Jonathan Majors/Taylor Swift November 13, 2021

On the last episode, Kieran Culkin hosted with musical guest Ed Sheeran. This was a great episode with great sketches, great writing, great musical performances, and some memorable cameos.

This week, Jonathan Majors made his SNL debut and Taylor Swift made her fifth appearance as musical guest, her sixth appearance overall. Taylor’s most recent appearance as musical guest was season 45 with host Phoebe Waller-Bridge. I didn’t know what to expect from Jonathan Majors since I had never really heard of him before. I was interested to see how he would do as a host.

Here is my review of the episode hosted by Jonathan Majors with musical guest Taylor Swift.

Sketch Rundown:

Ted Cruz Sesame Street Cold Open:

I absolutely loved this cold open. I loved Bowen, Andrew, and Melissa as the kids as well as Aidy as Ted Cruz and Cecily as Marjorie Taylor Greene. I also loved when they got to the sponsor, “Today’s episode is brought to you by the letter ‘Q’. Not the letter, the man. He will tell us when JFK, Jr., who is alive, will reveal himself and help President Trump reclaim his rightful throne”. I also loved Kyle as Big Bird, Pete as Joe Rogan, all the different letters, Alex and Mikey as Bert and Ernie, and Chris as Oscar. I also loved Aristotle as the “Recount Count” and that he was moving to Arizona. I also loved when they said the word of the day was freedom and Chloe came out as Britney Spears. Britney’s finally free!!!! I thought this was a great and very topical cold open.

Jonathan Majors Monologue:

As I mentioned earlier, I wasn’t very familiar with Jonathan Majors so I didn’t know what to expect with his monologue. I really enjoyed the Idris Elba jokes as well as the jokes of celebrities that have worked at Red Lobster have done very well for themselves. I also thought it was funny when he joked that you could work at both Red Lobster and Olive Garden because they have the same parent company. Other than that, I thought it was a pretty decent monologue.

March of the Suitors:

This was kind of a weird sketch to start off the show. I thought Kenan and Jonathan were great in this sketch. I also loved Ego and Punkie in this sketch. I also thought Chloe was absolutely great in this sketch. I feel like there aren’t a lot of sketches, especially this season, where she is one of the main people in the sketch and not a background character. Although I thought this was a weird sketch for the start of the show, I did think it was a decent sketch.

Please Don’t Destroy-Three Sad Virgins:

I was honestly surprised to see this at the beginning of the show. I did love the twist when the video turned out to be Pete roasting Martin, John, and Ben. I loved the lines “That was my real doctor” and “Ben, why are you dressed as Wendy from Wendy’s?”. I also loved that Taylor got to appear in a sketch (she needs to host again, in my opinion). I thought this was a funny sketch.

Audacity in Advertising Awards:

I thought this sketch was just okay but it did have some funny moments. I did like the concept of an award show for commercials. I also liked the line “you’re using what to sell what?”. I also thought it was funny that the newest intern was accepting an award on behalf of the winning company. I also loved the Company In Memoriam. I also loved when they introduced “Limu Emu and his human friend” and when Limu Emu said Aflac. I also thought it was funny when one of the categories was “Most Egregious Ad of the Year”. I also thought the ending of the sketch was funny when they promoted an upcoming performance of the jingle for 1-877-Kars-4-Kids.

Strange Kids Tales:

I thought this was another funny sketch. I thought Kenan and Jonathan had great chemistry in this sketch. I also thought the kids were great, especially the girl at the end who they called “Coraline”. I also loved the line when this girl came on “What’s going on with this little Wednesday Addams?”. I also loved the line “imaginary friends are ghosts”. I also loved Pete appearing as the man in the red jacket that some of the kids had referenced.

Man Park:

I absolutely loved this sketch. I loved how they described it as “it’s like a dog park but for guys in relationships so they can make friends and have an outlet besides their girlfriends and wives”. I also thought the IPA fountain was funny. I also thought that Heidi’s character at the end of the sketch was funny. This, hands down, had to be the best sketch of the night.

