Cold Opening – Trump Tariffs
President Trump (JAJ) announces new tariffs
- I knew SNL would be parodying that bizarre “Day of Liberation” speech Trump gave a few days ago.
- A particularly great cats and dogs line from JAJ’s Trump. Such a clever throwback to that debate moment last year.
- These prop jokes could come hacky, even when Trump himself has an infamous habit of holding large cardboards in his various appearances, but that prop comedy in general doesn’t work for me. Knowing JAJ, I’m sure he’ll make it work.
- Even in a small role, Andrew is cracking me the hell up.
- I admit getting a good laugh from JAJ’s Trump explanation of the formula board. JAJ in general is killing it in this cold open. Easily amongst his Best Of for this season so far.
- A solid laugh from the obligatory Morgan Wallen reference.
- Like the cold opens of late, this has a really good pacing, enough funny lines and an actual comedic through-line that’s being followed well. While not knockout cold opens, these work well and are helped by JAJ, far and away the best performer in the current cast, leading them and killing it.
- Mike is back again as Elon Musk. I actually like the take by Mike (and Musk throwing pathetic tantrums over it tickles me), but I’m not sure if I’ll continue to tolerate it if he shows up these next four seasons, unless Trump backstabs the fool and dumps him soon.
- The Tesla plugging portion is pretty funny, especially I admit laughing at the self-smashing headlights.
- A pretty solid cold open as a whole.
Rating: ***1/2
Monologue
host sings about being back to host
- Like many, I haven’t really bothered with Jack Black’s work of late, due to both weak projects and overexposure. Yet, Jack always commits and knows how to put on a show. He has always been a great presence on SNL, and no matter how this episode might turn out, I know Jack will easily be the biggest highlight.
- Right from his entrance, I just know we are about to get another very fun, catchy musical monologue from Jack.
- A fun conceit with Jack singing about finally coming back to SNL. I have to wonder why in the world didn’t he host several more times after his classic Christmas episode from season 31. The same can be said of next week’s host too.
- Very sweet seeing Jack getting up to the bleachers as he sings. Been ages since we last been up there, and fun seeing prior hosts Bill Burr and Kieran Culkin in the studio tonight.
- I LOVE the usage of a marching band and their whole part is catchy and epic as hell – ending this monologue on a real high.
- Adorable seeing Heidi so excited throughout this monologue.
Rating: ****
Love Match
host (AND) is befuddled by Indiana Jones lookalike (host)
- An interesting choice having Andrew Dismukes playing a gameshow host. I believe for the first time since Momhole from way back in season 47. Andrew has certainly came a long way since those days.
- The usual fantastic, charming performance from JAJ. Only he can make that corny pun come off fun and endearing. Fascinating seeing him as a contestant in this sketch, as he always plays either the host or an announcer in these gameshow sketches.
- A fun premise with Jack being dressed up as Indiana Jones and Andrew’s baffled reactions to him. This is a solid use of Andrew’s underrated straight man skills.
- JAJ steals the sketch with both his compliment towards Jack’s character and wondering when will he be asked. This guy….. just nails everything thrown his way.
- I absolutely HOWLED at Andrew’s outburst at the contestants, especially calling JAJ’s character a Jane Lynch lookalike. I loved JAJ’s wholesome reaction to that and his acting all through this sketch. He added so much to it without making it about himself.
Rating: ****
Flamin’ Hot Commercial
Doritos commercial suddenly turns Preparation H-themed
- While a typical Jack Black moment, I got a big laugh from how he entered the room, especially with his trademark energy.
- Great choice of having Andrew voicing Chester Cheetah, and Andrew already proved solid in such roles, like the great Scooby-Doo he did in last season’s finale.
- Love that we are using extras and not cast members. It somehow makes this short even funnier.
- This is such a blast of a short, with rapid-fire gags and excellent pacing. Jack Black himself is more than perfect for it and he is crushing it so far.
- I’m loving the absurd visuals of all the different types of spicy food & its effects. It brings back nice memories of that great Wing Pit short two seasons ago. I bet this one was written by the same writer(s) who penned said short.
- A hilarious Preparation H turn all of the sudden. Jack in general is having me in stitches throughout this pretape (with great support from Andrew), but I’m practically on the floor during this whole portion.
