Overall Thoughts on the Season: Season 49, as a whole, was a pretty good year for the show. A bit unpredictable, yes, especially what was to me a bit of an up-and-down back half, coming after a consistently strong first half, though it had enough average-to-strong shows to make it a good back half. Yet, …
May 18, 2024 – Jake Gyllenhaal / Sabrina Carpenter (S49 E20)
Cold Opening - Summer of Trump Donald Trump (JAJ) discusses potential VP picks outside of courthouse I guess it makes sense having JAJ’s Trump back for the season finale, considering the upcoming season’s election-related pieces and potential Summer debate sketches. OK, the gag order sounding like a RuPaul challenge is a solid line, delivered as …
Continue reading "May 18, 2024 – Jake Gyllenhaal / Sabrina Carpenter (S49 E20)"
May 11, 2024 – Maya Rudolph / Vampire Weekend (S49 E19)
Cold Opening - Mother’s Day 2024 cast members & moms reminisce about the past After a few seasons without one, we get our traditional Mother’s Day cold open. These are usually just a bunch of cheesy jokes between cast members and their moms, but they are charming. I like these because, as I disclosed before, …
Continue reading "May 11, 2024 – Maya Rudolph / Vampire Weekend (S49 E19)"
May 4, 2024 – Dua Lipa (S49 E18)
Cold Opening - Community Affairs parents discuss college protests I actually thought the framing at the start would lead to JAJ-as-Trump interrupting this talkshow and going on one of his many monologues, before I realized this is indeed what the cold open will be about. Always nice to see Michael in the cold opening, and …
April 13, 2024 – Ryan Gosling / Chris Stapleton (S49 E17)
Cold Opening - Close Encounter Mrs. Rafferty (KAM) returns Right from the opening shot, I can tell this is the return of Mrs. Rafferty and Kate McKinnon for her first cameo since leaving almost two seasons ago. I am genuinely shocked they brought this character back, as it had a rare ending and was such …
Continue reading "April 13, 2024 – Ryan Gosling / Chris Stapleton (S49 E17)"
April 6, 2024 – Kristen Wiig / RAYE (S49 E16)
Cold Opening - TBS March Madness TBS panel discusses women's sports Good seeing a sports-centric cold open for the second time this season, even when I am not exactly into sports; it’s a good change of pace. Surprising basically nobody, James’ vocal imitation of Ernie Johnson is very spot-on and funny. Very likable, fun performance …
Continue reading "April 6, 2024 – Kristen Wiig / RAYE (S49 E16)"
March 30, 2024 – Ramy Youssef / Travis Scott (S49 E15)
Cold Opening - The Resurrection Donald Trump (JAJ) interrupts The Resurrection to plug his Bibles Great set design, replicating Biblical times, though I am well-aware there is a twist to come with this cold opening. And here it is: James Austin Johnson’s Trump interrupts the cold open to do one of his lengthy ramblings. Oh, …
Continue reading "March 30, 2024 – Ramy Youssef / Travis Scott (S49 E15)"
March 9, 2024 – Josh Brolin / Ariana Grande (S49 E14)
Cold opening - State of the Union Katie Britt (Scarlett Johansson) responds Feels like centuries since we last got a SOTU cold open. I believe the previous one was way back during S35. I guess I should be happy we were spared a Kamaya return, but getting Punkie as Kamala just sitting in the back …
Continue reading "March 9, 2024 – Josh Brolin / Ariana Grande (S49 E14)"
March 2, 2024 – Sydney Sweeney / Kacey Musgraves (S49 E13)
Cold Opening - Inside Politics dems try to hype up President Biden (MID) Dana Bash is one of those anchors that really doesn’t need a specific impression, and Heidi is doing a good job playing her. Once again, being utilized as that reliable vet/glue cast member these last two seasons of her tenure. As usual …
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February 24, 2024 – Shane Gillis / 21 Savage (S49 E12)
Cold Opening - Trump Victory Party GOP senators begrudgingly celebrate Trump's victory A good, interesting concept for a cold open, especially considering how horrid the previous one was. With that being said, this reminds me of a great cold open the show did back in late season 37, with the GOP candidates meeting at a …
Continue reading "February 24, 2024 – Shane Gillis / 21 Savage (S49 E12)"