SNL: Chance The Rapper

Monologue: It's usually rare that the monologue gets included in this, but there was something special here. From the get-go, Chance The Rapper donned a shirt representing the teachers striking in Chicago. And then he went on with a rap on other #2 things as compared to Chicago being America's #2 city. There was a lot of creativity here (though I suppose some will quibble on 'Angel' being considered #2, but I mean, c'mon now). Monologues usually fall into the categories of 'audience participation' v. 'songs', so its always nice to see one that does something different.


Tasty Toaster Tarts: SNL does dark horror really well. As Chance rattles off snacks, his friends start to notice that something is amiss as his strict parents are nowhere to be found. What made this work was its pacing, along with the camera work. The camera panned around on the friends' concerned faces as Chance continues naming snacks. A lot went into making this what it turned out to be.

Spooky Song: This was of a similar mode to "David Pumpkins". On a stroll to the graveyard, Kyle Mooney and Heidi Gardner run into a cadre of spirits who went onto singing about their demises. This starts off as a sort of mundane sketch, until we see Chance's reluctance to take his turn....which we come to understand why. Without further spoiling it, lets just say it involves feeling 'shockingly good'. Chance's timing makes this play out.

Dance Rehearsal: I know I only focus on three sketches, but I just briefly wanted to mention this bit of 10 to 1 weirdness. Kenan Thompson makes this work with his phrasing. Playing a dance instructor on Halloween, he gets very concerned as the moon shines through the shades....and the blinds...and so on. As I mentioned, how Kenan says "the moooooon" just ties this together.


Overall, this was a perfectly fine episode.....except one thing brought this down....Michael Che and weekend update. For some bizarre reason, he decided to start along a transphobic joke on how Kanye is turning into a white woman. He awkwardly abandoned it mid-joke, but the structure was there all the same. Che has a history of transphobia, along with turning into a snowflake when he receives any sort of criticism. Che should focus more on reading the teleprompter without stumbling, and less on what others say about him. (6.98)


David Harbour: 7.78

Phoebe Waller-Bridge: 7.52
Woody Harrelson: 7.34

Chance The Rapper: 6.98