'Wasn't That Special' Season 46 Bonus Materials
As the Wasn’t That Special co-hosts watch each season of Saturday Night Live, they compare notes on each episode, chatting back and forth about popular and long-forgotten sketches. Some of the topics they discuss make it to the final podcast; others are left on the cutting room floor.
But for those of you who join at the Executive Producer level have access to Christian and Scot’s behind-the-scenes notes, as well as bonus materials the co-hosts used to prepare for the episode.
Help keep the podcast advertisement-free and upgrade to the Executive Producer level, which will keep these emails coming in the future!
E1: Chris Rock / Megan Thee Stallion
Christian: This episode might be worse than Covid.
Scot: Liked this just as much as last season's opener
Presidential Debate - Bennett as Wallace - Donald Trump (Alec Baldwin) and Joe Biden (Jim Carrey) at debate; Rudolph as Harris
Scot: Carey as Biden is such an enormous mistake - 20% SNL cast, 80% guests - 13 minutes! All of them wasted.
Rock does stand-up about the intersection of coronavirus & government
Christian: Pretty weak.
Scot: Rock loves term limits - Less a stand-up set than a pep talk.
Superspreader Event - TV reporter (Day) covers contract tracing at name-change office
Christian: Finally, a Bertram in a sketch.
Scot: No relation.
Future Ghost - Given a glimpse of 2020, Y2k teen (Mooney) focuses on video game graphics
Christian: My God.
Scot: Original concept sucks so they try to jam in a few more at the end.
Drew Barrymore Show - Drew Barrymore’s (Fineman) show is characterized by cheery fare
Christian: It's a middling Barrymore by SNL standards.
Scot: Add another name to the Barrymore list - Is it fine? It is fine.
Weekend Update - Trump gets COVID - Biden LGBTQ supporters - TikTok defender Chen Biao (Yang) - McConnell SCOTUS stuff - pogo stick joke - Carrie Krum (Bryant)
Christian: What happens when you write jokes at the last minute.
Scot: Che explaining why Trump's COVID is funny is good - Liked Jost's BET joke.
E2: Bill Burr / Jack White
VP Debate - McKinnon as Susan Page - Pence/Bennett, Harris/Rudolph - Bidenfly (Carrey) - Kenan as Herman Cain
Christian: "We have to use Carrey, he's under contract" - even if it tanks this sketch.
Scot: Rudolph explains the jokes - 12 minutes! - The writing. There's no attempt to find satire or be creative. Just the dumbest ways to include the most number of events from the week.
Burr does stand-up about coronavirus, woke white women, gay pride month
Christian: It's legit bad.
Noon Normal - Emerging from isolation, (Burr & McKinnon) are called out for malaprops
Scot: Single idea, nothing written around it.
The Blitz - Burr, Kenan, Nwodim - Shooting of black man invades sports trashtalk show
Scot: Burr is the key, of course, and straddles the line very well - especially with sending back the steak.
Enough Is Enough - Bennett's political viral video try is poorly received; Jason Momoa cameo
Christian: It's the Pepsi commercial again.
Scot: Son of “Pepsi Commercial Shoot” from S42.
Weekend Update - Trump survives COVID - Dr. Wayne Wenowdis (McKinnon) - McKinnon explains Wenowdis is a coping mechanism - potential Biden economy - sexy hand sanitizer for Halloween - Davidson unhappy with J.K. Rowling
Christian: Might be one or two worthwhile jokes in the whole bunch.
Scot: Couple of good jokes in the middle - LOL at Jost's Sizzler punchline - Also LOL at the police horse joke.
Don Pauly - Mob boss (Burr) catches up to modern language/ideas after 20 years behind bars - Johnson, Moffat, Bennett, Mooney
Scot: This works. Nice way of weaving through various land mines.
E3: Issa Rae / Justin Bieber
Christian: Cecily Strong is missing! Also, every show needs a backup Aidy Bryant, which I assume is why Lauren Holt is there.
Scot: No Strong, no Bryant, McKinnon won't play "normal" roles and Villsenor is invisible. Could be a problem.
Dueling Town Halls - Biden (Carrey) & Trump (Baldwin) & Day/George S. & McKinnon/Guthrie & Rudolph/Harris for some reason
Christian: Oh look it's Maya Rudolph for no reason. 13 minutes of terrible choices.
Scot: Stop explaining what we're about to see - So many things have no relevance even by the time this episode aired - 13 minutes! - Slapdash construction, nothing fits together.
Rae likens the four years of Insecure to being in high school
Scot: Do not know this person.
Bonjour Hi! - Montreal morning news show (Yang, McKinnon)
Christian: An accent is not a sketch.
Scot: Excuse for Yang and McKinnon to go big and over the top.
First Date Exes - Rae’s Times Square exes interrupt her date with Redd
Christian: SNL trivia: Every instance of the phrase "titty meat" took place in this one sketch.
Scot: "Titty meat" just sort of clangs off the ear - Never gets out of first gear, despite chances - Redd is .... not comfortable looking in a lot of stuff.
Justin Bieber - “Holy”
Christian: Wasn't he like 16 years old two months ago?
Weekend Update - Trump at rallies, thinking about a potential loss - NBC has a type - Trump and QAnon - Trump Bros (Day, Moffat) Tiffany (Fineman) - Top Halloween costume searches - Bryant hasn’t found undecided voters - Fisher Price online museum - ’80s cocaine wife Carla (Gardner)
Scot: The canyon/QAnon joke is good - Why does Fineman sound like Miley Cyrus + Cher? - Carla seems like a role Gardner was born to play.
Your Voice Chicago - Kenan hosts - Rae says she'll only vote for black candidates - Nwodim - Johnson and Rudolph do Diamond & Silk parody
Christian: I did laugh at Crystal and Caviar.
Scot: Crowd is verrrrrrry cool to this - Something about the timing/pacing is off and the punchlines never hit hard.
