The third time hosting was definitely a charm for Timothée Chalamet, who was a fantastic performer with a lot of solid material to work with. While fears of Bob Dylan cosplay abounded when he was announced as a musical guest, Chalamet proved himself a true fan, choosing fascinating Dylan songs and delivering them wonderfully with help from James Blake. Here's everything that happened on Saturday Night Live this week.
The Cold Open
Most of the cast were joined by Lin-Manuel Miranda to create a rap-based historical sketch about the founding fathers signing the Declaration of Independence, freeing them from the rule of British kings and queens. They were interrupted by James Austin Johnson's Donald Trump who, in a meta bit, spoke separately from the frozen sketch. He told us about his first week of work, and indicated how terrible life will be under his reign as King of America. Though filled with laugh lines, this couldn't help but feel both funny and bleak.
The Monologue
Timothée Chalamet joked about his turn playing Bob Dylan in the Oscar-nominated A Complete Unknown, and how, while he's often nominated for awards, he never wins. The show replicated his experience, by having Kenan Thompson win an award over him, all of which was amusing.
Bounce House Studio
Playing a couple, Michael Longfellow and Heidi Gardner were the initial focus of this bungee workout class, led by Chalamet's instructor, Nathaniel. Longfellow's Joe, the lone man in the class, was already skeptical about the fitness merits of such activity, and his cynicism increased after the first "workout." The crowd groaned at a Jimmy Carter joke and things got especially silly when a Cinnabon cake was introduced to this frenetic segment.
Medcast
This hilarious remote ad proposed that men might appreciate and attend medical appointments more if they were staged as podcasts. A remarkably clever and well-executed bit.
Big Benny's Café
Mikey Day and Heidi Gardner played people running a coffee shop, training their staff — which included Chalamet's Vinny, a wannabe Def Jam comic who did not get the subtleties involved in writing coffee puns on a sandwich board. Chalamet was very funny in this, and Ashley Padilla also scored points playing a perplexing colleague.
Oedipal Arrangements
Wow, this pun-based Valentine's Day remote was disturbingly incestuous, with Michael Longfellow and Heidi Gardner playing a lusty son and mother. Yikes.
AI Podcasts
Ego Nwodim played a teacher telling her class about a new teaching aid: AI podcasts. Chalamet and Bowen Yang played the AI bots pretending to be educational, speaking in broken English and crazed sentence structures. For the second pod-based bit of the night, this was also very good.
Timothée Chalamet
Introduced by Adam Sandler as a callback to Nikki Glaser's Golden Globes joke, Chalamet and a band played a kind of Zoo TV version of Bob Dylan's "Outlaw Blues," which ended abruptly and segued into a beautiful, knowing take of New Morning's obscure "Three Angels," featuring James Blake. Let any cynicism among Dylanologists subside; this Chalamet kid is all right, man.
Chalamet returned, more low-key, accompanying himself on acoustic guitar for a lovely "Tomorrow Is a Long Time" — again, an inspired choice from Dylan's vast catalogue. Well done!
Weekend Update
Colin Jost recounted Donald Trump's week, including him not placing his hand on the Bible when he was sworn in to be President. Michael Che told us about an Oathkeeper who was pardoned and made a surprising OJ Simpson joke. Jost offered up a tough church bit, while Che mocked Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene, while Jost reminded us about the end of DEI.
Ego Nwodim played Giselle, a concerned businesswoman, urging her fellow Black women to buy all the hair extensions they possibly could before Trump's tariffs kicked in. Giselle admitted she had voted for Trump, and wouldn't stop calling Che "twin." This wasn't great.
Che told a great Emilia Perez Oscar nom joke, while Jost lashed out at oatmeal. The latter also combined a high prices for eggs story with the end of Roe v. Wade, which sadly worked well.
Andrew Dismukes and his Puppet Dad then turned up to tell incredibly earnest and corny jokes about family dynamics, playing upon the dysfunctional relationship Dismukes wished to imagine was actually loving and supportive. He occasionally has Will Forte energy, and this bit exemplified his penchant for weird intensity.
If a Bunch of Dumb Little Dogs Talked and Acted Like People
Mikey Day and Timothée Chalamet played dogs who talked about all the dog stuff they did and do. Other cast members also played various dogs and exhibited behaviour that demonstrated how dumb and cute dogs can be. This was rather hilarious.
Kelsey's Boyfriend
At a grandmother's 92nd birthday party, she collapsed. Fortunately her granddaughter Kelsey, played by Sarah Sherman, and her boyfriend — a doctor played by Chalamet — soon arrived. Unfortunately, Chalamet helped Sherman's grandma by performing a form of CPR involving farting, long and loudly, in her face. A very strange but amusing concept.
An SNL Animated Short: God
In a new, unexpected segment, cast members and Chalamet voiced an animated short, where Chalamet played God, inventing weird shit that ultimately didn't come to pass. Very odd, fairly funny stuff here.