Here we go! Check in every 10 minutes or so for live updates.
VMA COLD OPEN: Alright, hopefully now we can put the whole necessary VMA nonsense behind us, as well as the expected Bayer Cyrus-regular Cyrus interaction. Also, this whole cold open isn’t all that funny. Pharoah is fantastic as Smith, but Killam’s Thicke and Monyihan’s Bear don’t really work; the two Cyruses are amusing, but not funny at all. GRADE: C+
MONOLOGUE: Well, that was short and sweet. I’m not sure what to think about it, but Cyrus did just fine there with what she had. Also, Hannah Montana is dead. GRADE: B-
50 SHADES OF GREY SCREEN TESTS: There’s not much to this sketch, but it’s always amusing to see a lineup of impressions. Taran Killam absolutely nails his Christoph Waltz, Pharoah nails Shaquille O’Neal, and McKinnon nails Lynch. Noel Wells is great as Deschanel, too. Of course, there are also some misfires: Pedrad as Ansari and Bryant’s Rebel Wilson not getting lines, to name a few. GRADE: B
GIRLFRIENDS TALK SHOW: Oh, jeez. I’ve always loved Bryant in this sketch, but I’ve always hated the sketch. There are some great lines (“I like a guy who’s in love with my confidence, and is gentleman enough to treat me to a hearty steak salad”), but most of the jokes don’t land. Also, the twerking…kill me now, please. GRADE: C-
WE DID STOP: Yeah, here’s our government shutdown sketch, and it’s terrible. It just relies on visual gags to keep itself going, but even that doesn’t work. The only good thing to come out of this sketch is Pharoah’s Obama’s terrified look through the window. Also, stop the twerking. Please. GRADE: C-
PIERS MORGAN: Yet another sketch that doesn’t work. None of the documentary titles are particularly funny, and the MTV doc is the absolute worst. Huffington’s great on Weekend Update, but that’s due to the dynamic between Pedrad and Meyers. Here, she’s annoying. I do like “Running Rodham”, though; McKinnon’s great in that, and the hashtag on the bottom of the screen is great. GRADE: C
WEEKEND UPDATE: Now this is great. It gets off to a shaky start with “Winners/Losers”, but every single guest is brilliant. Kate McKinnon is perfect as a mother who played GTA, and this role showcases exactly why I love her (“Then go to the grocery store and get it yourself, you whore!”….”I shot a stripper in the boob for sport.”….”My new motto is suck it or get shot dead but it doesn’t matter cause you’ll got shot dead anyway!”). Pharoah is perfect as Shannon Sharpe, and Bayer’s Jacob has always been great. Strong feels much more integrated into the Update this week. GRADE: B+
CHEERLEADERS: What the hell? The entire premise of the sketch revolves around aliens abducting cheerleaders, yet it’s dull and boring. I don’t even… GRADE: D
MORNIN’ MIAMI: This is funny. It’s random and insane, which is exactly what I like. The lines are fantastic, and the in-between take boredom shots are priceless (also, Cyrus is the best she’s been all night in this sketch) Bitch Fantastic, indeed. GRADE: B+
MILEY CYRUS MUSICAL PERFORMANCES: Now, these are perfectly fine pop songs. In fact, her musical performances are much better than her general awfulness as a host, and it’s a shame that the rest of the show portrays her as the idiot she’s become recently. She’s perfectly capable of being an adult. GRADE: B-
POETRY CLASS: Bayer is certainly fun to watch as the bumbling school teacher, and having Cyrus come on to her is interesting. Still, once again, a few great lines (“Haikus were the first tweets”), but pretty average as a whole. GRADE: B-
LAST NIGHT: Eh. I didn’t laugh much, and the sketch leads nowhere. Kyle Mooney is good here, and Cyrus is a bit more tolerable, but the promising premise doesn’t add up to anything particularly funny. I don’t know, maybe I’m just expecting more from pre-taped sketches. GRADE: C+
EPISODE GRADE: C-
Best sketch: Weekend Update Guests/Mornin’ Miami
Worst Sketch: Cheerleaders
Final thoughts: I guess Cyrus wants us to think of her as we’ve been doing the past few weeks. She doesn’t do much here except take off her clothes, and she twerks because everyone loves that, right? Her musical performances are much better. As for the rest of the cast, Bayer shines tonight, as well as the Weekend Update sans beginning. Strong fits in better this week, but I feel like the show suffers from having a way too large cast. Oh well, this is what I was expecting anyway.
Credit to NBC and Saturday Night Live for all pictures. I own nothing.
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I really enjoyed the first few sketches but it got pretty shitty after that. I thought Miley did a great job hosting(it’s always the one’s you don’t expect who do a good job hosting). I liked this episode better than the Tina Fey one surprisingly(I expected a lot more).