Lady Gaga Hosts One of the Best 'SNL' Episodes of the Season

Cold Open — Mike Myers’ Elon Musk returns to “reenact” the squabble between Musk and Rubio in the White House, and I don’t know why, but I kind of admired the way that the whole sketch was written. It’s clever! Not too clever. But clever. The vibes are good. (Score: 6.5 out of 10)

Lady Gaga Monologue — She acts, she sings! And she talks about acting! And singing! And she makes some jokes, and while the monologue is not one for the ages, it’s endearing. Welcome back, Gaga. (Score: 7 out of 10)

A Long Goodbye — I appreciate the enthusiasm that Marcello and Gaga have for this sketch — where he is saying goodbye to the love of his life, who is moving to Paris for culinary school — but the joke here is mostly that the two ride around the city on luggage scooters, which I didn’t know was a thing. I’m still not sure if they are a thing. Amusingly absurd. (Watch Here) (Score: 5 out of 10)

Pip — Longtime readers will recognize this as my favorite kind of sketch. It’s a weight-lifting competition. At a high school. And a mouse is involved. And Lady Gaga sings. I mean, I knew what was coming, but just didn’t know where. Bravo, SNL, for finding a way to still make it a surprise. Mat sketch of the week, right here. (Score: 9 out of 10)

Wonderful Tonight — Gaga and Bowen play a couple on a date who make a number of, again, remarkably clever jokes while singing “Wonderful Tonight” to each other. Not the best concept, but the jokes are aces. (Score: 7 out of 10)

Funeral Home — Gaga and Heidi Gardner play funeral home workers who are really pushing a Roaring ’20s theme onto a couple after the murder of a father. Absurd, but mostly throw-away. (Watch Here) (Score: 5.5 out of 10)

Mascara Ad — The ad is for easy-run mascara, for when you want other people to know that you’ve been crying. Good stuff. (Score: 7.5 out of 10)

Weekend Update — The great thing about all the absolute misery this Presidential administration is putting us through is that for a few minutes every Saturday night, it provides for great comedy material! Oy. It’s funny becuase it hurts. Meanwhile, Kenan does a segment as Kendrick Perkins, where he just makes up commentary about the NBA (watch here). The non-political jokes, however, are all absolute groaners. Just one groaner after another. Finally, Lady Gaga’s husband, Lord Gaga — an old-timey sexist man — makes a lot of Gaga puns. But mostly, he’s here for the joke at Colin Jost’s expense. I approve. (Score: 7.5 out of 10)

Friendlys — Here, we find out that — if you lie about your birthday to get a free sundae at Friendly’s — the song turns into a Satanic ritual. So dumb (but also, great). See how much better SNL can be when they don’t bring in Shane Gillis as host. (Score: 7 out of 10)

Little Red Glasses — My wife has a pair of red glasses. I don’t know if I should show her this sketch or not. But it’s weirdly kind of brilliant. (Score: 7 out of 10)

No More Slay — Over dinner, a group of friends (in song) retire the word “slay,” as well as a few other catchphrases. I am definitely showing this one to the teens, who like using “slay” so much that their favorite part of the Super Bowl was the odd appearance of Darius Slay. (Score: 7 out of 10)

Average Score: 6.9 out of 10. That may be the highest score of the season. For what it’s worth, as a musical guest, Gaga put on a hell of a show, too. And the cast really goes apeshit for her. It’s a blast. Great show all around.