Another big show, coming off of the inauguration. How would Aziz do his first time hosting? Onto the review
Vladimir Putin Cold Open: A bit of a surprising cold open, with Beck Bennett as Putin talking to America following Trump's inauguration. He tries to assure that everything will be fine, while also trolling Trump for his inauguration crowd size and the women's march the following day. There was also a nice cameo by Kate McKinnon's Olya, who has her eyes on Putin and Trump. SNL continues to find inventive ways to cover Trump without having to always use Alec Baldwin. (9.0)
Monologue: Much like Dave Chappelle's stand-up following the election, this was an important opening for Aziz Ansari. He discussed the rise of the "lower case kkk" following Trump's candidacy, and the amount of people resisting Trump. (9.4)
Beat The Bookworm: (5.6)
La La Land Interrogation: Beck and Cecily Strong play police officers interrogating Aziz over his indifference to La La Land. This was a good twist, getting to fandoms and how defensive they can get when the movie or show that they like gets critiqued. They closed with defending 'Westworld'. As a fan of La La Land, even I'll admit that this sketch was pretty perfect. (8.5)
Kellyanne Conway (short): We get Kate's Kellyanne Conway back, where she performs 'Chicago' style of why she joined Trump's campaign. The production value (along with the performance itself) was fantastic. SNL finally moved on from their portrayal of a Conway that was reluctant being connected to Trump to what she's really after, name recognition. I mean, why else does she constantly go on the main news shows despite her supposed distaste of the media? (8.8)
Attorney Ad: (7.3)
(Big Sean): (5.5)
Weekend Update: Another solid Update. It seems the new Trump administration will be causing Update to be more politically front-loaded long past the election.
Leslie Jones appeared to talk about her fascination with "Hidden Figures". She goes on to talk about a few other notable African-American figures and inventors in history that aren't as known. This was one of the best Leslie features I thought. It was both informative, along with her typical solid lines.
The second guest saw "Jake Rocheck" (Mikey Day) talk about being friend-zoned. Don't think this will be a recurring guest, really forgettable. (8.0)
Bedroom: Melissa Villasenor finally gets a starring sketch, and she showed why she was hired. She tries to talk dirty to her boyfriend Aziz, but struggles to find the right lines. Her delivery makes this work so well, from her "6th grader" line to her Owen Wilson impersonation.The audience was eating this up, so here's hoping for more big roles for Melissa. (8.9)
Five Stars (short): A more topical piece, dealing with Aziz and Bobby Moynihan both struggling to obtain five stars on Uber as a passenger and driver (respectively). They come to bond with one another, moving past stereotypes. The closing gag is the typical twist, but this was a well put together short. (8.0)
Pizza Town: (7.5)
(Big Sean): (6.7)
To Sir With Love: This was a nice tribute to outgoing President Obama. Cecily Strong sings "To sir with love", joined later by Sasheer Zamata. (8.5)
The back half original work lifted this show to one of the season's best. It was benefited from strong political pieces, including the Putin cold open (which was a pretty genius way of handling the heavy news-filled weekend). (7.82)
Dave Chappelle: 8.83
Tom Hanks: 8.03
Aziz Ansari: 7.82
Lin Manuel Miranda: 7.74
Felicity Jones: 7.62
Emma Stone: 7.56
Casey Affleck: 7.40
Margot Robbie: 7.38
John Cena: 7.19
Kristen Wiig: 7.09
Emily Blunt: 7.07
Benedict Cumberbatch: 6.60
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