Something felt off with this opening monologue. Lady Gaga had a strange energy, almost an awkwardness, radiating from her — she seemed nervous, maybe, or like she had something to prove. She’s now hosted twice and performed as the musical guest five times. She even pulled double duty once before, in 2013, but that confidence didn’t seem to follow her. I did like the Razzie nod for Joker: Folie à Deux (2024).

Luckily, the weird vibe shook off quickly and most of her sketches worked like magic!

The sketches that worked

• I really liked “Little Red Glasses” — hilarious premise that really works and is the epitome of what SNL does well, identifying a silly little thing to which a wide audience can connect.
• Big ole’ yes to “Mascara Commercial“: Mostly because there is no fat / it’s nice and quick, and it’s starting to bring me over to Ashley Padilla‘s side.
• “No More Slay” …. sure, we can say this one worked! Might have fallen apart a little bit at the end, but it was fun.
• Moments like those precious Weekend Update minutes with “Lord Gaga” remind us why we’re here every Saturday night.

The sketches that didn’t

• I’m out on “Pip.” Too long with too little payoff. It looked good, though!
• I wanted so badly to love “Wonderful Tonight” — Bowen Yang looked so good, the goatee was hilarious, Lady Gage was shimmering, and the premise had potential. But gosh, something just wasn’t sitting right with this. It felt weird & awkward.

The musical PERFORMANCES

This was insane. Incredible. Unreal. A visionary example of why and how Lady Gaga has stood her electrifyingly flawless & innovative ground for nearly twenty years. I can’t describe it, just watch it.

Final thoughts

Lots of easy winners this week, but nothing that totally blew me away. Lots of stuff I liked, nothing I truly loved.

The clear highlight was the musical performances. Bonus points for Colin Jost‘s “You’re clearly unfamiliar with how things work here in hell,” a line that has been echoing in my mind for days now.

My rating: 3.5/5