Hoping to impress musical guest, Mooney & Rae demonstrate dance moves - Chance the Rapper (cameo) - Dismukes briefly
Christian: Sadly, setting myself on fire did not solve having to watch this. I burn too slowly.
Scot: Written by Kyle Mooney and Will Stephen - Mooney definitely has a mold into which everything must be squeezed or else.
Justin Bieber - “Lonely”
Christian: I cannot imagine anything less compelling than Bieber's redemption narrative.
Jack Flatts - Restaurant fans (Bennett), (Mooney), (Dismukes), (Kenan) threaten governor kidnapping
Scot: Prescient: Gov. Whitmer kidnapping plot in Michigan - Heaven help us. - Arrests in the Whitmer case were on 10/8/20. I thought it was much later.
Ebay - Selling stuff you bought during pandemic but never used; Strong voiceover
Christian: It's just fine, but this is relatable. I started a dozen new hobbies during Covid and stuck with none of them.
E4: Adele / H.E.R.
Christian: Feels like the old days when Lorne would have a backup host in the wings in case the real host bombed.
Scot: Stay with me. This reminds me of an early Season 1 show, where we barely know the actual cast exists. It's Rudolph, Adele, music act x2, Baldwin, and three pre-tapes.
Presidential Debate - Trump (Baldwin) & Biden (Carrey) have final debate moderated by Welker (Rudolph); McKinnon as Giuliani
Christian: Just limping along lifelessly.
Scot: So Rudolph is just a cast member at this point, replacing Strong/Bryant. Weird, weird. - Biden Bingo is putting a hat on a hat -
Adele tries to avoid swearing & thanks Sarah Palin for viewership of first SNL gig
Scot: Pretty lame and crowd is barely reacting.
Fortune Teller - 2019 psychic’s (McKinnon) 2020 visions confuse (Yang, Gardner, Nwodim, Adele)
Christian: A perfect encapsulation of what everyone was thinking.
The Bachelor - Adele reacts to situations by singing her hits
Christian: Really good way to utilize Adele's talents in a fun sketch.
Scot: If you wanted to hear Adele sing her songs, here you are.
Trump Addicts of America - People wonder how they’ll spend their time if he loses
Christian: Prescient: Predicts Trump would run again in 2024.
Scot: A Villasenor sighting! - A little prescient, it is.
Weekend Update - Final POTUS Debate - Guiliani/Borat tape - Villasenor does impressions - McConnell beat up - Village People (Kenan, Bennett, Yang, Day, Redd)
Christian: The Phil Collins joke was outstanding at got nothing from the audience.
Scot: Jost feeding Biden lines is ultra-lame - Villasenor bombs - Che's Stu-stu-studio apartment joke is so bad but I laughed.
Visiting Grandma - Rudolph’s lack of comprehension cuts through her grandkids’ circumlocution
Christian: Interesting way of depicting grandparents cutting through BS.
Africa Tourism - Black men are why white divorcees (Adele, McKinnon, Gardner) tout Africa visits
Christian: I wish I enjoyed this one quarter as much as Adele did.
Scot: Absolutely meant to be a McKinnon/Bryant duo piece, but Aidy is not here - Adele breaking hard.
Ass Angel Perfume Jeans - Jeans worn by (Rudolph & Adele) are toxic and smell I guess
Scot: Waste of space.
E5: John Mulaney / The Strokes
Christian: Bryant and Strong missing weakens the female cast - McKinnon has to pull the whole wagon.
Scot: Mulaney officially losing legendary status before our eyes.
Biden Halloween - Biden (Carrey) reads The Raven; McKinnon as HRC, Day/Silver, Kenan/Ice Cube, Redd/Lil Wayne, Rudolph/Harris, Bennett/McConnell
Christian: "We need to come together like two buttcheeks to stop the crap" is an actual line in an SNL sketch. What are we even doing here. "I'm sure it will be peaceful no matter who won" is not prescient.
Scot: All soft edges, nothing cutting, biting or remotely sharp - Impression-palooza - "This Daylight Saving Time, let's gain an hour and lose a President" - Mercifully, just 7 minutes.
Mulaney does stand-up about quarantine & Andrew Cuomo’s press conferences
Christian: Little more than a month later, Mulaney would check into rehab.
Scot: I'm sure he got crap for the "elderly man contest" thing, not choosing a side - This monologue appears to have been co-written by "bag of cocaine."
Cinema Classics - Tippi Hedren (McKinnon) panics in The Birds phone booth scene
Scot: The first scene was golden, second one with turtles didn't do much for me.
Strollin' - Black voters (Kenan, Redd, Johnson, Nwodim) sing and can't find polling place
Scot: Written by Chris Redd and Bryan Tucker.
Headless Horseman - Ichabod Crane (Mulaney) asks Headless Horseman (Bennett) about self-fellation
Christian: One joke over and over. The "Lorne wrote this sketch" is an admission it's a dog.
Scot: Guessing Dismukes/Bennett wrote, but that's just a guess.
New York PSA - During pandemic, quirky woman (McKinnon) does kinda weird stuff
Scot: A great big pile of nothing.
Weekend Update - Trump says doctors are taking money - Trump rallies kill people - Che on black rapper negotiation - Baby Yoda (Mooney) - Twitter pre-bunk
Christian: Didn't need the lecture on Trump and Baby Yoda sucks.
Scot: Jost is especially angry tonight - Hey, an explicit endorsement from the WU desk - Mooney, blah - I liked the whisper Trump 2020 joke from Che.
New York Musical - NYC souvenir store underwear prompts Times Square denizens’ show tunes
Christian: First of these I didn't like. They just feel obligatory now.
Scot: How does any of this have anything to do with underwear? - Not entertained by any of it.
Another Uncle Meme - Ron expresses his displeasure at having again been memed by his nephew
Christian: This was worth bringing back?
