Cold Open: Final Encounter
Three people are once again grilled by the government after getting abducted by aliens.
• Well, we’re finally here at Kate’s final episode. And I immediately worry about which annoying characters of hers I have to endure one last time, starting with this annoying Colleen Rafferty character.
• At least they waited a while to bring this shit back. It hasn’t appeared since Season 44.
• It turns out that not even the long absence did this sketch any favors. It’s just as unfunny as ever, and Kate’s over-the-top performance is still terrible.
• You know what else doesn’t help? This sketch is eight minutes long! Sheesh, talk about overkill!
• At least this ends in a somewhat unique way, where we actually get to see the alien spaceship.
• Kate looks genuinely sad as she says “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!” I almost feel sorry for her, but then I remember that this is Kate, and I’m not going to be sad to see her go.
Monologue
Natasha Lyonne reflects back on her career.
• Man, her voice is NOT healthy! Did she smoke a six pack before the show?
• Some applause when she mentions that she co-created her Netflix show with Amy Poehler.
• UGGGHHHHH!!! Another Fred Armisen cameo, and he’s brought Maya with him.
• This is surprisingly the first time Maya has appeared since her hosting stint last season. Thank goodness for that!
• I want to laugh at their impressions of our host, but I can’t, because I’m so tired of seeing them hog up screentime that underused cast members need to stay on the show.
• Aaaaand…their cameo is over already. Well, that was a waste of time.
• John Mulaney apparently came back to help write the monologue. I sure hope it wasn’t his idea to have those two make a cameo!
• I love the clip Natasha showed of her on Pee-wee’s Playhouse when she was a child.
• Another laugh from the photo of Fabio.
• Despite the second half of this monologue improving things, that first half with the gratuitous cameos ruined it. Fred needs to stop coming back every year.
Film: Stupid People
A reminder for stupid people to go out and vote.
• First time in quite a long while that we’ve had something right after the monologue without a commercial break.
• I love the part with Cecily speaking with an electrolarynx, only to reveal that she’s just using it to sound cool.
• Random turn where this becomes a political ad.
• Kenan’s cat drawing that says “HORSE” on it was good for a laugh.
• Aidy: “The computer screen said, ‘prove you’re not a robot’. So I cut myself.”
• Another surprisingly funny short film. Thank goodness Kate wasn’t there to ruin it!
Sketch: Baseball Broadcast
Yankees announcer Dizz Newsom (Lyonne) goes crazy after taking new medicine.
• Mikey’s voice is perfect for a 50s radio announcer.
• Random casting of Natasha in drag, but her smoker’s voice really fits this character.
• Is that a modern Yankees poster I see in the background?
• Another “retro” role for James. As expected, he is also perfect for this type of role.
• I’m a little cautious about the turn this has suddenly taken where Dizz Newsom reveals that the new medicine he’s been taking is methamphetamine.
• Some laughs from Newsom making rowdy comments about Joe DiMaggio.
• Natasha: “You know he’s Italian, right? They’re not even white!”
• Boy, Natasha is really giving this her all! This sketch wouldn’t be nearly as funny if, say, Kate was playing her role.
• Even if it gets a little less funny as it goes on, this wasn’t too bad for a Seiday sketch. I appreciate that they didn’t resort to their usual “Mikey explains” routine.
Sketch: Summer Gig
Treece Henderson’s latest performance is interrupted by internal squabbling.
• First appearance of this character since the Seth Meyers episode in Season 44. Everyone’s “favorite” writer James Anderson came back to help write this.
• Not a big fan of his rant about Nasonex.
• Unnecessary appearance from Cecily as a “WACKY” character, in case you needed proof that these Treece Henderson sketches are the work of Anderson and Sublette.
• Bowen, after Kenan calls him and Chloe a couple: “Oh, we’re not a couple. I’m gay, and she’s my sidekick.”
• Kenan: “So there is an ‘R’ in your life?!? Is it R. Kelly?”
• Now I’m starting to see why this character hasn’t appeared in a while. He isn’t as funny as usual tonight.
• Natasha: “But Treece, it’s just clothes!” Kenan: “You’re just clothes!!!”
• Overall, quite a step down from this character’s usual appearances. Maybe they should have kept him retired.
Film: The Places We’ll Go
A man (Andrew Dismukes) looks at what his classmates are up to now.
• This looks like it’s going to be a variation of the classic Neurotology short. I remember they did another one just like it in the Adam Driver episode from 2018, but that one really sucked.
• Nice to see Andrew get the lead role. An early sign of how good he’s going to be in Season 48.
• Funny twist where it’s said that Chris’s character made it to the pros…professional pornography.
• “Billy Wendell followed his dreams. Unfortunately, he only dreamed about killing his grandparents.”
• A particularly funny reveal that two of the characters lost their virginity to the prom DJ.
• Aristotle Athari makes his final appearance as a cast member…and his character is revealed to have been murdered. A sad summary of his time on the show.
• Not a big fan of Cecily’s character ending up at the Capitol riots.
• I am howling at Bowen’s character being revealed to have jumped off the roof of the Winter Garden theater.
