Simu Liu Brings Plenty Of Confidence To Saturday Night Live's Stuffed But Satisfying Thanksgiving Episode

This weekend, "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" star Simu Liu arrived on "Saturday Night Live" and proudly announced himself as the first Chinese host on the show to be the fourth Chinese host on the show (see what he did there?). It was actually a preview of one of the funniest sketches of the night with fellow Asian cast member Bowen Yang, but we're getting ahead of ourselves. 

The Thanksgiving episode of "SNL" was stuffed with plenty of sketches (so much that a hilarious pre-recorded sketch from Please Don't Destroy got cut for time), many focusing on the Turkey Day festivities in some form. While most of the evening's sketches didn't take full advantage of Simu Liu's confidence and willingness to play around with the cast, the episode was still pretty satisfying. Let's dig into each and every sketch in the Simu Liu-hosted "Saturday Night Live."

New Military Weapon – If it wasn't for a certain Very Good Boy, then this sketch could have easily been among one of the worst. However, when "Saturday Night Live" attempts sketches like this, I'm certain that they're fully anticipating things to go not-so-smoothly with the real animal, because it will elicit plenty of laughs from the audience and even the cast. In this case, the best part of the sketch came from the dog trying to get ahold of the remaining bits of a sandwich it was given during the sketch, making communication with the Dog Head Man particularly hilarious. But there were plenty of other amusing bits throughout the sketch, including the continued question about how it goes to the bathroom. Plus, I loved the idea that this is a female dog head on a human man's body, and that human just so happens to be the owner of the dog and the father of Simu Liu's military character. Speaking of which, Liu's dedication to taking this so seriously also kept this from being a disaster.

Republican or Not – This is exactly the kind of political satire that "SNL" should be relying on instead of recreating political pundit shows, news conferences, and other real world parodies. Taking political and social commentary and packing it into a game show format or something out of the ordinary makes the proceedings feel that much more clever. In this case, I love the writing for each of the characters who may or may not be Republican. Initially, I thought that this was a clever way of pointing out that the differences between certain Democrats and Republicans can be subtle. But then I realized, when you get into the specifics of how each vague statement is defined on each side of the political aisle, it's clear that the right is just flat out wrong. Kudos to Kenan Thompson for playing up the host who is amused by the game playing out exactly how it's supposed to.

Jeanine Pirro (Cold Open) – After bringing back Judge Jeanine Pirro for the cold open a couple weeks ago, this was a surprisingly quick turnaround to bring her back. Sure, the Kyle Rittenouse farce trial made this a solid choice to cover the topic appropriately, and it's probably the best way to do it since Cecily Strong's portrayal of this "judge" is always good for a laugh. Thankfully, this one was bolstered by a great back and forth between Chloe Fineman and Chris Redd sharing their reactions to the verdict. However, I think it was maybe too soon to bring back James Austin Johnson to do the Donald Trump conversation topic countdown. It's a great bit, but I don't want it to be exhausted frequently so soon. I know "SNL" loves their recurring bits, but maybe we should pump the brakes here.

Karaoke All-Stars – Though this sketch isn't anywhere near as bad as last week's advertising awards sketch from the Jonathan Majors episode, it feels like it's trying to pull off a similar feat by creating a framework that allows a showcase of karaoke clichés and gags. This doesn't seem like the best choice, because the idea of a karaoke recap show at a local bar doesn't feel like a sound premise. There had to be a better way to set up this sketch. Having said that, there are some good laughs here as we cycle through a variety of the most common karaoke tropes that we've all seen during a night out. 

Colin Jost and Michael Che really let Kyle Rittenhouse have it in Weekend Update, and it's not even a fraction of what this kid deserves. But I digress. The jab at Matt Gaetz was particularly sharp too. And for those who think "Saturday Night Live" always lets the Republicans have it while letting the Democrats get off easy, there's also a solid shot taken at Joe Biden's approval ratings. By the way, one of my favorite bits that Colin Jost does is when he provides commentary on the photos used in their story graphics. He most consistently does it with Mitch McConnell, but every now and then he applies it to someone else, and this one about Paul Gosar was brilliant. Finally, Che's shot at Jost tied to the news of Mel Gibson supposedly directing "Lethal Weapon 5" is the kind of stuff that I always love to see these two deliver at the desk. You can watch the second part of Weekend Update right here.

Baby Yoda on Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade – Ugh. I'm sorry, but I don't like Kyle Mooney's Baby Yoda character at all. He's clearly having fun, and it's absurd to see the adorable digital character portrayed as some kind of douchebro. Some of the physical comedy is hilarious to see when Mooney gets those beefy little arms waving around, but otherwise, I just don't like this bit and I wish it would stop coming back around. 

Mother Earth on Climate Change – Aidy Bryant portraying Mother Earth as a sassy woman who probably owns a shop that sells crystals was pretty damn good. It peaks when Bryant is going off about coal being dug out of her ass for fuel, but Bryant keeps it solid the whole way through with a performance that is just on the cusp of losing it. The look on her face when she tells the people of Earth that she'll kill them if they don't shape up? I believe it, and I think that was the real Mother Earth speaking through Aidy Bryant.

Pete Davidson – Along with making headlines for officially dating Kim Kardashian now (let's see how long that lasts), Pete Davidson delivered the best sketch of the episode this week, and it felt so purely Pete Davidson. This is the kind of stuff he should be doing more often. If he can put some effort into following in the footsteps of Adam Sandler while still staying true to his own comedic style, then he could really step up his game on "SNL." Plus, whether it was improvised or not, Davidson's constant snacking on the cake during the Thanksgiving Baking Championship was a funny little gag.