Heidi’s performance could start to drag the sketch, Gillis and Ashley put in some great work to keep it feeling fresh.
The cold open was an SNL cold open – kind of middle of the pack for the season. I’ve noticed a strong anti-Myers vibe out in the wild and I often wonder if that’s what sort of precipitated is retreat from the spotlight. That said, his grotesqueries can be fun from time to time and this was generally agreeable to me. Not exceedingly so, but I could stomach it.
So yeah, I think we’re in the middle of a bit of a hot streak right now for 2025. Shane is good for SNL. People can hate and I will be exhausted by the hate, but it won’t make reality bend to their whims.
Always appreciative of your comprehensive feedback and the many great points you make & articulate. And thanks for mentioning me next to John & Matt – two reviewers I look up to this very day.
And warning…. this response will be quite lengthy….
Re: Shane & the usual suspects’ reaction which is very sadly expected, alongside the “bombing” commentary I knew would happen not a minute into his (pretty fun) standup set, I take it this way:
A skilled author asks question and aims to provide satisfying answers to conclude promising arcs the readers watched grow since the very beginning. Normally, when the arc ends, it is supposed to answer themes and provide satisfying closure that’s befitting to the characters & events. But, when you are trying to make your story & characters “realistic” you are working against yourself. Authors need to understand their stories are fiction, the moment you lose that, you make your “realism” duller than reality. Same to me, you see, goes to reviewers. When you are reviewing an episode, a movie, or a show, or what have you not as it is, but what it could or should be, you are working against yourself. Once you make an episode of a silly sketch comedy show that is there to be watched, discussed and reviewed FOR FUN, into your own soap box, to expose your own unprocessed personal hangups and desires, you fall completely flat on your face.
Much like what I do as an aspiring author, as a reviewer myself, I take the show as it is, not as what I want it to be (which would be an ideal mix of the OG & late ‘80s eras, but we are never getting back there after they ended), and ask myself: “did the episode work? Did we get enough highlights here and there? Was there enough consistency overall?” As I answer said questions as I go through an episode, reviewing it as it is airing, I reach an easy conclusion which is always the review readers see as they open this blog.
Much like you, it doesn’t surprise me the insane amount of cynicism and bad faith around Shane, and in general any comedians that aren’t “Woke” enough for that increasingly smaller-and-smaller group of people who live in their feeds, and not to get political here, but these types should be realizing with how this country is shaping, are a fading group living off misery and believing always the worst in others – such as the trend that truly began with Shane of immediately trying to find any “problematic” material in his work pre-hiring. What kind of a person do you have to be to immediately believe the absolute worst in others right from the get-go? To think of them as utter bigoted monsters, such as many still see Shane as some Antichrist figure? How do you live your life that way?
That type of thinking is why I consider so much of modern entertainment as total garbage (such “celebrated” empty, cynical shows like The White Lotus & The Last of Us being seen as profound – they are, if you are not familiar with classic fiction, philosophy, society, sociology, etc.) Where there is nothing but utter trashing of the human soul, such as those aforementioned people trying to fish for the worst in humans, not knowing we are multifaceted, complex beings with our good & bad sides, it is in us aiming to improve and understand each other, that we progress.
Trashing others and ourselves, values, culture, personal actions, as inherently evil or hypocritical or what have you is at the end very empty, and if your critique of Shane or others is you wanting to show to us the many undiagnosed hangups you have, instead of taking him as he is, at the end you have nothing to give back and contribute. Removing familiar staples of fiction, such as hero’s journey, character arcs, clear themes, such as the two aforementioned shows did, and replacing them with pure, one-sided misery & cynicism, leads nowhere. And, as I said under one of your reviews before: anything defined by lacking what’s familiar will eventually feel thin.
Thanks as always for your commentary.
Best take I’ve seen on the monologue, “I feel like I’m being gaslight” took the words right out of my mouth after reading that SNL subreddit all weekend and then finally sitting down and watching the actual episode. I think these people are just seeing what they want to see, but oh boy, it sure was hard for me to tell that he was bombing over all the laughs I keep hearing.