Taylor Swift “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version)” Performance:

I had been anticipating that Taylor would perform this song since she teased on one of her recent talk show appearances. I loved the entire performance. I loved that they played the accompanying short film behind her as she performed. I also loved how the performance started off with falling leaves and then it changed to falling snow. I also figured that she would only perform this song since it’s a little over ten minutes long. I thought this performance was absolutely epic. Now if Taylor could just get that scarf back.

Weekend Update:

I thought it was a clever and brilliant idea to start off with the Taylor joke at the beginning of Update. I also loved the joke about the “Q Anon Shaman” and the math equation explaining the sentencing request. I also loved the joke about Josh Hawley. I thought Sarah was absolutely incredible. I loved all of her jokes and the roasts of Colin. I also loved Aristotle as Laughintosh 3000. I thought he had the robot mannerisms down as well as the robot voice. I also thought the jokes about Staten Island and the impressions of different apps were so funny. I thought this was a great Weekend Update and great appearances from some of the newer cast members.

Broadway Benefit:

I thought this was another funny sketch. I love any time I get to see Bowen and Cecily together as a musical duo. I loved the performance and I thought it was funny when Jonathan’s character climbed through the window.

Pet Store:

I thought this was a funny sketch. I loved the puppies throughout the sketch. I loved the different bones that were shown. I also thought the song was funny and how each customer got a personalized song after their purchase. I also loved the accountant character.

Pastor Announcement:

I thought this sketch was a little weird but also typical for the last sketch of the night. I thought Kenan was great in this sketch, with a funny line “friend zoned by my pastor”. I also thought it was funny that the church was called “First Damn Baptist Church”. There were some funny moments but again I felt this sketch was a little weird.

Overall, I thought this episode was just okay. It wasn’t my favorite episode but it wasn’t the worst episode I’ve ever seen. In my opinion, I think it’s okay that this episode didn’t completely blow my mind because it wouldn’t make for a realistic season. That being said, there were some funny sketches and other great moments from this episode, including one of my favorite musical performances ever.

This has been my take on the SNL episode hosted by Jonathan Majors with musical guest Taylor Swift. I’ll be back with a new post about the upcoming episode with host Simu Liu and musical guest Saweetie. Be sure to connect with me and follow me on Twitter at @SNLBlogger for up to date SNL news and live tweeting every new episode. See you during the next episode!

Thanks for reading!

Lauren

Kieran Culkin/Ed Sheeran November 6, 2021

On the last episode, a member of the SNL family came home to host for the very first time. Jason Sudeikis hosted what has to be one of the best episodes of the season so far. There was brilliant writing, great sketches, and some familiar favorites like What’s Up with That and The Devil on Weekend Update. Brandi Carlile was the musical guest and delivered two incredible performances.

This week, Kieran Culkin came to host for the first time along with returning musical guest Ed Sheeran. Although this was Kieran’s first time hosting, this wasn’t his first appearance on the show. He appeared in three sketches when his brother, Macaulay Culkin, hosted in 1991 back in season 17. Ed Sheeran has appeared on the show before with his last appearance being in season 42 with host Alec Baldwin.

Here is my review of the episode hosted by Kieran Culkin with musical guest Ed Sheeran

Sketch Rundown:

Aaron Rodgers Trump Cold Open:

I absolutely loved this cold open. I loved seeing Cecily’s Jeanine Pirro again, especially after last season’s memorable Weekend Update appearance of this impression in the season finale. I loved how she was messing up the title of her show. I also loved Pete as Aaron Rodgers. I loved a lot of his lines, especially “It’s my body and my COVID”. I also loved Heidi as a “concerned parent” and Alex as Glenn Youngkin. I also loved the explanations as to why certain books should be banned from schools. Another memorable moment from this cold open was the debut of James Austin Johnson as Trump, taking over from previous impersonator Alec Baldwin. This impression was so spot-on it was scary. You could close your eyes and it sounded like the real Trump. I loved how he kept calling Jeanine Pirro “Judge Judy” as well as the rundowns. This cold open was so great and also super topical.

