Cold Open – Kavanaugh Hearing
- Meh at Leslie’s opening spiel.
- I thought for a moment that Alex was playing Chuck Schumer in this open.
- Ah, the debut of Matt Damon’s Brett Kavanaugh impression, one of the few stunt political impressions of this era that I actually don’t mind seeing, though that’s mainly because of Matt’s performance.
- Right off the bat, Matt’s performance as Brett Kavanaugh is slaying me, and he’s even making potentially-lame lines work.
- Every single line from Matt so far is hilarious.
- Alex casually saying “I’m hard as hell” made me laugh more than it should have.
- A very funny cutaway to Matt chugging an unhealthy amount of water.
- Hell yeah, Rachel Dratch! Sure, the casting of her in this role is completely pointless and probably should’ve gone to a lesser-used female cast member, but…come on, it’s Rachel friggin’ Dratch. How can you NOT get mad at seeing her?
- Hmm, I might have gotten excited a little too soon, as Rachel’s role in this sketch is just a boring straight man.
- A very funny description from Aidy of how she wants Matt to read his paper.
- Sorry, SNL, but I’m just not gonna buy Pete as an old Senator (by the way, please don’t sue me, Anthony).
- Oh God, now Kate as Lindsey Graham is taking over this open? I thought she was playing Jeff Sessions in this open! And I was really enjoying this so far!
- Yeah, this portion isn’t working for me. And I’m not just saying that because the prosthetics on Kate are terrifying, I’m saying that because her performance in this sketch isn’t very good, nor is the dialogue coming out of her mouth.
- I love the running bit with Matt tearfully talking about his friends.
- Overall, despite the minor issues throughout, this was an overall strong cold open, with a great performance from Matt Damon.
Rating: ****
Opening Montage
- I should mention that this is the first episode to use this particular opening montage. And this one’s very fun.
- It’s also worth mentioning that this was the first episode for Ego Nwodim. And with this episode, I officially have covered the debut episodes of everyone in the current cast.
Monologue
- Ugh, Adam’s opening joke (“I’m Adam ‘Designated’ Driver”) always makes me cringe.
- Not really sure if a monologue where the cast talks about their summer is a good way to use Adam.
- Adam’s inner thoughts regarding Beck are kinda funny.
- The part about whether or not Adam will hit Kenan is pretty funny, especially the cutaway to the former’s angry face.
- OH NO. Our first reference to Pete’s relationship with Ariana Grande that summer. And from what I’ve heard, this won’t be the last of them tonight.
- Overall, despite some good bits, this was a rather dull monologue, and a poor use of Adam’s talents. So I should be grateful that his most recent monologue is a solo one, and a fantastic one at that.
Rating: **½
Fortnite
- Oh God, really? We’re doing an “old people don’t understand technology” sketch? And in the lead-off position? Of the SEASON PREMIERE, no less? Already a bad sign.
- Props to Chris for keeping a straight face while Mikey is running in front of him.
- Yeah, this has really been losing me so far. The main joke has gotten old really fast.
- Well, at least the performers are doing spot-on movements of game characters.
- Ego makes her first SNL appearance…and it’s a completely silent role.
- An overall poor way to open tonight’s episode.
Rating: **
A New Kyle
- REALLY? A pretape focusing on Pete’s relationship with Ariana Grande?! As if the monologue wasn’t enough…
- Blah at the premise of Kyle trying to imitate Pete’s schtick just to outshadow him.
- Random Wendy Williams cameo.
- Newly-hired writer Bowen Yang makes his first onscreen appearance prior to joining the cast.
- The fight between Pete and Kyle is kinda cool, but I’m kinda desperate for something to like.
- The actual fight ended up being extremely lame.
- An overall rare instance of a Kyle backstage short not working for me.
Rating: **
Coffee Shop
- Again: really, SNL?! We’re doing a variation of the solid Italian Restaurant sketch from the preceding season’s premiere?! Man, tonight’s premiere has ALREADY started off lazy.
- Blah, this has been going the EXACT SAME ROUTE as that sketch, and it isn’t working quite as well. Hell, not even Adam’s performance is as good as Ryan Gosling’s. And Adam’s a far better host than Gosling!
- The cutaway to Melissa is a waste of her, but what else is new?
