It’s SNL in Review. We’re at the penultimate episode of season 50. Isn’t that a great word? Penultimate. I can’t be certain, but it feels like such a Prestige TV term. Now, dear Conehead, the question for you is: Has season 50 been prestigious enough for you? Has it lived up to the hype?
Tonight’s show is hosted by Walton Goggins, who has been on a tear lately at HBO, appearing on two of the best examples of modern prestige TV: The White Lotus and The Righteous Gemstones. He’s one of the most compelling actors around, frankly — if Goggins is appearing in something, you know it’s worth, at a minimum, checking out.
And, hey, Arcade Fire is back! They are a definitive example of a “modern” Saturday Night Live musical guest, in my view. Six appearances, starting back in 2007. Their “New Cast Member or Arcade Fire” sketch with Tina Fey, during the season 39 premiere in 2013, is a classic. Former cast member John Milhiser recalls: “That was our first show. I remember there being the same number of Arcade Fire band members as new cast members, so Tina mentioned that in her opening monologue. They showed a photo of us as Arcade Fire. They also played at the end of the episode after ‘goodbyes.’ My parents were there in the crowd getting crazy with Arcade Fire. It was crowded and loud for sure. The next day, my Dad told me he had just had heart surgery. He didn’t want to tell me before my first SNL episode, so he waited till after. Being in the Arcade Fire mosh-ish pit probably wasn’t what the doctor ordered for my Dad. But it was fun.”
The band also appeared as the special guests during the 2012 season 37 finale; this was the final episode for cast members Andy Samberg, Kristen Wiig, and Abby Elliott, where they performed “The Last Time” with guest host Mick Jagger. They also memorably joined Jagger, the Foo Fighters, and the Saturday Night Live Band performing the Rolling Stones‘ “She’s a Rainbow” and “Ruby Tuesday” as a send-off to Wiig. A beautiful moment.
So, a fun host and a legendary musical guest. Will it be Prestige TV? Scroll down, reader. More surprises are in store.
Ah, yes, the Mother’s Day message — the SNL tradition that celebrates the moms of cast members. Kenan Thompson, Marcello Hernández, and Bowen Yang lead a sweet song until — wait — thankful bait and switch! I never thought I would be happy to see James Austin Johnson’s monstrously accurate take on Donald Trump. After a very funny admission that these were mom actors, not the real deal, we get Trump going into recent news. His “Da Pope” joke (“Da Prayers”) is really funny — shout out Robert Smigel — as is sending JD Vance to do “his thing.” Bad things happen in threes.
Here’s a fun cameo: Trump recently appointed Fox News host Jeanine Pirro as interim U.S. attorney in D.C.. Cecily Strong appeared many times yelling as her on Weekend Update, and now the character appears in the cold open! Nice to see Strong back, especially as one of her signature characters.
One of her bits on Update (especially near the end) was spit-taking her wine onto (into?) anchor Colin Jost. Well, enter Jost as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. The crowd gives him a conquering hero’s welcome, despite him still being a cast member! Curious. He gives her a lay-up to spit alcohol into his mouth, he makes some group chat jokes, and there we are. I preferred this when it was the mean and lean Johnson rant, but we can’t escape the rumors around Jost leaving, right?
Goggins notes his brooding character on White Lotus. He’s a sex symbol now, at age 53, and he loves it. Well, he does not appreciate headlines about his greasy, receding hairline — he disputes the back-handed word choice!
He was raised in Atlanta, Ga., by his mother and her family. His mom is actually in the audience, and they dance. After an initial respectful tune, things kick up a notch. (Former cast member Patrick Weathers notes he’s actually from Douglasville; he has a friend who went to middle school with Goggins!) This was cute and understandably sidesteps the online controversy with Goggins and his costar, Aimee Lou Wood, who objected to Sarah Sherman’s recent portrayal of her on the show.
While she needs to catch up on this season, former cast member Nora Dunn recently shared with me that “I watch White Lotus… I’m a big Parker Posey fan, she’s brilliant.” Posey went viral a few times earlier this year (and, in my view, SNL failed to really land its parody. Chloe Fineman’s Posey was a bit pedestrian. We will see if that changes.) Dunn adds that she still needs to get on board with Righteous Gemstones, too. Yes! (Weathers also knows Posey, FYI! Laurel, Miss., rise up.)
