SNL Open Thread: Scarlett Johansson Rocks It Out

Evan is unable to be here this weekend, and while I can’t fully describe what it looked like when he ascended, I’m pretty sure the ball of light that took him was female and they’re very happy now. (I mean, the cloud of sparks he became did make a “Woohoo!” sound…)

Now that housekeeping is out of the way, let’s talk Scarlett. This was a landmark for her: her entrance into the Five Timers’ Club. Historically, Scarlett has done a good but rarely biting job hosting. I think she took it up a notch this week. Many of her episodes are rife with simply inserting her into running sketches and letting her do a good job. This week, she did that but in a fresh way and to great results.

They brought back Shud, which I always thought should be a running sketch. As soon as I saw where the sketch was going, I thought “Oh, so Scarlett will be a pretty mermaid. Sounds right.” Nope! She was an ugly fish who was “down to clown”. Apparently! (In the funny way, not in the dirty way, ya pervs.)

She also joined the Celebrity Trump Squad, OWNING Ivanka Trump. Cecily does a fine job when she does it, but “Complicit” was a particular highlight for me and an encouraging political turn for them to take. What did you guys think?

New sketch style, let’s talk about the Women’s Day sketch. I love this. It did everything that I wanted the "Girl In A Bar" sketch last week to do but wasn’t quite able to reach. "Women’s Day" did that, and more. It had a subversive line running through it that I thought addressed the controversy behind the Day Without Women, where many women were concerned that abandoning their work for the day would only do damage to themselves. I could go on about this one for a while, so just watch it and let me know your thoughts, too.

What did you guys think of Scarlett’s Fiver Timers’ victory lap? A fun new take on running gags? More of the same “capable but no DAAAANNG! moments” of her past hosting gigs? What was your favorite “Funeral Service” song? 

(Also, I’d never heard any Lorde songs. Would a youth or teen explain to me what that was about? The first song was a breakup song where she hoped he gets eaten by a shark because he’s lying to his new girlfriend about liking the beach??? What a specific burn!)