Cold Opening – Air Force One Press Conference
President Trump (JAJ) hosts press conference aboard Air Force One
- Already a creative and interesting start to the cold open.
- Nice seeing Ashley right from the get-go. Good camera angles during this cold open so far.
- I see this is parodying the typical awkward Trump Air Force One interviews.
- Hilarious closeup on Ashley’s Karoline. Both JAJ and Ashley had really fun chemistry during this whole portion.
- Is Kaitlin Collins the only reporter Chloe is ever going to play? She played her several times already in these cold opens. Same with Andrew and others playing nameless reporters.
- JAJ’s characterization during this cold open is cracking me the hell up, especially how he is touching the curtains. He’s been evolving his take on the President throughout this season and the prior season’s last third.
- Loved Jeremy’s “is that Santa?!” and JAJ’s response to him. Jeremy has been displaying that ability of adding and enhancing to sketches even in his tiniest roles thus far into his run. A rare trait in cast members.
- By the way, why was this Jeremy’s only appearance of the night? A bummer.
- Great LFNY delivery from Ashley alongside JAJ. You can tell she is beyond thrilled to say it for once to open the show.
Rating: ***
Monologue
host talks hypothetical Ratatouille movie
- I was surprised to see some fans not knowing who Josh was when he was announced. I thought The Crown was big, no? Challengers? He is not exactly a superstar, but I am a fan and he is already coming off charming and likable.
- I really like Josh’s Ratatouille talk, which I didn’t even hear about. His delivery is good and he is displaying that classic English charm and wit I love from UK hosts.
- Josh making his whole monologue focusing on the hypothetical Ratatouille live action film is pretty fun, especially when he skips praising the cast to suggesting actors for it.
- Wow, surprised how quick this monologue ended. I was really having fun with where it was going. Josh came quite charming.
Rating: ***
Let’s Find Love!
old lady (ASP) is contestant in a dating gameshow
- Are we ever going to have other Kenan as a gameshow host? When will JAJ play another of these roles? He was terrific the few times he did it. This feels like trying to justify having Kenan still on the show, despite his decreased airtime and prominence.
- A different type of a gameshow sketch so far, especially that isn’t a usual social media-based one, at least so far.
- A good laugh from the reveal of Ashley’s old lady character entering the sketch in a scooter. By the way, she looks exactly like one of those Groundlings characters she did in a photo I saw of hers when she got hired.
- Good unsettling delivery from Ashley of her flirting line, especially that creepy closeup on her face.
- Ashley is good in this, as always, although this type of a character is too Groundlings-y for me, though I hope she can make it work.
- While not given much, Josh is doing a solid job as the straight man. He is even getting good laughs from his soft delivery.
- Alright, as this sketch is going on and on, the premise of Ashley’s character is starting to get pretty old to me, as her lines are becoming less and less funny, as are the creepy closeups on her face when she removes her sunglasses.
- This feels like a discount Kate McKinnon from her latter seasons. No clue how this is how our leadoff of the night, unless the show is full-on pushing Ashley even more than they’ve already done.
- A pretty poor leadoff. Not even Ashley Padilla can make it work and I shudder at the idea she helped in writing this, which she probably did.
Rating: **
Uber Eats Wrapped
Uber Eats reveals embarrassing details
- An alright reveal of the product.
- Some fun awkward back-and-forths between the couples, especially the initial part with Ben and Veronika.
- Like Jeremy in the cold open, Kam makes his only appearance of the night in this pretape, though that sadly doesn’t feel that surprising with him.
- Loved the brief awkward tension between Ashley and JAJ. His defeated state after she reprimands him was hilarious.
- The whole moment with Sarah throwing the phone and causing an accident was great! Priceless reaction from her afterwards.
- Nice to see another pretape ending with a typical fun JAJ moment.
Rating: ***1/2
Teaching Hospital
Dr. Please (BOY) attends another patient
- Oh no, I remember absolutely hating the previous sketch Bowen did with Ryan Gosling with this character. In an episode that was an absolute embarrassment to watch for me. With that said…. I’ll try to give this a fair chance.
- Josh is pretty funny already from his entrance. I sure hope he is far more commited than Gosling was.
- The play on the classic “don’t call me Shirley” line from Airplane made me laugh in spite of myself.
- Maybe because of how barely he has been in this season so far, I admit enjoying Bowen’s performance in this sketch, especially his quick back-and-forths between him and Ashley.
- The “proper English” part was so stupid it made me laugh. Even when it reminds me of that Austin Powers scene.
- I am not sure I cared for the man-on-man kiss between Bowen and Josh to close the sketch. Even when it wasn’t thankfully played for cheap laughs.
Rating: *** (I am surprised, too)
Bachelorette Party
strippers (host) & (BEM) are too sensitive
- Nice seeing the whole female cast in a sketch. This really makes it clear how few women we currently have in the cast now, especially no women of color, unfortunately.
- Ashley Padilla in every single segment of the episode (monologue excluded) so far.
- The reveal of Josh and Ben’s nice strippers gave me a good laugh. Ben’s typical soft-yet-humorous delivery is ideal for this sketch.
- Great delivery from Josh of his line towards Ashley after he enters.
- Aha, so this sketch is making fun of these soft, sentimental guys who are at the same time active in progressive politics.
