Cold Opening – Middle East Trip
President Trump (JAJ) talks Middle East & breaks the fourth wall
- Not the exact type of a cold open I would’ve expected for the season finale. Yet, not complaining seeing the brilliant JAJ front-and-center to open the night. The only current player that seems trusted enough to carry these weekly.
- Ugh at the stereotypical role given to Emil. As a fellow Arab myself, I feel so bad for him given a generic, outdated character to play. It will be even worse if he is fired over the summer.
- Also, if Emil is playing MBS, why is the UAE flag next to him? Did the writers even do any research before writing the cold open?
- Standard JAJ-as-Trump lines, though they are well-written as usual. I loved that nation of Melanias line especially.
- JAJ is so damn great he even recovered from his surprising line flub in this effortlessly. While he had some underuse early in the season (thanks to those poorly-aged pathetic cameos sucking up airtime), he probably had the best overall season from anyone in the cast, even when he didn’t have as many “moments” as in last season. Then again, almost everyone had milder seasons this year compared to the last, besides possibly Heidi and Ego, I feel.
- Took the audience a while to catch up with the Morgan Wallen/God’s country reference. I admit cracking up at that.
- Solid fourth wall break with JAJ leaving the cold open set and starting to talk about his impression vs. the real guy. JAJ is coming off so damn confident sitting in the audience. I’m just in awe seeing how well he is handling this whole portion. A prime example why he is my favorite current cast member and the best all-around player on the show nowadays.
- A great “7s or more” line from JAJ’s Trump about who sits where in the studio. Loved the audience reaction to that, too.
- A fantastic LFNY delivery. I can tell how thrilled JAJ is finally delivering it solo this time around.
Rating: ***
Monologue
host sings about the season finale
- Much like the prior season’s finale, we are getting a musical monologue celebrating the season as a whole.
- A cute way to include basically the whole cast, besides the Update anchors. Seeing them in a season finale together is very fitting.
- The part with Michael was funny, especially making fun of his lack of appearances (though I think he had some strong moments this year vs. the last), but why was this Michael’s only role tonight? Why does the show keep underusing him to this degree? It stuns me.
- I loved the whole “classic Beth” part between Scarlett and Ashley. Scarlett in general is great in this monologue.
- The “Sarah is leaving” part, while fine, completely bombed with the audience.
- Scarlett is giving it her all as always, though part of me feels she deserves better material, considering her season 45 monologue has always been one of my personal favorite monologues the show ever did. This monologue is still really good, though.
- The reflective tone of the monologue is very warm and the tone is catchy. Not sure how this monologue will age if half of the people in it are out by the summer, but it is better than the last musical monologue the show did. Scarlett Johansson was still her very likable self in this as well.
Rating: ***1/2
Local News Stories
anchor (host) uses puns inappropriately
- I cracked up at the start with Emil singing the theme a la Pink Pony Club.
- Cool seeing Ashley Padilla co-starring in the post-monologue sketch next to Kenan. I hope this is a sign of real trust in her moving ahead, especially if we do get some much-needed departures over the summer.
- Even in a straight role, Ashley is so confident, so polished. She has major Kristen Wiig/Cecily Strong vibes to me, which is very good for the future of the show.
- A good amount of laughs as Scarlett uses typical cheesy anchor puns in inappropriate situations. The Take me to the River pun was especially hilarious.
- Scarlett’s delivery and performance in general is simply fantastic in this sketch. This has to be one of my personal favorite things she ever did on the show.
- I died at that “he ate that!” pun from Scarlett about a cannibal story. One of my biggest laughs in some time from the show.
- This role of Heidi’s is the type of serious, dramatic part she can make funny. Loved her joining in on the puns then turned very dark.
- While I didn’t mention him much, Kenan cracked me the hell up when bringing up having sex with his wife.
- An overall very fun leadoff sketch, with a particularly excellent performance from Scarlett herself
Rating: ****
Please Don’t Destroy – First Class
first class trip with (host) is interrupted by Newark news
- Eh, knowing how the last musical PDD pretape went with me, not exactly sure how this one would go for me.
- I’m not really caring for this so far, especially the whole gag with Scarlett not knowing who PDD are. They already did this before with the guys.
- I’m not exactly enjoying this short. This isn’t as lame as the aforementioned musical short from last season, and despite Scarlett being as game as always, this isn’t really entertaining me.
- Feels strange seeing Mikey in this role, especially doing some goofy voices. This is such a JAJ role to me.
- The whole Newark back-and-forth is very dull. How many times am I supposed to crack up at these PDD shorts doing these “awkward” and “wacky” turns, complete with rapid-fire gags? I’m nowhere near as negative with the guys as some fans I know, but they should move on from SNL by now.
- OK, I cracked up at the Lost pilot part with Martin.
- When will this pretape please end?
- Makes sense having Bad Bunny in this short. It reminds me of how much I enjoyed his episode from last season.
- The whole portion with Bad Bunny was pretty funny, though it is mainly how endearing he is coming off with his confusion.
- I have nothing against these guys, but four seasons in, and how same-y so many of their shorts are nowadays, how invisible they feel, I am just not exactly thrilled over the concept of sitting through a few more seasons with their shorts, considering the refreshing Dan Bulla shorts and the animated pieces we had lately.
Rating: **
Couple at the Bar
couples (host) & (musical guest) confront another (MAH) & (EGN)
- Scarlett looks incredible in that red wig.
- I actually confused Marcello for Andrew at the start. The third time this happened with me this season, after that Christmas party pretape and the grandma sketch with Sarah & Chalamet.
