SNL Scorecard: Brendan Gleeson / WILLOW

Last season, Saturday Night Live kicked off proceedings with an opener, hosted by a Hollywood hottie, that was thoroughly solid but ultimately pretty forgettable. The second episode of Season 47 was helmed by a much less conventional host and was far more uneven on the whole, but included multiple sketches that would have a longer shelf life than anything from the previous episode, including a debut pre-taped short from a group of guys called "Please Don't Destroy."

Well, despite all the turnover at the show that was discussed in the last scorecard, two weeks into Season 48, history is repeating itself. Although Brendan Gleeson could not be more different a figure than Kim Kardashian, he was similarly a first-time host, that was a fairly surprising choice, in his case because he's an older Irish actor that has never played a major role in any mainstream film, at least on this side of the pond. Just like Kardashian before him, Gleeson seemed game for anything, if not a little wooden at times throughout his hosting gig, but more notably, the cast and writers around him seemed to come out of their shell and lean more into the weird and wacky. Some of this worked, some didn't, but all of it made for a pretty memorable show on the whole.

One note that I meant to mention in my first scorecard, but forgot- I know my rankings can seem a little arbitrary, and truthfully there have been times where even I will look back at scorecards and think "Now, why did I rate (x) an 8.5, if (x) from this other episode was only a 7...?". So, both to hopefully clear up my scoring system for any curious readers, but also really to help keep myself consistent, here is the rubric to reference:

10/10: Perfect, no notes

8-9.5/10: Very funny-to-hilarious, definite rewatch

6-7.5/10: Pretty funny-to-funny, but won't necessarily be a rewatch

4-5.5/10: Not BAD, but not particularly funny or memorable

1-3.5/10: Terrible/poor taste, to simply bad/unfunny

Here's the sketch-by-sketch breakdown of the 2nd episode of the season:

Sketch of the Night

“Eyes”: 8.5/10

It feels right that a totally zany episode of Saturday Night Live save the best sketch of the night for its 10-to-1 slot. Sarah Sherman was one of my favorite revelations from Season 47, and in her first lead feature sketch of the young season, she did not disappoint. This wasn't just great absurdist humor, it was-- assuming Sherman was essentially blind throughout this whole sketch --also incredibly physical comedy.

The Good

“New Cast Advice": 8/10

I love that the new cast members got a sketch all to themselves, even if it was entirely self-referential. And what a terrific way for Molly Kearney to make their first real impact on the show! All four of the newbies sold the conceit really well and got a chance to get a few funny lines in, but Molly was the star for sure; by the end of the sketch, every time the camera cut to them, I was already laughing even before any words even came out.

“Weekend Update”: 8/10

Weekend Update is off to a very strong start this season. Last week's edition set the bar impossibly high and it's true that this installment didn't quite capture the same magic, mostly because Che and Jost had a little harder of a time winning the crowd over with some jokes last week, where last week they just about batted 1.000. But they were still in good form, and the two guests on this edition of update were nothing short of fantastic. First came Ego Nwodim with a hysterical, fresh take on the "Black Princess Ariel" discourse, opting to ignore the race-baiting trolls and instead just introduce a hilarious 'problematic princess.' Then, to close out the segment, was a tremendous debut from newcomer Marcello Hernández. To follow up Michael Longfellow's bit last week in the premiere, that now makes 2 weeks out of 2 that one of the new SNL featured players has been undeterred by the daunting prospect of a solo Update set and come out and absolutely crushed it.

“Please Don't Destroy - Tommy": 8/10

As referenced above, Please Don't Destroy made their first appearance of Season 48 after being breakout sensations last season, and it was a very welcome return. It would have been fun to see their return anyhow, but I sure am relieved they returned with a banger-- this is in the conversation for the best of their bits on the show, a delightful sendup of high school coming of age films by expertly using Brendan Gleeson. This was not the only sketch in which Gleeson provided humor by simply being himself and not altering his appearance, but it was the best use of that angle

"Blood Oath": 7.5/10

SNL's fake blood gags just don't miss, do they? It feels cheap to rate this an 8 or higher, because the joke was pretty just one extended physical gag, and it's one they've done before. Still, I was rolling from start to finish with this one, which Gleeson sold so well (and you could tell he was deliberately trying to get the cast members to break by the end of it).