- The audience is eating the hell out of this sketch, even when it is sadly going, despite some laughs, the very tired “explaining the joke” routine after every single gag that happens.
- Jane’s lines are fine on paper, though her cue cards focus is too distracting for me. Abysmal delivery, too.
- Not sure I cared for the whole portion with Mikey, which is another awkward use of him this season.
- The second sketch in a row ending with a man-on-man kiss? I am not liking how very audience-pandering Ben has been two episodes in a row. His bland, generic humor is one thing I’m having a gripe with so far into his run, and now this?
Rating: **1/2
Musical Performance – “Sleepwalking”
Weekend Update
MAH on going home for the holidays
JAW sings Stranger Things conspiracy
- The real-life Trump clip is funnier than the Che/Jost jokes about it.
- Che’s jokes on Trump are better, especially the Times Square Elsa punchline.
- The Noem joke completely bombed with the audience. No idea what to make of it myself, though.
- Also, what is with the clear AI-generated graphics this time around? They probably did it in some previous Updates this season, but what’s with it in this and the cold open’s drawings?
- The audience isn’t that into this edition of the desk unlike usual, which I am not surprised by, as there have been some really poor jokes so far.
- I see they are trying to give Marcello more airtime, considering what a horrible season he’s been having in general with him often relegated to one or two tiny roles per episode.
- Nice seeing Marcello doing a standup commentary, instead of his interchangeable, loud Hispanic stereotype characters.
- I’m not usually into these “so relatable” desk pieces, as they feature soft, generic humor, but Marcello is likable and funny whenever he plays himself, unlike when he gets those “star” pieces that are annoying and pandering.
- The “used to call me” part is just not funny, especially that it features Marcello doing Hispanic accents he did a billion times before.
- Ugh at the fake Lorne phone call. This desk piece has really just the likability of Marcello, as there’s nothing else to it. And I was happy at the start this didn’t seem to go the Hispanic stereotype route. Guess, I was too optimistic.
- This is going too long for me. It feels like two or three jokes stretched too long, and yeah, hate to say it, feels like a desperate attempt by Marcello to regain some relevancy with how the new guys especially are stealing the spotlight from him.
- This whole commentary would be replaced with dress version in online uploads, which is where my screencaps are from. Not sure why, as the audience reception was fine. However, Marcello did come off surprisingly nervous live, with hands shaking and all. So, I guess that’s the reason most likely.
- A good laugh from the Madea joke. These dumb poster jokes always work for me.
- Another cast member who barely, if ever, did anything this season getting a desk piece, with Jane now doing an Update song. After being cut twice earlier in the season.
- Feels odd seeing Jane singing with a keyboard, considering that Tommy Brennan auditioned with a song, complete with a keyboard.
- A laugh from the Stranger Things cast (a show I am proud I’ve never seen a second of) being the focus of Jane’s song.
- Not sure I needed Colin commenting on every single lyric from Jane, as the song itself isn’t that special – more cute than funny.
- The absurd visuals near the end of Jane’s song did crack me up, I’d admit.
- Disappointed with this edition of Update overall. This wasn’t awful, and despite charm, the two commentaries didn’t work for me, and they feel, hate to say it again, like an act of kindness on the show’s part trying to give struggling cast members sometime in the spotlight. The string of poor jokes didn’t help things much as well, that even the usually-hot Update crowd barely reacted.
Rating: **
The Wizard of Oz
Cowardly Lion (KET) asks for penis enlargement
- More Wicked promotions? Not sure I needed that, but as usual, I’ll give this a fair shot.
- A lousy Judy Garland impression from Sarah, though not surprised by that. Kenan’s impression of the Cowardly Lion is as weak.
- Pretty hacky conceit with Kenan’s character asking the Wizard for “a big ol’ thang”. Lazy, sophomoric and unfunny. Yet another example this season of how washed Kenan has been coming off on the show.
- I can tell Bowen is trying to save this sketch, but he ain’t sadly helping as much.
- Sarah just isn’t plain working as Dorothy. I am positive Veronika would’ve been a far better choice.
- Ugh at this sketch in general, especially Kenan’s lines about going back to the jungle with his “big ol’ thang” with pride.
- Poor utilization of Josh’s talents in this sketch.
- Blah at the whole dog portion.
- Yeah, I don’t think these Oz parodies ever worked on SNL. The best of these was the Canadian Oz parody from season 5, and even that one was completely average. I was never a big MADtv person (despite such a strong cast), but these SNL parodies do not hold a candle to the two classic Oz sketches they did, especially that great alternate ending one.
- All-in-all, not only was this a write-off of a sketch, but an ideal example of how Kenan is harming the male side of the cast by still staying. At least Mikey, whom I know some fans are sick of, is still contributing strong pieces and performances once in a while.
Rating: *1/2
Brad and His Dad: Christmas – An SNL Animated Short
Brad (MID) & dad (Streeter Seidell) go Christmas tree shopping
- A surprise getting a sequel to this fantastic short, but certainly one I welcome. These have melancholic slice-of-life atmosphere I greatly enjoy.
- An endearing and very solid little moment with Brad asking his dad for a coat to protect him from the cold, despite earlier claiming he did not need to wear one.