- Nice to see Bad Bunny in a live sketch. The pairing of him with Scarlett is fitting.
- Ego’s Spanish delivery is hilarious. She is a riot in this role, as thin a writing as she is given.
- This sketch isn’t exactly awful, but this one-note funny accents routine of Marcello’s is very tiring and patronizing to me. I am enjoying everyone else but him in this sketch. Go figure.
- Ah, loved the cutaway to JAJMukes reacting to the sketch. One of the few times where the show actually did a reaction bit and it worked.
- A good ending with JAJ’s own message to the camera. His Spanish was also pretty good. Is there anything this guy cannot nail??
Rating: **1/2
Bowen’s Still Straight
host falls for straight BOY
- We are seriously doing a sequel to this short I absolutely loved from last season? Is Bowen Yang that out of ideas to pull this back? Or is this (fingers crossed) a potential sendoff for him?
- One of the few things I like about these shorts is how they present Heidi & Ego as the beloved, reliable veterans of the cast they have become these past three seasons. I always enjoy that type of meta with SNL. A bit of a bummer we didn’t get more backstage pieces with this cast.
- This is going the exact same route as the first short, but a lot less funny and brilliant. The only real “change” we are getting here is the inclusion of Colin being kicked out of the elevator, and even that is an overdone gag with him.
- I did actually like the part with Scarlett and Heidi. A decent ending to a forgettable short.
Rating: **1/2
Mike Myers Elevator Ride
MIM meets Kanye West (KET) again in the elevator
- Wait, Mike is back? I assumed if he is back, he’ll either do Musk again or play Mark Carney next to JAJ in a cold open. Very weird seeing him starring in a sketch in the finale, of all episodes.
- Scarlett is dead ringer for Rosebud Baker in that wig.
- A solid straight man performance from Mike as expected. However, I am positive I know where this is going for from now.
- And here we get Kenan as Kanye to recreate the infamous Katrina moment from 20 years ago. I’m positive half the viewers were born after that incident. SNL being so soaked in nostalgia in a finale is odd.
- Also, the show already recreated this bit during the season 31 premiere with Mike and Kanye himself before the latter went on to perform his first musical performance. Not only is this such an outdated concept for a sketch, but it has already been done!
- Yeah, this take on Ye from Kenan is lame. It sure makes me miss the great impression Chris Redd used to do.
- Poor utilization of Scarlett Johansson.
- This sketch keeps going on and on. Not even Mike Myers can save this, though he most certainly is trying.
- Overall, this was certainly a sketch from SNL.
Rating: *1/2
Musical Performance – “NUEVAYoL”
Weekend Update
Miss Eggy (EGN) talks airplane food
COJ & MIC swap jokes for the season’s end
- While admittedly an overplayed joke, I admit cracking the hell up at that JD Vance/Pope joke.
- Ego again as Miss Eggy? Not sure if this is a sendoff or something for her (don’t even get me there with the tinfoil hat mode….), but I think Ego could make it work.
- While the first Miss Eggy was a fantastic season highlight and easy “Best Of” for Ego (which is saying something), this sequel on its own is no slouch thus far. I am loving the way Ego is playing the audience and both Colin & Che. She is just a genius.
- Some of my favorite moments here are Ego shutting down Colin, her cheesy punchlines (especially that squishy one), and the hilarious moment Colin told her to “shut that gay ass up.”
- A Joke Swap? I’m so burnt out on these, as well as so much of this era of the desk (though they’ve been mostly-solid this back half). I hope this one is better than the last.
- I admit cracking the hell up at the “retire bitch!” slam towards Lorne.
- The whole addition of Scarlett to the desk, taking here the side of Che, is adorable. However, it feels quite tired to see the routine of making Colin saying racist jokes, as much as I enjoy offensive humor done well.
- The part with Colin begging Lorne to take over the show is genuinely funny. Nice return to the Lorne slam earlier.
Rating: ***1/2
Intimacy Coordinators
intimacy coordinators (host) & (KET) do not understand how lesbians make love
- This sort of role and sketch feels like something Mikey did so many times in the past. I guess being on for 9 seasons and heavily featured from the get-go is why.
- This reminds me with its start with of that sketch with RJP in season 46. Funny enough, Bad Bunny was also the musical guest that night as well.
- Oof. Love Mikey, but this type of performance by him is why I can see why some fans strongly dislike him. The singsongy lines are cringe incarnate.
- A great 1940s look on Ashley’s character.
- What hell am I watching? What the fuck is this premise?! Intimacy coordinators not knowing about lesbians or something? This feels straight out of season 30 – typical shit you would see in that forsaken season.
- While Kenan was good in his first two starring roles of the night, shit like his performance here and his mugging all over the terrible Jane pretape last episode, just shows he has no place on the show by now. I thought he was being phased-out this season and the last, but it is just clear the writers are moving on from using him and that he’ll never gracefully bow out and leave on his own.
- My god, this sketch keeps getting more and more lame. How the fuck did this get on the air?
- We are now doing hot dog and donuts euphemism for lesbians? You get it? Hot dogs are penises and donuts are…. you know…..
- I assume the sketch writers, in a show currently filled with openly queer writers, are trying to make fun of those ignorant of lesbians and gay people in general. As a queer person myself, this sketch is leaving me befuddled. Whoever penned this trying to make fun of how ignorant the two characters are of gay people is just as ignorant, knowing it or not, as those they mean to mock in such a mess.
- What the fuck with that ending?! Felt very poorly rehearsed.
- An overall good contender for one of this season’s worst sketches. Whoever wrote this please let us know what in the world you were going for with this.
