From the cold open to the monologue, the musical guest performances, and the iconic Weekend Update, this column dives deep into every new episode of Saturday Night Live. I’ll be talking about sketches, cast member highlights, the show’s weekly impact, and what might’ve flopped.
“I’m on SNL and you’re not!” This week’s Saturday Night Live (SNL) episode had Sabrina Carpenter as its host and musical guest. This was her second appearance as a host and her third as a musical guest. Carpenter also made an appearance during SNL’s 50th anniversary special that aired earlier this year, which most say predicted her return.
This episode had a rocky start, but it became great once it got its footing. The first couple of sketches fell flat, but quickly picked up speed and ended with a bang. The hype for this particular episode was also massive among fans of Carpenter and SNL, which may have caused expectations to be set too high. Nonetheless, this episode was pretty good and was a great way to end the first set of episodes before the break.
One of the highlights of this week’s episode was the first pre-taped sketch of the night, “Plans.” This sketch is a horror movie trailer parody about a couple, played by Carpenter and Ben Marshall, who are hoping to have a relaxing night to themselves, but find out they have family coming over.
It was extremely relatable, especially for Gen Z. The horror aspect was played off to perfection, setting the tone for the entire sketch and making the jokes and punchline even better. It continued to escalate and got progressively funnier as it continued, making it one of my favorite parts of the night and the best sketch in the first half of the show.
Another highlight of this week’s episode was “Surprise” (airing during the show’s dress rehearsal), which is about co-workers wanting to surprise their colleague for her birthday, but she’s so shocked she has a “fart attack.” Although it seems a bit juvenile, it was played so well, particularly Ashley Padilla’s performance as the colleague.
Her comedic timing was impeccable, and as the premise elevated, Padilla elevated with it, grounding a seemingly outlandish sketch. Padilla’s performance was further enhanced by Carpenter, Marshall, Sarah Sherman, and Andrew Dismukes, all playing the serious “straight-man” roles in a way that made the premise almost believable. I’m not too mature to admit that even a good fart joke makes me laugh, and this is an absolutely perfect example.
The 10-to-1 sketch this week, “Social Experiment,” was written and directed by Martin Herlihy, a writer on the show and member of the comedy group Please Don’t Destroy. This was my favorite sketch of the night, and not just because I’m a fan of Herlihy’s past work, but because it’s unique and shifts from the rest of the episode. It doesn’t include the host and has very few cast members.
It was also different because most writers don’t get direct credit for their work on the show, but the sketch had an end credit, highlighting Herlihy as the writer and director of the pre-tape. The distinctive premise is what made it great, and the weirdness made it especially funny to watch. This gives me hope that we’ll see more of Herlihy this season.
I can’t talk about this episode without mentioning the Weekend Update, and this week’s segment was great as always. Michael Che and Colin Jost are always on top of their jokes, and the dicier jokes landed even better with commentary from both hosts after they delivered them. This Weekend Update segment included appearances from Marcello Hernández’s “Movie Guy” character and new cast member Tommy Brennan.
Hernández’s “Movie Guy” is becoming a beloved feature on the show, and the irony of him discussing movies he’s never seen before is always hilarious. His presence is very much welcomed at the update desk.
Since Tommy Brennan is new to the show, with this being his third episode, he hasn’t had much of a chance to introduce himself to the audience yet. This was his perfect chance, and he did a great job. He showed off his skills and established his comedy style immediately, and although it kind of came off more as stand-up comedy, it excited me to see more from him and learn what role he’ll have in the cast.
I also can’t talk about this episode without mentioning Carpenter’s two musical performances. She performed her hit single, “Manchild,” as well as “Nobody’s Son” from her new album Man’s Best Friend. As a fan of her music, I loved both of these performances. The aesthetics of both, especially “Manchild,” fit her style so perfectly, giving a fun “girly pop” feel to the performance.
I thought her choice to perform “Nobody’s Son” was well thought out, especially because it’s so popular on social media, and I thought it was cool that she sang it uncensored, due to the show running late. The artistic choices in each performance were amazing, and I’d love to see her perform on the show again.
Some other sketches to note are “Appliance Store,” which was really funny and a bit weird, but in a good way. It had great performances from Padilla and Dismukes, who really shone in this episode. The pre-tape song, “Grind Song,” was also very funny and reminiscent of The Lonely Island’s digital shorts from the early 2010s.
Some of the lowlights of this episode were the cold open and monologue. The cold open wasn’t political in this episode, which is exceptionally rare for the show, but instead another iteration of Hernández’s iconic “Domingo” character.
While I’m a fan of Domingo, I think it’s become overdone too quickly. It debuted about a year ago, and this is the fourth time it’s aired; the previous time was during the 50th anniversary. The last time the cold open aired, it was full of guest stars and celebrities like Molly Shannon, Andy Samberg, and Pedro Pascal, among many others; however, this iteration was severely disappointing.
The jokes also didn’t land, and it just wasn’t as good as previous iterations. I also thought the sketch that aired after it, “Boys Podcast,” would’ve made for a much better cold open, especially with the addition of James Austin Johnson’s President Trump. The monologue was also weak, and although parts of it did match Carpenter’s energy, it didn’t match the energy of the show overall. Even with these lowlights, the show was still great.
Overall, I thought this episode of SNL was pretty good! The rocky start worked out in the end and included sketches that I think will become some of my favorites. I would give it an overall rating of 7 out of 10. The next show will take place on Nov. 1 and include Miles Teller as the host with musical guest Brandi Carlile, which will definitely be a fun and entertaining watch! Stay tuned for my SNL insights!
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