The Brat singer has appeared several times as a musical guest, but returned to host for the first time.
This week’s Saturday Night Live featured Charlie XCX as both the host and the musical guest. The ‘Brat’ singer has appeared several times as a musical guest. However, this was her first time hosting.
She first appeared on the sketch program in 2014 as the musical guest for the Holiday episode of season 40 with host Martin Freeman. In 2021, she was set to return for season 47’s Christmas episode with Paul Rudd, but the episode was canceled due to the omicron variant spread in New York. She returned in 2022 during the same season for an episode hosted by Oscar Isaac. Recently, she has also been impersonated on the show by Bowen Yang.
Hosting and performing is a tall order, and XCX did a good job with what she was given. However, the overall episode felt slightly lackluster. While XCX showcased some solid acting and good timing, many of the sketches felt like retreads of past concepts.Cold Open
While the election is over, the political Cold Opens live on. This one follows James Austin Johnson’s Donald Trump and Dana Carvey’s Joe Biden for a meeting in the Oval Office. This sketch has some really solid jokes, and Sarah Sherman’s Matt Gaetz is off-putting in all the right ways. Unfortunately, it also introduces Alec Baldwin as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He’s a show favorite; still, his impression isn’t great, and he’s now played too many people in these sketches for it to feel fresh or fun.Monologue
This week’s Monologue features XCX as she explains being ‘Brat’ and Autotune. Kyle Mooney also stops by to figure out if he is ‘Brat.’ There is nothing wrong with this monologue, and XCX is very charming. However, it feels odd that Mooney is there.Babymoon
This sketch is a sequel to the wildly popular Bridesmaids Sketch from Ariana Grande’s episode earlier this season. The big issue with this sketch is the one-month turnaround from the original to the sequel. It feels too soon.
The reveals and jokes are pretty much the same between the two iterations of this sketch.
