Saturday Night Live returned this week after two weeks off, with host and recent Oscar-winning actress, Mikey Madison. This episode was pretty typical SNL, with its fair share of winning moments, some rewatchable and quotable sketches; and others that didn’t quite hit the mark. So, let’s get into it!
The Cold Open
The episode started out strong, taking a shot at Pete Hegseth’s little texting mishap last week. The sketch opens with three high school girls chatting in a group text, when Pete Hegseth (Andrew Dismukes) joins in texting “FYI- green light on Yemen raid! “ They tried to tell him that he’s in the wrong chat, to which he responds with “LOL” and sends a PDF with the location of all the nuclear submarines.
JD Vance (Bowen Yang) joins in from Greenland, just before Jennabelle, no, not the Jennabelle from Homeland Security, has to go because “Matt” is there to pick her up to go to a movie. When Hegseth asks “Gaetz?”, she replies, “Actually, yeah.”
They drop a few more classified documents before the girls reiterate that they’re in high school and must have accidentally been added to the group chat. And oops, Hegseth added the editor of the Atlantic. Again.
This was a great way to spin this story. Many of the political cold opens don’t really need a spin, because the comedy kind of writes itself. And while they bring in the editor of the Atlantic, he doesn’t come in until the end, which was a good way to wrap up the joke.
Acting Teacher
Marcello brought back his commercial acting teacher character, who we first saw in the Charlie XCX episode earlier this season. The teacher still has only 3 acting credits, though they were different credits than the first time. Since most of his acting experience consists of reality shows, and an audition for White Lotus-he gives the class more terrible advice. His advice consists mainly of buzzwords, like “You’re telling a story”, and “actively listen”, which he then poorly executes.
Marcello’s over-the-top delivery and gestures are hilarious, like high-kicking, because a Nike ad should be about the shoes. This, combined with his extreme confidence and total lack of self -awareness, makes sketch fun to watch, and might be one of my favorites this season.
Varsity Valley Spring Break
It’s Spring Break on Varsity Valley- the teen drama with plenty of angst taking place in the most unusual settings.
Sadie (Chloe Fineman) finds an engagement ring in her boyfriend Zack’s (Marcello Hernandez) backpack. They discuss the future of their relationship, with Chloe telling Zach that they need to go out and experience life first.
Meanwhile, in the background, the hotel pool area is filled with spring breakers, including Mikey Day’s recurring shirtless-man character, Sarah Sherman throwing up on someone, and Mikey Madison attempts to jump off the roof into the pool, but lands on the pool deck instead.
This was the second Varsity Valley, and the third time we’ve seen this format with a somber and heartfelt discussion happening in the foreground, and complete chaos in the background. The first was set at a Waffle House, and the second set in a NYC subway station. I love the juxtaposition of these two things. It’s like if Dawson‘s Creek took place in a fraternity house. I can watch these multiple times and usually pick up on something new each time.
Actually, We’ve Met
Bowen Yang plays Barry the Midwife, who is furious that Dr. Richards (Mikey Madison) doesn’t remember meeting him at the Hillary Duff concert at the Today Show in 2007.
Fast-forward three years and Barry pretends to not remember Dr. Richards this time. We then see the flashback to 2007 at the Today Show. Barry is wearing prescription New Year’s Eve 2007 glasses as he and Dr. Richards meet for the first time. She tells him that she’s an OB/GYN at Late Night with Conan.
Fast forward again to 2031, Barry’s hair has grown much longer, and he and Dr. Richards do remember each other this time, and they end the sketch with Hillary’s choreographed dance.
The sketch was pretty funny for a silly sketch toward the end of the show. The dialogue is ridiculous, but just makes it that much funnier. And at this point in the night, does it need to make sense?
Treading Water
This Please Don’t Destroy video came rather late in the show, and I’m not sure why, as I found it to be a highlight of the night. The sketch begins with Mikey Madison coming into the guys office on writing night, dressed as Squidward from SpongeBob SquarePants. She claims she was running late and just threw it on – and not because she wants to do a Squidward sketch. However, she would do it as an HBO dramedy about a friend group, navigating life in their early 20s, with live action.
‘Three years of development later’, we see a promo for the show Treading Water, in which the gang lives in New York, Squidward and SpongeBob are a couple, Mr. Krabs’ daughter, Pearl, is pregnant, and Patrick is in a doctor’s office after having lived under a rock for years. Trying to adjust to the world, he asks the doctor, “Is mayonnaise an instrument?”
Yes, you would need some familiarity with SpongeBob in order to get the references, but at this point, if you know, you know. This was an amazing sketch, and it’s impressive to think about how quickly they filmed and edited this short, including filming in Times Square. I think that Treading Water is the SpongeBob spinoff we didn’t know we needed.
Parting Thoughts
The show was jam packed with so many sketches, so I’m just talking the highlights here. It’s worth checking out, but not one of the stronger episodes this season.
It’s hard to believe that there are only five episodes left in Season 50! This Saturday, Jack Black hosts with musical guests Elton John and Brandi Carlile. Thanks for reading!
Totally agree that theSNL Blog Comment Creation cold open stood out—SNL really nailed the absurdity of the real-life situation. The group chat format gave it such a fresh energy, and Andrew Dismukes’ Hegseth was a perfect mix of clueless and chaotic. It’s wild how the show walks that fine line between parody and reality, especially with political sketches like this one.
Great write-up! I thought the group chat format added a fresh twist to the usual political Cold Opens. It felt more dynamic and modern—definitely one of the more memorable sketches this season.
I thought the cold open nailed the absurdSNL Blog Comment Creationity of real-world events—blending teen group chat chaos with national security blunders was a clever way to highlight how surreal politics can feel lately. Bowen Yang’s JD Vance popping in from Greenland was a nice surreal touch that made the whole thing feel even more unhinged, in the best way.
I agree that the cold open stood out this week. The blending of teenage group chat chaos with national security slip-ups was such a sharp, timely satire.
I couldn’t stop laughing at the part where Pete Hegseth kept dropping classified documents in a random group chat! It really shows how SNL is great at taking current events and making them ridiculously funny without feeling forced.