Kieran Culkin Monologue:

I honestly did not know what to expect from Kieran Culkin with the monologue. I found the monologue to be very funny and I loved the references to when he appeared in the episode where his brother, Macaulay Culkin, hosted back in season 17. I also loved the different clips they showed from that episode.

Cancelling Cable:

I thought this sketch was very funny and also relatable. I mean, I’ve never had to cancel my cable but I’ve definitely been on phone calls like that for things like trying to negotiate a medical bill. I loved all of the different representatives as well as the security questions. I also loved Kenan as the landline installer. I thought it was also funny that Kieran’s character was transferred to a Domino’s as well as Sarah and Melissa’s characters showing up at the same time. I also loved Bowen’s character as well as all of the different representatives asking if Kieran’s character wanted to add a landline. I thought this sketch was funny and a great way to open the show.

Car Heist:

At first I didn’t know what to think of this sketch. I loved the turn the sketch took when it was revealed that Chris’s character couldn’t drive a stick shift. I loved Kenan’s character and how he was laughing at Chris’s character. I also thought it was funny that Chris’s character said he wasn’t “Fred Flinstein”. I thought this sketch was hilarious.

Dionne Warwick Talk Show:

I absolutely love this sketch and I’m so happy they brought it back. I loved Chloe’s impression of Miley Cyrus as well as Andrew’s character trying to give a booster shot to Ego’s Dionne Warwick. I also thought Kieran was great as Jason Mraz and how she called him “Mr. Az”. I was also pleasantly surprised to see Ed Sheeran in this sketch or any sketch really. I thought he was great in his brief cameo. I also loved how Ego’s Dionne Warwick said that Machine Gun Kelly was too scary for her and then brings out Pete as Post Malone, which she thought was even scarier. I was also surprised to see the actual Dionne Warwick come out after that. I loved how the two of them sang together and hugged as the sketch ended. I loved this sketch and thought it was funny.

Men’s Room:

I thought this sketch was kind of funny but also a little weird. I did think the breakaways with the different character’s, especially with Alex’s character basically confessing to murder. I also was not expecting to see Tracy Morgan in this sketch, or in any sketch for this episode. Nevertheless, it was a fun surprise for this sketch.

The Jockey:

I thought this was a funny sketch, especially since I do watch some horse racing. I thought it was funny that Kieran’s character was riding the horse like a skateboard. I also liked how it was done kind of in a music video style with the backing band dressed as jockeys. I also thought Kieran’s character getting thrown off the horse and then trampled by the other horses was funny as well as the video game title “Toby Bird’s Pro Jockey”.

Ed Sheeran “Shivers” Performance:

The day after it was announced that Ed Sheeran would be the musical guest, he announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19. There was a lot of concern that SNL would have to find another musical guest (or even possibly do a live virtual performance) but Ed was still able to perform in the studio. I love this song and I thought it was a great performance.

Weekend Update:

I thought this was another good Weekend Update. I expected there to be a lot of jokes referencing the Virginia Governor’s election. I specifically loved the joke about how the Parents Bill of Rights was just a sign you could find at Home Goods. I loved Kenan’s impression of Ice Cube. I loved how he said he was “going through a gangster lumberjack phase”. I also loved Cecily as Goober the Clown. I don’t know about anyone else but her costume gave me major “Big Comfy Couch” vibes (this is for my fellow nineties kids). I also thought it was funny how the water squirted at Colin messed up his microphone. I also loved how the horn wasn’t working as well as her talking after breathing in helium. I absolutely loved this bit from Cecily. It was a funny way to talk about something very serious and also very personal (also, go read Cecily’s book if you haven’t already).