Rating: *
TV Press Junket
TV hosts (host) & (BOY) ask touchy questions to panel
- I wasn’t as big on the NYU Panel sketch as some fans were that this sketch is a clear sequel to, but how many retreads did we get tonight? I know finales aren’t the best episodes, but what’s with all the laziness in this season? Further evidence the show needs to overhaul the writing staff.
- Ugh at how they are using Marcello in this. And was I supposed to screech at him playing such a part?
- Jane Wickline showing her wide range, I see.
- A very dull sketch so far. However, Heidi and Ego are bringing the energy levels up. Both are having such a strong showing in this finale in general.
- Overall, didn’t care for this at all. Says a lot I barely wrote anything in this review.
Rating: **
Musical Performance – “PERFuMITO NUEVO” ft. RaiNao
Victorian Ladies at Lunch
Victorian ladies gorge themselves on gross period food
- I remember Scarlett doing a similar sketch I loved in her first episode as host. So, this is an interesting way to end her 7th hosting stint.
- A big night for Heidi & Ego. Not sure this means anything, as to not repeat myself and anything could happen in the summer, but if they are leaving, this is a good finale episode for both.
- This sketch was cut after dress from the doomed season 47 Paul Rudd Christmas episode.
- I genuinely keep forgetting that Chloe Fineman is still a cast member. Not trying to be a snarky asshole here or anything, but man, she had a terrible season. Compare this year to how she was consistently utilized the past two seasons and you’ll be amazed. I am positive newbie Ashley Padilla had almost as much airtime as she had the whole season.
- I am loving the absurdist humor in this, complete with a good dose of gross-out visuals. Not sure if Sarah (nice to see her scoring another win performance for the second week in a row) had a hand in writing this, but she feels ideal for such a premise. Hell, even that JAJ-voiced opening cracked me the hell up.
- The ladies are all very fun in such roles and clearly having a blast. Heidi’s bug-eyed expression eating the blood pudding in this is slaying me. I am also liking that voice Chloe is using.
- Andrew is a riot in this role. I cannot even imagine how awkward Rudd would’ve been in such a role in the original sketch. Considering the milder-though-strong season Andrew had this year (where he played Bland Man too many times for me – more on that in the wrap-up post), it is nice to see his delightful absurdity in the final sketch of the season.
- I feel bad for laughing hard as Chloe clearly struggles to deliver her lines while gorging on all the gross food in front of her.
- Even the obligatory brief breaking is very fun and fits the offbeat, absurd feeling of this sketch.
- I got a huge laugh from Heidi’s “I went numbers 2 through 7.” She is having me in stitches in this sketch in general.
- Not sure if this will be a well-liked sketch amongst fans in general, but this is the type of humor I want the show to do more. This is a very guilty pleasure of mine and I’m shamelessly defending it from any hate it might get.
Rating: ****1/2
Cut For Time: Graduation Day
dentistry school has complex oath
- John: Thank you again to Blood Meridian for giving me the honor of reviewing these two Cut For Time sketches, very possibly the last two of the season. I’ve been disappointed with not getting more this season but they have made up for it near the end (and it’s still around three times as many as we got for some recent seasons).
- This starts on a very crass note with Heidi and Ego playing “n-word” joke characters. The audience doesn’t even seem to get the joke at first.
- Nice to see Devon lead his group of graduates, in what could be his final sketch appearance. A straight part, but still more than he got most of the season.
- More unnecessary ‘funny names’ with Kenan. At least this one got the audience laughing.
- I like the contrast between the oaths for the dental classes. I also like that both classes are very clean and chirpy, which adds to the surprise of the second oath.
- Scarlett gets the lion’s share of lines in this, some of them quite funny, like putting the lead X-ray blanket on and running out of the room ASAP, the “unimaginable horrors” of the spit-and-rinse bowl, and only hiring “the thickest Dominican and Armenian baddies” as hygienists.
- They go a little further into that Armenian and Dominican joke than I would have expected from the show in the last decade or so. The audience seems to enjoy it.
- I got a laugh out of the jab at awful veneers.
- You can tell that the show genuinely wants to move on from the Aimee Lou Wood controversy (unlike the number of times they leaned into Morgan Wallen’s tantrum), because this would have been the perfect sketch to make a dig at her.
- This was better than the description I had read, which gave me the impression the focus was more on “funny names” like the Streeter Seidell/Mikey Day sketches that were so heavy from seasons 42-45. They were smart to give most of the focus to Scarlett, as her flip-yet-pointed delivery was perfect. I don’t understand how this got cut and the genuinely awful intimacy coordinators sketch did not.
Rating: ***½ (the half star for Scarlett)
Weekend Update: Twins Bridgette and Paula Powers
twins Bridgette and Paula Powers (HEG) & (CHF) on why Americans should move to Australia
- John: Chloe tends to work best playing matriarchs, so I suppose it’s fitting she has replaced Kyle Mooney as the queen of Cut For Time. Two of her very few starring roles this season exist only through Youtube uploads. This is also her only Update appearance for season 50 that we have the privilege of watching.
- Heidi and Chloe with dated pop culture references presumably means this is by the Fowlie/O’Sullivan pen. Mercifully, said pen has been absent for much of the back half of this season.
- I can give Heidi and Chloe points for trying, but the whole reason that went viral (to others—I didn’t hear about it until reading about this Update piece) was presumably because of the surprise and fun of the sisters and their twinspeak, and probably some people enjoying the Australian accents. Here, you just have two actresses struggling to be in sync and struggling with accents.
- It’s also somewhat difficult to understand what they are saying, which further detracts when you decide to (checks notes) run a FOUR MINUTE desk piece. Was it just a week ago we had a revolutionary desk piece that ran for two minutes?
