Saturday Night Live was expecting Dave Chappelle to be the most compelling reason for people to tune in this week, but then the election happened and everything changed. Like most of the nation, SNL did not think Donald Trump had a chance to be elected president, and now they find themselves in an awkward situation.
Not only did they tab Alec Baldwin to portray the now president-elect under the assumption they would only need him for a handful of episodes, the backlash for allowing Trump to host last November has intensified again. Fellow NBC late-night star and former cast member Jimmy Fallon spent some time on The Tonight Show the day after the election reflecting on the mood of the nation, but not his own role in allowing Trump to appear on The Tonight Show in September.
Viewers wanting SNL to come out swinging this week will be disappointed, but after a week filled with disappointment and anger for many Americans, SNL may have decided a night off was in order. There was no appearance from Baldwin as Trump, apologies from Lorne Michaels, or sketches about the transition, only Weekend Update spent time joking about the president-elect. SNL will have plenty of time to skewer Trump and unlike the current president, he’s sure to give them enough material to work with every week.
What this episode did have was the great Dave Chappelle chain-smoking through his return to sketch comedy, A Tribe Called Quest spitting fire on two tracks off their first new album in 18 years, and one of the best cold opens in recent memory. This episode wasn’t perfect, but it was still pretty damn amazing, partly because it didn’t do the obvious and spend 90 minutes on Trump.
Cold Open: Hillary Clinton Singing “Hallelujah”
The last time SNL aired following a major historical event that shook the nation was the season premiere of season 27 after the September 11 attacks in 2001. During the cold open of that episode Paul Simon, sang “The Boxer” while the camera panned over New York City firefighters and police officers before Lorne Michaels asked Mayor Rudy Giuliani, “Can we be funny?” with Giuliani responding, “Why start now?”
Fifteen years later, during yet another time of uncertainty, Kate McKinnon — in character as Hillary Clinton — sang a rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” that served as a tribute to both Cohen, who died this week at 82, and Clinton’s campaign. There were no jokes this time as an emotional McKinnon finished with “I’m not giving up, and neither should you,” before starting the show.
Best Sketch: The Walking Dead
In a throwback to early episodes of SNL and his own Chappelle’s Show, Dave Chappelle introduced this Walking Dead sketch. A re-imagining of that show’s shocking season premiere features Chappelle as Negan and several of his classic Chappelle’s Show characters, including Tyrone Biggins and Clayton Bigsby.
Second-Best Sketch: Leslie and Kyle
Since his arrival three seasons ago, Kyle Mooney has been the quirky voice of SNL. For the most part, Mooney does a great job of being awkward, but also filling his sketches with heart. This one detailing the cute love affair between Mooney and his somewhat unlikely partner, Leslie Jones, is no different. In an episode filled with big moments, this sketch might get overlooked, but it might be one of the best all-around sketches of the season so far.
Weekend Update Moment: Ruth Bader Ginsburg
http://www.hulu.com/watch/1004513#i2,p0,d1
Colin Jost and Michael Che spent most of Update joking about the election. However, they had time for Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg (McKinnon) to reassure everyone that she’s not going anywhere as long as she has Emergen-C and HGH, but was also really looking forward to retirement in the Dominican Republic.
Monologue
The censors had their work cut out for them, as Chappelle graced the stage at Studio 8H and tore through a monologue that started with the comic legend receiving a standing ovation and ended with a message of hope to anyone listening. His 10-plus minutes on stage were honest, direct, and hilarious, and it might be the best monologue anyone has performed on SNL since guys like George Carlin and Richard Pryor were hosting the show over 40 years ago.
Other Notes:
** Melissa Villaseñor did not appear in this episode.
** Alec Baldwin was asked if he would return as the President-elect Trump at a marketing conference in Boston on Friday morning. Baldwin said, “I don’t know. I don’t think so,” and that they really never thought Trump would win. On Tuesday, he told WNYC’s Brian Lehrer that he was ready to stop portraying Trump.
A theory on why voter turnout was not as expected. @chrisrock pic.twitter.com/9ln6e5zLcM
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) November 13, 2016
** Chris Rock appeared in the “Election Night Party” sketch.
** If you were looking for some form of protest in this episode, A Tribe Called Quest performed “We the People,” and were joined by Busta Rhymes and Consequence for “The Space Program.”
** It appears that people are sending well wishes for Kate McKinnon, who does not use social media, to Leslie Jones via Twitter:
Hey thanks for the well wishes for Kate. But I need y'all to stop flooding my feed with Kate stuff. It's not getting to her anyway.
— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) November 11, 2016
Saturday Night Live returns on Nov. 19 with host Kristen Wiig and musical guest The xx.
