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
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