SNL S50 E13:  Shane Gillis Returns – Was it Worth the Watch?

Saturday Night Live is back after a one-month hiatus. Shane Gillis returned to host for the second time, with musical guest Tate McRae.

I wasn’t sure what to expect, as Shane’s comedy isn’t really my cup of tea. I suppose it’s just not for me, which is fine. His humor was definitely infused into this episode, and it did make for some funny moments.

SNL S50 E13: Cold Open

The cold open parodied Trump‘s unbearably awkward meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Bowen Yang played JD Vance, scolding Zelenskyy for not saying thank you or telling them they’re handsome. Trump (James Austin Johnson) joins in, reiterating how handsome they are and expressing shock that Zelenskyy didn’t compliment their lengthy neckties.

Then, Mike Myers bursts in as Elon Musk, wielding a chainsaw. Myers’ take on Musk’s unhinged behavior was hilarious and frighteningly spot-on. He then introduces a 19-year-old Doge employee to announce the newly created Department of Undoing Child Healthcare and Education, or DOUCHE.

I was hoping that Mike Myers’ guest appearance meant we might finally get to see the Wayne’s World sketch he and Dana Carvey had planned for the 50th anniversary but couldn’t perform as Carvey had to miss the special due to illness. Sadly, it wasn’t to be.

Winery Tour

In the first sketch, Shane plays a guy who brings his new girlfriend to a winery with his parents. Heidi Gardner plays the girlfriend, and as usual, she nails the subtle behaviors of the annoying girl who spends way too much time taking selfies. The sketch overall wasn’t super funny, but Heidi saved it by fully committing to making her character completely off-putting.

Mid-Day News

The highlight of the episode for me was Mid-Day News, featuring Ego Nwodim, Kenan Thompson, Heidi, and Shane as news anchors. As they read the headlines, they try to guess the race of the person involved, keeping score as they go.

This is the second Mid-Day News sketch—the first aired in Season 45. It makes sense to bring it back for Shane’s episode, as it may have been a clapback on his part, considering he was fired from SNL in 2019—just four days after being hired—over racist comments he had made a year earlier.

Back to the sketch: When the first two criminals were white guys, Kenan announces, “That’s 2-zip.” Shane reads the next story about looters, glancing at Ego and repeating, “Looters.” He goes on to say, “The alleged ringleader is a local man named Ethan Kapowski… damnit!” The sketch gets funnier as it escalates into a full-blown competition, with the news headlines becoming more ridiculous.

SNL S50 E13: Weekend Update

Marcelo Hernandez appeared as The Movie Guy, there to discuss the Oscar nominees—despite not having seen any of the movies. He comments on A Complete Unknown, saying, “It’s a complete unknown to me because I didn’t see this one.”

He then shifts the conversation to what he’s much more interested in—SpongeBob and Popeye. Marcelo tries not to break while reviewing I’m Still Here: “It’s about a guy, and everybody says, ‘Did he leave?’ No, he did not leave quite yet. He’s still here.”

Jane Wickline performed a song meant to woo a potential love interest. It takes a dark turn as she sings about a hypothetical scenario in which the girl she loves is tied to one side of the train tracks, while five people are tied to the other. She has the ability to pull the lever, diverting the train away from the girl, killing five people instead of one, and can’t decide what to do.

While not as catchy as her original Weekend Update song, Party, this song grew on me after a second watch—especially when she sings about barring the girl from transit and keeping her locked in the house in order to keep her safe. But because control is impossible, the girl escapes and gets her foot stuck in a train track, bringing them back to square one.

SNL S50 E13: Final Sketches

The last two sketches were about, well, HJs and BJs.

In the first, Sarah Sherman plays a bride at her wedding when her ex-boyfriend shows up to redeem a coupon she once gave him for an “open-eyes hand job,” which she insists was a joke gift. Then, we learn the groom, the priest, her dad, and her bridesmaid all have similar coupons she once gave them, and they’re all upset that these were only joke gifts. Not a great sketch, but not terrible either, IMO.

The final sketch features two former high school classmates—one now a doctor, the other his patient. The patient recalls how, back in high school, the doctor had the impressive ability to, well, you know, “self-service.” But now he can’t anymore, and it tears him apart.  I don’t have much to say about this one—it was the final sketch of the night, enough said.

Parting Thoughts

Overall this episode was one of the weaker ones of the season for me.  I suppose it was meant to appeal to Gillis’ fanbase, which as I mentioned, I am not a part of.  Next week Lady Gaga pulls double duty as host and musical guest.   Thanks for reading!