- As with the prior short, Streeter is doing a fantastic job as the dad and Mikey still sounds unrecognizable to me doing Brad’s voice. Despite writing for over a decade on the show, these two still put many to shame whenever paired.
- So much solid, relatable humor in a refreshing semi-dramatic, slice-of-life way. This is the type of nuanced, subtle humor this season has been excelling at in its best moments.
- The whole Brad & Emily part was endearing and so spot-on of how teens typically interact with each other. Even that “67” mention, for the second episode in a row, worked for me and felt accurate to Brad’s personality.
- A big laugh from the tree falling on Brad.
- A Nice ending. I know some fans were somewhat bothered by the first one’s comedic ending, but I found this one’s ending more fitting and better.
- More of these pieces, SNL! Been loving these so far this season.
Rating: ****1/2
College Class
boy genius (BOY) acts like a diva in college
- Two Bowen Yang showcases tonight? Either he is leaving (which I doubt), or he is “finally” getting his usual airtime.
- The whole “Heather!” back-and-forths between Bowen and Ashley are keeping me stone-faced, and aren’t that different from his back-and-forth with Ashley earlier in the night. This all shows how interchangeable all these Bowen Yang “characters” are. So much for a star.
- Am I watching a Fred Armisen tribute? A Riley “You Bitch!” impression? WTF is this so far?
- Is half of Ben Marshall’s roles going to be him blandly sitting around a table making sarcastic comments? Can you tell I’m starting to become disinterested in him not half a season in?
- Fucking ugh (again) at this sketch in general, especially as it is focusing on Bowen Yang screeching half of his lines while the rest of the cast are playing bland straight men to him. I just hope he does leave next week, as there’s no way a sketch this thin, this material-less and this annoying would get on the air had it starred a cast member other than him.
- I didn’t care at all for the predictable turn with Josh speaking to Chloe in the same scream-y delivery as Bowen.
- I want to say the ending with Ashley and Chloe was good, but not even sure about that.
- A headache-causing sketch, overall. I did not enjoy a second of this.
Rating: *
Musical Performance – “Madeline”
Characters on Characters
Christmas characters chat about their roles
- Way too much Bowen Yang for my tastes tonight, unless he is actually leaving next episode, which again, I’ll believe it when I see it.
- OK, this sketch is featuring various cast members playing Christmas characters, which is a decent premise for a Holiday episode.
- Mikey and JAJ are funny as laid-back The Grinch and Scrooge. They are nailing how faux humble so many actors try to come off. The best part of this sketch for me.
- I didn’t care at all for the Kenan/Marcello portion, even when the latter was spot-on casting as Tiny Tim.
- The Ashley/Chloe part made me laugh with the way it started with Chloe sitting awkwardly. Ashley’s screaming, however, did not work. It feels that she screams in half of her appearances nowadays unfortunately.
Rating: **1/2
Lily Allen Brunch
patrons sing their true feelings to camera
- That Lily Allen mention wasn’t needed at all, unless she shows up randomly in this sketch.
- Nice seeing Veronika co-starring in a sketch. She had a good night in general.
- I really liked the turn, complete with pink lighting, as Veronika sings with an English accent to the camera.
- Shockingly sloppy entrance from Kenan, as he is seen (from the bottom too) retreating from behind Bowen. Is this a 23 seasons veteran I’m watching?!
- This is a cute and relatable sketch, even when the singing to the camera isn’t as funny by some cast members as it is with others. And, the premise of singing your true feelings while those around don’t notice was done before, though the execution of this isn’t bad.
- Sarah Blonde Wig role #35263
- Geez, two awkward pauses from Jane in the same sketch, including as she sings to the camera.
- The Lily Allen inclusion is cute, and she even outshone several cast members with her portion. Bad camera work though when she came on, as it caused her entrance to barely have the reaction from the audience you’d expect.
- Some absurd & amusing lyrics from Lily, especially that Cheesecake Factory mention.
- A fun 10-to-1 overall.
Rating: ***1/2
Cut For Time: Mochi
heroic dog saves research crew
- James: My sincerest thanks to my good friend Blood for letting me guest review on this! I’m especially excited to check this short out because it’s another Dan Bulla “Midnight Matinee” and I LOVE Bulla’s work and what he brings to SNL.
- For some reason, Chloe Fineman looks a LOT like Tina Fey in that getup to me. Sarah also somewhat resembles Melissa Villaseñor, though that’s nothing new. Between both of those factors, I had to do a double take and check if this was an old short.
- I’m really liking the dramatic vibe of this short. JAJ especially is excellent here and feels totally at home in this. More proof of what an incredibly versatile cast member he is
- Very cute look on the Mochi puppet in keeping with Bulla’s characters
- A big laugh from Josh’s character’s suggestion to eat Mochi while they still have the strength
- A sweet heroic turn with Mochi pulling the team to safety. I got a chuckle out of the visual of everyone running alongside the sled in an obviously fake green screen.
- Funny sequence with everyone breaking their femurs
- Love the part with JAJ telling of the legend of the monster they might meet. A standout moment for him.
- Nice twist with Mochi making friends with the monster and helping its baby after looking like he was attacking him at first.
- The turn with Mochi dying and Josh’s character volunteering to save him is both very emotional and suspenseful. It’s moments like these that make me appreciate how Bulla’s shorts tend to inject some pathos and emotion into them, which is quite rare for SNL these days.
