SNL continued its opening stretch, with its 3rd of 4 straight shows. Would they be able to keep up the pace? Onto the review.
Town Hall Debate Cold Open: Following an anticipated and nasty debate last Sunday, all eyes were on SNL on how they would cover it. This was more or less just the best hits. They didn't really add anything new, but basically painted it by the numbers. They had Trump (Alec Baldwin) creeping behind Hillary (Kate McKinnon), and of course Ken Bone (Bobby Moynihan). This was probably the weakest cold open yet of this young season, but still enjoyable overall. (7.2)
Monologue: Given the road this election has turned down, this monologue was pretty necessary. Emily Blunt tried to pep up the audience with a song, featuring puppies and cake. I mean, how can you go wrong with that? It was a little sloppy in execution, but pleasant still. (7.9)
Escorts: It always felt like this sketch was going to take one of those classic turns, but it just never hit that stride. Nothing much to say beyond that (set up the tone for the first half of the show). (4.0)
Melanianade (short): This was an interesting concept for a short. A parody off of Beyonce, we see the women of the Trump and campaign with a tear-down of Trump given the recent accusations and the Access Hollywood tape. This should have really worked, but unlike "Day Off", something just felt a little off with this (though the Tiffany Trump line in the end was really good). (6.5)
Film Festival: Its nice to see Vanessa Bayer being more prominent, given her absence in the season premiere. Here she played an audience member who was forced to ask question after question at a short film festival. Now this was a sketch that was executed well, from the mic passing down the lineup, to Vanessa trying to leave, only to have to answer more questions. You could imagine a scenario like this actually happening. (7.8)
Chonk (ad): This played off like a classic snl ad parody. Mocking a woman's clothing store, this was just well done. From Cecily Strong's delivery of "Chonk!", to the reactions of the cast as they show off in the ad. Even better was the hit at the end, where men can find a perfectly fitting shirt at "Normal Clothes". (8.4)
(Bruno Mars): "24K Magic" - Bruno Mars was just made for flashy and entertaining performances, whether it be at the super bowl or award shows, just the perfect performer. (9.2)
Weekend Update: The energy for Update just felt really flat. Jost and Che just seemed to lack the pep that they had the previous couple of weeks. That was something that was noticeable for the show in general though.
Olya was the first guest, played by McKinnon. While you can make the argument that this character gets a bit repetitive, its still really enjoyable.
Drive Thru Window: This appeared to be one of the first marketing ads that SNL is going to do this season (along with Honda Robotics). And to put it lightly, they weren't great. This one was character driven, as an eccentric art group in an incredibly long limo keep going through the drive thru. Here's hoping these type of sketches are minimal for the rest of the year. (5.0)
The Sink (short): Give a raise to whoever wrote this. It played off like a short film....about a fancy existential bathroom sink, wondering why its so fancy. What made it even better were the end credits, making sure to list Emily Blunt as the voice of the sink. Just one of those bizarre ideas that SNL does well. (8.6)
Honda Robotics: (4.5)
Melania Moments #3 (short): I'm so glad that this is becoming a running piece to start the season. They're starting to get exponentially darker however. Here, Melania wonders if she could get her maid (who looks oddly like her) to take her place, as she longs to feel sand beneath her feet again. What makes these work is that they aren't mocking Melania directly.
(Bruno Mars): (8.1)
British Bake Off: (6.5)
Hamsters: "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe", but with pet hamsters. Classic 10 to 1 sketch idea. (7.0)
This show felt a bit bogged down, especially given the current atmosphere of the election. Maybe it was the current stretch they're on, but there lacked energy. The back half of the show picked it up though with some odd-ball ideas that worked. (7.07)
Lin Manuel Miranda: 7.74
Margot Robbie: 7.38
Emily Blunt: 7.07
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