Scot: Mulaney was the only thing working last time and he's worse, so ...
E6: Dave Chappelle/Foo Fighters
Christian: Punkie Johnson with an aggressive hug for Chappelle at goodnights - interesting given the drama at goodnights he would later have.
Scot: LOL. Alec Baldwin holding a sign that says "You're Welcome." Overinflated ego much?
Biden Beats Trump - Bennett as Blitzer; Biden (Carrey) has defeated loser Trump (Baldwin); Harris/Rudolph;
Christian: Gonna look really bad four years later.
Scot: What the heck is that picture of Biden they use?? - So many applause breaks it could be a real rally - Trump would not do a concession from the WH - An utter disaster if, you know, comedy is the goal
Chapelle does stand-up about lessons related to Covid-19, race, Donald Trump
Christian: Cold open and monologue last 26 minutes.
Scot: A 17-minute monologue - laughed at the Freddie Mercury joke - Largely OK, but nothing spectacular here
Chapelle introduces sketch about Uncle Ben (Kenan) and Aunt Jemima (Rudolph) getting fired
Christian: Chappelle kind of treating this like Don Rickles - just do whatever you want.
Scot: Baldwin/Rudolph at the center of this - 30 minutes into the show and the cast might as well not be there - “It’s not what you did, it’s how you make us feel about what we did.”
Super Mario 35th Anniversary - Commemoration lingers on Mooney’s testicle trauma
Scot: How old are they supposed to be? Not gonna lie - literally fell asleep during this.
Take Me Back - Nwodim’s ex (Bennett) reveals increasingly-disturbing traits
Christian: Really liked the simplicity of this - just two people in a scene and the escalation is great. Maybe Bennett's highlight on the show?
Scot: Bennett is now Male #1? That's a really poor fit for his skills - "It was my penis." WE KNOW. THAT'S THE JOKE.
Weekend Update - Biden wins - Trump hasn't conceded - Rudy Giuliani (McKinnon) plans to contest election results -
Christian: "We will never have to listen to Donald Trump again." That’s not prescient! I actually really enjoyed McKinnon's Giuliani this time.
Scot: Unprescient: "Pretty soon we will never have to listen to Donald Trump again." Prescient: All the election denying stuff - Not a bad Rudy, actually.
Hailstorm - news report reveals co-workers’ (Kenan) & (McKinnon) hailstorm-induced romance
Christian: "I'm done searching" bumped it for me. Good hook at the end.
Scot: Wait, who is the host and where did he go? - Really good final 60 secs or so to this, with the Moffat reveals.
DC Morning - News report shows Donald Trump leaving WH in white Bronco
Christian: Prescient: If you spook the president, he can unleash a team of Proud Boys and others.
Scot: Prescient: "This is a volatile situation. If they spook the President, he could unleash an army of Proud Boys and flag-waving trucks."
Huge night for Nwodim when the show needed a female case member to step up.
Scot: Final Baldwin/Trump and final Carrey/Biden, thank all that is holy.
E7: Jason Bateman / Morgan Wallen
Christian: An absolute flaming pile. When Giuliani farting is the funniest thing on the episode, it's time to make some changes.
Scot: Lauren Holt is nowhere to be found and now she's going to be buried by returning females.
Michigan Election Hearings - Giuliani (McKinnon) calls witnesses at election fraud hearing; Strong as Melissa Carrone - Bennett as Mike Lindell - Fineman as Nicole Kidman
Christian: Strong was just doing Girl You Wish?
Scot: Strong is just playing GYWYHSACWAAP - Guiliani farted (apparently) in real life so he farts multiple times here without actually making it into a joke.
Plainly-guilty Megan (McKinnon) won’t fess up to menstrual accident to Dad (Bateman)
Christian: Self-plagiarism is still plagiarism.
Scot: Exact same beats as the first one.
Outdoor Cabaret - cabaret singers Charlie (Yang) & Billie (Strong) seek virus-free happy days
Scot: Strong sings, of course - Why would anyone laugh at this?
“The Christmas Conversation”- mothers guilt daughters for not coming home - McKinnon, Gardner, Fineman
Scot: The upbeat twist undercuts the premise that was set up in this one.
Morgan Wallen Party - Wallen’s future selves (Bateman & Yang) warn about SNL disinvitation
Christian: After his S50 scandal, will he get a third Yankee chance?
Scot: Holy cow, this is bad.
Weekend Update - Trump sues to overturn election - COVID vaccine distribution - Guiliani farts - Davidson on how he is loved & hated - Bailey Gismert (Gardner) reviews ’90s movies
Scot: Prescient: Talk of "pre-emptive pardons" - Jost's Hamilton joke was pretty good - "Sadly, she was no match for my car" - One of the better Gismerts.
Santa's Village - Shopping mall Santa (Bateman) & Mrs. Claus (Strong) crash their plastic bubbles
Christian: Dead silence from the audience.
Scot: Here's a little physical comedy without any kind of point.
E8: Timothée Chalamet / Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band
The Situation Room (Bennett) - Anthony Fauci (McKinnon) & Deborah Birx (Gardner) detail Covid-19 vaccination plan
Christian: A solid set of jokes here for a change.
Scot: The bra-throwing lands with a thud - McKinnon doing yet another political figure.
NYC natives Chalamet & Davidson share memories of growing up in the big city
Christian: Thought this was charming.
A Rona Family Christmas - Uninfectious son (Chamalet) is the rebel in a family of coronaviruses
Christian: Some decent wordplay here. I wrote something similar to "Covid as people" the previous May.
Lexus - Jobless (Bennett) buys a Lexus for his wife (Gardner)
Christian: I feel like people had been making this joke forever, but this is good escalation.
Tiny Horse - farmboy (Chamalet) serenades & frees his tiny horse; Fallon cameo
Christian: A premise with nowhere to go.