- All-in-all, add this to the compilation of future classic SNL commercials.
Rating: *****
One Uppers
restaurant patrons one-up each other
- Does this season hold a record for having a sketch in a restaurant/cafe in practically every single episode?
- A good laugh from Jack turning to the camera with that look. I also loved the eagle sound effect.
- Bowen absolutely steals this whole sketch with his direct to camera portion. This is the type of sketch-stealing Bowen Yang moment that’s been missing in these latter seasons of his tenure.
- This sketch already reminds me of two S18 sketches: the black co-workers sketch and the one with characters having closeups on their looks as they think of other things. The nice early ‘90s throwback nature of this sketch really makes it even more fun than it already is.
- The performers are all fun in their parts, though Chloe’s penchant for mugging is coming off odd in this particular context.
- The usage of Heidi near the end with her multiple looks into the camera was excellent and she nailed it like a pro.
Rating: ****
The First Play
audience members (host), (MID), (AND), (CHF) question logic behind the first play
- An ancient period sketch? When was the last time we had a sketch in said period (not counting pretapes)?
- The audience is already cracking up as am I by the sheer visual of Jack in that costume.
- Boy, Mikey Day looks a lot like Will Ferrell in that beard, especially that he aged quite a bit these past few seasons.
- A fun and solid sketch concept with Jack’s character questioning the first ever play. I’ve seen one fan comparing this to those Franken & Davis sketches from the original era. Yeah, I can see that.
- Loving Jack speaking to the performers on stage. This is the type of a role that might come off obnoxious with some performers, but Jack is just perfect for it.
- I’m liking Jane’s straight man performance. Between this sketch and the prior episode’s Jury Duty, she has improved a lot more than earlier in the season.
- Such fun performances from Mikey, Andrew and Jack. All are so likable and having me cracking the hell up with all their reactions to the play.
- An awesome character voice from JAJ. And this type of a role is an ideal use of his “Glue” qualities.
- Emil is as likable and solid as always during his portions.
- I really love the extra meta ending with the actors confronting the interrupters in the audience.
Rating: ****
Goth Kid on Vacation
moody goth (MIL) stands out during vacation
- Remembering that awful musical short last week, I sure hope this one is a lot better.
- Michael Longfellow is beyond a natural for a moody goth teen. Despite baffling underuse, when Michael is utilized by the show this season, he is given roles he fits effortlessly and he is killing it in this role.
- Man, even in just a small moment, JAJ is hilarious as a typical cheesy dad. It reminds me of how Phil Hartman would play such roles back in his tenure.
- Not only is it nice to see Michael in a fairly big role in a pretape, but Jack Black is clearly parodying My Chemical Romance’s The Black Parade album. One of my absolute favorite albums of the last 25 years.
- I’m loving all the moments with Michael throughout this short. His quiet charisma is really shining through. You know, I am just left baffled how a performer with such a unique presence and energy as Michael Longfellow isn’t utilized more, but I’m glad he got this role instead of another younger cast member.
- I love the whole awkward breakfast part, especially Heidi & JAJ’s reactions to Michael. Heidi’s annoyed mom performance was great, as was Michael’s “happiness is a disease” line towards her.
Rating: ***1/2
Musical Performance – “Little Richard’s Bible”
Weekend Update
Alyssa (JAW) & Grant (MAH) are back
EGN showcases what her WHCD set would look like
- That Trump business joke was a bit too much clapter for me to take. Even when I agree with it.
- The return of this couple piece that got once before. I remember liking the first one just alright, though with how popular it turned out, I’m not shocked it came back.
- Also, is every single character role Marcello does is going to eventually be recurring? I am one of those fans who wants recurring characters back, but do something different with them.
- This is going the exact same route as the last one with Jane & Marcello showing “range” by playing typical roles given to them. At least this has some charm to it, but I didn’t need it back. I have also been refreshingly positive about Marcello this season compare to how I routinely (and rightfully) tore him apart the back half of last season, but if all that he’ll contribute to the show is characters where the “joke” is him shouting, do not expect me to be so positive about him soon enough.
- I admit laughing good at the Russell Brand/Chris Brown joke.