- A very sweet and heartwarming ending. I absolutely loved just about everything about this short (even if it mirrored Bulla’s previous short Beppo in a number of ways). It’s absolutely criminal this was cut for time while shit like College Class or The Wizard of Oz made it to air, which I attribute to the show desperately trying to hold onto the notion of Bowen Yang as a “star”.
Rating: ****1/2
Goodnights
Segments Ranked From Best to Worst
Brad and His Dad: Christmas – An SNL Animated Short
Cut For Time: Mochi
Lily Allen Brunch
Uber Eats Wrapped
Air Force One Press Conference
Monologue
Teaching Hospital
Characters on Characters
Bachelorette Party
Weekend Update
Let’s Find Love!
The Wizard of Oz
College Class
Final Thoughts:
- While not awful, this was an overall pretty mediocre episode for me. There were definitely some highlights tonight, but 1) there was a lot more forgettable/poor material than usual this season (especially several annoying, thinly-written “star” pieces, even from the usually-strong Ashley Padilla), and 2) despite having said highlights, only one of them warranted a rating above ***1/2 from me, unlike how this season has been going so far with its highly-rated highlights. Josh O’Connor was sadly not utilized to his full potential and basically vanished in half the sketches where he came off sort of out-of-place, but still made his roles count and displayed the wit and charm UK hosts often display on SNL.
My Favorite Moments of the Episode, Represented with Screencaps:
Up Next:
- Ariana Grande / Cher.
My full set of screencaps from this episode is here
Damn. As always I enjoy reading your reviews. This show, as well as the last one, I have some things I disagree with, but that’s okay.
I’m a little worried that you’re starting to get burnt out from Ashley. What’s even worrisome is that I’m kinda agreeing on your points there.
If I had a nickel for every time Ariana Grande hosted to promote Wicked with a music legend as her musical guest, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.
Ah, a real one, I see.
Personally, I thought the first half was pretty solid. My favorite one from that half was the Uber Eats Wrapped sketch. Also, while I agree Ashley’s big sketch tonight was’t very strong in terms of writing, she still nevertheless gave a fun and committed performance. I just hope sketches like these don’t destroy the good amount of reputation she has so far. I seen a lot of comments on the SNL Reddit bashing anyone who supports or praises her (myself included) as some kind of secret publicist for her. Personally, I think some people are just afraid of her becoming Kristen Wiig (specifically the version during her final years on SNL). But as long as she keeps having good writing to back up her talent, I think Ashley will end up being a pretty good leading player in her own right on the show.
I think the second half is where things kind of fell apart. With the exception of the Brad short and in my personal opinion, the Characters on Characters and Lilly Allen sketches, it felt mostly blah (ESPECIALLY Bowen’s college sketch). Nevertheless, Josh did a good tonight! Despite the stumbles, he was nevertheless a fun and charming host.
Also, THANK YOU FOR POINTING OUT THE AI THING!!! I KNEW I wouldn’t be the only one who saw that old lady and head spinning thing as AI graphics!!!
I missed this episode live and just got caught up with it on YouTube. And unfortunately it seems that I didn’t miss that much.
This episode is Exhibit A in how useless, one note, tired, and annoying Bowen Yang has become. If this was an attempt to showcase what the show has been “missing” due to his underuse as of late, then I can confidently say it wound up proving that it’s beyond time for him to go.
That College Class sketch is 2nd only to the Domingo cold open from Sabrina’s episode for worst sketch of the season so far. I don’t need 4 minutes of Bowen Yang screeching up a storm in my face while everyone else sits there reacting. This felt like a bad parody of an SNL sketch.
Speaking of screeching, I’m growing increasingly worried about Ashley and fear that I’m already seeing signs of “wacky Kristen Wiig” creeping into her work. The Let’s Find Love sketch and her brief parts in Characters on Characters and College Class all had that hammy OTT recurring Wiig character type feel to them. It feels like the show is increasingly relying on her being weird to save thin writing and that is not a good sign. I really hope this is just a bump in the road and not a sign of things to come. She was at least good in that Bachelorette Party sketch.
The same cannot be said for Jane, who I think it’s safe to say is the worst sketch performer this show has ever had. It’s honestly mind-boggling how she was brought back for a 2nd season because she has nothing to bring to this show besides out of tune keyboard playing and singing and blatantly staring at the cue cards while delivering her lines super flat. She was SO bad in the Bachelorette Party sketch that she actively made the sketch worse. The fact that we only have 5 women on the show and one of them is this plank of wood is inexcusable. Anyways, moving on…
Josh was sadly wasted as host. I kept forgetting he was even hosting as he seemed to vanish for much of the night, popping up mostly in boring straight man roles or being unrecognizable under heavy makeup. In other words, playing parts that any cast member (excluding Jane) could have played. A real shame, as he came off charming and likable from the brief portions where they did remember he was host.
The Brad & His Dad sequel was the only worthwhile thing from tonight imho, besides the occasional chuckles from the Uber Eats pretape. Overall, a disappointment. Hopefully Ariana’s episode will be a return to form!