Weekend Update - SCOTUS rules against Trump - Moderna Vaccine is Tyler Perry character - McKinnon as Dr. Wayne Wenowdis - Harrison Ford back as Indiana Jones - Villasenor does Dolly Parton impression
Christian: Are the jokes good enough to overcome how bad Wenowdis is? No.
Scot: How can you do McKinnon's doctor again when we know the twist? - Water destroys Jost's mic.
Holiday Baking Championship - Holt, Chamalet, Gardner, Mooney
Christian: Third crack at this - it's the same as the other two down to Gardner getting skipped and Mooney doing a phallic cake.
Scot: Recurring situation. Same beats. No surprises.
Rap Roundtale - Questlove [cameo] can’t abide rappers (Chamalet & Davidson)
Christian: I shouldn't like this at all, but it's sufficiently silly.
Sportsmax - Newsmax spin-off Sportsmax claims the Jets & Knicks are actually winners - Moffat, Day, Bennett
Scot: At least a semi-interesting way to backdoor some decent political satire.
E9: Kristen Wiig / Dua Lipa
Pence Takes Vaccine - Joe Biden (Moffat) and Harris (Rudolph) crash Mike Pence’s (Bennett) COVID-19 vaccination event
Christian: Moffat's Biden is technically the closest anyone has gotten?
Scot: Ben Carson (Kenan) shows up because who knows why - It's just awful. There's a seed of an idea with the vaccine but it's tossed aside for random impression drop-in hour.
Secret Word: Holiday Edition - Mindy Grayson (Wiig) & Austrian actress (McKinnon) bungle holiday clues; with Kenan, Dismukes, Holt
Christian: The Lorne biography says he is dead-set against funny character names, which contradicts "Grant Choad."
Scot: How much must Wiig love this character that it has opened her past two shows? And why is she so wrong?
Christmas Morning - Everyone gets presents but Mom (Wiig)
Scot: Sincerely enjoyed this. Just rank competence everywhere is a sight to behold at the moment. - The dog getting more presents than Mom is great.
USO Performance - Wiig, Yang, Lipa do sassy scene at a show for WWII soldiers
Scot: Just Wiig and Wang vamping, which seems like the plan for around 40 percent of sketches these days - Day explains the joke.
High schooler (Dismukes) rebuffed by teacher (Nwodim), attracts principal (Wiig)
Christian: Great bit by Nwodim.
Scot: Half-great, Nwodim is excellent. And then ... Wiig.
Weekend Update - “Closing Time” montage for Trump - Trump vaccine Powerball lottery - Smokey Robinson (Redd) - Cuomo accused of assault - Man trapped by snow plow - Willie (Kenan) merrily recollects hardships - Instagram influencer Landis Trotter (Gardner)
Christian: Yes, Joke Swap would be better if they played it straight. How many influencer characters does Gardner have?
Scot: Prescient: Jost says Jill Biden functions as a nurse (crowd hates this joke) - Why does Redd's piece exist? - Liked this Willie! - Kind of a blah joke swap, actually. First joke was the best.
The Grinch - Grinch (Davidson) had a threesome with Cindy Lou’s parents (Day & Wiig)
Christian: Predictable and gross.
Home for Christmas - Johnson and Holt! - Aunt Sue (Wiig) loves surprises
Scot: I mean. Same old, same old. Professonalism saves it from "1," I guess.
E10: John Krasinski / Machine Gun Kelly
Christian: If you're wondering what SNL writers are doing when they have a full month off, the answer is not writing.
Scot: Who's saving the day here? Who's gonna break out? Feels like ... nobody.
What Still Works? - McKinnon seeks functional institutions; Strong is MTG; Day/Dorsey, Moffat/Zuckerberg, Kenan/OJ
Christian: If you have to keep explaining sketches by saying Kate McKinnon is going crazy, it's not a good sketch.
Scot: Lots of impressions, yes, but actually has a flow and a point and works like an open should.
Binge-watching audience members want host to “do The Office” & “kiss Pam”
Christian: Disjointed, timing was off, and unoriginal.
Blue Georgia - Georgians now liberals after recent election
Christian: Great idea, poor execution.
Scot: Crowd is dead, some jokes don't land, and the ending is real bad.
The Dividend - Economist’s (Krasinski) creepy kids (Day & McKinnon) spook host Bennett
Scot: Eh. No escalation at all after setting premise.
Now That's What I Call Theme Songs Sung By the Stars - compilation CD contains TV theme songs with lyrics sung by shows’ stars
Christian: Not a strong effort.
Scot: Decent idea, but this left me TOTALLY cold.
Pandemic Game Night - Members of a suburban pandemic bubble group were Jan 6 rioters
Scot: Am I just in a bad mood? - Absolutely nothing is established so we have have a bunch of random characters getting arrested and why should we care? - For me, just brutal writing on this one
Weekend Update - Jan 6 riot and GameStop stock - Mike Lindell (Bennett) spews conspiracy theories - Biden Don't Ask Don't Tuck policy - Fran Lebowitz (Yang) cracks up Martin Scorsese (Mooney) - Cathy Anne (Strong)
Christian: Loaded with clunkers, middling desk pieces. Che no longer gets away with laughing at his own bombs.
Scot: Rand Paul punctured his lung being randomly attacked by a neighbor. Very funny stuff - Rouuuuuuuugh night at the desk.
Supermarket Sweep - lesbian couple (McKinnon & Bryant) dominates 1991 episode
Scot: THE TEAM IS BACK - Maybe they should have stayed apart - Premise set. Zero jokes.
Subway Meeting - Out-of-touch Subway ad men (Krasinski & Bennett) critique Dismukes’s protein bowl idea
Christian: Where was I supposed to laugh?
Ratatouille - Sex rat (Mooney) controls actions from atop (Krasinski)’s head
Christian: The second he takes his hat off, you know the whole sketch. There's no need to explain further - the rest is just waste.
