The host was Paul Mescal Saturday Night Live for the first time this week. In the 50th season there were only a few first-time presenters. The Gladiator II Star was only the season’s second newcomer, after Jean Smart made her hosting debut on the season premiere in September.

Mescal was joined by musical guest Shaboozey, who also made his debut on the show. He joins country rap artists Jelly Roll and Chappell Roan (who debuted a country song in an episode earlier in the season) to bring a little country to Studio 8H in New York. Shaboozey performed his new song Good News and his mega hit A Bar Song (Tipsy).

Opened cold

This week’s cold open saw the revival of Dana Carvey’s iconic character, the Church Lady. While newer viewers probably won’t remember the character, who appeared primarily in the late 1980s, SNL Superfans and viewers of a certain age will love this cold open. The Church Lady has returned several times since her heyday, most recently in 2016. In this new edition, she hosts her talk show with guests Matt Gaetz, Hunter Biden and Juan Soto.

Sarah Sherman’s Matt Gaetz impression is always fun to watch. David Spade comes along to play Hunter Biden, which is less convincing but also feels like a throwback to the ’90s. Marcello Hernández delivers an excellent performance as Soto, but overall this cold opening is a bit disjointed, even as it brings an iconic character back to life.

monologue

The monologue was charming and good for a host who wasn’t known for comedy. After a montage of him crying in movies, he says it himself: “It’s safe to say there’s not much comedy on his resume!”

The most interesting part of this monologue is the inclusion of multimedia elements. It contains a montage and superimposed images, making it seem more like a late night talk show monologue than one SNL one. However, their inclusion really works.

Hernández also wears short shorts (a staple of Mescal’s usual wardrobe).

Earring

This sketch really showcases the comedic timing of Heidi Gardner and Emil Wakim. It’s nice to see Wakim, especially in a comedic lead role, and Gardner is absolutely perfect as always. The skit revolves around two parents who overreact when their college-aged son comes home with an earring. Although the premise is simple, it gets to the point perfectly. It also ends strong with a visual gag from Michael Longfellow. It may not be the flashiest or most memorable sketch, but it’s very solidly executed.

Gladiator: II

While Gladiator II was a big movie this year, Evil And Moana 2 were bigger. “After a few rushed reshoots Gladiator II is now a musical.” This skit is fun and the songs are sweet. Mescal should probably think about musicals too (he has a good voice!)

Advertising for an Italian restaurant

Ashley Padilla plays an actress who impresses a commercial director, much to the chagrin of her co-star, played by Mescal. This sketch feels like one you could see at any sketch night across the country. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it doesn’t feel like the most memorable part of the episode. It’s fine, but it feels like they could have gone further.

Paul Mescal is dad

This “Please Don’t Destroy” sketch has some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments, but overall there’s something deeply strange about it. You’ll probably either love or hate this sketch.

It follows the guys from Please Don’t Destroy as Mescal imagines a life with them. He is their father and they are his adult sons in footie pajamas. It’s best not to think about it too much.

Pirates

Something about this sketch doesn’t work. This is followed by a bachelor party that goes to one Magic Mike-male review. Given how this season has gone, this writer initially wondered if this was somehow a “Domingo” sketch, but no, this was just another bachelor party.

Male actors come out as pirates, but instead of taking off their clothes, they also engage in pirate stories. On paper this should work. There are good individual jokes (particularly a bit from Wakim), but it never quite gets off the ground, aargh.

Weekend update

Weekend update relied heavily on the United Healthcare CEO shooting this week and also included a lot of news. Michael Che and Colin Jost laughed at each other a lot, but sometimes with good reason. Che threw in some good ad-libs, best of which he called Joe Biden “still president.”

Only one character came by: Heidi Gardner’s “football mom who just became famous.”

Brilliant lawyer

Andrew Dismukes plays a lawyer with a “brilliant” strategy: he dresses twenty people, including his client, in Devo hats, yellow suits and beards so that the witness cannot identify him. The sketch is absurd and overall okay, but there are a few good jokes, including the visual gag.

Spotify packed

A group of friends look at their Spotify Wrapped and notice that one of them is a top listener of Satoshi Gutman from Dundalk, Maryland (the epicenter of the Ace Core movement). Gutman (played by Bowen Yang) shows up to perform a talk-pop track and then hosts a podcast with Trisha Paytas.

This sketch seems to be a parody of something. The choices are all very specific, from Gutman’s monk costume to the numerous references to the asexual community. However, it is difficult to say which reference it is. Maybe there isn’t one, or maybe this author is missing something (maybe you must be from Maryland). The inclusion of Paytas is also shocking. Even though she’s a very famous YouTuber, podcaster, and social media star, for someone who may not be a household name for those who aren’t online regularly, playing herself feels a little off.

A completely unknown red carpet

Buzzfeed hits the red carpet at the premiere of Timothée Chalamet’s Bob Dylan biopic. A complete unknown. ​​Chloe Fineman delivers a solid Chalamet impression, while James Austin Johnson makes a perfect Dylan. Johnson played Dylan in a hilarious promo for the John Mulaney episode earlier in the season and it’s great to see that he’s able to carry that impression into the actual show. Mescal also comes to play Bono. While the impression is largely based on his own Irish accent, as the U2 frontman he has some good jokes and great physicality.

However, Dismukes steals the show as Bruce Springsteen. Although Fineman and Johnson’s impressions are technically better, it’s almost to be expected of them. Dismukes really reaches her level and delivers some of the best lines in the sketch.

SNL returns December 14th with Chris Rock and musical guest Gracie Abrams.