To James: Glad you liked Mochi as much as I did!!! Everyone thought I was crazy for liking it on YouTube and Reddit because it barely had any jokes, but I thought the more dramatic and emotional path it took was perfectly fine. Plus, not everyone sketch on SNL has to be laugh out loud funny to be a classic, as proven with Phil Hartman and Jan Hooks’ “Love Is A Dream” and John Belushi’s “Don’t Look Back In Anger”. Overall, this was DEFINITELY another freaking masterpiece and it should’ve DEFINITELY replaced whatever the heck College Class or Wizard Of Oz was! 😊❤️🐶
Thanks for your review of the cut piece, @James. I do see the similarity to Beppo. The biggest difference for me is probably the ending – this one is much cleaner, although the start of Beppo was better. This took some time, but by the end I was glad for what I’d watched. As you said I’m happy they avoided a depressing and forced ending. I think the lack of big forced ha ha moments likely got this shelved, along with the runtime and, as you said, needing those “star” moments.
Great review as always Blood! I agree with most of your thoughts here. I’ve actually been enjoying Bowen in a smaller capacity this season but that 12 year old in College sketch sums up his worst qualities as a performer. Just annoying and grating as hell.
I also love that you love Brad and His Dad, as I don’t think everyone does. I really appreciate the slice of life tone that the show never has anymore, and it’s a great showcase of Streeter and Mikey as writers and as a team. I think a post SNL career where they make a full blown animated show like this would be wonderful to see. Yes Mikey has been on too long but if his last season is defined by these sketches and some physical comedy moments than I think it will have been worth him staying one more season.
I actually liked the stripper sketch even though I agree the ending is very weak. Solid premise and a fun performance from Ben. I find him to be a likeable performer even though I do agree as a writer he is a bit bland.
Same can be said of Marcello. I actually like him as a performer but I think the problem is he is a very hacky writer and responsible for a lot of the stereotypical material he showcases. I think he tends to shine better in other people’s sketches. He’s charming at the desk but writing wise this was nothing.
I’m bummed with the use of JAJ. He’s had three shows this season where they have used him properly. He should be in way more sketches than he is. I actually like Jane but she should not have more screen time than someone as versatile as JAJ. Still whenever he appears, he knocks it out of the park.
Ashley made me laugh in the game show sketch but I am already worried that she is going to start getting broader and broader roles that don’t show off her range as an actress, which often happens to breakout performers. I hope this is not the case.
Overall the weakest episode since Bad Bunny. Hoping that the next episode can live up to the hype.
I agree with your assessment of cast members in general, and as for JAJ, I did expect a little more of him tonight, considering he wasn’t at 30 Rock during rehearsals last week, for some odd reason. He certainly would’ve been far more preferable than Jane “Cue Card Lover” Wickline in the 10-to-1.
I do hope they give him more in the Ariana Grande episode, as he had at least one strong episode per run this season, and had two back-to-back strong nights with Glaser and Powell. His airtime seems more balanced this season than the last, so I hope that is kept all through the season.
Thanks for your wonderful comments as always.
Man, we definitely don’t see eye-to-eye on the first half, because I quite enjoyed it a lot more than the second half. I actually really liked the dating game show sketch, but I hated the doctor sketch. The monologue itself got a plus in my book simply for him mentioning Flushed Away, and the fact that my all-time favorite movie is also one of his.
Huh, thought I’d have a lot more to say about the review than that. Either way, solid review as always.
This was an episode I found surprisingly very entertaining even if there’s a number of things to rightfully complain about (even I personally don’t have those things to complain about).
The Cold Open despite some occasional decent moments was just typical Trump blandness I have nothing to say about. Also is it me or did they use the same cast members as reporters in this like last weeks (minus Ben).
I’m kinda with you on Let’s Find Love but I can’t go as low as Ashley’s performance as grandma really amused me as well her occasional quick talking moments she did in this.
HEY I LOVE that Ryan episode… anyways. I’ve always liked Dr Please as I like the idea of a character showing up out of nowhere in places and one of the better Bowen camp characters he does imo. All the other bits you point out also worked for me. One bad thing I’ll say is I feel we could’ve had a newer male cast member in Andrew’s role as I feel it is kinda designed in a way for a newer guy to be in a sketch like this but Andrew himself did perfectly fine.
I guess that Seth Meyers/Ashley Padilla interview helped in particular this week lol. Not at all surprised at the weak response to Bachelorette Party from you. I feel maybe audience response to this helped me like it more with all the screaming from stuff Josh and Ben did. I feel the same of the “explaining the situation” they did which did hurt the sketch. Agreed completely, Jane did great with delivering but that must needed eye contact was not there. I mainly liked the Mikey portion just cause of the classic fake dummy they used which never fails to amuse me. Probably my favorite live material of the night.
I didn’t even notice the AI stuff scattered through the night, PRAYING this won’t be a regular thing.
Only thing I’ll say for Wizard of Oz is that I’m surprised they did one THIS WEEK and not next for obvious reasons.
Once again I seem to be higher on something than you are as I really the HEATHER sketch mainly just of the back and forth with Bowen and Ashley and just the way he kept saying Heather too.
Also I feel my personal Ashley complaint is she’s always making a face with sketches haven’t even noticed any “screaming” she does personally.
So overall yeah I enjoyed this episode write a bit actually number three in my personal season episode rankings. Great review as usual and can’t wait to see you on the Ariana on The Ashley and Bowen Show next week! TIL the next!!!
