Season 46 overview

Well, folks, here we are. It’s time to take a look back at the highs and lows of Season 46. 

First, let’s take a look at the cast members…

Repertory Players

Beck Bennett: In his final season, Beck kind of grew on me. I had always dismissed him in the past due to his terrible political impressions. But, now that we have a new administration, most of his really bad ones (such as Mike Pence) have been retired. I’ve actually missed him in Season 47, but I’m glad he decided to leave when he wanted to. Also, Beck somehow had the most screentime in his final season! That’s pretty impressive!

Aidy Bryant: She missed a few episodes early in the season, and as a result, her airtime was diminished in comparison to last year. On the plus side, they thankfully cut down on the number of pairings she had with Kate.

Pete Davidson: As hard as it is for me to admit this, Pete Davidson didn’t have too bad of a year this time around. Now that he’s gotten all of his personal issues sorted out for the time being, it seems like he gives more of a shit about his performances. We also saw the end of his biggest recurring character (Chad) before he got too stale. In conclusion, probably Pete’s best season since Season 43.

Mikey Day: It seems like they went lighter on Mikey this year. He’s still probably my favorite male member of the cast, even if the stuff that he writes is starting to take a dip in quality.

Heidi Gardner: She isn’t the most annoying cast member to me anymore, most likely because someone else (who I’ll be getting to later) has taken up that spot.

Kate McKinnon: With each passing year she remains on the show, McKinnon’s shtick just keeps getting worse. The number of sketches that she ruined just by showing up was worryingly high. How she remains popular with the audience is beyond me. 

Alex Moffat: Once his signature Eric Trump impression was retired after the end of the Trump administration, Moffat has started to reach Finesse Mitchell-levels of underuse. There were a lot of episodes from the second half of the season where it seems like he was only in a couple of sketches. I will say that he is starting to grow on me, however.

Kyle Mooney: Another cast member who’s starting to grow on me. Some of my favorite sketches from this season were ones that starred him (like the prank sketch from Daniel Kaluuya’s episode). I’m more than happy to see him come back for Season 47.

Ego Nwodim: My favorite female member of the current cast. With her promotion to repertory status, Ego’s airtime EXPLODED this season! Like with Mooney, a lot of my favorite sketches this year came from her, particularly her Update commentaries, which she always excels at.

Chris Redd: Yet another cast member that I’ve gained a lot of respect for in this season. He seems to be one of the few good impressionists left on the show. His Update commentaries, while extremely rare, are almost always good.

Cecily Strong: She missed the first few episodes, and was only a minor presence in all the rest. A lot of people saw these as signs that she’d be on her way out at the end of the season. After seeing the stuff that she did this year, it’s pretty obvious that Cecily has done all she can do already. I mean, after nine years in the cast, you’re bound to dry up at some point.

Kenan Thompson: As much as it pains me to say this, I think I’ve finally gotten tired of Kenan on this show. He’s been on way too long at this point, and his roles are becoming more and more obnoxious, especially when he does that one voice I hate.

Melissa Villaseñor: Probably the best female impersonator in the cast. Other than that, not too much to say, because they barely use her.

Featured Players

Andrew Dismukes: Not too bad of a season for a newbie. While he did show a bit of greenness as a live performer, he excelled at quieter pieces like the commentary he did about his grandmother.

Chloe Fineman: Ugh, she may be my least favorite person in the cast right now. Hear that, Heidi? You’ve been dethroned! Her terrible impressions and annoying high-pitched voices have soured me on her to the point where I mentally tune out when she has a lead role.

Lauren Holt: Poor poor Lauren Holt. Not since Luke Null have we seen a cast member reach this level of underuse. On most nights, she was lucky enough to even get a speaking role, and there were even some episodes that didn’t feature her at all! Maybe the cast just isn’t ready for two plus-sized women yet.

Punkie Johnson: It seems like she only got to shine on nights that were hosted by black people, for obvious reasons. That one commentary she did on Update was amazing, and it has me hopeful for her future.