“Try Guys": 7/10

I usually wince when SNL tries to make a skit out of the trendy Twitter goings-on of the week. This sketch mostly worked, though, and I say that as someone who accidentally got very invested in the Try Guys drama. The tone struck me as a little harsh in the wrong direction-- I think the guys were right to take an improper workplace relationship with troubling power dynamic seriously and it's understandable that they would be deeply affected by losing a longtime business partner and friend. (And one need only to scroll the comments on this video to see that many corners of the Internet agree.) However, there's no denying how funny the melodramatic comedy was, nor how dead-on Bowen, Mikey and Andrew's impressions of the Try Guys were. Besides, even if the writers missed the mark by making light of the sexual impropriety, the larger point (at least I think), that this in no way should have been a story that captured more attention than political goings-on or global conflict, was well-made.

“Monologue": 6.5/10

Wow. I really didn't know how to rate this monologue, to be honest. Its moments of pure "funny," at least in terms of normal, "make you laugh out loud" funny, were few and far between, and Gleeson didn't look the MOST comfortable onstage. But I am such a sucker for an Irish mandolin, and the host whipping that out and strumming while dryly telling some anecdotes just felt like a delightful introduction to the show, and Colin Farrell's appearance just took it to another level. If nothing else, this monologue was memorable-- I won't have any fear of forgetting it or conflating it with another.

“So You Think You Won't Snap Cold Open": 6/10

As you know by now, I'm a fan of any cold open that opts for original content over a tired retread of political news from the week. Not only did this avoid the political spoof, it found a way to introduce new creative sketch while still being timely about current events. Honestly, I'm so appreciative of all the aspects of this sketch that I wanted to rate oit higher, but truthfully the end product didn't end up being all that funny. Kenan provided the only genuine "LOL!!!!" moment of the 6 minutes.

“Blonde”: 6/10

This was such a bizarre idea for a sketch that I'm sure might make a little more sense if I had bothered to watch Blonde. Chloe Fineman was brilliant as usual, and I'll admit I laughed at Heidi's repeated "whore!" and "not a fan!", as well as how hard she was trying to keep it together herself, which is why I have this scored as more good than bad, but really on the whole it just felt weird and mean-spirited.

The... Less-Good

"Headshots”: 4.5/10

I don’t mind chaotic energy in sketches and there were a few times near the end especially where Andrew Dismukes did crack me up. But this just seemed too obvious and tame of a sketch. The joke didn’t really amount to anything other than “Brendan Gleason mugs for the camera.”

Musical Performances

WILLOW: 8/10

Willow Smith, known to the uninitiated as Will and Jada's daughter and to the initiated by her stage name WILLOW, wasn't a total stranger to Saturday Night Live, making a guest appearance this spring as part of Camila Cabello's set, but the artist made her debut as the featured artist last night. Though it perhaps shouldn't surprise me given her celebrity pedigree, I was pleasantly surprised by how unfazed the 21-year old was by making her solo debut on the unforgiving Studio 8H stage.

I was familiar with some of WILLOW's work over the years-- starting, of course, with the iconic "Whip My Hair," but others, such as the indie-pop banger "Wait A Minute!", the gorgeous "9", and the addicting "Meet Me At Our Spot", have hit radio waves and popped up on Spotify playlists in the past. That said, I was not enough of a dedicated fan or follower to be aware that her latest music has seen a foray into the pop punk realm. And though that genre of music is not one I often love, this rating is less about my subjective preferences, and more about the objective quality of the performance, and for the most part, I think she killed it! Her sound was very... I was about to say "Billie Eilish meets the en vogue pop-punk bands of the 2000s," and then realized that description could just be summed up by saying Paramore. Her sound was very Paramore. And in two performances that I imagine would make Hayley Williams proud, Willow brought the energy, vocals, and even some choreo that was sure to serve her fans exactly what they wanted.

OVERALL SCORE: 7.09 ('Comedy Only' score: 7.00)