Let’s see how I would change the show to work for me.
Cold Open: Just focus on Karoline. Maybe have reporters ask about the trump flirting comments.
Monologue: No idea, Maybe just do Q&A with cast members?
Let’s Find Love: Maybe have all 3 play old ladies?
Uber Eats Wrapped: Maybe make it a “Hub” review? Or a “Fans” or Twitch Wrapped?
Teaching Hospital: GRRR… HATE IT! Replace it with Banger Boyz with Ashley in the Charli XCX Role.
Bachelorette Party: Swap Jane “Starring at the camera” Wickline with Veronika. Have Kam as the husband just to have personality and maybe cut the kiss?
Update Commentary #1: Replace the Marcello commentary with Chloe as Piper Dunster.
Update Commentary #2: How about make Jane do a commentary without Music? Again, just to give her a little more dimension.
The Wizard Of Oz: Geez… How about a sketch where they meet the characters from the Wiz? Also SNL, you can try to get a dog that looks like Toto. And instead of a “Big Ol’ Thang”, How about Dorothy wants something?
Brad and His Dad: Not a fan of these.
College Class: It’s cheap but maybe make it where Bowen and his Mom kiss and have romantic chemistry?
Characters on Christmas: Apart from Scrooge and Mrs. Clause I feel all the roles were badly cast, Also maybe have Ashley as a French Hen?
Lily Allen Brunch: Honestly this was the only good sketch (IN MY OPINION) but maybe have JAJ instead of Wickline?
I’m sure it has fans, but this was maybe the toughest episode to get through this season. Even Bad Bunny was more creative and had a better sketch earlier in the episode. This felt like a s50 repeat without cameos.
To be honest, I was hoping you’d TEAR into this episode.
I didn’t think this episode was bad, I actually liked most of the material, but the lows in this episode were ROUGH, and easily the lowest lows of the season so far. It also doesn’t help that there was only one segment to write home about (Brad and his Dad Christmas).
The Wizard of Oz sketch in particular is one of the worst sketches I’ve seen in a long time. I find it crazy how a sketch THIS stupid and lame made it on the air. Especially considering the nice turn to concept-driven sketches
The College Class sketch was also a dud that I’ll be very happy to forget about.
I’m shocked that you liked the Bowen Doctor sketch. I thought it was just a whole lot of nothing. I did get one big laugh Josh’s line about Lollitops “When you wanna suck on something but not hold it”. A perfectly absurd line in a imperfect flop.
Another issue with this episode, and one I’ve started to have with this season in general is host utilization. It feels like the show doesn’t trust their hosts to carry material.
The only episode so far this season that I feel like the show trusted the host was with the Amy Poehler episode, and that’s ONLY because she’s an alumni. Even the best episode of the season so far (Nikki Glaser), the host didn’t carry much of the material.
It was particularly rough with this episode. Josh O’Connor got practically NOTHING to carry, and it felt like he only appeared in bit roles in the post-Update half. It’s really a shame, since I was completely unfamiliar with Josh heading into this episode, and after I really enjoyed how he carried the monologue (one of highlights of the episode) I was disappointed to see he really didn’t get much after that.
Between the off feeling Melissa McCarthy episode, and this episode having some ROUGH lows, I’m hoping the show can rebound somewhat with the Christmas episode, and Ariana can bring strong performances once again.
I do have some hope for the Ariana Grande episode, even when it’s often useless to predict how SNL episodes might go. Her naming JAJ, Andrew and Ashley in her Fallon interview (and I mercifully only saw that brief clip from that unwatchable dreck of a program) gives me some hope, but we’ll see.
I think this season, overall, is decent enough (its average being 6.0 so far feels right), but besides the November run, which I felt was strong and creative, the first run was mediocre, and this one I do agree it isn’t starting off well. We’ll hope for the best.
Allow me to be a theorist for a second…
Bowen said on his podcast with Matt Rogers that his dream guest on SNL would be Cher. And considering his friendship with Ariana, and him being phased out for most of this season’s episodes so far, I think the chances aren’t low of Bowen leaving mid-season.
I also think it isn’t a coincidence that Bowen suddenly got TONS of airtime this week, when it’s the pre-Christmas show.
I also think it would be the perfect time for Bowen to leave, considering how many of the newer cast members have been really making names for themselves this season, and the veterans aren’t really fitting in on the show anymore with the new writing style.
But it’s just a theory.
A Nylan theory?
Not liking how they’re already trying to turn Ashley into Kristen/Kate 2.0 this soon, really felt that way in the old lady game show sketch, reminded me of Kristen when she was at her most annoying stages on the show. The problem that comes with being the writers clear favorite, the over saturation which eventually leads to their shtick on the show being stretched too thin.
I’m seeing what you mean about Ben too, I’m getting that same type of generic blandness from him I used to get from Seth Meyers when he was a regular sketch player (pre WU), him and Tommy both kind have a similar blandness. If one of PDD joined the cast, I really think I would’ve rather it had been Martin honestly.
Thank you as always for all the time you take on your reviews and screencaps.
I went back and watched the Uber-Eats short, which I zoned out of quickly last night (as I often do these “relatable” pieces), due to your review. I hadn’t even paid attention to the Sarah portions. I was surprised at how much I did enjoy the gushing thank you video from Marcello, followed by her throwing her phone out the window and injuring Mikey.