- Ego as herself? I’m already so into this.
- While, as always with SNL, this whole Amber Ruffin thing is too dated by now, the premise of Ego showcasing what she would’ve done as the comic host is very promising and I know she’ll kill this.
- Ego is freakin’ FANTASTIC in this piece. I absolutely am loving the way she is handling this and her command of the stage and audience just leaves me in awe. She is doing a dead-on and very funny take on these specific types of comics as well.
- A hilarious blooper with the audience completing Ego’s punchline by saying “shit”. Love the way Ego handled it and it made an already fun piece even funnier
Rating: ***1/2 (the latter 1/2 for the Ego piece – it was that fun to me)
Making Love
couple (host) & (SAS) perform a song about making love
- This sketch, by its setting, reminds me of those great musical sketches the show did in season 39, such as that Cecily Strong/Jimmy Fallon sketch. Needless to say, the usage of wires reminds me of that great sketch Cecily did with Chance the Rapper in season 45.
- I’m guessing the days of Sarah Squirm are done by now? A shame, as I loved it when Sarah would occasionally do really bizarre, creative sketches. Actually, outside of two mascot pieces and a sketch or two, Sarah has been mostly solid this season, but I guess her evolving and becoming a lot more generic, safe was inevitable. That still bums me out, but it is better than her becoming a bad cast member.
- A really charming, cute sketch so far. Both Sarah and Jack are coming off a lot of fun in this, even when Sarah isn’t really a singer.
- The whole champagne part was pretty funny.
- Not sure I needed Bowen Yang to be randomly thrown into this for a threesome turn. He is also another not-that-good singer who’s been singing in half the sketches of late.
- OK, the lyrics Bowen is singing are actually pretty funny.
- Love the addition of Brandi Carlile, and yeah, I know she is a professional artist and all, but man, does she overshadow the hell out of Sarah & Bowen in this. Some great vocals from her as always.
- An overall very charming, cute sketch. I do not think this one holds a candle to the aforementioned sketches, but on its own it’s really sweet. Sarah especially was beyond endearing.
Rating: ***1/2
Bass Lake
Big Ricky’s band (host) has too many bassists
- It sure feels nice to see tons of JAJMukes tonight. I also love how JAJ has been playing various different, fun character roles in this episode. Andrew, on the other hand, is having a particularly strong night. Easily his best episode this back half all-around.
- Heidi is going all out with her bass playing. I’m cracking up so much at her in this, whether she means it to come off funny or not.
- This premise of a band having too many bassists isn’t my idea of comedy gold and there aren’t really that many laughs to be found in this. Jack is a lot of fun in role made for him and his helping an otherwise iffy, clunky piece to come off better.
- Wait, is this the first appearance Ashley made all night? Really, SNL? After a knockout Update piece last week you relegate her to one small appearance? I know she is still new and is getting more airtime than typical newbies get, but still.
- This is also the first appearance I believe Devon made tonight, but that’s sadly not surprising with him. After two consistently decent seasons as a featured player, his airtime went really downhill this season. Michael Longfellow, on the other hand, seems to quietly have solid showcases here and there, but I’m not sure if they are enough to have him back for a fourth season.
Rating: **1/2
Musical Performance – “Who Believes In Angels?”
Times Square Kiss
nurse (HEG) is kissed by soldiers in Times Square
- Such a great old-timey voice from Jack. Also, Heidi is a natural in these types of sketches, as little as she did them. The only other time she did one off the top of my head was Blonde, two seasons ago.
- A bit of a one-note sketch, but said one note is handled rather well and the flow of the sketch is adding to it nicely.
- Andrew has been all over this episode, even when a number of his roles are the typical support parts Mikey Day used to play in his early seasons.
- Despite my earlier praise of the sketch, the joke has gotten really old by now. I am liking Heidi a lot in the role and Jack is a solid straight man in this, which is a rare, refreshing use of his talents.
- A charming use of Mikey, and quite possibly one of the last displays of the wonderful, underrated chemistry both be & Heidi always had with each other.
- What also is charming is how clearly Heidi is amused by Jack all throughout the sketch, as she’s seen stifling her laughter. Knowing the consummate professional Heidi Gardner is, and what an apparent huge fan she is of Jack, I’m letting it slide.
