SNL keeped up its December run with pro-wrestler John Cena. Could he match "The Rock's" hosting prowess? onto the review
The Lead With Jake Tapper Cold Open: Jake Tapper (Beck Bennett) interviews Kellyanne Conway (Kate McKinnon) about some of Trump's questionable cabinet picks. One memorable line here is Conway's on how they're "alt good". Then his future cabinet pick....Walter White (Bryan Cranston) made an appearance, however brief it may have been. This felt a little off, with how sudden this cold open ended. (6.5)
Monologue: Overall this was a better monologue than most. While Cena wanted to sing, a bunch of cast members showed up as made up wrestlers. The best was Bobby Moynihan's "the waddler". And then Leslie Jones just showing up as herself. (8.0)
Dating Show: On the surface this seemed like just another game show sketch (though there would be one of those later on). But this actually developed into something. Cecily Strong plays a contestant who just wants the host (Cena). As they flirt, two of the prospective dates (Bennett and Kyle Mooney) start to connect, and kiss. It may have taken a while to build, but the payoff was worth it. (7.5)
The Karate Teen (short): Not much to say here, other than it was just "The Karate Kid", but turned on its head. (6.2)
Science Presentation: There was something here, talking about the NCAA and college's infatuation with football, but it just fell flat, and never really made that connection fully. (6.7)
Dyke & Fats Save Christmas Special (short): It was nice seeing these two characters, played by Kate and Aidy Bryant. We learned that Aidy's character's full name here is "O'Malley", which is a fun little tidbit. I honestly hope these two get the "Macgruber" treatment and gets turned into a movie. (7.6)
(Maren Morris): (8.4)
Weekend Update: Most of the hard hitting Trump commentary came here (and in a later short).
The first guest saw Angela Merkel (McKinnon) talking about Trump, and what could have been with a friendship with Hillary Clinton. There were a lot of good moments here, from Merkel's line on how in Germany the alt-right is known as "the reason grandpa lives in Argentina now".
Cecily then came back as Cathy Anne talking about "pizza-gate" and fake news. This character is still pretty iffy....and a pretty big stereotype, there was a good moment where she pointed out how Trump was probably watching at that very moment. (7.5)
Where'd Your Money Go?: (5.5)
Joanne & the Tree: (5.0)
Through Donald's Eyes (short): This may have been one of the best Trump features SNL has done, and it didn't even have to include Alec Baldwin. The viewer just saw a first person POV of how Trump likely sees the world. It was predictably dark, but fascinating all the same. (9.0)
Through Donald's Eyes
(Maren Morris): (7.3)
Romance Bookstore: This was a good timeless sketch. Whenever a customer asks for a book, Aidy and her "worker" Cena go to the back-shelf and act like they're straight out of a romance novel. These two just had such good chemistry with this. (8.5)
Romance Bookstore
Talent Competition: (7.0)
This show was a bit of a mixed bag. John Cena had some delivery issues with a few of his lines, and some sketch concepts just didn't land (however good they were on paper). But the show was saved in the end by the back-half of the show. (7.19)
Dave Chappelle: 8.83
Tom Hanks: 8.03
Lin Manuel Miranda: 7.74
Emma Stone: 7.56
Margot Robbie: 7.38
John Cena: 7.19
Kristen Wiig: 7.09
Emily Blunt: 7.07
Benedict Cumberbatch: 6.60
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