Stand-up a lot of times plays awkwardly these days (not sure whats up with the audiences lately) so that’s become a tough place to win over in general, especially in Shane’s case with him going into it with likely a large fraction of that audience having an agenda. Besides Bill Burr, even fucking Chris Rock seemed to have a tough time winning that crowd over earlier this season. If anything, I’d say this monologue was about the norm for how stand-up sets have gone on SNL this season, the media and subreddits are blowing it way out of proportion with all their BIGGEST BOMB IN HISTORY OF SNL~~~! headlines.
Ashley (who seemed to take on a lot of her roles this week while she was out) is a huge upgrade from Chloe Fineman (who I really just have never cared for, no matter how much I’ve tried) if this episode is any indication. Seems to be the most decent addition to the cast in a while. Thought Michael Longfellow would go further on the show, but he seems to be the afterthought cast member of the show these days, seemed like he’s been shut out of almost every show this season and last season.
I will say that I have no experience with Gillis’ comedy other than his SNL appearances, so I really had no expectations. I will also say that he did a fine job in the sketches tonight (better, in my opinion, than last time, and frankly the highlight of some of the crappier sketches, like that winery one). The episode was (after a slow start that sent me to bed) a pretty good one, and some of the sketches (the Daddy’s Home TV show and the final doctor’s office sketch in particular) were very good, well performed by Gillis and the other cast members.
I didn’t enjoy Gillis’ monologues. This in and of themselves mean nothing–there are many comedians I really don’t enjoy, including, say, John Mulaney and Bill Burr. What frustrated me, particularly in this monologue, though, is that the material wasn’t as much the problem, but rather the delivery and style. Maybe that’s how Gillis always is, but he gave off the vibe that he seemed unsure of the material, the crowd didn’t jump on a lot of the stuff whether because of his rep or the vibe, and the monologue felt very jumpy and half-assed. This is a shame because, while an esoteric topic for a monologue, I felt the Civil War jokes were very good.
So I guess basically my point is that I’m not offended by Gillis’ comedy, nor do I hope my apathy towards his monologue or sketches isn’t driven by my personal dislike for the man (there are, after all, many comedians who are terrible people I enjoy). Anyway, monologue aside, what was weak about the episode was certainly *not* Shane Gillis (who, as others have noted, would seemingly have thrived in the Will Ferrell era of the show).
If I had never seen the original Racial Game News sketch, I would have enjoyed this one okay, although the set-up was insanely rushed, making everyone appear to be more racist than intended. Both Gillis and Gardner tried hard, but they were not as effective in the material (as scripted) as Waller-Bridge and Moffat (Gillis was really good in the best joke of the sketch, about Shaboozey). Part of the problem is that there was a lot of room to tweak the sketch’s premise in light of all that has happened since the original, but it felt content to play copy and paste.
Finally, regarding Wickline, I generally chuckle at most of her Update songs, but that is LITERALLY the only thing she really does on the show and the general flow/beats of all the songs are the same (although I will say this last one was her best). If she just wanted to be some A. Whitney Brown-esque Update guest commentator, fine, but she in no way seems like a cast member/featured player. I realize that the show seems to prefer these niche performers, who can generate buzz among certain fan bases and have easily digestible shtick, but jeez, I’d like to see *some* sketch/short performances from her that stand out. Both Padilla and Wakim are so good so far when given material and both, as I’ve said before, do an excellent job filling in the gaps the other performers can’t or don’t do. This is especially important since the show has lost such “glue”-type performers as Bryant, Bennett, Moffat, and Strong, who could play a variety of straight/quasi-serious/supporting roles while still generating laughs if needed.
Yeah, I didn’t care for Jane’s latest Update song but I liked her first two just fine so I’m not holding that against her personally or anything.
To heck with Gene Hackman I guess SNL?
Marcello is no Terry Fink
Jane is no Demetri Martin. I wanna see Jane do an update bit without singing and by herself.