Weatherman:

I thought this was a funny sketch and kind of the typical sketch we would see after Weekend Update. I loved the Fall Rap and the graphics of the dancing leaves and the turkeys on the radar. I also loved the weather alert interrupting the rap as well as Bowen’s voice over. I also loved when Kenan and Cecily’s characters cut to Punkie’s character with the interaction “Where are the Boy Scouts? The sea”. Again, I thought this was a funny sketch.

Ed Sheeran “Overpass Graffiti” Performance:

I thought this was another great performance from Ed Sheeran. I’m not going to lie, I thought he would’ve played his song “Bad Habits” but I ended up really liking this song. I’m glad he was able to perform on the show and I hope we see him again.

Please Don’t Destroy-Calling Angie:

I thought this sketch was okay. I did love the heartfelt moments that led into funnier moments, especially during the phone call. I also thought Sarah coming in as Angie was hilarious.

Overall, I thought this was a great episode. I loved how during the goodnights that Chris and Kenan lifted up Kieran how he and Macaulay were lifted up when the latter hosted SNL back in season 17. I hope Kieran comes back to host and I still can’t believe this was his first time hosting.

This has been my take on the SNL episode hosted by Kieran Culkin with musical guest Ed Sheeran. I’ll be back next week with another post about the upcoming episode hosted by Jonathan Majors with musical guest Taylor Swift. Be sure to connect with me and follow me on Twitter at @SNLBlogger for up to date SNL news and live tweeting every new episode. See you during the next episode!

Thanks for reading!

Lauren

Jason Sudeikis/Brandi Carlile October 23, 2021

On the last episode, Rami Malek hosted for the first time and Young Thug was the musical guest. It was a great show with great writing and some very memorable sketches. Young Thug also provided some good musical performances along with some guest performers. For the Halloween episode, former writer and cast member Jason Sudeikis hosts for the first time after appearing in several cameos over the years since he departed the show in 2013 at the end of season 38. Brandi Carlile served as the musical guest with some great performances. I was so excited to see the lineup for this episode and I had very high hopes that this would be a good episode.

Here is my review of the episode hosted by Jason Sudeikis with musical guest Brandi Carlile.

Sketch Rundown:

Ghost of Biden Past Cold Open:

I had a feeling that there would be some kind of political cold open. I thought Chloe was great as Jen Psaki. I also loved that Jason got to do his Joe Biden impression again. It was cool seeing James and Jason getting to do the same impression alongside each other along with a brief appearance by Alex’s Biden impression. It also would’ve been cool to see Jim Carrey pop in for a brief cameo. I also loved the lines “Hillary got awesome” and “Senator Sinema? That sounds like a Star Wars character”. I thought this was a great cold open.

Jason Sudeikis Monologue:

I loved this monologue so much. I loved how it was funny but also sentimental. I thought it was also funny when Jason said that ten years was an actor’s dozen. I also loved when Jason said that his show Ted Lasso was “built on two things Americans hate: soccer and kindness”. I thought this was a great monologue.

Science Room:

I thought it was cool that they brought this sketch back. I loved that Jason’s character introduced himself as Mr. Teacher. I thought Cecily and Mikey were great in this sketch, as always. I also loved when trying to name the planets the names that came up were Planet Hollywood and Phoenix. I also loved the line “What is matter? Um, nothing, I’m good”. I also loved when the parents were brought out and the name of Cecily’s character was said wrong. Overall, I thought this was a very funny sketch and a great way to start the show.

Mellen:

I thought this sketch was really funny. I loved the awkward male dancing and the sneak up surprises. I also loved when they said Ellen’s lawyers called the show a cease and desist. I thought it was weird to see Gritty in a sketch and I would honestly have the same reaction as Chloe’s character. I also love how the tagline was “Mellen: He’s the male Ellen. And that’s as far as we thought it through”.

