Twenty-Something Year Old Journalist

I think this was a great episode. Something in me was already telling me Glen Powell wouldn’t let me down, and despite his lackluster opening monologue, he sure did deliver. 

Glen Powell and I have an interesting relationship. Though I have yet to determine where I stand on my attraction to said Glen Powell, I can always count on him to commit to a role and simply demand your attention. His Tom Cruise comparisons are hard to dismiss, with whom I also have an interesting relationship. 

There were a lot of standout sketches tonight. My mind first goes to the ensemble-led military sketch, but the cast tonight were the real stars. 

As a staunch Andrew Dismukes fan, this episode only helped fuel my feelings of his greatness. Taking your shirt off on national television to stand beside a bulk Glen Powell is no small feat. 

I had been missing the Marcello Hernández touch these last couple episodes, but he certainly made up for it in his leading sketch.

These days, you can’t mention SNL without mentioning the impressiveness that is Ashley Padilla. Though she had lighter use in the beginning sketches, her haircut-gone-wrong sketch had me genuinely laughing out loud. It’s more than time to graduate her from Featured Player.

Someone who did get a lot of screen time this episode was Chloe Fineman. My verdict is still out on her, but she never brings the sketch down. All her airtime certainly had me wanting more Sarah Sherman screen time this episode, though. 

As a frequent Las Culturistas listener and theater-obsessed Wicked fan, Bowen Yang, to me, is a superstar. I happily take any and all airtime he has—and this episode surely didn’t disappoint. 

The Weekend Update segment took a bit of a different form this episode. After Michael Che and Colin Jost took turns at seeing what they could do with the recent Epstein Files news—and yes, multiple mental images of Donald Trump blowing Bill Clinton were involved—the segment ended with no Weekend Update guests. 

My guess as to the absence of any Weekend Update guests was to make room for the three “McGoober” sketches sprinkled throughout the episode. With a surprise guest lead by Will Forte, these very funny shorts certainly kept the common theme of the night alive: the Epstein Files. 

The cold open was Epstein-focused as well, though that was something you had to have already expected. And you can’t talk cold open without talking about James Austin Johnson, who is finally getting to show off his chops in sketches as any character other than Donald Trump. 

Musical guest Olivia Dean certainly rounded out the episode well. Although I wouldn’t consider myself the biggest Olivia Dean fan, there’s no denying her talent. Or her beauty—that most definitely had me questioning some things about myself. 

And as crazy as it sounds, when it’s not that incredibly annoying T-Mobile ad featuring none other than Jeff Bridges and Zoe Saldaña, the commercials are actually somewhat entertaining. I, personally, found myself quite moved by the Facebook commercial. And with Jason Bateman as Batman spoof “Bateman” and Lil Dicky dancing in a BuzzBall commercial, you’d think you were in an advertising masterclass. 

Overall, the SNL cast and writers did a great job. And Glen Powell, I can now confidently say I am attracted to you.