SNL Scorecard: Chris Rock / Megan Thee Stallion

Saturday Night Live is inevitable. It's been on our televisions for 45 years now, and has lasted through three American wars, amidst other turmoil. One of the most famous moments in entertainment television history was when then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani (as opposed to current soulless rodent Rudy Giuliani) stood on stage with the FDNY and Lorne Michaels and kicked off the first live show post-9/11. But even SNL has never seen times like these, where a worldwide pandemic rages on, the nation continues to wrestle with mass social injustice, a contentious and visceral presidential election culminates in a cruel joke of a "debate," and less than 48 hours before the live show, the sitting president is hospitalized with the aforementioned pandemic virus.

Ergo, the hope for many fans of the show, myself included, was that its return would feel like a necessary and timely event. After all, insanity or not, what is a presidential election without SNL's take on it? Unfortunately, the show itself felt like a clear attempt to re-establish itself as 'business as usual' while being very obviously, even painfully, aware of the larger context. COVID-19 dominated the season premiere, from the new cast intros featuring extensive masks, to the mask-wearing (but strangely, not socially distant) studio audience, to the theme of just about every sketch. In regards to all topics political and societal, the show's writing felt pretty toothless, offering nothing other than endless surface-level nods to the universal madness. There were fine moments from the episode, to be sure, but what felt like an opportunity to either return SNL to its boundary-pushing, culturally-defining greatness, or at least offer the audience a lighthearted, comedic escape from reality instead ended up in an unhappy medium.

Here's the sketch-by-sketch breakdown of the 1st episode of the season:

Sketch of the Night

“Bottom Of Your Face”: 7/10

There was some symmetry between the last live episode of SNL, hosted by Daniel Craig back in March, and this one. The pandemic played a large role in both, and in both cases, the highlight of the night was a pre-taped song fronted by Chris Redd. This was a hilarious way to touch on a very real aspect of dating in the midst of COVID-19, and more importantly, was honestly a bop. This was one of the only times all night that Chris Rock felt somewhat unnecessary, but the cameo from Megan Thee Stallion was-- not surprisingly -- very welcome.

The Good

“Weekend Update": 7/10

My mantra on this Weekend Update crew has always been that they are hit and miss, dependent on their energy. Yet, this week somewhat disproved that for the first time; the co-anchors both felt a little low-energy and off, probably for obvious reasons, yet Update as a whole was still quite good! The jokes were solid-- Che's diatribe on whether the fact that Trump has the coronavirus is funny was especially good --and the welcome return of Bowen Yang's hilarious Chen Biao and Aidy Bryant's delightful Carrie Krum only helped.

“Stunt Performers": 6.5/10

This felt like it could have been a leftover from the 'SNL At Home' days. It was a well-crafted sketch, albeit one that probably went on a little too long. But it was fun to see Aidy and Kate McKinnon's buddy dynamic back in action.

"The Drew Barrymore Show": 6.5/10

This also felt like an SNL At Home bit, due to not only the pre-taped nature, but the extensive green screen use. Regardless, it was fun; a simple enough premise, to be sure, but Chloe Fineman's impressions are just so good.

“Monologue": 6.5/10

As could be expected from an esteemed stand-up comedian, Chris Rock offered up a solid monologue to start off the season. It wasn't his strongest set, but that's a tall order with his track record. There may not have been too many memorable moments (other than the chef metaphor during the discussion of term limits, which is a joke I will definitely steal), but this was fittingly funny and lighthearted, and incisive when it needed to be.

“Superspreader Event": 6/10

All I could think of during this sketch was an excerpt from the book Live From New York where Lorne Michaels talks about his disdain for pun-based humor. That said, I'm not Lorne Michaels, so I largely enjoyed this, especially the extremely inappropriate "unintentional" exchanges between the anchors. It was weakened somewhat, though, by the odd timing miscues and Pete Davidson's needless interjections.

The...Less-Good

“NBA Bubble": 5/10

This was a funny premise, and moments such as Kate's astray WNBA fan and Megan Thee Stallion's surprisingly strong acting were fun. But it ended up fizzling out as a one-note sketch.

“First Debate Cold Open”: 4/10

What a letdown. There is an argument to be made that it was hard to find any humor in Tuesday's presidential debate, sure, but that's what SNL's job is, and after three terrific Hillary-vs.-Trump mock debates in 2016, and the much-publicized arrival of Jim Carrey as Joe Biden, I really thought they would be able to come up with a cunning take on the proceedings. Instead, we got a tired caricature of a Trump who was far more controlled than the real Trump was, and a strange exaggerated caricature of a Biden who was far more energetic than the real Biden was, as well as a needless cameo of Maya Rudolph's Kamala Harris. I shouldn't act like the sketch was without its highlights: Carrey's and Beck's Bennett's vocal impressions of Biden and Chris Wallace, respectively, were spot on, and some of "Trump"'s outbursts and "Biden"'s mannerisms made me chuckle. But by and large, this was a swing and a miss.

"Future Ghost”: 3/10

I love Beck and Kyle, and I definitely laughed at the absurd finish to this one. But…what the heck was this? And why was it so early in the show?

Musical Performances

Megan Thee Stallion: 7/10

Megan Thee Stallion's second song "Don't Stop" was a bit chaotic, with a Young Thug cameo that didn't help, and a screeching background that overshadowed both her back track and her live vocals. It was about the only thing about Megan's night that she didn't turn to gold.

The rapper's two sketch cameos were great, but her first performance, of her hit single "Savage" was electric. Her vocals translated well, and the visuals and choreography were a treat. But this particular rendition was bolstered by a sudden, unexpected turn from the rapper into a brash, honest mini-monologue (interspersed with powerful beats of "Savage!") on protecting black women and black men, and justice for all, including Breonna Taylor. Given Megan's own recent history, being shot, then having her character called into question by the man who shot her, it was particularly powerful, and an obvious standout moment from a fairly forgettable episode.

OVERALL SCORE: 5.90 ('Comedy Only' score: 5.78)