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We’re three weeks into this transition season of Saturday Night Live, and clearly, nobody has taken the reins yet as the star of this Season 48 cast, nor has even a point of view emerged to give viewers any indication that anyone is steering this long-running comedy ship. The only certainty is that everyone is getting a chance at some air time, including all of the new cast members. And to be certain, it’s a talented cast. It’s just…to borrow from the metaphorical assets of this week’s host and musical guest, coming off more than a bit flat, and in dire need of a lift. Could Megan Thee Stallion whip this comedy troupe back into shape?
What’s The Deal For The SNL Cold Open For Last Night (10/15/22)?
We begin with a look at the closing statements from the select House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, uprising by Trump’s supporters at the U.S. Capitol. Kenan Thompson presides as Rep. Bennie Thompson (though no Thompson Twins here, my 80s friends), introducing his “monotone nerds” who include Michael Longfellow as Adam Schiff, Andrew Dismukes as Adam Kinzinger, Mikey Day as Jamie Raskin, and Heidi Gardner as Liz Cheney, blaming her hard-nosed political stance on her upbringing, proudly claiming she has “big Dick Cheney energy.” Perhaps too on the nose or ironic that none of this really hits comedically. Not even a toss to Trump (James Austin Johnson), rambling about votes not counting and his supposed friendship with Apollo Creed musters anything compared to the gasp the audience gave him right at the end when he asked “Is Mike Pence dead yet?”
Nope, the only real comedy in this week’s cold open came courtesy of Chloe Fineman channeling crazed eyes for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, while Sarah Sherman’s Chuck Schumer haggles over his sandwich order, in a parody of recently released footage of the two Democrats from Jan. 6.
Somehow, conveying Congressional hopelessness hasn’t translated into many laughs, so when Kenan says: “I can already see this is a complete zero,” I cannot help but feel he’s talking about the sketch, too.
How Did The SNL Guest Host Megan Thee Stallion Do?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SR2kksN5Vw
When the live studio audience already hoots and hollers just when the host rattles off some of her alter-ego character names, you get the feeling it’ll be a hot night. And Megan Thee Stallion reminds us she’s all about the hotties. However, she also plugs a website for mental health (https://www.badbitcheshavebaddaystoo.com/), which is real.
Megan previously had appeared as the musical guest on the Season 46 premiere (with host Chris Rock), and also made cameo performances in a music video and a live sketch that time around, and the show hasn’t had so much turnover in the writers room that they couldn’t see how she’d be game for anything.
That said, the sketches that made it to air were pretty flimsy.
“Hot Girl Hospital” reminds me of that hotdog stand in Chicago called The Wiener’s Circle where the women who work there hurl zingers at customers before slinging them their wieners, except that joint is popular and functional. At this hospital, pitched to us as both a Shonda Rhimes vehicle and yet later referenced as the result of a community service punishment levied against NBA player Draymond Green (you have to follow preseason NBA to get it, so don’t worry about that right now), it’s just Megan, Ego Nwodim and Punkie Johnson delivering Brazilian butt lifts, weaves, fashion tips and not much else for any prospective patients or doctors looking to practice actual medicine. This sketch lives or dies on attitude, but couldn’t find the right pulse to catch on when it mattered.
The subsequent music video, “We Got Brought,” is not a bop, at all. Oh, how we already miss Chris Redd now. The premise is fine and all (Bowen Yang, Ego and Megan play strangers brought to the club by three friends and left together in awkwardness) but the pop-rap is so dry it’s the complete opposite of WAP. That’s not good.
And then there’s this odd duck of a sketch. Sorry, odd dear of a sketch, involving Kenan as a father visiting his daughter Megan in her cabin in the woods. Nothing to fear here, right? Just a cute deer made even cuter by a bunny rabbit sitting on its back. Only Kenan can’t see the deer, no matter how much Megan points at it or her friends describe it. The scene heightens with the deer getting more and more outlandish until finally getting Kenan’s attention. The writers have increasingly enjoyed making animals (live or animated) part of the action in live sketches, and this is no different in that respect.
But at least the deer sketch made sense from start to finish. Girl Talk? Was Kenan’s DJ chatter supposed to evoke a real-life counterpart that we missed? Even if so, he’s still unnecessary to the plot, which finds Ego advising her guests simply by saying “girl.” The heightening here, with poorly-paced subtitles, then with Andrew as the white guy trying and failing to fit in, just doesn’t land.
Did all of this play really well in the dress rehearsal earlier Saturday or in the read-throughs on Wednesday? Either way, it’s all coming across rather lackluster live.
How Relevant Was The Musical Guest Megan Thee Stallion?
Megan released her second studio album, “Traumazine,” two months ago, with a few singles already released before this weekend. She brought two more singles to the table. First, she performed “Anxiety” as if in a beauty pageant.
Then she rocked a medley of “NDA,” the first track of her new album, into “Plan B.”
Which Sketch Will We Be Sharing: “Wellness”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DApwiI9CVw0
The “please don’t destroy” boys are back, and in a bid to sponsor wellness (nice tie-in to Megan Thee Stallion’s mental health website and platform) they begin sharing their tips with one another, only to immediately begin backsliding into depressive thoughts and behaviors.
Who Stopped By Weekend Update?
Two guest slots for Update this week.
Chloe and Heidi played two Texas moms (Debbie Hole and Stacey Bussy) who are protesting Disney’s Hocus Pocus 2 for “Satanic Panic” purposes, although the more they doth protest, the more it seems they’re getting off on the whole thing?
And for the third straight week, one of the new cast members showed up out of character as themselves to offer up commentary. Week one: Michael Longfellow. Week two: Marcello Hernandez. Week three? Devon Walker. Walker shared with us and Update anchor Michael Che his initial observations about living in New York City, why New Yorkers shouldn’t condescend to Texans, and why straight men should be a bit more…gay?
What Sketch Filled The “10-to-1” Slot?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3y_C03YkAjs
A bit of a bait and switch in the final 10 minutes.
At 12:50 a.m. Eastern, a cute pre-taped bit called “Women’s Charity” asking people to donate men’s sweatshirts (the more generic or basic in taste, the better) to lonely, single women as the weather turns cold. Kenan sings wistfully in the interludes while Heidi, Ego, Chloe and Megan provide testimonials.
Then at 12:54 a.m. Eastern, we get one more live sketch. It’s a classroom setting where Ego shows up as the substitute teacher, Ms. Fink, and immediately delivers an inspirational message for the kids. Only problem? They’re smarter than she is. Oops! Not quite the crazy comedy sketch the show goes for in the final minutes, so much as a basic play on stereotypes.
Who Was The Episode’s MVP?
Megan Thee Stallion’s presence brought plenty of opportunities for Punkie Johnson and Devon Walker to get in on the action along with Ego Nwodim. And yet, this episode really felt more like a Chloe Fineman and Heidi Gardner night, didn’t it? From their pairing on Update, to their upstaging of Megan in the Workout Class sketch, offering their own flat-booty workout tips for “Pancake Nation.” Chloe also had her own shining moment in the cold open as Pelosi, while Heidi provided another backside sight gag to hold up Hot Girl Hospital.
Next week is a rerun of the Miles Teller episode.
SNL is back with a new episode on Oct. 29 with Jack Harlow as host and musical guest.
Sean L. McCarthy works the comedy beat for his own digital newspaper, The Comic’s Comic; before that, for actual newspapers. Based in NYC but will travel anywhere for the scoop: Ice cream or news. He also tweets @thecomicscomic and podcasts half-hour episodes with comedians revealing origin stories: The Comic’s Comic Presents Last Things First.