E11: Dan Levy / Phoebe Bridgers
Super Bowl LV - NFL roundtable discuss the big game and interview dueling coaches; Bryant plays both coaches
Christian: The meta Aidy stuff was fine, but otherwise a total dog.
Scot: James "No not that one" Brown. At this point, JB had been hosting NFL stuff for almost 30 years. Clearly, everyone know he's not that James Brown. Who thinks this is a funny joke? - Ads fall flat
Levy takes a backstage tour of his COVID-era SNL production; Eugene Levy cameo
Christian: Maybe the lamest walk-and-talk I can remember?
Scot: Crowd isn't havin this AT ALL - Until Eugene pops in - This was fine, actually.
Universal Studios Tram Tour - Caffeinated (Levy) leads his inaugural Universal Studios tram tour
Scot:
Lifting Our Voices - Kenan interviews white allies who go a bit overboard
Christian: No point to this at all.
Weekend Update - Couple of MTG jokes - Fox News sued - Trump won't testify at impeachment - Day and Gardner cancel little kids - Twinsthenewtrend (Kenan & Redd)
Scot: Che's got a good Wallen/Jost joke -
Levy and Strong entertain football fans with obscure “Hot Damn”
Christian: I thought you promised me James Anderson had retired.
Scot: Strong sings. No one knows the stupid song then everyone knows the stupid song.
E12: Regina King / Nathaniel Rateliff
Tucker Carlson (Moffat) Tonight- Guests talk second impeachment - Bennett/McConnell, Graham/McKinnon, Cruz/Bryant
Scot: Written by Josh Patten, Will Stephen, Kent Sublette - Let's just say it: McKinnon's Graham is absolutely awful - Moffat explains the joke (twisted face) - And Bryant as Cruz is worse than Graham - No one remembers these lawyers
Kenan seeks proper recognition for host’s accomplishments
Scot: Written by Michael Che and Will Stephen.
What's Your Type? - Bachelorette (King) has a thing for cringey white dudes (Mooney, Moffat, Day)
Scot: Written by Streeter Seidell and Mikey Day.
Pelotaunt - fitness instructors use negative reinforcement on Pelotaunt exercisers
Scot: Pretty good! - Holt steals a mom role from Bryant.
Gorilla Glue - Kenan and King seek compensation for those who put Gorilla Glue on hair
Christian: This really happened.
Birthday Gifts - Bryant’s friends’ (Strong, Fineman, King) birthday gifts indicate they think she’s an alcoholic
Scot: Written by Anna Drezen, Kent Sublette, Celeste Yim - A nicely-paced escalation piece. Bryant nearly ruins the rhythm by breaking. Still one of the best so far.
Weekend Update - Trump acquitted by Senate - Jost on Cruz hair - witch (McKinnon) is drawn to QAnon - new Popeye's fish sandwich - Mackenzie (Holt) has Valentine’s Day advice - Aunt Jemima changes name - Drunk Tom Brady (Bennett)
Christian: Ooof, Holt's bit was rough. Bad jokes, weak desk pieces.
Scot: Again, we get angry Jost to start with no jokes - Jost as Ice T looks like Tom Green - The witch goes on forever - Ah, too bad for Holt. That was a dud. - OK, laughed at the Larry Flynt joke - One of the weaker WUs of the season.
Before a 1978 gig, disco queen’s (King) support staff (Mooney, Yang) has failed her
Christian: More Yang vamping, but I actually enjoyed this.
Scot: Written by Celeste Yim and Bowen Yang -- Nothing special, but kinda liked Bryant as a ditz and the rhythm/flow of this.
Woman's Theater - King, McKinnon. Bryant use “elbow” for “vagina” at school assembly
Scot: Written by Anna Drezen and Alison Gates.
Nathaniel Rateliff - “A Little Honey”
Scot: I like this!
E13: Regé-Jean Page/Bad Bunny
Ooops You Did It Again - Britney Spears (Fineman) offers a forum for apologies; Bryant/Cruz, Davidson/Cuomo, Strong/Gina Carano
Christian: Prescient: Fineman warns Cruz to keep his daughters out of it because it could cause them problems. And it later did.
Scot: Written by Colin Jost, Josh Patten, Kent Sublette - For what possible reason is Bryant playing Cruz? Doesn't look like him, sound like him - Why are Bryant/Strong breaking in this thing? - Davidson's Cuomo is not bad.
Actor's Spotlight - Ice Cube (Kenan) pretends to be British
Scot: Written by Jasmine Pierce and Bryan Tucker - Pretty strong concept, doesn't overstay its welcome.
Loco - Homebound by the pandemic, Nwodim & Davidson are starting to lose it
Christian: Finally I can tolerate one of these.
Scot: Written by Pete Davidson, Ego Nwodim, Gary Richardson, Will Stephen.
Driver's License - Guys playing pool have an emotional appreciation of “Drivers License”
Christian: A combination of the construction workers from a couple seasons ago and the sketch where everyone cries to the Adele song in the office.
Scot: Written by Gillespie and Green.
Mr. Chicken Legs Pageant - Day, Davidson, Dismukes
Christian: Why am I supposed to laugh at what's obviously a staff inside joke?
Scot: Written by Mikey Day, Dan Licata and Streeter Seidell - Incredibly dumb, but ... I like it? Some elements have a rare feel to them this season.
The Job Interview - Page has an absurd meeting with an ad exec (Bennett)
Christian: Sufficiently silly.
Scot: Written by Colin Jost - 80 percent of a classic but couldn't bring it home. The end kind of falls apart. Loved the look/feel of most of this, though. Very, very funny.
Weekend Update - Cruz vacation controversy - Biden immigration plan - Davidson spends Valentine's Day with Mom - Kim Kardashian divorces Kanye - Freddy Krueger aesthetic overshadows mutual aid worker’s (Gardner) message -
Scot: Most snow in Texas since Michael Irvin's Super Bowl party - Do we like the "who looks like ..." jokes? I'm not a giant fan - world's oldest DNA sequence, it's so old Andrew Cuomo is covering up its death.
