Sabrina Carpenter hosts SNL, and Domingo returns for an open session

Pop star Sabrina Carpenter hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time ever, but it sure didn’t feel like it.

Carpenter was the musical guest last year When Jake Gyllenhaal hostedAnd in 50th anniversary specialShe sang with Paul Simon and appeared in a sketch. Whether it’s because she’s performed the show as both a musician and a comedian (her song performances are often a combination of both) or not, Carpenter seems just as comfortable in Studio 8H, as she’s always been there.

This served her well in an episode that started off poorly with reruns of an executed sketch several times (keyword: Domingo), and a monologue that, despite Carpenter’s charm, doesn’t seem to connect with the audience.

But then Carpenter’s quick timing and ease of work, combined with a variety of drawings, put the episode over the top. She looked exactly like a 12-year-old boy in a sketch about teenagers hosting a podcast called “Snack buddies“With President Trump (James Austin Johnson) as guest, the lot is sold out Provocative neck pillow In a funny Shop TV sketch, a pre-recorded segment was performed “Grinding song” with Bowen Yang, and was thrown out the window as Girlboss seminar host. she Scared of a coworker (Ashley Padilla, soon to become an important sidekick on “SNL”) on her birthday and played the role Washing machine singing and dancing Along with new cast member Veronika Slowikowska.

It also didn’t hurt that Carpenter’s two hilarious, well-sung musical performances were, for “Manchild“and”Nobody’s son“, they were radiant. Her love for the show was evident: She performed her first role wearing a “Live From New York” T-shirt and briefs with the words “It’s Saturday Night!” written on the back.

The best argument for inviting Sabrina Carpenter to return at some point might be that she set up the show with no outside guests or surprise appearances, which hasn’t happened on “SNL” in a long time. The only exception was a short film by Please Don’t Destroy writer Martin Herlihy at the end of the show that was probably about racism and Frankenstein’s monsters (yes, plural).

We’ll keep this short because the less said about the cold this week the better. Chloe Fineman and Andrew Dismukes return as Matthew and Kelsey, a couple who have in the past suffered from trust issues from Kelsey’s frequent flings with her boyfriends that usually end in a romantic relationship with a man named Domingo (Marcelo Hernandez). This time, they’re celebrating Matthew’s 30th birthday, but for some reason, Kelsey takes her friends (including Carpenter) to sing some bad karaoke-style pop songs about their last weekend in Nashville. This time, the songs are modeled after Taylor Swift’s “Fate of Ophelia,” Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra,” and Alex Warren’s “Ordinary Song.” The ladies went to Nashville and of course Domingo is still there. “This is the sixth stroke,” Matthew shouted with no luck. “Honey, this won’t happen again,” Kelsey promised. Let’s hope so. the Domingo sketches Need rest.

Carpenter’s monologue was largely about dispelling (but not actually dispelling) the idea that the singer is overly sexualized, or as she described it, a “horndog bobster.” “There’s a lot to me. Not only am I horny, I’m horny,” she said. She sparked controversy over her “Man’s Best Friend” album cover by joking that it was cut and revealing that Bowen Yang and Martin Short originally appeared on it, with Yang pulling her by the hair and Short pushing her away from the buffet line. The monologue began to fade as Carpenter went into the audience for some interaction to prove she could have chemistry with anyone or anything, only to return to the stage to have a weird time with Kenan Thompson, who said he wanted a video cameo for his niece. Carpenter has irreplaceable charisma, but the monologue was too disjointed to go anywhere.

Best Sketch of the Night: Does it scare you to see “Plans” too?

Trailers for mock horror movies have been doing well on “SNL” lately, and the streak continues with “Plans,” a Blumhouse horror film featuring Ben Marshall and Carpenter as a married couple who are horrified when they realize that the plans they made back on the Fourth of July have suddenly come to fruition with their cousin and her husband. As their terror grows, they remember that their cousin (Sarah Sherman) talks about marathons (“In my opinion, losing toenails is a badge of honor”) and that the husband (Dismukes) likes to show 11-minute YouTube videos. They end up in a crowded ramen restaurant and then a bad interactive play. For anyone who has regretted accepting social media, this could be their worst nightmare.

Also good: The Neck Pillow Monologues

Shop TV’s graphics wouldn’t do so well if Padilla and Mikey Day didn’t do such a good job of infusing their characters Bev and Rhett with such practiced professional panic when things go wrong, as they have done before. Carpenter appears as Virginia Duffy, an artisan who designed a comfortable pillow that resembles a giant vagina and comes in different colors. “Why are you bringing pink?” asks an angry Rhett. By the time the faux fur lining is added and Rhett tries to position the neck pillow, creating an unwanted baby sound effect, Shop TV has done it again. Bonus points for Johnson as Tim Tucker, who appears at the beginning of the sketch with a trick-or-treat bucket shaped like the head of Jesus Christ. “Trick or treat, smell my feet, walk with Jesus down Halloween Street,” he chants.

‘Weekend Update’ Winner: Have you seen ‘Saw’? He didn’t do that

New cast member Tommy Brennan He discussed moving to New York and growing up in Minnesotabut it was the return of Hernandez’s character Movie Guy, who wants to talk about scary movies but has never seen any. “Everybody’s seen ‘Guns!'” I’ve got to tell you I wasn’t one of those people. The Movie Guy explains that horror movies often tell you what they’re about: with “Scream” or “Everybody Scream!” with “Smile,” “Everybody Smile!” What about “Saw?” “Everybody’s seen! But not me, I haven’t seen.” He goes on to talk about why Stewie from Family Guy and Shrek and others are also scary (even if he hasn’t seen them). “‘Missed Call’…is this a movie about my mother?”