Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
POLITICS NATION WITH AL SHARPTON
Al Sharpton (KET) explores the IRS targeting scandal
— The usual decent laughs from Kenan-as-Al-Sharpton’s constant mispronunciations.
— Funny bit with the Senator McConnell/Matthew McConaughey confusion.
— I love Kenan’s delivery of “They ain’t gonna Wesley Snipes me!”
STARS: ***
MONOLOGUE
host rephrases his Oscar acceptance speech nod to Jennifer Garner [real]
— Good bit with Ben Affleck mentioning how excited he is to have become a Five-Timer after seeing the big induction that Justin Timberlake was recently given into the Five-Timers Club, only for Ben’s induction to turn out to be an unceremonious one involving Bobby.
— Bobby doing his usual solid work. I especially like him being forced to make up a Five-Timers Club song after he assumed Ben would say no to his offer to sing one.
— Boy, this comical fake tension between Ben and Jennifer Garner in regards to their marriage has aged poorly, for obvious reasons.
STARS: **½
HBO FIRST LOOK
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (FRA) spites host with anti-Argo film
— A worrying beginning to this sketch, with it being yet ANOTHER translator bit, but thankfully, this sketch goes a completely different route after that beginning.
— An absolutely hilarious title of Fred-as-Mahmoud-Ahmadinejad’s Argo retaliation film: “Bengo F#*@ Yourself”.
— Very funny how Fred’s Mahmoud always quietly precedes each of his lines with “Pahk the cah in Havahd Yahd” in order to keep up the Boston accent he’s doing.
— I love the meta reference with one of the lines Fred’s Mahmoud says in a Boston accent being a random “You ah!”, ala SNL’s Boston Teens characters.
— Funny ironic twist with Ben himself playing the sound man in this anti-Argo movie.
— As usual whenever he hosts, Ben has the ability to make his habit of breaking during sketches come off charming instead of annoying.
— Also as usual whenever he hosts, Ben gives us a great display of self-deprecation, this time with his killer line about agreeing to appear in this anti-Argo film because he’s been looking to appear in a movie worse than Gigli.
— Overall, a very solid sketch, and is very welcome and much-needed in this final episode of Fred’s, given how bad he’s generally been these past few seasons. He was great in this sketch.
STARS: ****
XANAX FOR GAY SUMMER WEDDINGS
Xanax combats feelings of inadequacy produced by gay summer weddings
— Mixed feelings on this premise, given SNL’s general crutch for relying on gay humor for cheap laughs.
— Some funny lines and visuals during Bill’s testimonial.
— Good bit with Cecily regarding the outlandish, overly generous gifts she once received at a gay wedding.
— Turns out this commercial is actually having a lot of pretty funny moments all throughout. Not bad at all, given my initial worries.
STARS: ***½
DEPRESSION SCENE
during the Great Depression, (BIH) spurns (host)’s offer of honest work
— Our final display during Bill’s cast tenure of his great knack for perfectly playing old-timey roles. And I love how the voice he’s using in this particular sketch is very different from the ones we’ve heard him use in other sketches set around this time period.
— A funny and cute touch with Kate’s character imitating Bill’s gestures during his spiel.
— Good reveal of Kate’s seemingly-child character actually being a 40-year-old hooker with a gravelly voice.
— Very funny bit at the end.
STARS: ****
GAY CAMP
(host)’s summer camp is going to fail to turn gay teens straight
— Another gay-themed segment tonight, just mere minutes after that Xanax commercial???
— At least Ben’s fun as always here as the camp leader.
— I like Vanessa’s smiley-but-uncomfortable delivery of “Um, church. I’m always at church.”
— Funny cutaway to Jay.
— Overall, despite the above-mentioned high points, I didn’t care for this sketch as a whole. Definitely the lesser of the two gay-themed segments that have aired in this episode so far.
STARS: **
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Black Skinhead”
WEEKEND UPDATE
incredulous SEM & AMP say “Really!?!” to the IRS & groups it scrutinizes
SEM stops Stefon from wedding Anderson Cooper [real] a la The Graduate
recurring Weekend Update guests welcome SEM & Stefon back to the studio
— The final Weekend Update with Seth as a solo anchor.
— A sudden appearance from Amy Poehler, showing up to do another “Really!?!” segment.
— I think this ends up being the final “Really!?!” segment on SNL. I don’t recall Seth doing it the following season (his final season) with his new co-anchor, Cecily.
— Further proving that “Really!?!” is past its expiration date, a lot of Seth and Amy’s quips in tonight’s edition feel tepid, though there are still a few okay lines, and we also get a bit of the usual fun interplay between Seth and Amy.
— Much like the last time Amy cameod on Update (in the preceding season’s Maya Rudolph episode), they follow the “Really!?!” segment by doing a comedic segue with Seth “making” Amy stick around to tell Update jokes with him. It’s very odd how I had absolutely no memory of Amy being in this episode’s Update. I guess I was wrong when I said earlier that this is the final Update with Seth as a solo anchor. I mean, it’s still the final official Update during the solo Seth years, but the preceding episode’s Update is the final one where Seth doesn’t receive any assistance at all in anchoring Update.
