Shane Gillis is funny when you’re in the mood for his style, but when you’re not it can feel a little dragged out and redundant. I felt both the ups and the downs during this episode.

The last time he hosted, it was pretty universally accepted that he bombed the opening monologue, so I was expecting more from him this round — but it honestly wasn’t much different than the 2024 edition. He did seem to get more laughs this time, and there were some funny moments, but generally his opener was just “okay.”

The sketches that worked

• My favorite sketch of the evening (same as last time they pulled this concept out) was “Mid-Day News 2” thanks to Ego Nwodim, who shines every single dang time she’s given the spotlight. Gillis played his part well and the whole thing just worked.
• The “Elon Musk Cold Open” works if you’re subscribed to the Mike Meyers brand. Worth noting that Musk himself wasn’t thrilled with the portrayal (hehe).
• A link to “Coupla Beers” has probably been texted to brothers and fathers nationwide by now — and that’s what it was made for, so it works. I would have cut the sketch 20 seconds earlier and skipped the intervention bit, but other than that this one worked.
• I was super happy to get a Please Don’t Destroy piece this week. Maybe it’s because we’ve all been listening to “The Lonely Island Seth Meyers Podcast” this year, but Season 50 has felt very light on shorts. “The Sound” hit.

The sketches that didn’t

• “Wedding Interruption” = yuck. Boooooo. This was an absolute stinker.
• I don’t know. I guess I could have put “Winery Tour” in the “works” column? It wasn’t good. But nothing this episode was really, really good? Gillis has some good moments. Heidi Gardner was perfectly fine. I don’t know.
• “Dad’s House“. It was fine. Whatever.
• “Doctor’s Visit“. Not a bad premise. Went on too long.

The musical guest

This was my first time hearing a full Tate McRae song, and I didn’t hate it as much as I thought I would. She seemed to be having fun, she’s a good dancer, and all I really care about is having a musical guest that appreciates the opportunity to be on that stage. She clearly did. She’s a little “Oh, brother,” but it worked.

Final thoughts

I don’t know. I felt like I enjoyed the episode more until I started writing this out, and now I’m not as sure. Looking at the sketches one-by-one, I’m not super impressed. I still left the show with a good feeling, but honestly? I think the team might still be tired & burnt out from the 50th anniversary show.

My rating: 3/5