The Saturday Night Live (SNL) cold open last night was a stark reminder that some things never change. As I sat through the latest installment, it felt like an eerie echo from years past, when Donald Trump's presence on the show was as regular as a Monday morning meeting.
Back in 2017, SNL was riding high on the wave of political satire, with each cold open serving as a biting commentary on the absurdity of the times. The sketches were sharp and pointed, often leaving viewers breathless from laughter or disbelief. But last night's episode felt like a return to form—albeit in a much darker sense.
Will Forte, who has been making waves with his recent appearances as MacGruber, was notably absent from the cold open. Instead, we were treated to another iteration of the Trump impersonator, complete with that signature hair and exaggerated hand gestures. It's not that the impersonation wasn't good—it was just painfully familiar.
The sketch itself revolved around a typical political gaffe, where the character stumbled over his words and made nonsensical statements. The audience laughed, but it felt hollow, like they were laughing at a joke they had heard too many times before. It's hard to muster genuine laughter when you know the punchline is just another day in the news cycle.
As I watched, my mind wandered to other recent events that have been equally surreal. The bar and bat mitzvahs up around NYC were a prime example—ostensibly joyous occasions turned into bizarre spectacles of excess and extravagance . It's as if the world has collectively lost its sense of proportion, and SNL is just one more mirror reflecting this distorted reality.
The cold open also served as a reminder of how far we've fallen from the golden age of SNL. Back in the late 70s, when Gilda Radner was still around, the show felt like a beacon of hope and humor . The sketches were clever, the satire biting, but there was an underlying sense of optimism that things could get better. Now, it feels more like we're just treading water in a sea of absurdity.
And yet, despite all this, SNL continues to soldier on, providing us with weekly doses of satire and commentary. It's a testament to the resilience of the show, but also a sobering reminder that sometimes, the best way to cope is through laughter—even if it's at our own expense.
So here we are, another week closer to whatever comes next, with SNL serving as both a mirror and a coping mechanism. It's a grim reality, but one we can't afford to ignore. Will Forte may be absent from the cold open, but his spirit of irreverent humor remains—albeit tinged with a sense of fatalism.
What does it all mean? Is SNL still relevant in this age of endless political drama and social media outrage? Or is it just another relic of a bygone era, struggling to stay relevant in an ever-changing landscape?
