SNL capped off a 4-week run leading into their olympic break. Onto the review.
Fox & Friends Cold Open: This felt a little weird from the start. I was so used to the old fox & friends casting of Taran Killam, Vanessa Bayer and Bobby Moynihan. This just fell flat...from glitchy camera work with Cecily Strong as Hope Hicks, to a lackadaisical Alec Baldwin appearance as Trump in bed. Its time for SNL to move on from Alec's trump. (4.5)
Monologue: With monologues, you usually get a cast member interaction, stand-up, or a song/dance. So I was pleasantly surprised when they branched out to something new here with an Olympic style breakdown, featuring slo-mo replay and all. (7.9)
Revolutionary War: It can be tough to come up with a good super-bowl themed sketch, but SNL was able to pull it off here. Boston and Philadelphia led factions square off and who's better, featuring alumni Rachel Dratch and Tina Fey. And may I just say, living in Connecticut, shoutout to Luke Null for his CT inclusion of New England. (7.7)
Stranger Things 3: (7.0)
Natalie's Rap 2 (short): Something as highly anticipated as this could have fell off the mark...but this picked it up where the original left off. Natalie brought her 'A' game for this, with a terrific line about the Star Wars prequels dressed up as Queen Amidala herself. It was kind of fascinating to see how SNL digital shorts have come since the original rap. (8.5)
(Dua Lipa): (7.0)
Weekend Update: The first guest saw a pair of french actresses portrayed by Cecily and Kate with their critiques of the #MeToo movement. These characters were fairly forgettable.
Pete Davidson appeared with an interesting narrative on filming a super bowl commercial.
Finally, Kenan appeared as Willie. This is far from my favorite Kenan character, but he has good chemistry with Michael Che. (7.5)
Alien Lover: (6.0)
Nickeloden Kids Choice Awards Orange Carpet: It was interesting that they did another sketch about the KCA's. Unlike the last one, which was about timing, this one focused on Natalie losing her voice. While not as good as that original sketch, Natalie's voice-loss acting was terrific. (7.0)
First Lady: (6.4)
(Dua Lipa): (7.3)
Bunny: This sketch was driven by Aidy Bryant. I don't know how she came up with this character, but she really owned it. While everyone rightfully focuses on Kate McKinnon's character work, don't overlook Aidy's. (7.5)
This episode was a mixed bag. There were some bizarre concepts, but a decent amount of material that worked. With a debuting host, this show could have gotten into muddy territory, but Natalie Portman was able to work it. While currently the lowest scoring, its still leagues over some bottom-dwelling episodes from last season. (7.03)
Will Ferrell: 8.02
Chance The Rapper: 7.83
Ryan Gosling: 7.63
Sam Rockwell: 7.55
Kumali Nanjiani: 7.48
James Franco: 7.28
Kevin Hart: 7.20
Saoirse Ronan: 7.16
Tiffany Haddish: 7.15
Larry David: 7.14
Jessica Chastain: 7.11
Gal Gadot: 7.08
Natalie Portman: 7.03