- The other issue is that Heidi and Chloe just don’t have a great deal of chemistry as scene partners. Remember when the show tried hard to sell them as a new team around early season 48 (like the dire pieces in the Megan thee Stallion episode)? There’s a reason that went away, aside from a few other equally bad sketches, like that kiln thing with Emma Stone.
- This now turns into a complete ripoff of Garth and Kat (admittedly the idea wasn’t new for them either) with Marcello popping up to join in with the gibberish. This reminds me of the segment Garth and Kat did with Chris Martin, the only one I enjoyed as Chris was clearly just having the time of his life. Unfortunately, I don’t feel that way this time.
- I actually do like Marcello at times, but I don’t think I will ever see him the same way the show does. In moments like this he comes across as a combo of Fred Armisen and Pete Davidson…and did anyone out there ever ask for that combo?
- As with a great deal of the material surrounding Marcello, Heidi and Chloe since season 48, there’s just a very desperate, very forced fun, very rictus grin nature to this. Any time I start to think I was too hard on 48, something like this takes me right back to why I was so negative at the time.
- To say one positive thing, I did like the idea of Australia’s SNL being LNS…at least until they drew the gag out too long.
- I’m not going to give this a complete bomb as it was not anything genuinely, genuinely terrible, but it does represent so much of what I dislike about the show in recent years, above all else in trying so hard to push narratives and personalities on us instead of trusting viewers and trusting the talents of the cast and writers.
- If this was uploaded as a goodbye gift to Heidi, it is not suited to the overall commendable season she had. If this was uploaded as a goodbye gift to Chloe, it is, sadly, very fitting. If neither of them are leaving and it was uploaded anyway, then…thanks for testing my view that I want to see any Cut For Time content.
Rating: *½
Goodnights
- Very cute Wayne’s World shirt on Scarlett, which is fitting considering the legendary SNL alum next to her.
- Bowen is very emotional during these goodnights. I wonder if that means he is actually leaving.
Segments Ranked from Best to Worst
Victorian Ladies at Lunch
Local News Stories
Monologue
Weekend Update
CFT: Graduation Day
Middle East Trip
Couples at the Bar
Bowen’s Still Straight
PDD – First Class
TV Press Junket
Mike Myers Elevator Ride
Intimacy Coordinators
Final Thoughts:
- This finale is a bit tough for me to accurately evaluate at the moment, but looking back, I liked and disliked an almost equal number of sketches in this episode. Both the sketches I loved and hated are some of the best AND worst of this whole season, so I’m going mixed bag on this finale. With that said, the wide cast usage and Scarlett Johansson giving her usual game, committed hosting performance definitely elevated the night.
- There is going to be a lot of discourse about who is leaving and who is not. I’ll say this from now: I did not see any hints some of these vets just had their final episodes. I’ll be stunned if we do not get a good number of departures (and firings) over this summer, but I’m not going to go tinfoil hat mode like I remember many did after that season 46 finale, searching for supposed “signs” the vets back then were leaving. Where we then eventually had just one vet leaving the cast. I just hope we get a big turnover, in writing and cast, as the show desperately needs it after such a weak season.
My Favorite Moments of the episode, Represented with Screencaps:
Up Next:
- The wrap-up post with stats, cast breakdown and overall thoughts on the season. Stay tuned!
My full set of screencaps from this episode is here
Great review as always. This was a disappointing season finale for me, with none of the sketches truly landing for me besides the monologue. This season has been up and down, and I don’t feel I can accurately judge it seeing as how I missed a few episodes throughout.
Most sketches left me without anything to say about them, to be honest. The Kanye West/Mike Myers sketch was baffling. Why would they reference an incident that happened 20 years ago, especially considering that Kenan has a very mediocre Kanye impression that doesn’t hold a candle to Chris Redd’s. The joke swap was pretty good for me, although I sure hope it will be Jost/Che’s final season at the desk, even if I’m not as sick of them as some people are. But 11 years is far too long for anyone to anchor Update. I wasn’t sure how to feel about the Victorian Ladies at Lunch sketch, but I lean toward not liking it. Kind of a shame that’s how they ended the season.
I’m ready for quite a bit of the cast to leave. If I had it my way, here’s how the cast would look for next season (even though I doubt this would ever happen):
*Andrew Dismukes
*Marcello Hernandez
*James Austin Johnson
*Michael Longfellow (Update anchor)
*Ego Nwodim (final season)
*Ashley Padilla
*Sarah Sherman
*Kenan Thompson (final season)
*Emil Wakim
*Two new featured players to eventually replace Ego and Kenan.
Basically, every cast member who’s been in the cast for 6+ seasons is out, besides Ego (who I think has another season left in her) and Kenan (who I would kick out, except I think he needs his own very special send-off), alongside with Devon and Jane who I really don’t think are working, although Devon is a legitimately funny guy who just doesn’t work well in sketch comedy. Jane on the other hand doesn’t do it for me.
Well, it’s been a blast reading your reviews for this season. I’ll see you next fall.
Great review as always, Blood! You’re very good at accurately laying out what is good and bad about the show.
Personally, this episode made me mad. It had such an anticlimactic feel to it and made me wonder: do some of these people just not want big send offs and want their departures to be a surprise, or are all these vets passed their prime gonna tickle a dead horse for another year?!? Or more?!?
Like you, I’m beyond burned out with most of this cast. The only people I really want to stay are Dismukes, JAJ, Ashley, Longfellow, and Ego. And I really felt, this whole year, that Jost & Che, Mikey, Heidi, and Chloe were on their way out. I just don’t think I can handle another year like this.