- Jesus, Cecily is really annoying me the more it goes on. In the Italian Restaurant sketch, her performance was tolerable, but apparently, lightning couldn’t strike twice!
- Lame ending.
- Overall, yeah, this didn’t work. I think my overall grade might be a bit too high based on everything I just said, but I have to be honest with myself.
Rating: **
Rad Times at Frat U
- I’m already liking this setup early on.
- The premise of us seeing the horrible outcomes of all these people is reminding me of the Neurotology music video from S40. I prefer that one, but this one’s pretty good so far.
- A laugh from how Mikey’s outcome just says “dead” after the wordy outcomes of everyone else prior to him.
- Every onscreen text is very funny.
- Good ending.
- An overall solid pretape, and the first post-cold open segment that I enjoyed.
Rating: ***½
Weekend Update
- Do we need to see Colin reacting to the clips of Brett Kavanaugh? We already saw this being spoofed in the cold open, we don’t need to see the actual event.
- Uh, yes, thank you, Colin for basically explaining what happened to us.
- Michael’s Kavanaugh rant did nothing for me.
- Oh God, not Kate’s Ruth Bader Gisnberg impression.
- Lame bit with Kate singing “Never Gonna Give You Up”.
- Ugh at all these Ginsburns.
- This RBG commentary keeps going and going…
- I could’ve sworn that Colin did jokes about this Gritty mascot the following season.
- Leslie suddenly interrupting Update as Serena Williams felt completely out of nowhere.
- Wait, that was the whole bit? That went nowhere!
- Che saying “hey, hey, hey” regarding Bill Cosby made me chuckle.
- THAT was the best Cosby joke they could come up with?!
- Funny how Che’s Cosby bit keeps continuing after Colin moved on, making the last sentence I just typed completely irrelevant.
- Wait, Dunkin’ Donuts’ name change was in 2018? I thought it was later than that.
- Oh God, a Pete Davidson commentary.
- This commentary has really been losing me so far. Maybe it’s because I can’t give two shits about Pete’s personal life, maybe it’s because I don’t like it whenever he talks about it, maybe it’s because I’m slightly tired. Either way, I’m not liking this.
- An overall frustrating Update with weak jokes and three subpar commentaries.
Rating: **½
Career Day
- Here comes a well-loved classic.
- Right from his entrance, Adam’s look and performance are absolutely hilarious. And man, it feels nice to see Adam get an actual comedic role tonight after being wasted in dull roles.
- Ugh, Pete is having a hard time keeping a straight face, which happens throughout this sketch.
- Adam’s dialogue regarding his job description is priceless. Even funnier is how Melissa is the only one interested.
- “Who is H.R. Pickens?” “EXACTLY!”
- Adam’s staredown of Pete is great.
- Ego has been used in very dull roles in her first episode. In all honesty, I forgot about her entirely.
- And here comes the part that turns this sketch into a full classic: Adam stabbing a fucking prop bird with his cane.
- “I wanna be you when I grow up.” “AND SO YOU SHALL!!”
- Overall, this sketch definitely lived up to the hype. However, I’m not sure which Career Day sketch I love more: this or the one with J.K. Simmons in S40.
Rating: *****
League of the South
- I’m about a minute or two into this sketch, and I gotta ask: what exactly is the point of this? Is it that Beck’s description of other places sounds a lot like familiar places? Because that’s all I’m getting. And hey, I probably just explained the joke, but I don’t really find it funny. In fact, this has been falling pretty flat.
- Beck and Kyle’s performances are kinda funny, at least.
- And the sketch ends on Adam’s line about Subarus? That was a pretty weak way to end a pretty weak sketch.
Rating: **
Final Thoughts
- An underwhelming season premiere. While there were some good things, and there weren’t any real flops, the amount of good things could be counted on one hand, and most of the night was filled with sketches that contained weak writing and sometimes felt dead. Not to mention the focus on Pete’s personal life in several segments. I also wasn’t crazy about how Adam Driver was utilized tonight, as he was cast in very dull roles, aside from the great Career Day sketch. So I guess it’s a good thing that his S45 episode actually utilizes him well.
Well, that’s all for now. I’m Jesse, and I’ll see you Sunday.
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