- Ah, and here is JAJ playing his always-fantastic old-timey part effortlessly. Outside of that Cinema Classics sketch halfway through his first season, JAJ has appeared in all the other old-timey/black-and-white sketches and rightfully so – he is simply a delight to watch in such a role.
Rating: **1/2
Cut For Time: The Great Battle – An SNL Animated Short
two warriors (host) & (KET) attempt to fight each other
- Not only am I surprised this short got cut, as nothing in the episode felt that long (outside of Update), but that it was also uploaded, as outside of a few cut sketches in the first half, this has been a scarce season for cut material.
- Yet another great character voice from JAJ, as I love his narration in this.
- I really like how the battle is animated and the divergence from the prior two shorts with less low-key humor and more physical is a nice change of pace.
- Anyways, while I didn’t have much to say about this, I really liked it. More animated shorts, SNL!
Rating: ***1/2
Goodnights
Segments Ranked From Best to Worst
Flamin’ Hot Commercial
The First Play
One Uppers
Love Match
Monologue
Trump Tariffs
Goth Kid on Vacation
Weekend Update
CFT: The Great Battle – An SNL Animated Short
Making Love
Times Square Kiss
Bass Lake
Final Thoughts:
- One of the best episodes of the whole season and my favorite so far this back half. Besides the iffy final two sketches of the night, most of the sketches ranged from pretty solid to classic and the first half itself was one of the season’s strongest. Jack Black himself was as energetic, fun a host as you would expect and the writers used him ideally all night, even in the last two weaker pieces. I also appreciated the wide cast usage (with JAJMukes in particular having a pretty strong showing). The musical performances also deserve mention, especially the second one, as they added a nice, classy feeling to the night.
My Favorite Moments of the Episode, Represented with Screencaps:
Up Next:
- After 15 seasons since last hosting, Jon Hamm is back.
My full set of screencaps from this episode is here
Once again, Blood, another great review!
Solid episode overall and a needed turnaround after the last episode.
Just curious, what did you think of his last 3 episodes and how would you rank them overall, including this one?
Thank you for your kind words.
I’d rank his episodes as S31, S50, S27 and then S29. I think the first three shows are a blast, with the S31 episode being an all-timer. The S27 show is very consistent, though only a few pieces stood as great, including one of the absolute best 10-to-1’s with Music International. His S29 is his weakest through no fault of his own. Just a very forgettable show with only the monologue and 10-to-1 standing out.
Great review, Blood.
I thought this was a great episode, and the first episode in a WHILE that I’ve felt was consistently strong. Every single sketch in this episode worked for me, and Jack Black was thankfully utilized perfectly, after I had worries he’d be wasted like Michael Keaton and Martin Short were earlier in the season.
The Monologue and Flamin’ Hot Preparation H are the highlights of the episode for me. Jack brought fantastic energy in the Monologue as expected, and I like that he’s done a musical monologue every time he’s hosted. Flamin’ Hot Preparation H was a hilarious concept, and was in my opinion Jack’s best utilization all night. Dismukes as Chester the Cheetah was also a great addition to the piece.
Love Match was a great concept and it was nice to see a Dismukes sketch as the lead-off. I also really liked the ending with Bowen as Captain Hook. Jack and Dismukes had great back and forth here.
Goth Kid on Vacation was a strong musical short, and in general had a great vibe to it. Like most of the sketches throughout the show, Jack helped give it a boost with a strong performance.
Update continues to be on a hot streak, as this is the 3rd Update in a row that I’ve felt highly about. While Grant and Alyssa are characters you wouldn’t expect to come back, I thought this was still good. Marcello in particular was surprisingly funny here. It’s always nice to see Ego on Update, and this commentary in particular was great. The audience participation was fun, and the audience members dropping a VERY audible S-bomb was a very memorable moment.
Making Love was a very cute, charming and well-done piece. I liked the threesome turn it took with Bowen, and Brandi Carlile was a very welcome presence.
Everything else in this episode was good, with my least favorite sketch (Times Square Kiss) being just average.
