Posted in: NBC, Opinion, Peacock, TV, TV | Tagged: boygenius, nbc, peacock, saturday night live, season 49, snl, Timothee Chalamet

SNL Second-Guessing: Season 49 Sold Us on Timothée Chalamet's Talent

With SNL reairing November 2023's Timothée Chalamet/boygenius show, we look at how the Season 49 episode sold us on Chalamet's talents.

For last weekend's edition, we examined how host/stand-up comedian Nate Bargatze, musical guest Foo Fighters, and the cast and writers helped set the tone for what worked best during this past season with the third episode.  So it seems only fitting (especially with NBC repeating the episode of Saturday Night Live tonight) that this weekend's edition of SNL Second-Guessing focus on the show that followed – November 11, 2023, with host Timothée Chalamet (Wonka, Dune) and musical guest boygenius (Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus). After a strong effort, we were worried that an off-week could lead to a step or two back – and we could not have been more painfully wrong. Chalamet had fun without making it all about him, handing himself over to the SNL writers and trusting what they had in store for him – the kind of vibe that allowed the SNL cast to shine in an impressive run of sketches (though that guest appearance from Alec Baldwin was an odd one). Best of all – and something that SNL has had a long tradition of doing for me – the episode gave me a better appreciation for Chalamet's talents – especially when it comes to comedy.

That aside, though? This episode was on fire – with boygenius setting the soundtrack in all the right ways. "The Woman in Me: Auditions" gave us Chloe Fineman's Britney Spears and Punkie Johnson's Ice Spice (with Johnson also offering a great take on Nicki Minaj earlier in the show). "Gym Call" saw Chalamet & Mikey Day's gym employees offering Gardner's caller just the right amount of frustration. "Troye Sivan Sleep Demon" gets the win simply for ending the sketch with Bowen Yang, Chalamet, and the members of boygenius dancing while flashing us their red undies.

"Little Orphan Cassidy" included a star-making performance by Chloe Troast on par with Bill Murray's "shower singing" sketch. Please Don't Destroy (Ben Marshall, John Higgins & Martin Herlihy) dared us to look away and to not see what happens to Chalamet's "Jumper" – but we couldn't. "Weekend Update" anchors Colin Jost & Michael Che continued to be comedic forces of nature, rising above any moans, groans, or silence streaks from the audience. Here's a look back at some select highlights and some additional thoughts:

"Republican Debate Cold Open": Fineman, Higgins, Kenan Thompson, Ego Nwodim, Molly Kearney, and Devon Walker were spot-on in some very familiar roles, but James Austin Johnson's Donald Trump breaking the fourth wall to twist the knife on his fellow Republicans was what sold us on the cold open.

Timothée Chalamet Monologue: From his Wonka-themed enthusiasm over the SAG-AFTRA strike ending to a great line about working with Martin Scorsese on a perfume commercial, Chalamet quickly made the case for why he was asked back (and why a "5-Timers" jacket could be in his future). And just when we thought that we had enough, Chalamet and Marcello Hernández raised the bar with a rap ode to baby faces.

"Museum of Hip-Hop Panel": Mary J. Blige (Johnson), Rick Rubin (Austin Johnson), and Dr. Cornel West (Thompson) discuss the historical impact and influence of Hip-Hop on our society over the years with… SmokeCheddaDaAssGetta (Chalamet)? While points about younger generations not being educated on the history of music and how technology can make pretty much anyone a superstar, it was Nwodim's growing disgust while trying to keep everything in check and moving forward that won us over.

"Giant Horse": Yup, it's a sequel sketch – one that had us guessing until the big reveal. Chalamet's space hero must confront the Tiny Horse he parted ways with – now seduced to the dark side to become Giant Horse. As absurd as the entire premise is, the sketch worked amazingly well because the emotions of the moment were never overshadowed by the comedy – in many ways, they complement each other.  When a sketch has you guessing, keeps you laughing, and hits your heartstrings? That's something special…

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!