• Solid ending where it is revealed that our narrator was dead the entire time.
• A worthy successor to the aforementioned Neurotology film. I like how almost the entire cast got involved!
Musical Performance: “Be Sweet”
Weekend Update (featuring The Guy Who Just Bought A Boat, Trend Forecasters, and Pete Davidson)
• Here we go, our final Update of the season…
• None of these jokes are landing for me so far.
• Alex Moffat’s final desk appearance, and it’s as that stupid Boat guy again! Ugh, at least it’s the last time we’ll be seeing this unfunny routine. Even worse, this is the last time Moffat appears in this entire episode! I don’t think he knew he was leaving at the time, but that was a horrible way to go out.
• We get more unfunny reprisals of characters, as those god-awful Trend Forecasters make their third and final appearance. What is even the joke with these people?
• That whole Arby’s “pee-pee shakes” bit was just awful.
• And now, it’s time to say farewell to Pete Davidson. This is his first appearance in months, and, call me crazy, I think I’m actually gonna miss him.
• He shows a picture from his first episode, back when, according to him, “no one knew what race I was.”
• Pete: “And Colin still looks like the only Kennedy who doesn’t drink!”
• And he just keeps going after Colin, including an implication that his father is Tucker Carlson.
• Even his joke about the Oscars slap was pretty funny, because of his comments about how he isn’t the only SNL alumnus to make a joke about someone’s medical condition.
• His Lorne impression was dead on!
• Unfortunately, they don’t do their usual end of season joke trade-off this time. But they didn’t need to, because Pete’s commentary was pretty good.
Sketch: 9:15 to 5:10
Three co-workers try to cover up the fact that they killed their boss.
• Ugh, there’s another “We now return to” intro. I’m in for some pain…
• Another drag role for Natasha? The first one was okay, but I’m not sure it’ll work a second time.
• Wow, her reaction to being “shot” was so bad, it was funny.
• No comment on the tickling scene.
• Dear God, Fred’s back. Why is he even here? There’s nobody in the cast who needs airtime, right?
• Okay, I did get a guilty laugh from Fred randomly saying that women aren’t funny.
• This sketch just gets worse as it goes on. Who even wrote this nonsense? *looks it up* Ah, it was Kent Sublette. That explains it.
Musical Performance: “Paprika”
Sketch: Grey Adult Pigtails
A hair product that helps women look as young as they feel.
• Seriously? This is how we end the season? Another lame McKinnon/Bryant commercial? Thankfully, it’s the last one I ever have to review.
• It really pains me to see Melissa in this, especially knowing in hindsight that this ends up being her farewell sketch.
• I know this won’t come as a surprise to any of you, but Kate and Aidy have degenerated into complete cartoon characters by this point. Every single sketch that stars them immediately falls apart.
• We also get to say goodbye to Kyle here, and he’s playing a thankless role as usual this season, though he does have a funny gaffe where he saves one of his sculptures from falling off the rack.
• Overall, a terrible way to end this season, and a fitting conclusion to Bryant and McKinnon’s tenures. And by that, I mean it’s fitting that their time on the show ended by them annoying me.
Cut for Time: Forgot About Lorne
Pete pays tribute to Lorne Michaels in the style of Eminem.
• Yeesh, Natasha sounds even raspier here. Go see a doctor about that, girl!
• You know how I mentioned Pete’s Lorne impression earlier? Well, now he gets to RAP in that voice!
• Some great jabs at Lorne in this song, including his overreliance on Paul Simon appearances.
• The parts where he “deepfakes” Lorne’s face over his own are kind of creepy, but funny as well.
• Great to see the iconic clip of Lorne’s Beatles offer in this!
• Oh, and I absolutely LOVE this part where he raps the names of several great cast members, such as Farley, Belushi, Carvey, Ferrell, Forte, Radner, and *sniffle* Norm. You don’t know how happy I was that the clip they used for Ferrell was his Harry Caray impression.
• He even takes the time to shout out the cast members that are leaving with him, which I thought was really nice.
• This film has put me in such a good mood that not even the predictable cameo from Eminem at the end can ruin it. But at least with that, we get him calling all of Pete’s raps terrible.
• I cannot understand for the life of me why they would cut this out of the live show. It would have made a great final sketch of the season!
Final thoughts: Overall, another mixed episode, but what was good in this episode was really good. Lyonne made for a game host, even if her raspy voice made me a little worried.
This is also the point where we have to say goodbye to EIGHT members of the cast, the largest exodus since Season 20, I think. I’ll expand more on this when we get to my end of season overview, but for now, let me just say that I am SO GLAD that I don’t have to deal with Kate McKinnon and Aidy Bryant anymore!!!!!
Best sketches: Stupid People, Baseball Broadcast, The Places We’ll Go, Pete’s commentary, Forgot About Lorne (Cut)
Worst sketches: Cold Open, Fred and Maya’s cameo, Trend Forecasters commentary, 9:15 to 5:10, Grey Adult Pigtails
Next: Stay tuned for my end of season overview!
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