Overall, I’m really glad this episode was strong, as we could’ve had a Michael Keaton situation where it would be an insanely forgettable episode with a very capable host being wasted. But thankfully that isn’t what happened!
Hoping Jon Hamm can bring another strong one this upcoming week, but we never know with this season.
As always, another great review from you Blood!
I’m so happy we got another strong and (mostly) consistently good episode, and Jack Black was easily the biggest reason for it. While I too have been saddened and disappointed by his career trajectory of late, he ALWAYS commits and is a lot of fun and he really elevated the whole episode. Even the weakest sketches just had a solid and fun vibe thanks to him. THIS is the best kind of host. Someone who can elevate the entire show regardless of the writing quality. You could really tell everyone was having a blast.
Strong nights for JAJ and (especially) Andrew! These two, as I’ve said before, are the MVPs of this current cast and they really brought their A game tonight. Love Match is probably the best example, showcasing both Andrew’s fantastic (and I agree, very underrated) straight man abilities and JAJ’s scene-stealing cheesy “aw shucks!” type of performance.
A very good night for Ego as well and, were Best Of DVDs/compilations still a thing, that Update piece would surely be on hers. She is an absolute pro. She had the crowd eating out of the palm of her hand immediately, had fantastic delivery, and did some great ad-libbing in response to the audience. In short, she absolutely KILLED it! If she is leaving after this season, it will be very sad, but she will be going out on a high note, so I really can’t complain.
The lack of Ashley in this episode was rather puzzling, especially given how much she killed it last week. But I guess I can’t complain too much given how solid this episode was and how the cast usage was mostly good (okay, I could have done without them bringing back that Marcello/Jane couple thing, but it wasn’t awful, just meh).
It’s truly remarkable, once again, how much of a turnaround the back half of this season has been. Even Mikey Madison’s episode last week wasn’t really terrible. In fact, if you take out the awful Midwife and Big Dumb Line sketches, it becomes quite solid. I have no idea why there seems to be something in the water the last three seasons where one half is middling/mediocre and the other half is solid and fun, but whatever it is, I at least hope the pattern continues for the rest of this season at least. Hoping Hamm will get a great episode!
This episode was a lot of fun to me, even though it seems to have inspired polarizing reactions on Discord. I enjoyed that there was less complete retread premises and cut and paste stuff, and more just sort of oddball ideas.
The Flamin’ Hot thing was absolutely hilarious, just a perfect usage of Jack Black.
Ego was fantastic during her Update segment–it’s one of those things that would crash and burn under the wrong performer, and she performed it magnificently.
Some of the more one joke sketches weren’t up my alley, but I still got my chuckles from them (like the one-uppers and the WWII sketch), mostly due to some enjoyably absurd material.
A lot of people didn’t like the bass sketch, and I agree it’s pretty dumb, but it has a cheerful escalation of insane dumbness. Black was both good and bad in the lead–he was funny, but it felt like a sketch that might have gotten more strength from a straight man type like Sudeikis.
It’s hard to explain how big of a deal it was when Jack Black was announced to host in Season 27. Yes, there were a couple exciting host choices in the years leading up to that, mostly with alumni (Rock, Farley, Norm), but also the high degree of intrigue with Tom Green (whoops!). But When Jack Black showed up, it felt like a new era – the mainstream emergence of the alt-comedy scene. Now, Black was always a mainstream talent (made abundantly career with what has been a couple decades of completely uncompelling work), but for the Tenacious D member and Mr. Show alum to start showing up on mainstream-ass SNL, that was a coup. That first episode, although not near his Season 31 episode in terms of overall quality (where he was largely sidelined during the episode’s famed highlights), was his best performance, largely hinging on tour de force work on that night’s Birthday Song sketch. I don’t know if this past Saturday’s episode boasted a highlight like the Birthday Song or was overall as winning as the Season 31 episode (the season 29 season opener was meh), but I think we’re looking at Black’s most consistently strong performance on SNL.
I really don’t have a ton to offer that Blood hasn’t already mentioned. Everything was really solid, save for some still-agreeable one-joke quasi-duds in the back half. If I’m going to stump for anything, I’d say that, for me, Love Match was the highlight of the episode. Maybe it’s just me being really really into Andrew playing so needlessly, but still understandably irate. But the game of the sketch really pleased me, especially as it quickly diverted away from the game show format. Great support from JAJ too and even some of the other silly details (like Chloe repeating Andrew’s intro) really worked for me.
