I agree. Unfortunately that tends to be the norm at SNL, it seems. I feel bad for the newer cast members because they tend to get the blame, called lazy, unprofessional compared to the old days, but it’s just that the old days had better direction which helped to hide this issue. 

The weakest of the night heavily featured Kate and Cecily, who are more likely to get their pieces on the air.

“Plus, I know that complaining about cue cards is dull criticism, but Andrew, buddy, you didn’t have that many lines to remember.”

I do think that SNL’s 25 years of digs at her (which in the ‘90s were often very hard-edged, especially on Update) were part of a widespread cultural view of her that worked against her, but I don’t think they bear the brunt, and by the time of 2015-2016 their take on her was mild at worst. I feel like her loss,…

Other than the first or second sketch, they have never known what to do with Kamala, likely because they are still haunted by the idea that their take on Hillary helped her lose (and many of the takes on Kamala are similar to those on Hillary), and because Maya clearly admires her. This sketch was actually co-written…

Jay is very talented, but I don’t think he ever really managed to turn a caricature into a character in his impressions. His best work on the show for me was Principal Frye.

Early on, SNL tended to have the performers try various comedy styles and performances instead of putting them into a shtick. I wish they would go back to that, but it’s been many many many years.

I get the complaints (well, some of them - I never really get “dump everything after Update” or “get rid of all the men who aren’t Kenan), but I was surprised this episode is the one that got such a vehement reaction. Admittedly my expectations were low because I was dreading more Kamala, more overcooked campery, etc.…

“Maybe it’s the smaller live audience, but this season has only reinforced something I’ve felt for a while now. The writers don’t know how to write for what the show is. The pre-recorded bits are clearly meant to be viral fodder, but the live stuff - yikes.”

I think Mikey has tried to break away from that persona a little more lately (he had some fun character roles in the last few episodes before the break), but it will be hard to shake as he did this so much for years.

You’re right, so I can see what you mean now, but I can see why she wasn’t mentioned. Ana’s presence feels diminished and out of place (to me anyway) during that period. When I think of Ana I don’t think of Gemini’s Twin. She was more known for her work in the years with Molly and Cheri.

Even the early years of the show rarely used a number of cast members.

Bits like this and the Driver’s License sketch feel like an attempt to appeal to younger views who generally would only see the show in a viral clip. The baby boomer song was co-written by two of the more safe, corporate-like writers (Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell, who even write some Disney+ stuff), which explains…

“I’m guessing that COVID restrictions have kept them from being at peak performance–everything this season’s seemed kind of under-written and under-rehearsed. (And two musical filmed bits both based on 20+ year old hip-hop points to a serious shortage of ideas.)“

“Three weeks off and we got perhaps the worst episode of the season.”

I’d say Pete’s actually grown up quite a bit over his 7 seasons. When he first started he was there to talk about being the resident young person and smoking weed. Even his rap pre-tapes feel older than he is. I sort of hope this is his last season though.

That and the barfly sketch were the best pieces of the night.

I think Dennis was only mentioning women who arrived after Amy/Rachel/Tina/Maya.

Even the local officials have had to deal with the mess thrown on them by lax state laws letting so many spring breakers crash. I didn’t really take it as a huge anti-Florida piece.

Probably not as much as, “Shit, we’ve gotten nothing but bad PR for months on end...pretend this is actually a thing.”