— Hmm, Amy’s jokes tonight are pretty bad, even worse than Seth’s usual mild, bland jokes.
— Given the fact that this is Bill’s final episode, we get particularly WILD cheers from the audience while Seth is in the middle of introducing Stefon’s commentary.
— I love Stefon’s jealous reaction when seeing Amy with Seth.
— As always, great lines during Stefon’s usual routine. I especially love the Phil Jackson bit regarding the password of one of the clubs.
— Ooh, a very different turn in this Stefon commentary, with him suddenly telling off Seth and leaving in a huff without even finishing his Update commentary. The heartbroken audience reaction to that is pretty fascinating, and shows you the heights that Stefon’s popularity with viewers has reached over the years.
— Love the bit with Amy telling a distracted-after-Stefon’s-exit Seth a mock-dramatic “Go to him.”
— Oh, hell yes! Now we get an even more exciting turn with a pre-tape when Seth exits 30 Rock in search of Stefon.
— Great reveal that Stefon is getting married to Anderson Cooper.
— Ohho, I absolutely LOVE the detail of all the wedding guests being characters that were mentioned by Stefon in his previous Upate commentaries. Having all of those characters actually appear in this is absolutely excellent commitment.
— Speaking of excellent commitment, we even get a shot of Ben reprising his role as Stefon’s brother, as a great callback to the often-forgotten sketch that Stefon made his debut in.
— So fun how, when a now-married Stefon and Seth return to the SNL studio, various Update characters and impressions from the cast are standing at the Update set, throwing rice towards Stefon and Seth.
— Overall, wow, wow, WOW. That whole Stefon finale was absolutely INCREDIBLE. Just…what else can you say about it? One of the most epic things SNL has ever done, and this offered such perfect closure for Stefon as a character, as well as the story arc between him and Seth.
— The ending of tonight’s Stefon bit, coupled with the fact that Seth’s former co-anchor (Amy) was there tonight, honestly made it feel like this should’ve been Seth’s final Update. I know this was only intended as a send-off to Stefon/Bill, but it also would’ve given perfect closure to the Seth Meyers era of Update. Too bad I still have another half-season of him at the desk.
STARS: **** (Yes, the whole Stefon bit is the only reason this Update as a whole is getting such a high rating, and no, I’m not giving it an even higher rating than that. All of the non-Stefon portions of this Update were WAY too meh for me to fairly give this Update as a whole anything higher than four stars, and even those four stars are generous.)
GREG’S FUNERAL
poorly-disguised (host) attends his own funeral & rebuts anti-eulogies
— Funny conceit with Ben being in disguise at his own funeral, and trying to talk himself up to the funeral attendees.
— Ben’s delivery in that accent is hilarious-sounding, especially whenever he gets angry.
— Taran, regarding his skepticism over his father really being dead: “When I call his cellphone, he picks up and says ‘Oops!’”
— Another funny cutaway to Jay tonight (which happen to be the only things he gets to do in this episode).
STARS: ***½
HERMÈS HANDBAGS
(host) & vacuous ex-porn stars endorse Hermes Handbags
— One of the only (if not THE only) times this recurring sketch has ever aired before the 10-to-1 slot. On a similar note, contrary to popular belief, Kate’s Last Call sketches don’t always air in the 10-to-1 slot either (e.g. the season 42 Dave Chappelle episode).
— Vanessa: “You’ll feel like you’re spinning on a golden wiener.”
— Cecily: “You’ll feel like you’ve discovered a whole new world like Christopher Cumbus.”
— Cecily: “One time, I thought I banged E.T., but it was just an old Chinese man on a bike.”
— Cecily: “One time, I got banged through a glass ceiling. I changed everything for women. Turns out I’m a feminist. Thanks, Hermans!”
— Vanessa: “One of my eyes doesn’t work. It got sucked out by a butt.”
— Ben: “My pants should say Snickers on ’em. ‘Cuz they’re packed full of nuts and they always satisfy.”
— The whole herpes bit from Ben is hilarious.
— Ben: “Give that little girl what she really wants.” Vanessa and Cecily, intending to say the same answer in unison: “Hermans.” “Your whole hand in.”
— Overall, one of the absolute best installments of this reliable recurring sketch. Absolutely every single thing here clicked for me.
STARS: *****
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “New Slaves”
COP FAMILY
at her engagement party, (NAP)’s cop relatives keep emotions in check
— I absolutely love the cop voice Bill’s using.
— Some good laughs from all of the cops’ choked-up actions while having a hard time simultaneously expressing their emotions and maintaining their manliness.
— Taran’s trying-not-to-cry-while-speaking voice is hilarious.