Other stray observations:
– I love that they’ve most been applying the Keep It Simple Stupid method to the cold opens. It’s been a near-decade long struggle with cold opens (probably longer, although it was a different batch of issues 10-15 years ago) and this season, for all the bullshit, has been the closest we’ve seen to, I don’t know, a leveling out? A market correction? The Myers cameo is probably not essential to the proceedings, but the meat of these openings have felt positively reliable!
– In the bass sketch (a spiritual sequel to a somewhat forgotten Season 27 sketch), I have to admit that was, uh, taken aback somewhat by Heidi’s decolletage…which it turns out was prosthetically enhanced. My question is…why?
– The digs at Morgan Wallen were fun.
– Ego is a fucking rock star. Not only did she push One Uppers to another level, but the entire “Ms. Eggy” segment was a comedic performance masterclass. Like, on paper, this thing was pretty good, but Ego gave so much verve and confidence to her performance, that I didn’t want to see it end.
Anyways, the long and short of this episode is that Jack Black is great, JAJ is great, Andrew Dismukes is great and Ego Nwodim is great. Also some nice moments for some other people, but when an episode is highlighted by a dynamo host and those three particular castmembers, it’s going to be a winner.
Great writeup this week, Blood. I’m virtually quibblless!
Thanks, as always. I had wanted to leave a comment last night but ended up being too tired. I always appreciate the work you do here and how you give fair ratings whether you like or dislike a sketch.
I don’t have a great deal of history with Jack Black. I barely remember his first two episodes, and while his third episode is strong, that wasn’t down to him. I think if people did go into the episode having higher expectations due to their history with Black, or because they just think modern SNL is capable of more than I generally do, they were going to be disappointed.
I did keep my expectations low, partly because I just often have to with this show, and partly because the so-called “fun” or “big” or “party” episodes of recent years have often left me cold, to put it kindly – Bargatze, Mulaney and Short this season, Gosling last season.
I enjoyed the episode and might call it the most consistent of the season. That’s no mean feat, as SNL is consistently inconsistent. What impresses me most is how well Jack was used. Every part he had was central and I wasn’t left wondering why he was even there, as I had with multiple hosts earlier in the season (especially Short and Keaton).
Other than the sketch at the end, I thought everything was decent, if rarely very good. Even the last sketch wasn’t awful, but just had nothing I could really enjoy beyond what you mentioned about Mikey/Heidi – it was basically two not great ideas stitched together, made worse by my knowing that the woman kissed in the famous photo said she was forced.
What did hurt the night for me was the number of sketches that had the potential to be very good, or even great, if just a little more care had been taken. I wanted to like most of those sketches more than I actually did.
The strongest piece of the night was the Cheeto pre-tape, which got everything right, as you state so well. Probably my favorite pre-tape of this season. And I felt like the whole “science” part was a poke at RFK Jr and his ilk.
I was not expecting so much of Andrew in this episode. He is one of the closer matches in this cast to Jack’s humor, but as he is not a “star,” I assumed he would be lucky to pop in a few times (the way that increasingly likely to be fired Emil did). As I do think this is Andrew’s last season, I’m very glad he got to shine, and I’m especially glad that I don’t just have to kind of make myself praise a piece while also addressing the flaws (like the Jumanji 2.0 game show sketch) and instead have a piece I can lavish real praise on (the Cheeto pre-tape).
The other highlight for the episode for me would be Ego’s Update piece, just because she had so much verve and wasn’t stuck in some of the usual tropes she has had at the desk (as any veteran performer has). A part of me wondered if they knew the audience would say, “shit,” because how could they not, but that’s probably too much of a risk to knowingly take. If this is Ego’s last season, this is a great way to bow out.
I struggle to sit through the Trump cold opens, but much as the show is criticized for not “meeting the moment,” there were some genuinely sharp lines at the start of this sketch, expertly delivered by JAJ. Sadly, most of that went away when we had Mike Myers doing his herky-jerky stuff. I did like the parts you mentioned (the vandalism segment), but I hope this is the end – if Lorne ever learns to let go.
