Saturday Night Live is back after a one-month hiatus. Shane Gillis returned to host for the second time, with musical guest Tate McRae.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I wasn\u2019t sure what to expect, as Shane\u2019s comedy isn\u2019t really my cup of tea. I suppose it\u2019s just not for me, which is fine. His humor was definitely infused into this episode, and it did make for some funny moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The cold open parodied Trump\u2018s unbearably awkward meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Bowen Yang played JD Vance, scolding Zelenskyy for not saying thank you or telling them they\u2019re handsome. Trump (James Austin Johnson) joins in, reiterating how handsome they are and expressing shock that Zelenskyy didn\u2019t compliment their lengthy neckties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, Mike Myers bursts in as Elon Musk, wielding a chainsaw. Myers\u2019 take on Musk\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was hoping that Mike Myers\u2019 guest appearance meant we might finally get to see the Wayne\u2019s World<\/em> sketch he and Dana Carvey had planned for the 50th anniversary but couldn\u2019t perform as Carvey had to miss the special due to illness. Sadly, it wasn\u2019t to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019t super funny, but Heidi saved it by fully committing to making her character completely off-putting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The highlight of the episode for me was Mid-Day News<\/em>, 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the second Mid-Day News<\/em> sketch\u2014the first aired in Season 45. It makes sense to bring it back for Shane\u2019s episode, as it may have been a clapback on his part, considering he was fired from SNL<\/em> in 2019\u2014just four days after being hired\u2014over racist comments he had made a year earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Back to the sketch: When the first two criminals were white guys, Kenan announces, \u201cThat\u2019s 2-zip.\u201d Shane reads the next story about looters, glancing at Ego and repeating, \u201cLooters.\u201d He goes on to say, \u201cThe alleged ringleader is a local man named Ethan Kapowski… damnit!\u201d The sketch gets funnier as it escalates into a full-blown competition, with the news headlines becoming more ridiculous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marcelo Hernandez appeared as The Movie Guy<\/em>, there to discuss the Oscar nominees\u2014despite not having seen any of the movies. He comments on A Complete Unknown<\/em>, saying, \u201cIt\u2019s a complete unknown to me because I didn\u2019t see this one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He then shifts the conversation to what he\u2019s much more interested in\u2014SpongeBob<\/em> and Popeye<\/em>. Marcelo tries not to break while reviewing I\u2019m Still Here<\/em>: \u201cIt\u2019s about a guy, and everybody says, \u2018Did he leave?\u2019 No, he did not leave quite yet. He\u2019s still here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019t decide what to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While not as catchy as her original Weekend Update<\/em> song, Party<\/em>, this song grew on me after a second watch\u2014especially 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The last two sketches were about, well, HJs and BJs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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 \u201copen-eyes hand job,\u201d 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\u2019re all upset that these were only joke gifts. Not a great sketch, but not terrible either, IMO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The final sketch features two former high school classmates\u2014one 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, \u201cself-service.\u201d But now he can\u2019t anymore, and it tears him apart. I don\u2019t have much to say about this one\u2014it was the final sketch of the night, enough said.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWinery Tour<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Mid-Day News<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
SNL S50 E13: Weekend Update<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
SNL S50 E13: Final Sketches<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n