Songs of the Sea - whalers’ shanties describe a miserable marine existence - all cast
Christian: What is the hit rate for sketches on the boat set?
Scot: Written by Seidell, Drezen and Alison Gates.
Let's Say Grace - inviting black neighbors to dinner leads to grace-saying one-upsmanship
Scot: Written by Nwodim, Richardson, and Tucker - You know someone checked the couch cushions to see if Rudolph were around to star in this one.
Bridgerton Intimacy Coordinator - Day & Davidson are substitute intimacy coordinators for Page & Fineman
Scot: Pretty good energy from Davidson and Day, but there's just not much to work with.
E14: Nick Jonas
So You Think You Can Get the Vaccine - Anthony Fauci (McKinnon) emcees contest to simplify Covid vaccine distribution - Moffat/Newsom, Davidson/Cuomo, Strong/Whitmer
Christian: Why was Ted Cruz there? Do the writers think this character is killing it?
Scot: Third straight Bryant/Cruz open. WHY? - The power outage thing was real, I now recall. They're going to expire! Come get them!!
Jonas, McKinnon, Kenan, Bennett sing “Drink With Me” for Broadway; Kevin Jonas cameo
Christian: Sure, it's a song, but I sort of liked the somberness of it.
Workout Mirror - a demon (Davidson) has trapped McKinnon inside of workout device; Day and Redd
Christian: David S. Pumpkins. It's a formula now.
Scot: There's no food in here? She was just carrying groceries.
Murder Show Song - Fineman, Villasenor, Nwodim relax by watching true crime; Jonas
Christian: Speaking of murders, Fineman effectively ended Villaseñor's career on SNL.
Cinderella - tiny glass slipper fits mouse (Bryant) instead of Cinderella (Fineman)
Christian: Good setup, then...what?
Scot: Written by Dan Bulla and Colin Jost.
Bachelor party attendees (Mooney, Bennett, Jonas) enjoy getting boners in each other’s presence
Scot: "Write me the worst thing you can imagine. It's not like it will ever make it to the live show!"
Weekend Update - Congress passes Stimulus bill - Trump at CPAC - LaVar Ball (Kenan) - Frasier revival - Muppet Show gets disclaimer - Marjorie Taylor Greene (Strong)
Christian: Does "Never Lost" count as a catchphrase? Coronavirus is so deadly to black people, it's being suspended with pay is a five-star joke and the audience groans.
Scot: Dems spend $2T in the middle of the night, and all the jokes are about Republicans - New Jersey's #1 syringe provider: the beach - Coronavirus is so deadly to black Americans, it's being suspended with pay - After the opening salvo, pretty good jokes!
Viking Voyager - Mooney & a large stuffed Soul protagonist are paired
Christian: I give it a little credit because I kept asking, "how did this ever become a sketch?" Which was kind of funny to me.
Scot: Something that would have been helpful for this sketch: a joke. Any joke. Less awkward dialogue.
The Dionne Warwick (Nwodim) Talk Show - Guests include Jones, Kenan/The Weeknd, & Dua Lipa (Villasenor)
Scot: It's unsteady on its feet, but there's something about the energy that carries it. Nwodim is good again.
Dating After Lockdown - Jonas and McKinnon have forgotten how to flirt
Christian: I just needed this stream of silly wordplay. It made me so happy.
Scot: This was fun and had a very ZAZ/Naked Gun type vibe to it. A success!
Nwodim has suddenly surged to Female 1. It won't last, but she's been really good.
Scot: I know we're 14 weeks in, but --- they don't wear masks all night EXCEPT everyone MUST wear masks for goodnights? What???
E15: Maya Rudolph / Jack Harlow
Christian: Melissa McCarthy had two or three really great sketches as Sean Spicer which is how we now get sketch after sketch of Aidy as Cruz, which is a total nothing.
Scot: A massive embarassment for the show that they are choosing to treat Biden the same as Obama - he doesn't exist.
Snatched, Vaxed, or Waxed - Spring Breakers assemble amidst COVID-19; Rudolph hosts.
Scot: Real bad. MTV is not even a thing in 2021, for goodness’ sake.
Hot Ones - spicy wings turn normally-cool Beyonce (Rudolph) into a wet mess
Scot: Nothing writing-wise, all performance. And it's not strong.
Boomers Got the Vax - immunized older generation flaunts its well-being
Scot: One of the more successful attempts at stuff like this. Some decent lines.
A Kamala Harris Unity Seder - Kamala Harris (Rudolph) & Doug Emhoff (Martin Short) welcome politicians - Cruz/Bryant, Moffat/Biden, Strong/MTG
Christian: Only exists for the Short cameo.
Scot: Oh, great. Four straight shows with Cruz/Bryant - Can't give a negative number, sadly.
NFTS - Davidson & Janet Yellen (McKinnon) talk cryptocurrency a la “Without Me”
Scot: Embarrassing on many levels.
Weekend Update - Jost rant on gun control - Biden cheat sheets with media - Filibuster is "Jim Crow relic" - Sidney Powell (Strong) - Sex doll with real emotions - Yang on hate crimes against Asian Americans.
Christian: What was the Yang thing, exactly? Admirable, but...awkward.
Scot: Getting awfully tired of "angry Jost" to start these - Che's getting a few great punchlines off tonight - Yang is a big bust.
Old flames (Kenan & Rudolph) are rival substitute Broadway choreographers
Christian: By cast members, for cast members.
Scot: Do you like big, broad, campy performances without any plot? I do not.
2021 Barfly Awards - Sally O’Flappy (Rudolph) is the biggest booze-soaked winner
Scot: What character is that voice Rudolph is doing? I can't think of it. Woman with a talk show.