— Good ending with the cops’ tearful, somber group singing of the “Bad Boys” theme song from Cops.
STARS: ***½
IT’S A LOVELY DAY
Ian Rubbish & The Bizzaros perform “It’s A Lovely Day”
Carrie Brownstein, Steve Jones, Kim Gordon, Aimee Mann, J. Mascis, Michael Penn [real] join Ian onstage
— Ah, Fred’s special farewell piece.
— You can tell from the abrupt way this sketch began (hell, it’s so abrupt that Taran is completely missing from the his place onstage at the beginning and doesn’t show up until about 10 seconds into this sketch, presumably due to not being able to get into costume fast enough) that SNL’s trying to squeeze this sketch in before the show runs long. I recall hearing that at dress rehearsal, this Ian Rubbish bit was presented as being a performance on Top Of The Pops, with Ben playing the host of that show, but the whole Top Of The Pops framing seemingly had to be cut from the live version of this sketch for time reasons.
— Jason has been added as a member of Ian Rubbish’s band, after not being part of that band in the previous Ian Rubbish piece from earlier this season. I remember a lot of SNL fans at the time, including myself, took Jason’s inclusion in this sketch as a sign that he’s leaving with Fred and Bill (one SNL fan also jokingly[?] asked, “Wait, so Taran’s leaving, too? After only three seasons?”, since Taran’s onstage with Fred, Bill, and Jason as part of the band). Fred and Bill both confirmed their departures a few days before this episode originally aired, but we knew nothing about whether Jason was leaving or not. He would confirm his departure several months later, after constantly telling people “I’m up in the air” in regards to whether he’s coming back to SNL or not. Before the confirmation of his departure, when SNL fans were speculating if he went out the door with Fred and Bill, a lot of fans were upset that he didn’t get an individual send-off piece in this episode like Bill and Fred separately got.
— A written message can be seen on Fred’s guitar strap, which states “TY LM I ❤ U” (seen in the second above screencap for this sketch), a great sign of appreciation from Fred to Lorne.
— During his opening speech, Fred’s Ian Rubbish poignantly mentions it’s his and his band’s last night here, and Bill’s character then mentions in a very somber and sincere manner that they’re still going to play together. Really nice reality subtext there, given Fred and Bill’s departures. You can tell that, even though those lines were delivered in character, the emotion in Fred and Bill’s delivery was 100% natural.
— A great and very special touch with the “friends” who Ian Rubbish brings up onstage to perform with him and his band. Knowing Fred’s real-life music tastes, I’m sure it means a lot to him having cameos from all these rockers in his final episode.
— A very solid, feel-good song for Fred to go out with. And I’m so glad that he’s had the lead role in TWO strong segments tonight (the HBO First Look sketch and this), as well as some good little moments in the Cop Family sketch. Considering all of the annoying recurring stuff of Fred’s that SNL could’ve bombarded us with in this final episode of his, it’s a relief that Fred instead kept away from the established recurring stuff, as well as any other annoying roles. With his strong showing tonight, and some other good things he’s done within the last handful of episodes, it feels nice to be reminded of how solid Fred can actually be, after how badly these later seasons of his SNL tenure soured me on him. Given how much I actually used to love him as a cast member in the first half of his SNL tenure (he and Will Forte were my top two favorite current cast members for most of the 2000s) before things soured, I’m glad he’s actually going out on a high note with this episode.
— I love how, after the performance has ended, the camera pulls back from this sketch’s set and shows a wider shot of the studio, which they rarely, if ever, do anymore at this point of the show’s run.
STARS: ****
GOODNIGHTS
— At one point in the middle of these goodnights, we get a shot of Fred, Bill, and Jason all hugging each other very tightly while fighting back tears (the last above screencap for these goodnights), which is a very poignant shot in retrospect, given how this ends up being the final episode for those three performers, and, as I mentioned earlier, neither SNL nor Jason himself knew for sure at the time if Jason was leaving or not.
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A solid season finale. A lot of good stuff, some special things, and a phenomenal centerpiece with the Stefon’s Farewell segment. Ben Affleck was as strong as he always is as a host. Keeping in an odd tradition this season in which well-loved multiple-time hosts abruptly stop hosting after this season (e.g. Anne Hathaway, Justin Timberlake, Zach Galifianakis), this sadly ends up being Ben Affleck’s final hosting stint.
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
the Stefon’s Farewell portion of Weekend Update
Hermès Handbags
HBO First Look
It’s A Lovely Day
Depression Scene
Greg’s Funeral
Cop Family
Xanax For Gay Summer Weddings
Politics Nation with Al Sharpton
Monologue
the rest of Weekend Update
Gay Camp
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Kristen Wiig)
a big step up
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS ENTIRE SEASON, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
HOW THIS OVERALL SEASON STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (2011-12)
a step up
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Season 39 begins, with host Tina Fey. We start out with a whopping six(!) new cast members, and a new co-anchor joining Seth Meyers on Weekend Update.