As always, another great review from you Blood and congratulations on your 4th live season reviewing the show! Your reviews have always been a delight to read and I look forward to hopefully many more from you.
This finale episode kind of sums up the season (and indeed the show itself) very well: some winners, some duds, and a whole lotta meh.
Let’s start with the winners: I really enjoyed the News Stories sketch (PERFECT vehicle for Scarlett), the 10-to-1 (thank you for helping me change my mind on that btw, though I don’t know if I’d rate it quite as high as you myself), and the Bar Couples sketch. I totally get what you mean about Marcello’s whole Hispanic flop sweat routine being totally played out, and believe me, I was all set to roll my eyes as soon as I saw him doing it. But…this sketch actually worked for me and was a lot of fun. Ego and Scarlett were both a lot of fun in their bad Spanish translations and Bad Bunny was very endearing in his part. Even the cut back to Marcello’s bug eyes (something he’s done a LOT) worked for me. Not anything amazing, but this sketch had a premise and a purpose beyond Marcello screaming in Spanish, so I’ll give it some props.
While I totally get your criticisms of the Bowen is Straight retread (and this definitely can’t top the classic original), I still enjoyed it. Bowen is fantastic and hilarious in this role and I will take 100 of these shorts, as cookie cutter as they are, over any more of his pathetic and desperate pop culture pandering or “sassy inanimate object” schtick. If this is Bowen’s last sketch (time will tell), he went out on a decent note. Same thing can be said for Ego’s Miss Eggy retread: while we didn’t really NEED another one, she was once again fantastic and, again, is leaving on a high note if she indeed decides to leave.
As for the duds, I wholeheartedly agree with your review of the Intimacy Coordinators sketch. If you told me that the actors were all sent out there with zero prep, direction, script, or cue cards and told to just “wing it”, I’d believe you. Not only was this a half-baked, dull, laughless premise, but it was also very sloppily staged and the ending felt like everyone just stopped giving a shit and knew it was a flop. I’d be willing to bet this was a Fowlie/O’Sullivan piece as it had all the trademarks of their shit at its worst.
While I enjoyed the Myers sketch a bit more than you, mostly thanks to Myers’ excellent straight man performance, it and the rest of the sketches tonight fell into the old tried and true well of “this was meh/okay but forgettable” that has characterized so much of this season. Scarlett, as per usual, was a fantastic host, but that commitment and gameness can only do so much with sketches as thin as these.
I won’t engage in any further speculation on who is leaving or staying. That’s what the next four months are for. But I will say that I sincerely hope we get an overhaul in writing, as the autopilot mode the show has been in for quite some time now (hell, you can see signs of it as far back as S43) has reached a point where it can’t sustain itself for much longer. We need creativity, passion, and audience-challenging pieces again. I’m not holding my breath, but I wish/hope we’ll get something different for next season. In any case, I look forward to more of your reviews. Whether these next few years are good or awful for the show, I know your reviews will be top tier and very entertaining. Goodbye S50! Won’t miss you much!
Actually, intimacy coordinators was written by PDD and Celeste Yim.
Interesting. Well, the PDD guys can be pretty hit and miss themselves and this was definitely a HUGE miss from them.
That’s a wrap.
A good, but not great season finale. It honestly felt like an episode from the first half of the season. Very few sketches are strong, but very few sketches are particularly weak, so it’s enjoyable enough.
James took the words RIGHT outta my mouth when it came to the Couple at a Bar sketch, so all I need to say is that I really enjoyed it.
Typical Trump open, they always work for me. I absolutely loved the meta ending too.
Update was a return to form after they had an average outing last week. Loved seeing Miss Eggy back, and the joke swap was great per usual. In particular, the Nick Kerr joke was hilarious. If Colin and/or Che end up leaving the show or getting fired, this would be a solid way to go out.
Victorian Ladies at Lunch was a very silly sketch but it really worked for me. I could picture it being done in the late 80s era, expect better, and without the breaking from Chloe and ScarJo. (Though I really enjoyed the breaking)
New York City News was a fun first sketch. Despite the one-note script, ScarJo REALLY made it work for me. Also Devon and Emil had great moments here.
Now for the stuff I didn’t care for…
Did we NEED sequels to Bowen’s Straight and the NYC Guest panel sketches? We didn’t. Both were completely unnecessary. And both were SIGNIFICANTLY worse than their original sketches.
Also Penelope’s Secret felt INSANELY messy, and underwritten. Kenan was solid here, as always, but it felt like the whole piece just didn’t click.
Overall, happy to see ScarJo get another good episode. Looking forward to your Wrap-Up post abt the season!
While you liked some parts, I was let down by so many repeating bad parts of this season in this finale. Let’s see if I can make it better.
Cold Open: Sorry but JAJ has done trump enough so, Caroline Levitt (Scarlett) answers questions regarding Trumps trip (Andrew, Chloe, Longfellow, Day, Devon?)
Monologue was fine.
Action 4 News was fine. Leave as is.
PDD- I don’t know how to fix it so maybe scrap it? Maybe either replace it with Myers as Musk doing a “Everything Must Go” for Tesla or Chloe/Scarlett doing a Mirror sketch?
Couple at the Bar- Make it a Devil/Angel thing? and have Longfellow, Kenan for Marcello and Scarlett/Squirm for Ego?
