SNL Scorecard: Rami Malek / Young Thug

It's been mentioned before, but Saturday Night Live is taking the ambitious step of opening the season with four consecutive first-time hosts. What's particularly interesting about this selection of first-timers is that they are pretty varied in terms of their backgrounds. We've already had a veteran comedy actor and a reality TV star, and next week we have an SNL alumnus. But this week was Rami Malek, a young-ish actor whose filmography is almost entirely dramas. More than just that, Malek has carved out a niche for playing the villain, or at least the complex antihero, in both films and TV, a fact he touched on in his monologue. So while it was a different sort of intrigue from, say, Kim Kardashian, there was certainly a good amount of intrigue surrounding just how well he might be up for the task this weekend.

Fortunately, not only was the host up for it, but the whole cast and crew was as well. The season premiere had solid consistency, but lacked something memorable. Last week had some memorable sketches, but lacked consistency throughout the night. Week 3 was the week everything came together. The energy level was high, the cast appearances were all good and well-distributed, and the writing was original and terrific. Judging by last season's trajectory, where once the show hit its groove, it really stayed in the air the rest of the season, this bodes well for Season 47, which has reached said "groove" considerably sooner.

Here's the sketch-by-sketch breakdown of the 3rd episode of the season:

Sketch of the Night

“Mattress Store”: 8/10

This was just delightful. This felt like old-school sketch comedy, an everyday situation with normal-seeming characters that quickly turns absurd. Aidy Bryant excels at this brand of humor— this almost felt like a sequel to “New Paint” —and this was the most emotive we saw Malek all night.

The Good

“Bug Assembly": 8/10

God, I love Bowen Yang so much.

“Weekend Update”: 8/10

Weekend Update, which suffered a consistency problem for a while in Michael Che and Colin Jost’s tenure, has quietly become the most consistently good aspect of Saturday Night Live. This was yet another solid outing from the co-hosts; the jokes weren’t their best ever, but also featured little-to-no weak links. The Update guests, also, were a perfect 3 for 3. I thought Mikey Day’s hypnotist Linus Minus bit with Kenan might be a bit mediocre, but interestingly enough, the longer it went on, the funnier it got. Plus Chris Redd got a hilarious turn in just being his ridiculous self, and have I mentioned I love Bowen Yang?

“Squid Game": 7.5/10

I knew being behind on my Squid Game watching would come back to bite me soon, I just didn’t think it would be in the form of a Saturday Night Live sketch. Anyways, I didn’t totally track with all the references but I knew enough about the show to keep up, and even if I knew nothing, the premise of the sketch was pretty clear. It was a really funny song, that capitalized on a popular trend without being cringe, and man, was it so fun to see Pete Davidson and Rami Malek surprisingly ace the pop-country bro sound.

"Angelo": 7/10

Might this be the best ‘new hire’ class SNL has made since 2012? We’re three weeks into the season, and all three featured players, as well as the three writers that make up “Please Don’t Destroy,” have now fronted at least one sketch. Not only that, they’ve all been hilarious. ‘Angelo’ is Aristotle Athari’s breakout character, and though this sketch worked perfectly as a 10-to-1 bit (bizarre and niche), it absolutely feels like a character we will be seeing again and again. It has real ‘fan favorite’ potential.

“Monologue": 7/10

As discussed at the top, Rami Malek was one of those intriguing choices for host because he doesn’t particularly scream ‘funny,’ but is such a good actor, that he theoretically would be able to deliver well-written material, right? The monologue was our fist glimpse at Malek as host, and that exact line of thought bore out. He looked a little unnatural and awkward delivering a comedic monologue, and his timing wasn’t always pro-level. But, it was, for the second straight week, a really well-written monologue, and he delivered it well and earnestly! It was funny from start to finish, and his ode to his family (and in particular his siblings) was really sweet.

“Football Press Conference Cold Open": 6.5/10

As you likely know by now if you follow this piece consistently, I am always positively inclined towards cold opens that don’t just consist of stale reenactments of political event. As such, I was a big fan of the idea behind this sketch. The NFL’s many issues made for pretty low-effort jokes, and this wasn’t particularly incisive or memorable, but it was fun. I really liked Alex Moffatt’s Mike? Davis and Heidi Gardner’s Washington Football Team cheerleader, and the ‘new Washington mascot’ had me doubled over with laughter. Also, side note, I think this is the only sketch Colin Jost has been in in which he hasn’t played Pete Buttigieg!

“Celeb School Game Show": 6/10

Sketches that are basically a roulette wheel of celebrity impressions are pretty hit or miss; the best are nonstop funny, the worst rely too heavily on impressions to bring the laughs and feature pretty lazy writing. This was closer to the latter than the former, unfortunately, but I would still say there was more funny than unfunny. I especially loved Pete and Rami’s bits as each other, and Melissa Villaseñor’s inch-perfect Kristen Wiig (which the audience didn’t appreciate nearly enough).

“Prince Auditions": 5.5/10

I want to know where on Earth the idea for this came from. I mean, I assume it was related in some way to Rami Malek playing another glam rock icon, Freddy Mercury, but that wasn’t referenced once. Anyways, I was loving the delightful absurdity of this one, but there really wasn’t much to it, and as fun as it was to see a Daniel Craig cameo, his foray into the sketch sort of killed the momentum.

Musical Performances

Young Thug (featuring Travis Barker, Nate Ruess, and Gunna): 6/10

I must confess, I’m not a big fan of Young Thug. He has the occasional song I find catchy, and I can appreciate the unique force he’s been in the hip-hop industry, but his voice and style have never really been my cup of tea. That said, he brought it tonight, in his first song, “Tick Tock” in particular. Featuring a live rock band helmed by none other than legendary drummer Travis Barker, Thug’s vocals on “Tick Tock” were crisp, the energy was high, and with a tight 2 minutes, it didn’t overstay its welcome.

In the second song, “Love You More,” the energy dipped a good bit, and though it’s clearly a meaningful song, but Young Thug’s vocals were wavering to a distracting extent. Fortunately, solid features from Nate Ruess and Gunna kept it from being downright bad. Side note: no lie, I was wondering JUST THIS WEEKEND what Nate Reuss had been up to recently. I audibly gasped when I realized it was him onstage.

OVERALL SCORE: 6.95 ('Comedy Only' score: 7.06)