The Maya-ing - Rudolph & ’70s SNL writer (Fey) haunt SNL; Dratch cameo
Christian: Kinda sweet, kinda haunting. Really good.
Scot: Nice work, couple good lines. More a mood piece. Reminds me of a Schiller film.
E16: Daniel Kaluuya / St Vincent
Ooops You Did It Again - Spears/Fineman - Lil Nas X (Redd), Pepé Le Pew (McKinnon) & Matt Gaetz (Davidson) are judged
Christian: We have known everything about Matt Gaetz forever, and...nobody cared?
Will You Take It - Kaluuya urges relatives’ vaccination via cash prizes
Scot: This is actually a good and funny way of getting at the issue.
Viral Apology Video - problematic YouTuber (Mooney) apologizes & harms fellow pranker (Kaluuya)
Scot: Was about to complain about Mooney just aping a trend/syle, but there's real progression here. Not bad.
Proud Parents - Redd’s parents not happy w/ his decision to drop pre-med for creative writing
Scot: Nwodim wrote with Dan Bulla - Very solid, Nwodim is excellent.
St. Vincent - “Pay Your Way In Pain”
Scot: OK, well, I know your music pick.
Weekend Update - Matt Gaetz jokes - Biden's New New Deal - Biden canceling student loan debt - Starkie sisters (Bryant, McKinnon) present Easter meats - Starbucks 50th - Guy Who Just Bought A Boat (Moffat) - Day rejects gold-digger label despite having married 106 year-old (Gardner)
Christian: Third crack at the Starkey sisters, word for word the same thing every time. Have these people never handled raw meat?
Scot: Good Che joke about Biden's stutter - I've got a soft spot for the meat sisters.
Frat Trip - fraternity brothers (all male cast) get stoked about inviting their moms to weekend bash
Scot: Written by Dan Licata and Streeter Seidell - It doesn't really lead to anything.
Kaluuya and Strong jazz up Kenan’s birthday with an upright bass & poetry
Christian: Oh look it's a dinner party where two people sing uncomfortably. Strong effect.
Scot: Strong sings - And we get a typical result.
E17: Carey Mulligan / Kid Cudi
Scot: Very well could be the best episode of the season.
Eye on Minnesota - Race of anchors (Kenan, Nwodim, McKinnon, Moffat) guides perception of Derek Chauvin trial
Scot: Written by Michael Che, Josh Patten, and Gary Richardson - The most well-rounded open in a while, even has a topper joke at the end that works.
Mulligan's husband Marcus Mumford [cameo] wants to play the guitar on SNL
Scot: Written by Anna Drezen and Kent Sublette - It's sweet, it works.
What's Wrong with this Picture - Kenan, Redd, Bryant, Mulligan
Christian: As good as all the other ones, so - not very good.
Scot: Written by Fran Gillespie, Sudi Green and Kent Sublette - A surprisingly strong edition of this, I thought, even if all the beats are similar.
Tremfalta - irritable bowel syndrome sufferer (Mulligan) ruins a toilet
Scot: I dunno. Feel like we've done this a few times before.
Study Buddy - On the phone, Jason (Bryant) guides Josh (McKinnon) on handling girl (Mulligan)
Scot: This might be better than I think. Going to come back.
Weird Little Flute - “That Weird Little Flute” in rap gets its due; Timothee Chalamet cameo
Christian: "There are flutes in a couple rap songs" is an observation, not a full sketch.
Scot: Written by Dan Bulla, Steven Castillo, Pete Davidson, and Chris Redd.
Weekend Update - Matt Gaetz jokes - Trump calls for Coke boycott - podcast of Barack Obama (Redd) & Bruce Springsteen (Bennett) is mundane - Dick's Sporting Goods new stores - Lizzie Border house sold - stripper (Johnson) from Paul Pierce video - Iceberg That Sank The Titanic (Yang)
Christian: Yang is really strong here. And Punkie Johnson finally has a moment.
Scot: "Who looks like" joke leads us off - Yeah, Biden is just like Clint Eastwood. Can't tell the difference. - Johnson is blah - Will.i.am could become Will.i.was - The Yang/iceberg thing still is pretty darn good.
Starcharter Andromeda - Spoiled Mulligan & Day flout spaceship protocol
Christian: I am inclined to agree with the theme, but it was just sort of flat.
Scot: Finally! Been thinking all show. Mulligan can look a lot like Anna Faris - Very good for what it is. A couple jokes land and gets out.
Lesbian Period Drama - prestige movie trailer has rote forbidden romance
Christian: The critic review of the naked back made me laugh out loud.
Scot: Robbie Fulks' wife, Donna, has the V/O here.
The War in Words - wife’s (Mulligan) baffling letters alarm WWII seaman (Day)
Christian: Third shot at this, pretty much the same.
Scot: Written by Mikey Day, Streeter Seidell, and Bryan Tucker - I laughed more at the throwaway "All Dogs Go to Hell" joke than I have at most full sketches this season - Nothing new, but still serviceable.
L'Eggs - Bryant & Mulligan try to sell teens (Mooney, Dismukes, Nwodim, Gardner) on the appeal of L’eggs hosiery
Scot: Written by Celeste Yim and Aidy Bryant.
E18: Elon Musk / Miley Cyrus
Scot: Terrible show. Kind of the thing that people think the Trump episode was.
Christian: This is the show where Musk made Chloe Fineman cry. Now it's just me that's crying after seeing it.
Scot: Big development season for Nwodim, who's really good in WU this episode
Christian: DogeCoin actually dropped after this episode.
Cyrus sings “Light Of A Clear Blue Morning” for castmembers’ moms
Scot: You'd have to have a heart of stone to mark this one down from average.
Musk & his mom [cameo] talk about the future & his past
Christian: This is actually not bad? I mean, it's awkward, but some of the jokes are fine.