The piece was better than I gave it credit for, although it was still a bit too long and repetitive for me. I don’t think the Ben and Veronika portions were necessary, and I think some of the cast played it too blandly (Ben) while others were too sharp (Ashley). I enjoyed JAJ and Ashley together but that was more down to him than her. I think JAJ, Veronika, and Andrew got the tone best.
As for the episode itself, I had a feeling this was coming because I sensed they wouldn’t know what to do with Josh (not exactly an earth-shattering prediction) and because you could see the “stars only” mentality trickling back in last week with things like that Bowen vamp piece at the end of the show.
I try to remember that at heart SNL has almost always been a corporate show. Even eras that are seen as unimpeachable, like the late ’80s, were tainted by Lorne/NBC bringing in Andrew Dice Clay for ratings. We’re just getting new versions of this corporate push now. As we saw with Update and the apparent embrace of AI, I wouldn’t be that shocked if NBC or Lorne try to replace some cast with AI in the next few years (insert joke that they may be an improvement). So, I know episodes like this aren’t betrayals of treasured SNL lore. However, accepting reality doesn’t mean I still won’t criticize how bad that reality is.
This episode could have been put together by AI.
– Trump cold open
– “stars only” (Ashley, Bowen, Marcello)
– Kenan being peppered in as a comfort blanket (even though he was garbled or checked out in most of these parts)
– pop culture pandering of various stripes (Jane for the Tiktok and Stranger Things crowd, Josh O’Connor repeatedly kissing men for his stans, Lily Allen [which in true SNL fashion most of the people who ever cared stopped caring about a month or more ago])
I liked the bachelorette sketch more than you did (it was one of the few pieces I got any enjoyment out of), but I can’t deny it was a deeply cynical sketch. Ben is, like Mikey before him, clever in knowing what will play with an audience. The downside is that, like Mikey, this runs a real risk of leaving him without any identity (even more than Mikey as Mikey has a certain edge Ben doesn’t have).
I’m sure some would say it only makes sense to have a stars-only night. The show often avoids JAJ getting meaty roles that aren’t Trump – why rock the boat? Jeremy isn’t going to get lots of fevered fancams, so who cares? Veronika gets some scraps (in large part because the female cast is so inert) – shouldn’t that be good enough?
(then there’s Tommy who is basically a smoother Jon Rudnitsky, and Kill Tony stunt hire Kam – they will be lucky to get another season, so their absence isn’t going to be felt)
The problem with this approach of just relying on a handful of names, with Andrew or Chloe being thrown in at times, is a few people can’t carry a show. That’s not what SNL should ever be about. They are stretched thin and they are prone to paper-thin, self-indulgent performances.
This past episode was Ashley’s worst and brought back some of the concerns I’d had for her in her very first episode. Just mugging and shouting galore, to very diminished returns.
One of the reasons Lorne and the other much too long-running powers that be on SNL love the star system is because it means you don’t have to make any effort. The game show sketch was another example. A completely threadbare enterprise which had no other real characters beyond Ashley, and a lousy ending to boot. The only reason they likely even had a set was so she could crash into it.
Kate was so overused that it’s easy to forget some of the detail work she would put into her little old lady roles. Just slapping on a wig and making a face isn’t enough. And yes, Kate isn’t the first to play an old lady on SNL, but she is the most recent anyone will remember, and those are big shoes to fill.
Kate also never lost her identity. One of the most demoralizing aspects of SNL is how unique talent can only thrive on this show if they lose what made them special in the first place – we saw it with Sarah and now we’re getting to Ashley. The sanding off any individuality just leads to a big pile of nothing.
This seems to hurt the female cast more than the male cast, but no one is immune. It leads to an impossible choice, because even though I knew Jeremy would likely be shut out this week as some kind of punishment for getting a good part last week, I’d rather just see him in strong and small doses than, say, what has become of Bowen.
I hope Bowen is leaving next week, but even if he is (which I doubt, but we’ll see), what an atrocious way to go. Not one, but two thick slices of ham, with overextended moments in the Oz sketch and the Variety sketch (the latter so overextended it killed any momentum, although there wasn’t much to find – the only part with a pulse was JAJ and Mikey and even that wasn’t great). Dr. Please has never made sense for me outside of small doses, and the Fred Armisen tribute act, as you said, never would have gotten on the air if not for Bowen being in it. This is the worst kind of vanity piece – viewers forcing their way through utter twaddle we are meant to be grateful to see because of the “star” who is appearing in it.
Similar to when Cecily had some absolutely terrible pieces in her last shows, I dislike the idea that vets are somehow owed this level of cow plop before they leave. Whatever happened to a cast member like Jan Hooks, who clearly phased herself out in her final season? Then again, most of the people who justify this from more recent cast have never heard of Jan anyway…
As @Shawn said, I’m glad you have such praise for the Brad shorts, as many do not like them (I’ve seen so many reviews today alone putting them down). These aren’t masterpieces, but they hold up well on rewatch and have the right touch of melancholy and humor. On such a very cookie cutter show, they’re very necessary.