We enter the Founding Fathers debating the drafting of the First Amendment — it’s very noble and aspirational, protecting the freedom of the press and free speech.
Requests are taken for the next amendment, and a surly, very cool Matt (Goggins) has a one-word answer: guns. They all get chills over the idea. Patrick Weathers says, “Good sketch!”
The previous Jane Wickline songs were regulated to Update. Now, her ode to tiny baby shoes has become the basis for a music video. She is at a zoo, and plays Cinderella, trying on different baby fees searching for a match. Turns out it’s Goggins. He wants to date and take the Cinderella rules literally.
Things get silly and absurd; like White Lotus, Sam Rockwell pops up to save the day. Wickline is given a big moment here. It is not for me, but maybe it’s landing?
Albie is serving two young men and their moms who are out for brunch at a fancy restaurant. He is a big ol’ flirt and admits he slept with all of his mother’s friends when he came of age. “Are you the Lord Baby Jesus? Then don’t be cross,” he directs. The sons do not think he is harmless — Albie returns with mimosas, his shirt unbuttoned. He makes a lot of innuendos and puns. Silly! But I like the vague mannerisms he is channeling of his Gemstones character, Uncle Baby Billy. Goggins is a bona fide character actor with roles in things like Django Unchained — good to see him used in such a strange, sleazy way so far.
Twenty dogs from Canine Companions are on hand to watch a full-length play. Dog trainers are working with them to sit during the performance. Goggins launches into the southern tragedy onstage — think Faulkner or Tennessee Williams. As you might imagine, the dogs cannot sit still…mostly because the play is awful! Lame. Makes me yearn for the Dog Show days.
Pretty smooth stuff. Love the lighting and vibe. This is a return to form for the band, the title track from their new album, released as the second single a few weeks back.
Patrick Weathers says, “Nice tune. I think they’re really good. My fans love ’em. Listen to them on alternative rock stations.” He recently saw them during their SNL50 performance, where they performed with St. Vincent and Preservation Hall Jazz Band. (Weathers is out with a new album FYI — “No End To The End”! Check it out.)
The First American Pope! Jost is Catholic, so he is ashamed about his pride. Originally, he thought they might have picked Kanye! Che goes after Joe Biden’s recent appearance on The View… and makes a dark joke about the kinds of movies he likes to watch! Other topics: the Diddy trial, Rosa Parks, and Star Wars.
The summer movie season is in full swing, and the Movie Guy (Hernandez) is back. He has not seen most of the big movies yet and guesses about the plots. For example, Fantastic Four is about 3-4 people, and they are likely fantastic, har har. He jokes about Jost’s wife, a seeming prerequisite for Update characters now. I am not a fan of this recurring character. Is this our future? “Okay… next,” says Weathers.
Trump tariffs have huge consumer implications — Mikey Day comes out to comment. He is a guy who just stepped into a spider web, and instead of providing reassuring commentary, he flips out and strips off his shirt. He felt it “on my skin!” he howls before regaining his composure at the desk. “I liked the idea of that,” comments Weathers. “More Belushi physical stuff needed.” Yes! (Weathers agrees with the rumors that Jost is leaving: “Sure. Go do some leading man roles.”)
Dianne, the mom who’s only read about New York on Facebook (Gardner), comes out to give tips on the city. Classic Heidi Gardner, hilarious. Patrick Weathers says Gardner is the star of this season. These Update characters tonight — Day, Gardner — feel like personal attaboys to veteran cast members who are potentially eyeing their exit.
A family is at Deathly Diner, a spoofy restaurant at a theme park entertainment resort. The evil servers (Yang, Ego Nwodim) are campy and keep saying this meal will be their last! There’s no story, nothing beyond “Might be your last!” Is the theme of this restaurant just dying? The staff are confused and don’t know what to say.
It’s a season of change for all of us. Well, the band and frontman Win Butler, in particular, who slams his guitar at the end of tonight’s performance. That’s probably good.
This is an okay song, a bit muted with some curious subtext.
Mr. Patterson (Goggins) has invited Nick (Andrew Dismukes) over to become a partner at his firm. Nick is thrilled and excuses himself to use the bathroom. He sees a small stool in there, an image that haunts Nick for the rest of the night. Strange stuff — I like it. Dan Bulla does it again.
