The hangover from Season 50 is real. The first episode of Season 51 aired on October 4, and the show failed to deliver a punch to start the new season.
Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny was the host, with musical guest Doja Cat. The musical numbers from the latter were elaborate and interesting. But Bad Bunny fell flat in his second stint hosting Saturday Night Live.
According to our experts the first episode of Season 51 came in at a C+, well below what is expected from a season opener.
Usually, the season debut episode has a feel of specialness you it. But the Bad Bunny show last Saturday was unusually poor.
Maybe it was the fact that Bad Bunny hosted unapologetically in his native Spanish. But in reality, it was far more about the lack of comedy in sketches and Weekend Update. The monologue, which is so important in a season opening episode, was listless.
Its perfectly fine for Bunny to speak Spanish and to take large roles in many sketches, even though he cannot speak English very well. But, it would be nice if the guest host was able to communicate jokes from the cue cards, Too often on Saturday, the jokes were weak, and Bad Bunny’s delivery was off.
Ironically, SNL seemed to miss an opportunity. Bad Bunny is in the news recently since it was announced he will perform the halftime show for the next Super Bowl. Some Americans who apparently have no idea where Puerto Rico is, or who simply lack the depth to understand what the term “international superstar” means, have reacted poorly to that decision.
SNL’s writers could have done something (anything) to poke fun at the narrow-mindedness of Americans who think an American from Puerto Rico isn’t “American enough.” Why not use subtitles that sneak in comments on how silly it is for football fans to be irritated at a Spanish-speaker singing songs at the Super Bowl? Why not take the opportunity to write some sharp satire that criticizes those people who see anything other than “white” as non-American?
But SNL doesn’t do that type of satire and hard-hitting commentary any more. And the Bad Bunny episode, which could have used some of it, sagged as a result.
Many critics turned their thumbs down for SN 51, EP1: most lamented the poor monologue, and the strange choice to air two sketches back-to-back with essentially the same premise (weird people at a restaurant).
Bad Bunny isn’t a dreadful host. He’s a charming entertainer, and obviously has quickly become a Friend of the Show. We even got a cameo from Bunny’s pal and former SNL host, Jon Hamm. It’s not that we don’t like Bad Bunny. It’s simply this: the season premier was a dud.
We’re hoping for more next Saturday when SNL alum Amy Poehler is in the hosting chair, on October 11. That show will air on the exact 50th anniversary of the first episode of Saturday Night Live, in 1975.