Annie:

I thought this sketch was cute and funny but also got a little dark. I loved when Miss May wondered what Ricky’s job was and when Ricky called Annie the wrong name. I also loved the lines “And we don’t know what Ricky does” and “Don’t look in the freezer”.

Parent-Teacher Conference:

I thought this was a funny sketch but it was a little weird at times. I thought Jason and Ego had great chemistry and Kyle’s character was also funny. I loved the lines “Are you available? In what sense?” and “one, two, two and a half, two and five-sevenths. Oh, I’m so bad at fractions”.

Men’s Underwear Commercial:

This was kind of a weird sketch but it was also pretty funny. I loved Chris and Ego in this sketch as well as the disposal of the underwear in multiple plastic bags.

Brandi Carlile “Broken Horses” Performance:

I was familiar with Brandi Carlile a little bit mostly because I’m a fan of Country music. I was blown away with her performance of “Broken Horses”. It was full of elements of Rock blended with Country and the harmonies were incredible. I thought this was an amazing performance.

Weekend Update:

I thought this was another solid Weekend Update. I did wish that there were more characters but it’s possible they were running long. I thought the jokes from Colin and Michael were solid but nothing really stood out to me. I loved that Jason came on as The Devil, especially since it’s my favorite Update character of his. I thought it was funny how The Devil claimed responsibility for things like Instagram for Kids and Bitcoin, as well as Tom Brady and keeps his soul in a Tom Brady portrait. I also thought it was funny how he said Florida was not that different from Hell. I also thought it was funny how he said he was not responsible for things like QAnon. I also thought it was hilarious that he mentioned a deal with Colin to marry Scarlett Johansson. I loved the line “I don’t know who screws her more, you or Disney”. Overall, I thought this was a great Weekend Update.

What Up With That:

I was so happy to see they brought this sketch back! I loved that Fred came back but Bill was definitely missed. However, I thought it was hilarious that Nicholas Braun was mistaken for Lindsey Buckingham. I also loved getting to see Melissa and Punkie as the backup singers. I also thought Chris was funny as well as Ego, Bowen, and Cecily as the HeeBee BeeGees. Kyle’s character was also funny and I loved the other celebrity cameos of Oscar Isaac and Emily Ratajkowski. I also loved the line about getting Linus out of the pumpkin patch because he missed Halloween again. This had to be my favorite sketch of the night.

Declaration Pitch:

I thought this was kind of a weird sketch to have in the show. I loved Andrew’s character and how he wanted a “sick ass treasure map” on the back of the Declaration of Independence. I also loved Kyle’s character as well as Aidy and Aristotle as people from the future.

Brandi Carlile “Right on Time” Performance:

This was another amazing performance from Brandi Carlile. I loved how she started on piano and then moved so seamlessly to guitar. Her voice is so incredible in this song. I love how she can go from singing a power song like “Broken Horses” to a ballad with “Right on Time”. I hope Brandi Carlile comes back as the musical guest and I definitely want to check out more of her music. 

Casino Proposal:

This sketch was, in my opinion, pretty weird but kind of typical for an end of the night sketch. I loved getting to see Jason and Heidi in a sketch together (the two Kansas City natives). I thought Kenan’s character was funny and I loved the negotiations between his character and Jason and Heidi’s characters. I also loved the “three million doll hairs”, the invisible briefcase, and the “one zillion dollars”.

Overall, I thought this was an incredible episode. In all honesty, I think this is the best episode of the season so far. It was the perfect blend of a great host choice, great writing, and also a great musical guest. Also with this episode, Colin Jost passes Seth Meyers as the longest running Weekend Update anchor.

This has been my take on the SNL episode hosted by Jason Sudeikis with musical guest Brandi Carlile. I’ll be back next week with another post about the upcoming episode with host Kieran Culkin and musical guest Ed Sheeran. Be sure to connect with me and follow me on Twitter at @SNLBlogger for up to date SNL news and live tweeting every new episode. See you during the next episode!

Thanks for reading!

Lauren