Scot: There are a few moments that aren't terrible, but it's so awkward and stilted and lacks any sense of flow
Every Conversation With People You Haven't Seen Since the Pandemic Started
Scot: Good premise but it absolutely dies in the execution
The Oooli Show - Frances McDormand (McKinnon) visits Icelandic talk show
Christian: SNL's batting average in doing Scandinavian characters is .000.
Scot: I hate all of this.
Murder Durder - southeast Pennsylvania accents dominate crime story
Scot: The show has a real thing for Pennsylvania accents, I guess.
Weekend Update - Bezos has rocket company, Che on rich white people going to space - Trump launches blog - Broadway close to re-opening - Weary mom Pauline (Nwodim) - Snow White kissing/Cosby the RideFinancial expert (Musk) dodges the question “What is Dogecoin?” - Baby Yoda (Mooney)
Christian: Some of the jokes were fine, but having Musk on to push his crypto is just unforgivable. And Mooney still sucks.
Scot: Jost thinks GOP investing future in Trump is a terrible idea b/c he's 75 - white nationalism, Donald Trump, J6, and Ron DeSantis take shots - Also, Biden as a wax figure. Really sharp claws out for him - Baby Yoda, again. Why? - Nwodim really saves this from a worse fate.
Wario Trial - Trial reveals deeds of Wario (Musk), Luigi (Mooney), Princess Peach (Grimes) -Tagged with Anti-Italian discrimination PSA
Scot: Of course it's bad. But there was at least one "so bad it's funny" laugh here. I can't put it at the bottom of the quality list tonight.
Cowboy Standoff - In the Old West, visionary (Musk) proposes ambushing a gang via a tunnel
Scot: Yikes. Terribly unfocused. Just tried to squeeze in as many Musk-related references as possible.
E19: Keegan Michael Key / Olivia Rodrigo
Christian: (From 2021) - “Like the cicadas, every few years we get a really good SNL. And that was last night’s.”
Scot: Rough second half of the season for WU.
Signing Keegan Michael Key is excited to do all the SNL things
Scot: Melody sounds like it's borrowed fron “Not Gonna Phone It In Tonight.”
The Last Dance: Extended Scene - Michael Jordan (Key) and John Michael Wozniak (Gardner) play for keeps
Christian: A Gardner historical highlight?
Scot: It's a fun piece with a great Gardner performance. More than a year after the airing of the doc, though.
The Muppet Show - Key and Kenan rough up Statler (Bennett) & Waldorf (Day) - Villasenor as Tomlin
Scot: Real laughs all over in this one. One of the best of the season for sure.
Weekend Update - Masks not required - COVID can cause erectile dysfunction - Liz Cheney (McKinnon) struggles to list any conservative allies - Bezos building big yacht - Uncle Ben's rice changing names - Dismukes talks about great grandmother - Chicago releasing rats - Bob Baffert (Bennett) makes excuses
Christian: The only funny part of Dismukes' bit is when he makes fun of his jokes dying.
Scot: Gaetz, McConnell, and Steve Scalise take hits because reasons - McKinnon does another political impression - Dismukes tries to pull off a Davidson here and fails hard - I LOL'd at Che's "probably because their wife passed away" joke.
Commencement Celebrations - (Redd, Johnson, Kenan) shout at high school graduation ceremony
Scot: This is just an extension of the "black people at a movie theater" joke the show has used many many times
E20: Anya Taylor-Joy / Lil Nas X
What I Remember About Last Year - castmembers, Rock, Leo Yoshimura [cameo] give recollections of SNL’s season
Scot: They are begging for mercy. I will not give it to them in the Season Rankings. - It's funny in parts, but admitting the season sucked kind of balances that out.
Picture With Dad - Dismukes & Gardner as high schools, Bryant mom, Bennett dad with shotgun
Christian: Started off hating this, but it came around.
Scot: Everybody is perfect in their roles. I didn't love the we will/please don't back-and-forth at the end, but the rest worked.
Making Man - in heaven, designers of man (Kenan, Day, Redd) receive criticism from designers of woman (Bryant, T-J)
Christian: One of those ones that's so simple you can't believe they've never done it before. What the hell is Mooney doing in this?
Scot: Mooney's part is so unecessary. Feels like an early attempt at the kind of thing the Bargatze/Washington sketch would mine.
It's Pride Again - gay celebrants (Yang, McKinnon, Johnson) experience joys & frustrations
Christian: Celeste Yim (show writer) sighting.
Celtic Woman - Celtic Woman is a crowd-pleasing mostly-Irish musical extravaganza
Christian: Crowd is WILD tonight. Settle down, it's fine.
Weekend Update - Jost rants at Republicans - Gaetz joke - Dating app vaccine status - Biden test drives electric truck - Davidson addresses return-to-society fears - New supersonic airline - Joke Swap! - Jeanine Pirro (Strong) sings “My Way”
Christian: The let it go because it's the last episode of the season - WHY NOT CUT IT LOOSE LIKE THIS EVERY EPISODE?
Scot: Davidson sounds like he's leaving, but no - Black Superman's Kryptonite is an honest day's work - a great joke swap - Strong/Pirro was over-the-top, but fine, except if it's not sending Strong off the show, why does it exist? To ... pay tribute to Pirro in some way?
Enid and Astrid's Brawr Barn - Enid (Bryant) & Astrid’s (T-J) Brawr Barn supports large-breasted women
Scot: Anya T-J does a good job here.
NYU Guest Panel - coeds’ (Bryant & T-J) questions to TV cast are softball or insensitive
Scot: Johnson breaks hard just on-camera - Wasn't sure, but then it just took off - Good escalation with the questions - Another nice Bryant/T-J pairing here.
AMC Theaters - Vin Diesel (Bennett) rhapsodizes about going to the movies
Christian: Started out rough, but the relentlessness of the jokes was strong.
Scot: Bennett's goodbye - It's better than I thought it might be.