I’m not exactly surprised that Jane’s sketch issues are getting more backlash than her Update piece, but it was the inverse for me – I didn’t really mind her horrible card-staring or awkward delivery in the bachelorette sketch as I thought it fit the part of a drunken, aggressive person. The “quirky” and “relatable” songs, on the other hand, just remind me that she has been on the show for a year and a half and still hasn’t managed to take a tiny step forward. Being a niche act isn’t enough when you are in a cast as weak and misused as this one and when you are one of only five women in the whole cast.
And of course we have Marcello, whose rousing successes of Domingo and 500 mascots have faded back to a considerably less notable version of his early days. No cast member should feel this spent after four seasons.
I would be less annoyed by JAJ being consigned to the cold opens if they did not feel so interchangeable and lackluster. I don’t believe they are trying to make Trump look good, as some claim, but this was another rambling insult comic week which had nothing left to offer. The aggressive closeup of Ashley’s mouth as she was about to say LFNY, only to then yank back to include JAJ, felt unsettling and set the night off on a shaky start. It’s saddening at just how little use SNL has for one of their strongest cast members in many years – saddening because I can’t even pretend to be surprised.
The monologue told me all I needed to know about how Josh would (not be) used, but I would have been satisfied with even a decent pre-tape for him. As it is they did not even manage one decent showcase for him. The bachelorette sketch and the Lily Allen sketch came closest (that was also, somehow, one of the only good things Kenan has managed this season), but what a huge waste. A stronger show would know how to find at least one moment for a host who isn’t the most natural in this format.
We might get a lift with Ariana Grande (although the last two Christmas episodes weren’t exactly knockouts), but this episode was a reminder of just how far the show has to go to get to a decent place…and also makes you remember that what some of us may see as needed improvements are completely meaningless to those in charge of the show. They have their stars, they have their attempts at viral moments, and the rest, including any viewers who don’t watch for Ashley and Bowen screaming, Kenan stumbling, naked pandering, and Jane singing about how much she likes creamed corn – just don’t matter. And maybe this is what many of the current viewers want. If they do, I hope they’re enjoying it. I hope someone is…
great post John. Kudos.
and I immediately had Wiig/McKinnon vibes with Ashley when she came out in the scooter for the game show sketch. She seemed to be mugging like crazy this whole show.
animated short was fantastic
Bowen was Riley like in the college class sketch. That’s not a good thing.
Very late to the party here. This felt like an episode from another era. Like 2018 or something. Lots of “stars,” a host I could not give a fuck about, someone playing an old lady on a scooter.
I THINK there were some passable things here, but it’s a sad state when it’s only the cartoon piece that feels like a sure thing.
I too worry about the En-Wiig-ification of Ashley Padilla, but I still like her work in the old lady sketch. I like that it’s not really about her being an old lady so much as a crazed weirdo. It’s certainly not the TYPE of Padilla sketch I want (I like her more as a Gasteyer type), but she has the chops to do it. But now that we’ve officially overplayed our Padilla hand, we can scale it back and let the show settle back into the ensemble groove it had been in, right? RIGHT????
No one talks about the monologues anymore because they stopped mattering years ago, but this, for a fleeting moment, felt like a full concept that was going to be seen through to its logical finish. It was not to be, however. Even if it wouldn’t have become a great monologue, I would just appreciate the effort of a concept seen to completion. Alas…
The observation that Bowen is essentially Fred Armisen is absolutely bang on. It’s a high ceiling and a high floor. I didn’t allow myself to be fully annoyed by the worst that Bowen offered here (that being the screaming in College Class) because I was holding out hope that a better sketch would emerge from what was an interesting premise. His work in the Oz sketch was fine, but it is true that SNL would be better off never doing a Wizard of Oz sketch ever again. Like Blood, I also wasn’t horrified by the doctor sketch. There’s SOMETHING there and the jokes largely landed. I also felt the Characters on Characters thing, while mostly light and fluffy, had something interesting going for it. Bowen was good and Mikey was great.
The stripper thing was sketchsplained into oblivion. Why do the writers think we’re that stupid? In a season that gave us wild goofiness like Mechanical Bull and the Lawyers sketch, you’d think the SNL audience would be capable of enjoying the silliness without the jokes being spoonfed to them.
Stray thoughts:
– I root for all the castmembers, I really do. I think there is a sliver of hope for Jane, who Bronwyn Douwsma rightly called this cast’s Victoria Jackson. The 80s writers found a way to incorporate Victoria into the flow of the show. The stripper and Lily Allen sketches show that the current writers are working to do the same for Jane. This was her best episode of the year, for whatever that’s worth.
– Uber Eats was a fun little pre-tape that I will forget tomorrow. But I celebrate every reference to Steely Dan.
– Those Dan Bulla shorts…damn. I get that people are like “actually, it’s not supposed to be funny – like Tom Schiller” which is a fair argument. But these Bulla shorts are always leaning toward something funny when the best Schiller Reels scarcely pretended. I see why this one was cut, it kept suggesting something funny was going to happen, but stubbornly refused to deliver. He’s less Tom Schiller and more Gary Weis.
Anyway, great review of a largely ho hum episode.
confirmed that Bowen is leaving the show. Tomorrow is his last episode
Good run. Good exit timing. Good riddance.
More room for the rest of them.
January 17th will be the show’s return date, with Finn Wolfhard as host and A$AP Rocky as musical guest.