This was probably the strongest episode of the season. Glen Powell was a fantastic presenter, making his long awaited debut while Will Forte came in to play a classic character and Olivia Dean performed harmless soul-pop. The sketch writing was fluid and unusually strong, and the show was truly entertaining. That's all that happened on Saturday Night Live This week.
Cold opening
Ashley Padilla played White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt, who dealt with an inquisitive press that had many questions about the massive amount of files and emails related to Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein that were recently made public. She was soon replaced by James Austin Johnson's Trump, who continued to further accuse and humiliate himself, even citing the recent “Bubba revelation” revelation, which many speculate is a reference to Trump and Bill Clinton. It was a fun way to cope with some very disturbing and gross news of the week.
Monologue
Actor Glen Powell made his hosting debut and joked about his recent popularity. He spoke about his forays into acting and filmmaking in his youth, as well as his experiences working in films. Spy Kids 3. The most important thing is that Powell told us about how he had to carry out SNL four years ago and even took a selfie with a UPS driver named Mitch to celebrate the news. But when Top Shot: Maverick the film he was starring in was delayed due to COVID, and his lead role was rescinded. So, after the show resumed, Powell wheeled Mitch out and introduced us to him—with a charming and funny monologue delivered.
Sunnyside Nursing Home
Some family members visited their grandmother at a senior center for Thanksgiving and showed off a new app that brings photos to life using clever artificial intelligence. Powell played Grandma's father in the photos, which became increasingly bizarre, disturbing and surreal, which was a great way to laugh at the artificial intelligence and tell some good jokes.
“I miss my ex's dad”
Tommy Brennan and Ben Marshall played country singers in the music video, singing a pop-country tune about how they miss their exes' fathers, in which Powell was one of the singing fathers who tried to sabotage his daughter's new relationship with her daughter's ex. It was surprisingly intense and effective.
Bachelor's weekend
On Bachelor Weekend, Powell played Dave, the groom-to-be, and revealed that one of his friends was flamboyant comedian Sebastian Maniscalco. Maniscalco, played by Marcello Hernandez, was a physically and socially domineering man who alienated the rest of Dave's friends, although when he and Maniscalco performed lip-sync comedy, it became clear why they got along. In a weird way, Chloe Fineman cast Jennifer Coolidge as a stripper, but other than that it was more than decent, except for the fact that it reminded us all of Sebastian Maniscalco.
Wedding scent
Mikey Day played the American director of the Norwegian film, which starred dramatic actors Chloe Fineman and Powell. After completing their intense, dark scenes, the actors burst into wild self-congratulations. They were soon joined by a child actor, played by Jeremy Culhane, as well as James Austin Johnson, who debuted his uncanny portrayal of Stellan Skarsgård. It wasn't bad, and special thanks to Jane Wickline, who played the spirited Norwegian forklift.
MacGruber: The Epstein Files
Surprisingly, the great Will Forte is back in SNL for MacGruber's segment on Epstein's list, which he appeared to be on. A random but valuable visit here from MacGruber.
Zara Midtown
Andrew Dismukes played a new soldier in the US Army, where he discovered the Slay Division, all of whom had short hair and were flamboyant. All of their competing divisions were at their best, and the tense dynamic gave new meaning to the word “serve.” It was quite entertaining.
Olivia Dean
Staged like a 1960s TV musical performance, pop singer Olivia Dean and her seven-piece band delivered a fun, breezy but slightly soulful “Man I Need” that was a little more pleasant to see than to hear.
With the lighting set to a moodier tone, Dean and her band performed the ballad “Let Alone the One You Love,” which showcased her strong voice and a healthy take on old-school soul that could benefit from some edginess.
Weekend update
Colin Jost opened the Update by discussing the end of the government shutdown, as well as Epstein's emails and documents, which included quite a bit of information about Epstein's old Gmail address. Michael Che wasn't about to ignore one of the emails suggesting Trump performed oral sex on Bill Clinton and earned groans over a joke about Epstein's supposed suicide.
Yost listed all the pedophiles who were in Trump's orbit, and Che talked about Trump attending an NFL game at what Yost told us might soon be called the “Dementia Dome.” Che showed us a clip that manipulated Trump's speech and told us a powerful joke about Bill Cosby that got applause because of the dad joke about pence. And finally, after a very rare episode that didn't feature any guest correspondents, the short but funny update ended with Che making a micropenis joke about Adolf Hitler and Jost.
Filmed: Airport
Powell played Liam Neeson's Brian Taken film franchise, returning home from Paris with his daughter, whom he saved, and arriving at the airport to meet his wife and her wimpy new husband Dennis, played by nerdy and needy Andrew Dismukes. It was good.
MacGruber: The Epstein Files II
Powell and Chloe Fineman returned to join MacGruber in another disaster scene involving Epstein's list, which MacGruber was again clearly on, although this time he had more trouble destroying it.
Melissa's haircut
The friends gathered at the restaurant, awaiting the arrival of their friend Melissa from a meeting with a hair designer named John Vaughn. Ashley Padilla played Melissa, who was stabbed to death by her hairdresser, which left her visibly distressed and her friends having to feign support for the hairstyle. Powell and the rest of the cast do a superb job, certainly up to the task of being as stellar as Padilla in this combination of physical comedy and stunning acting.
MacGruber: The Epstein Files III
The crew had somehow survived the previous two bombings and were prepared to hear MacGruber confess that he was on Epstein's island selling watered-down cocaine to people. A bad look for MacGruber from all angles.