Bowen’s Still Straight- Maybe have Scarlett as Bowen’s gay acting teacher?- Again, Not sure how to fix this one
Mike Myers Elevator Ride- Change it to where multiple cast members meet Kayne in the elevator. Maybe something like the David Schwimmer Elevator sketch? Also Scarlett is the host, Not Mike Myers
Weekend Update- In addition to Ego, Have Mikey and Heidi as their Instagram couple… If it’s their last episodes, have a goodbye? And maybe for Joke Swap, Have Colin announce that Scarlett wrote all of Che’s jokes and then Colin says Goodnight and is replaced with Scarlett who has to read the jokes? (I’m shocked we didn’t get a Squirm roast Colin bit)
Intimacy Coordinators- Oh Boy, Maybe change it to where Ashley and Scarlett are Lesbians and don’t know how sex with straight people are? I guess a Role Reversal?
TV Press Junket- Replace Marcello with Longfellow
Victorian Ladies at Lunch- Maybe change it to where the female cast members are backstage playing themselves and chugging Pepto Bismal while saying long jokes? Kinda be similar to the Bill Clinton McDonald’s sketch?
Thank you as always for the time you spend on these reviews and the screen captures, and with such a quick turnaround. I don’t know how you manage this.
This was not a bad finale, it was along the lines of a typical season finale. Scarlett was also likeable, professional, and always willing to just be a part of the cast.
What made the finale a little worse was that this finale case of blahs had been happening for several episodes (I would probably go as far back as the Jon Hamm episode), instead of what can sometimes happen (producing a good-to-strong installment before the finale collapse). They’ve been cutting and pasting sketches and pre-tapes and feeling tired for enough time now that I had hoped for a little more. Did I expect a finale along the lines of season 46? No. Yet, somehow, SNL being SNL, they decided to cut and paste a sketch from that finale just to remind us how much better it was! Not a terrible sketch, thanks to, as you said, Heidi and Ego, but what an odd choice. Marcello was also a poor choice for the Pete role, as he has none of the natural charisma that Pete had; there’s an inherent coldness in his work.
The other problem was – and this isn’t the show’s fault, of course – the inevitable exit speculation. I don’t think it hurt the finale too much, as Update was still strong even with the departure rumors circling overhead, but it helped add to the slightly unnerving atmosphere.
The cold open and monologue both felt a little off, setting the tone for the night. Your praise for JAJ always makes me take a second look at the cold open. The choice to have Emil on mostly just to be react to Trump’s Middle East ramblings (thank goodness that was not his only role of the night) helped add a somewhat dispiriting air for the final cold open of the season (just the choice to have a Trump cold open as the last of the season – although maybe something light and fun might have been dishonest at this point). Yet JAJ was excellent, especially the ease with which he moved into the audience. It’s tough to not take that type of shift in a way that doesn’t feel self-indulgent, but he managed (helped by his reaction to his brief flub). That element had a certain throwback feel to the way a cold open might have gone in the ’80s when the show was more willing to experiment. The cold opens in the back half of this season have increasingly been willing to experiment, it’s just not getting as much response because people can’t take Trump or want the show to hit harder against him. Admittedly, I’m hypocritical for claiming the show is experimental when we have had so many fourth wall breaking cold opens in a row, but when you think about what we were so frequently getting…just in the horrid cold opens of the first half of the season alone…
I also rewatched the monologue, and my opinion didn’t really change – a nice idea, some sweet moments, but just a flat feeling, everything seeming a beat behind. I’ve seen people point out the lack of chemistry between this cast but I’m not sure if it has ever come across as much as it did here. There are some we know have chemistry but are not utilized often enough (Andrew/JAJ), people who clicked for years but have reached a natural end (Heidi/Mikey), and friendships we know of that the show never worked with (Andrew/JAJ/Devon). I wanted to feel more emotion than I did when watching this. A big part of SNL has always been the connection to the cast. While I do like a number of people in the cast, the stagnation and lack proper intermixing have led to a widespread apathy. It is too bad as this group had potential for more, if the show had not mishandled season 48 so much. There are a number of people in the newer casts that have such a unique feel and some real life to them – they make me care and they don’t feel self-satisfied. There’s a genuine nature. Yet I sense this is not what the show wants, and the only two new hires who seem favored are the two who leave me coolest (Marcello and Jane). This show is so often working against its own best interests and future, at least to me. Then again who am I to say…I’ve been out of step with this show for a very long time, all the way back to when I was more interested in watching Beth Cahill and Siobhan Fallon than Chris Farley and Adam Sandler.
You did a great job of explaining just why the elevator and intimacy coordinator sketches were so wrong – two of the worst of the season for me. The latter was so out of place in today’s SNL, just strange, and yes, a horrible use of Mikey, giving me some of the more grating flashes of 45-47. The show is often too flat in recent years to have truly bad sketches, but this one came close. I have heard people say the elevator sketch was due to Kenan and Mike Myers never appearing in a sketch together. If so, that’s a lousy reason for sidelining most of the cast and basically just redoing something they already did a better joke with twenty years ago. It’s also a lousy time to try to play cute about Kanye, with Kenan doing all his little Kenan-isms. This felt like one of those random sketches they would dump into finales around the late ’00s or early ’10s.
I don’t know if I can judge PDD or the Marcello sketch fairly because I just don’t enjoy sitting through their material. I’ve seen it all before and they all have a soulless feel. More PDD singing, more contrived awkwardness, more endless padding that stops the episode dead. More of Marcello, as you said, in what feel like patronizing circumstances, the show patting itself on the back for having Spanish and subtitles even as the show’s diversity is still not good (and has declined from even a few years ago).
