The countdown to the election is on with 30 more days. Over the weekend, the iconic TV show Saturday Night Live resurrected an event long faded from popular memory: the vice-presidential debate between J.D. Vance and Tim Walz. The dynamic duo of Bowen Yang and Jim Gaffigan took the helm, bringing their peculiar comedic rhythms to represent the contrasting personas of the candidates. Yang seemed to channel his inner demon, slowing down his speech to a tantalizing degree and emanating an eerie aura, as though he was embodying Vance as the antagonist in a classic film noir.
Gaffigan portrayed Walz with an unexpected blend of clumsiness and uprightness, reminiscent of George Bailey and Uncle Billy from It’s a Wonderful Life. This nonsensical image was heightened when the moderator questioned his confused recounting of a supposed Tiananmen Square expedition, to which Gaffigan blurted he had perhaps been recalling a trip to Disney’s Epcot. ‘In any case,’ he admitted, ‘I’m no more than a goof-up!’
In a rather unimpressive performance, Joe Biden also made a cameo. His interpretation of our president seems to be all about the toddler-like vibes—waving an ice cream cone aimlessly, boasting traces of vanilla upon his mouth, making muddled declarations about a 2028 Biden campaign. All this with an ever-present grumpy righteousness. The image was nothing less than ludicrous.
The main host of the night was the funny man, Nate Bargatze. Despite fantastic performance in his debut SNL appearance less than twelve months ago, Bargatze seemed to focus more intensity on participating in the skits themselves. This resulted in a reprise of a sketch where he played George Washington sailing down the Delaware River, once again poetically musing on the idiosyncrasies of American innovation.
This bizarre journey, accompanied by an unusual crew of soldiers portrayed by James Austin Johnson, Kenan Thompson, Bowen Yang, and Mikey Day, sees Bargatze discoursing on the peculiarities of American nomenclature. He espoused the idea that Americans should use separate terms for animals in life and death. ‘Like cows being called beef, and pigs pork. But chickens will always be just chickens.’ He lampooned the quirks of American conversation wonderfully.
At some point, he reassures his followers by saying ‘Don’t worry guys! A hot dog is not made of actual dogs.’ When Johnson dares to question the components of a traditional American hot dog, Bargatze sternly orders him out of the boat. It was an amusing sketch in its execution, yet fell short of the charm of its precedent.
Other standout performances include Bargatze comically portraying a golfer who inadvertently blasts a bird out of the sky in the middle of a tournament. Or him playing an EMT, whose eccentric solution to transport a deceased body is by using the water park slide, rather than the exhausting task of carrying it down 255 steps. Or as an ill-prepared contestant on the Latino show Sabado Gigante, where he endearingly attempts to emulate acclaimed host Don Francisco.
The episode saw Coldplay taking the stage as the musical guests. However, the biggest surprise arrival was the new cast member, Jane Wickline. With her offbeat coolness fresh from Oberlin College and an impressive TikTok following, it was a surprise to see her called on stage for the Weekend Update so early in the season.
Seemingly unfazed by the situation, Wickline sang a peculiar little song called ‘Party,’ accompanied by a keyboard and some shaky singing. Wickline surprised everyone by singing about her stubborn refusal to leave a party she was never invited to. When Colin Jost attempted to conclude the sketch, she asserted, ‘My intention is to continue singing.’
During the ballad of final goodbyes, Heidi Gardner, having cleaned up from a hilarious hamburger-related fall earlier on, decided to wear a retro Wayne’s World t-shirt as a token of her achievement on stage. Meanwhile, Mikey Day sported a t-shirt flaunting his well-known ‘Might be Prudent’ slogan, as though believing his rendition of Biden is enough to ease the prevailing times.