Marcello is one of my least favorite current cast members, but I was pleasantly surprised by the teamup with Jane this time around. The first version I just remember Marcello bellowing all his lines. Here he seemed to be trying to find a character and bounced off Jane (this part is by far her best work on the show).
The monologue reminded me a lot of Maya’s last season in that on paper they should have been fun, and some parts were, but the show just doesn’t have the energy levels anymore to make them work.
The Hamm episode is the one of this bloc I’d been looking forward to the least, for a variety of reasons (the perils of “party” SNL episodes, finding Hamm overrated and burnt out, etc.). Hopefully my low expectations will once again pay off.
Great review Blood! This was a fun, solid outing where you could feel them stepping up their game as if they knew people were anticipating Black’s return for almost 20 years. A lot of exciting premises that I liked reading your thoughts on, even when I enjoyed the last two sketches a bit more than some of the others (especially the bass one upon rewatch).
Now that we’re 80% through the season, some stray thoughts on how the cast is ranking in appearances:
Season 50 has been a dominant year for Andrew and Sarah, between sharing the first place spot throughout March, having already surpassed the total appearances from their first 2-3 seasons and only a few sketches away from tying last year’s totals, with Sarah appearing at least 3 times per episode this season after her total 3 appearances in the first two shows. If you told me back during S47 that they would be leading the cast this much, I’d probably be more ecstatic about it. Meanwhile, Bowen still has a chance to regain the lead he held from episodes 1-12 after slowly bouncing back from a dip at the start of the new year.
Ego, always the solid, reliable player, is on track to finish the season at fifth place for the fifth year in a row, unless anyone has a late season boost that brings her up or down like Chloe had during the final four shows last year.
Chloe is someone who racks up a lot of sketches but hasn’t really stood out too much in the grand scheme. Especially this year where she’s mostly been nondescript after making the mistake of going up against a better Jennifer Coolidge impersonator, and I mean Dana Carvey. It’s almost the opposite of what she and Bowen went through in S46 and part of S47 where they made the most out of limited appearances.
JAJ had a strong outing this week putting him back in the middle of the pack,-I guess he can only reach 6 appearances in a night when Bill Burr is in the building- but like Dismukes in S48 it felt less like a boost and moreso making up for the last couple shows with low outings. It’s safe to say he won’t regain that position in the top three that he held for a while back in the fall, but having him keep up the momentum over these last couple shows would be enough.
Kenan and Ashley have been neck and neck for 10th place throughout the second half. It looks like Kenan’s streak of finishing the season within the top four, that has lasted from seasons 38 to 49, with the exception of S42 due to a drop in the 2017 half, is really coming to an end.
After a rising streak back in November-December and finishing the first half at 5th in physical appearances, Emil has been extremely underused to the point where his chances of returning next year are not looking good. After what happened with Chloe Troast, behind-the-scenes issues aside, it’s difficult to assess anymore what it takes for anyone to last on the show.
It’s been a race to the bottom since November for the Waterslide trio of Devon, Jane, and Longfellow. This week Devon holds the bottom position where he also was at the halfway point. Despite ranking less than the rest of the cast this season, they’re all getting chances to shine every coupe weeks.
Shutout Counter, # of shows where cast members have made 0 appearances this year, barring any voice-overs, still images etc.
2: Chloe, Longfellow
1: Ashley, Mikey, Emil
Based on the trends of past seasons, this is the point of the season where the final rankings are pretty much solidified. There might be some gain or dips between individual cast members in the next month, but the current order is more or less where it will likely be by the end of the season.
@Vax Novier Kenan’s run ending is especially crazy! It’s interesting to think that outside of the second half of S42, this run started during his 10th (!) season, and it’s lasted an additional decade. It’s funny, it comes just as Kenan says he wouldn’t mind being on the show forever. I kinda hope he does, cause it’ll be interesting if he ends up reaching 25 seasons on the show. At that point, his record will definitely be unbeatable.
I think that Che, Heidi, and apparently Emil will depart after the season’s done, but knowing SNL, there may be one or two surprises down the line.
The excess of bass resulting in destruction was similar to the bass-off from 2002 when JB first hosted.