I did enjoy the food sketch (many didn’t so I’m glad to see your incisive praise), I felt it was a good way to close out the season, and a good way to bookend Scarlett’s hosting with the Mr. Willoughby sketch. Yes, food gags or forced breaking gags can be silly, but it’s still fun, with, unlike a great deal of the night, or the back half of the season, real energy. And finally, a fitting part for Chloe in what is hopefully her final season. And I am glad that Andrew was in the last sketch – he’s been my favorite since season 47 or so and helped carry me through some very dry spells these last few years, even in seasons like this where his best talents weren’t always used.
I also liked the news sketch, which felt like something the show has done many times now but had good drive and performances. As you’ve said a number of times this season, we can see the amount of trust placed in Ashley to be put into a part that vets would often take. And for what is very possibly Emil’s final role in the cast, I’m glad he at least got to have fun (I enjoyed the gag more after realizing what the song was meant to be – I have little interest in the artist in question, but that song has floated in and out of my head since her SNL performance).
Bowen’s Still Straight I would only accept if it his goodbye moment, a final moment of self-indulgence. I was so bewildered that they just blatantly remade every moment that I could not pretend to judge fairly. At least it was better edited and short than PDD’s latest identity crisis, I guess.
Going back to Update, I do wonder, if Jost and Che are staying (as you said, there’s no real need to keep speculating for the time being), how they could ever go back to joke swaps. Some of these moments you just can’t top. The did-I-do-that? playfulness is what helps keep the Jost/Che dynamic fresh, but all things must end. I am glad Che at least was giving his best tonight, even if the audience (maybe so used to him not giving his best) didn’t respond to some of the best jokes (like the Mandela Effect joke).
Ego’s return is one cut and paste I didn’t mind. I was actually expecting this to fall completely flat, especially without the audience cursing surprise, but Ego’s energy was a huge boost to the night, and her charisma reminded me of how often she is boxed into roles lesser than her presence. It’s so rare to see cast members ever allowed out of their boxes now. Ego was probably the MVP of the episode for me. After I was very critical of her in season 48, she’s reminded me of much of her best, and what might have been.
I just want the show to see what they have in Ego, JAJ, Michael, Andrew, Emil, Ashley…but then I want a lot of things. There was a moment in the cold open where JAJ, whose heart was truly on his sleeve in the end of that segment, said, “See you again in the fall…if we still have a country.” And that “joke” reminded me of how often I take this show, and this blog, and so much else for granted. So rather than doing that yet again, I will just say thank you again for all your hard work, and thank all the great commenters here, and thank the cast and crew at SNL. May 51 – if we get a 51, if we are still here – be everything we expect and so much more.
John:
I think the cast just feels really disconnected, like you said. Too many performers are in their own lane (the biggest offenders to me are Chloe, Bowen, Sarah, Marcello, Jane, Longfellow [more by how he has been used], and to some extent, Kenan). To be clear, that doesn’t mean these are all bad performers–I especially like Longfellow and Sarah, and can find most of the rest tolerable in doses. SNL has always had performers who have their own niche and lane (one can never really accuse, say, Norm or Andy or Pete, to name three good to great cast members, of being especially versatile).
But the problem is when you lack real “glue” performers (I think JAJ could be one, but he’s not used that way) and the formula construction of the show encourages “stay in your lane” routines and sketches. Thus, a potentially very versatile performer like JAJ is pigeonholed into playing Trump and nothing roles. A fairly one-note performer like Marcello flounders trying to play roles he’s not cut out for (and I like him in some stuff). Performers who lack an obvious “niche” other than stereotypes (not a knock on them but on how SNL uses them) like Emil and Devon get really hurt.
That also leaves performers who have found a niche or comedic style that seems to get reactions to just basically keep doing variations of that over and over–a lot of Bowen’s stuff or Sarah’s or even Chloe’s (all three of these performers also have an annoying tendency to mug even in “straight” roles).
SNL’s “glue” performers this season were an underused JAJ, a past their prime Heidi and Mikey (who can still be good but turn to the comedic equivalents of flopsweating to get laughs too much), a regressive Kenan (for every funny and good Kenan performance, he turned in some dreck like this episode), and solid work from Andrew, Ego, and a possibly rising star in Ashley. I’ve harped on this so many times, but Ashley and Emil (when used well, like in the Mescal and Gillis episodes) have a refreshing willingness to play straight roles and get some laughs in a natural, low-key way (while hamming when appropriate). People like Jason, Aidy, and Beck were excellent at this, and that’s something the show has been seriously lacking in.
The problem, I guess, is the way show is structured now, around YouTube watches and studio audience reactions, such performers are not as valuable as someone who can immediately juice a reaction (which, putting aside their work, Marcello and Bowen do).
I agree that cast cuts needs to be made. I feel like there is an excellent ensemble in here somewhere.
I would personally keep:
Andrew Dismukes
Ego Nwodim
James Austin Johnson
Sarah Sherman
Michael Longfellow
Marcelo Hernandez
Emil Wakim
Bowen Yang (He can sometimes be annoying but when properly utilized he’s a strong player still)
And then hire some features players and a co-anchor with Longfellow. Maybe make Rosebud Baker, and Carl Tart featured players?
Aw, you wouldn’t keep Ashley?
Oh my God thank you Jesse! BIG typo! Ashely is fantastic and 100% be kept. They’d be dumb to let her go lol
SNL posted a cut sketch on Peacock, but they took it down a few hours later. Right now, there’s no sign of the full sketch anywhere on the Internet, not even YouTube.
It was just posted now on YouTube. In a few hours, a review of it will be added onto this post.
An underwhelming finale to a middling season overall. I don’t know if this would actually finish in the top 10 based on how this season went, but it’s definitely a step down from ScarJo’s last show.
