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Reviews
Succession: Rehearsal (2023)
Easily my favorite episode since season two
This episode had the excitement and authenticity that turned me on to Succession in the first place.
I'm of the opinion that season three was bogged down by a tired storyline that it was able to get away with thanks to the amount of popularity the show gained during the pandemic. Sure there were some good one-liners and emotional moments but it seemed to demand our attention with content that lacked the magic I saw throughout season two.
Finally in this episode they took a break from being self-referential and gave us a story!
Can't wait for this season to unfold. The show has a fresh vibe and I am certain they're going to continue to deliver.
Curb Your Enthusiasm: Man Fights Tiny Woman (2021)
Another great episode...
To fortify what I think is the best season in a decade. S10 was solid but I really didn't care for the last season. I understand why they tried to incorporate contemporary social issues into the plot but it came off as a bit forced. Mocha Joe also proved to be better off as a cameo rather than a regular. I find this season to be much more laid back, Larry has a motive with his new show but when he's overly ambitious, as he was with the spite store, the dialogue rings false. I'm glad they took a step back this season and realized the show works best when its characters are playing their parts in the way we know and love.
Really liked this episode, it was great to see Seth Rogen in classic fashion and this was arguably first time I've ever enjoyed seeing Josh Gad on screen.
Succession: Retired Janitors of Idaho (2021)
Adequate episode but the vibe feels off this season
I honestly can't believe I'm admitting it given how much I praise this show, but this season feels slower and less organized than its predecessors.
It's had its moments but I feel like eps 2-5 have been a bunch of filler with the words "temperature", "raisin", and "DOJ" thrown in amongst overused expletives. I think my biggest issue is that S1 and S2 essentially had first-person narrative with Kendall and now we're barely seeing him. The writers are also not paying enough attention to Greg and Tom, we get isolated scenes with them but they just aren't hitting home like they were last season.
Overall I find myself laughing and caring less, which is a shame because I've gotta be one the biggest fans of this show. The remaining four eps of this season will need to all be stellar for me to put S3 above S2 and even S1.
Saturday Night Live: Anya Taylor-Joy/Lil Nas X (2021)
A Solid Finale to an Otherwise Rocky Season
While I doubt anyone is putting SNL's 46th season in their top five or even top ten favorite seasons of all time, it's hard to put the entire blame on the show. For starters, the writers seemed to suffer from having too much material at their disposal. In the midst of a global pandemic, the largest threat in history to our nation's democracy, and the most controversial election season in the show's existence, it was probably difficult to parody a time that already felt so much like a satire. As a result, however, the season relied too heavily on the same source material, to the point at which we saw too many of the same characters and could predict the punchlines to many of the jokes.
The cast and crew also had to adhere to strict COVID-19 protocol which inevitably caused more rewrites and discarded ideas than we as viewers probably realized. What amounted, however, was a rather awkward season which (presumably due to COVID restrictions) featured episodes in which select cast members appeared too often while others were nowhere to be found.
Nevertheless, SNL sent this S46 off quite nicely. The intro was a refreshing reminder that this season came with its challenges, during which the cast was able to admit that some of the sketches were a little disorganized/not their best work.
The beautiful Anya Taylor-Joy did a standup job as host, most notably in her ability to deliver jokes in sketches that (again refreshingly) didn't consistently rely on Queen's Gambit parodies. Weekend Update was also great and Colin and Michael's jokes written for each other were once again hilarious. I was also so happy to see Pete make an appearance on WU as I think it's the platform on which he is funniest/most able to be himself. The AMC sketch went down as one of my favorites of the season, it rang true on so many levels and Beck did a great job as Vin Diesel. Lastly, Lil Nas X was amazing - his performance, though elaborate, was incredibly well choreographed and it was great to see how much fun he was clearly having on stage.
Overall, 9/10.
Saturday Night Live: Jason Bateman/Morgan Wallen (2020)
Best Episode so far this Season
So happy with tonight's episode - Jason Bateman was a delight and the skits consistently hit. Also great variety of cast members both old and new - lots of Cecily and always love when Pete and Colin riff together. The Stu short was also awesome as was Kyles.