Bowen Yang: Asian Terry Sweeney had a slightly better season than his first. While he still got typecast into gay roles a lot, he had a lot more variety this time around, like that impassioned commentary he did during the #StopAsianHate crisis. On the other hand, he still annoyed me on some occasions, such as that godawful iceberg thing.

Now, it’s time to rank the episodes. I had always remembered there being no good episodes from this season, but my rewatch showed me that this thankfully isn’t the case.

Episode Rankings

Best episodes: Regé-Jean Page/Bad Bunny, Daniel Kaluuya/St. Vincent

Worst episodes: Chris Rock/Megan Thee Stallion, Dave Chappelle/Foo Fighters, Kristen Wiig/Dua Lipa, John Krasinski/Machine Gun Kelly, Nick Jonas

And now, it’s time to rank the sketches:

Sketches

Best sketches: Monologue (from Bill Burr), Enough is Enough (from Bill Burr), Another Uncle Meme (from John Mulaney), Monologue (from Jason Bateman), Santa’s Village (from Jason Bateman), Tiny Horse (from Timothee Chalamet), Lifting Our Voices (from Dan Levy), TwinsTheNewTrend commentary (from Dan Levy), What’s Your Type (from Regina King), The Negotiator (from Regina King), Driver’s License (from Regé-Jean Page), The Job Interview (from Regé-Jean Page), Jessie Raunch commentary (from Regé-Jean Page), The Grocery Rap (from Regé-Jean Page), NFTs (from Maya Rudolph), The Maya-ing (from Maya Rudolph), Viral Apology Video (from Daniel Kaluuya), Weird Little Flute (from Carey Mulligan), Cold Open (from Elon Musk), The Astronaut (from Elon Musk), It’s Pride Again! (from Anya Taylor-Joy)

Worst sketches: Cold Open (from Chris Rock), Eye on Pittsburgh (from Chris Rock), Cold Open (from Bill Burr), The Blitz (from Bill Burr), both Wayne Wenowdis commentaries, Samuel Adams Jack-O-Pumpkin Ale (from Bill Burr), Bonjour Hi! (from Issa Rae), Carla commentary (from Issa Rae), Jack Flatts (from Issa Rae), Village People commentary (from Adele), Cinema Classics (from John Mulaney), Headless Horseman (from John Mulaney), Souvenir Underwear (from John Mulaney), Fired Mascots (from Dave Chappelle), Mario Moments (from Dave Chappelle), DC Morning (from Dave Chappelle), Sleepover (from Jason Bateman), A Rona Family Christmas (from Timothee Chalamet), The Dionne Warwick Talk Show (from Timothee Chalamet), Sportsmax (from Timothee Chalamet), Monologue (from Kristen Wiig), Secret Word (from Kristen Wiig), Surprise Sue (from Kristen Wiig), Now That’s What I Call Theme Songs Sung By The Stars Of The Show (from John Krasinski), Pandemic Game Night (from John Krasinski), Hot Damn (from Dan Levy), It Gets Better (from Dan Levy), Birthday Gifts (from Regina King), both Oops, You Did It Again sketches, Bridgerton Intimacy Coordinators (from Regé-Jean Page), Workout Mirror (from Nick Jonas), Cinderella (from Nick Jonas), Viking Voyage (from Nick Jonas), Cold Open (from Maya Rudolph), Monologue (from Maya Rudolph), A Kamala Harris Unity Seder (from Maya Rudolph), Barfly Awards (from Maya Rudolph), Scattergories (from Daniel Kaluuya), Study Buddies (from Carey Mulligan), Gen Z Hospital (from Elon Musk), Wario Trial (from Elon Musk), The Muppet Show (from Keegan-Michael Key), Hollywood Squares (from Anya Taylor-Joy), AMC Theatres (from Anya Taylor-Joy)

Overall, what else is there for me to say about this season? It’s definitely a huge step down from Season 45, but it’s not as horrible as I had remembered.

Stay tuned as I continue my Season 47 reviews with Kim Kardashian/Halsey.