PDD just felt bloated with the Bad Bunny portions feeling like a different sketch lumped in, and the sound mixing was pretty awful in the live version. The news sketch was a highlight, but the rest of the night took a downward turn where even the retreads were almost better than some of the original material. I’ll have to give the Victorian sketch another watch based on your review, since I watched it live in the mindset of a) this is the final sketch of the season, and b) it’s the last chance for cast members to rack up appearances.
As for season 50, I’ll save my listings on how the cast ranked for Bluesky and my sites, but Lady Gaga was the clear highlight of the year, with 2nd being a toss-up between Grande, Black and Mescal. Great work on the reviews, Blood! Thanks for sharing your perspective to make sense of it all.
and the Cut Update Australian Twins has been uploaded too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItUM72q-i6A
Late to the party as usual.
First, the necessary and warranted accolades. Blood, your growth as a writer and reviewer is really astronomical. You have taken all of Stooge’s best qualities – the prolific output and the enthusiasm – and married it with an open-mindedness and curiosity. This is THE best forum for SNL discussion on the Internet. Your growing success is 100% earned. Way to go!
OK, on to the ep. I didn’t catch the episode until Sunday night, but before then I saw someone post a thread on Reddit ranking the Season 50 episodes and they had this one DFL. Yes, even below Jean Smart! Knowing Jahansson’s SNL hosting track record (She’s what, 1-4-1 prior to this episode?), I had every reason to believe this episode was going to be exactly that bad. So what a surprise it was for me as I began watching the episode that it at no point really pissed me off in any way whatsoever. No, it wasn’t necessarily a GREAT episode, but it settled into the season’s cushy middle in a way that felt closer to relief for me than disappointment.
With this episode, I found a cold open that had an energy even as it stuffed Emil into a thankless box. Still, I think if we can ever push through the Trump fatigue, we will look back on the back half of this season’s cold opens with great fondness.
I found a monologue that was more agreeable than it was lame. It was still both, but I eventually landed on “that was fine and fun.”
The Local News Stories felt initially like the “Big News/Small News” sketch from the first SCTV episode, but it developed into its own thing and steadily built its own momentum. Not a world beater, but a winner nonetheless.
PDD was as scattered as ever, if not moreso, but not without its fitful laughs. John is right that the group is having a bit of an identity crisis, but it’s mostly because the identity they did have kind of petered out. They don’t feel like a distinct part of the show. As much as I don’t love the Dan Bulla pieces as much as others, at least there’s a distinct voice there. The PDD pieces feel like standard SNL fare, which doesn’t really warrant the name recognition. Still, there were some fun moments amid the slop.
The Bar Couples bit was my other highlight of the night. I have to call balls and strikes and sometimes Marcello…well, he doesn’t always distract. He was solid here and the whole piece was a fun game and the additional commentary from JAJ and Andrew was actually a really fun wrinkle.
I’ll jump into both the Bowen and NYU Q&A retreads now. Both of the originals were good pieces that others sort of convinced me were great. I was a part of the OneSNLaDay crew that gave the original NYU Panel piece five stars, but for me it was sort of a peer pressure thing (I didn’t hold the pen on that sketch’s star rating). For the original Bowen piece, I thought it was great, but it didn’t really have my full enthusiasm. Like, I knew it was technically strong, if not faultless, but it was for someone else to rave about. Anyway, re-hashing these pieces didn’t hurt my heart the same way the Washington’s Dream and Traffic Altercation sketches did. So while I didn’t see much reason to bring them back, their general “fineness” was enough for me.
A rehash I was more enthusiastic for was Miss Eggy, which obviously didn’t have the spontaneous moment of the original, but retained all of its verve and spark. I think, looking back on the year, we might be talking Ego as the true MVP (Andrew is my personal fave, but Ego and JAJ probably have the mathematical claim to the throne). She is such a powerhouse performer and these pieces really prove that SNL can no longer put a limiter on her charisma. Next season, I want more Ego, JAJ and Andrew vanity pieces, less Bowen and Sarah.
As for the rest of Update…I don’t think I’m a mark for the joke swap thing, but the do deliver more often than not. Most Update anchors sort of peter out as they go on (I can only think of Fallon and Poehler as anchors who improved as they went along), so it’s kind of incredible that these two have put together such a strong year.
Oh, the Myers/Ye thing. I don’t know…it was pretty weird and “off” (no help from Kenan who should never be tasked to carry a sketch in such a manner), but I wasn’t recoiling at it. I think the writers saw that there was an interesting to approach all the Kanye business from and just didn’t have the precision or horses necessary to pull it off. I think there’s a good sketch here – one that feels fuller than what they did in Season 31 – but it just failed to land the target.
The intimacy coordinator was another one that…well, intrigued me. I certainly noted how overwhelmingly retrograde the whole thing was, but I am perversely compelled by SNL’s almost foolhardy willingness to attempt something so, I don’t know, crassly conceived. It’s like the Headless Horseman sketch from a few years back – I get why someone would be put off, but at the same time, I can’t really turn away. The fact the sketch was so poorly executed on a purely technical level certainly didn’t help one bit, but I can’t deny I was taken by how willingly SNL was to even “go there.”
Finally that ladies who lunch thing – I’ll just have to take everyone’s word it. Maybe I dosed off or something, so I’ll give it a re-watch, but I just felt the sketch rushed into the chaos and I just couldn’t really make heads or tails of what was happening or why.
Can’t wait for the season wrap-up. I will have thoughts!
That’s an incredibly sweet thing to say. I appreciate it. And thanks for your insightful comments and all the other wonderful people who commented here, the wrap-up post and all through the season.
Wish you all a great summer!