From the attack on the United States Capitol to the possession of President Joe Biden and all the developments in COVID-19 among them (including an increasing number of cases in California, a variant from the United Kingdom and a very slow release of the vaccine), so much has happened has happened since “Saturday Night Live” aired a new episode that seemed like an increasingly impossible task for the NBC sketch comedy series to respond to the news. But the January 30th episode – the first of the new year and the new political administration – did its best to kick-start with a fake open and cold show-inside-show sketch entitled “What still works? ” where Kate McKinnon looked at what still worked in American society.
“It’s a new year and we have a new president, so some things must work,” she said.
Starting with a look at the government – and including the special guest of Congress, member of the QAnon education committee and promoter, Marjorie Taylor Greene (played by Cecily Strong), she had her doubts that things did. It didn’t help that Greene de Strong sat down, offered her a gun from her purse and then released a list of her theories, including that both the shooting in Parkland and 9/11 were hoaxes. About the first, she said: “The teachers were actors and the children were dolls”, while asking herself out loud, “Has anyone really seen this happen?” about the latter.
In addition, she said California forest fires were created by Jewish space lasers.
“Are these real things that you believe in and that you talk about to other people? McKinnon asked. “You represent the people of the USA, they can search you on Google and they will say, ‘She is a true member of the US government'”.
Concluding that the government does not work, McKinnon said he regretted “not taking that weapon” before going on to examine the stock market situation, with Pete Davidson joining it as Derrick Boner, “GameStop’s new majority shareholder”.
McKinnon broke the recent surge in GameStop shares, pointing out that two weeks ago they were valued at $ 17 / share and then dropped to $ 413 / share. “Would you say this reflects the type of business GameStop has been doing for the past two weeks?” When Boner of Davidson pointed out that people download all his games now, McKinnon said it was a “dying business”.
“Is the whole system a joke?” he said.
This, of course, prompted McKinnon to add the stock market to the “don’t work” pile next to the government before moving on to social media, which she pointed out that some people think it never worked.
Mikey Day and Alex Moffat joined her, playing Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, respectively.
“Fundamentally, Facebook still works,” said Moffat’s Zuckerberg. “Not only does it help to form online communities, but it also helps people to meet in real life, for example, on Capitol.”
The vaccine launch was next, with Kenan Thompson playing OJ Simpson as a recent recipient.
“Teachers can’t get the vaccine, but can you?” McKinnon asked. “People with long-term lung disease can’t, but did you? Among all 3% of all Americans who received the vaccine was OJ Simpson. “
The final topic was Tom Brady and, in a rare moment when the presenter of the episode participated in the cold and open sketch, John Krasiski played Brady and came to speak for himself. But since McKinnon listed her achievements, from entering her 10th Super Bowl to taking “one of the worst football franchises” to the championship in her first year, she simply went ahead and declared that he still worked.
“It’s not like you’re a strange Trump guy or something, right?”
“Thanks for having me,” he said, as he got up and left the stage on the left.
Watch a clip of the “SNL” of January 30 in the cold open below:
And now, it’s time for “What still works?” pic.twitter.com/4yxkD2Tma8
– Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) January 31, 2021
The first draft after Krasinski’s monologue has also responded to politics lately, with the host playing a sheriff from the small town of Georgia who is introducing his young relative (played by Davidson) visiting from New York to some of his inhabitants. Since Georgia went blue during the election, they claim they are just like New York – and quickly prove how they think, with complaints about CNN, “with their corporate, neoliberal ‘both sides’ nonsense,” like Aidy Bryant’s character put it (just give me my Rachel Maddow! ”), Listing his pronouns, calling Michelle Obama“ Becoming ”“ the good book ”, serving avocado toast and screaming his Jewish senator (Jon Ossoff).
When Moffat appeared with a MAGA hat, Krasinski pointed out that “this is Stacey Abrams’ country” and had his deputy (Andrew Dismukes) accompany him to the state border. But when Melissa Villaseñor, as a health inspector, complained that no one wore masks, they exclaimed that the pandemic was a scam.
Georgia is a little different today. pic.twitter.com/6Tsr5GMt7U
– Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) January 31, 2021
“Saturday Night Live” will air live from coast to coast on Saturdays at 11:30 pm ET / 8:30 pm PT on NBC.