Saturday Night Live's second episode of the season featured host Dakota Johnson, whose performance was hampered by sub-par writing and her own awkwardness with live comedy, despite a surprise cameo from her friend Taylor Swift.
The cold open, set at RNC headquarters with midterms looming, saw Republican strategists bring in heavy hitters for TV ads. Marco Rubio (Marcello Hernández) blamed Trump in Spanish, a comatose Mitch McConnell (Mikey Day) flashed the peace sign, and JD Vance (Jeremy Culhane) was laughed out of the room. Pete Hegseth (Colin Jost) barged in with a beer, and Trump (James Austin Johnson) delivered a rambling diatribe with promises of checks and terrible slogans.
A Better Cold Open, Still Wanting
The cold open was an improvement on last week, though it relied heavily on Jost's Hegseth. Johnson's monologue featured self-deprecating jokes about her high-profile failed relationships before Swift joined her on stage as a reluctant therapist, drawing a huge pop from the audience but only chuckles for the jokes.
In the sketch Press Your Luck, Johnson played Elizabeth Banks as contestant Sherri (Ashley Padilla) repeatedly won and lost the million-dollar prize to the Whammy, in a segment that was all yelling. Mean Scary Girlfriend used Johnson's icy demeanor to decent effect, but a hospital cafeteria sketch with Eric from legal (Culhane) sputtered out despite a promising premise.
Sketch Comedy Misses and Hits
A commercial for the Glunt, a pink vagina-shaped gun for women, was over quickly. A Game of Thrones spin-off sketch with Johnson and Ben Marshall featured impressive animatronics but flat jokes. Indie rockers Turnstile brought energy to their first set of the night.
Weekend Update saw Michael Che and Jost touch on the Cornell rape case, with Che chastising men who don't hold predators accountable while the camera lingered on Jost. Guests included Jason and Link from new video games, with Day's bombastic Link stealing the show again. Kam Patterson played a proud Gleek, and Sarah Sherman's Debbie the Matchmaker tormented Che with hopeless singles.
A Rushed Ending
A sleepover sketch with TikTok influencer Colorado Vicky tied together threads about an unwell host and a suicidal father. Amazing Tales of Truth saw a young girl sing Somewhere Over the Rainbow to her comatose father, to no effect, showcasing Veronika Slowikowska's vocals.
The show ended abruptly, with Johnson given a birthday cake at the curtain call. The atmosphere resembled a wake more than a party, as Johnson, a talented screen actor, lacked the chops for live comedy and was further hampered by weak writing. With the exception of Day and Sherman on Update and Turnstile's performances, the episode was a real energy vacuum.
