Jonathan Seagull

I guess it could have been, I just thought it would be odd to have him strip down completely for a 2-second shot and then immediately change. Though I guess the logic could be that if he had to change anyway he might as well get naked first. Though if it is Hemsworth (or if people assume it is), that makes it even more odd to me that no one brought it up, what with all the pre-show talk. :-)

I have two things I wanted to note: 1) I'm glad I'm not crazy, or at least not alone, in thinking that Update was more entertaining. Full disclosure, I'm actually pretty okay with Jost/Che in general, but I still thought it was a noticeable improvement. 2) So...is no one going to mention the seemingly very actually naked guy in the shower during the reality sketch? I'm assuming it wasn't actually Chris Hemsworth, but I'm a little surprised no one has brought it up.

At first I thought maybe the episode was going to work multiple monsters in, or have the boys keep thinking it's one thing, but then it's not. But then when they settled on the shifter it was like Oh! The monsters were all suspects! They wanted us to play our own game of Clue trying to guess which one it was going to be.

I was just so weirded out throughout the entire A-plot. You're telling me that this entire group of teenage girls (including Jack of all people -- I wonder if Imogen is going to find out about that) is cool with spreading naked pictures of themselves around the school? Really? Like, I'll ignore the fact that there apparently aren't any faculty members around that would need to approve fundraising ideas, even though it doesn't make any sense because any thing that's bought for the team would also presumably need to be approved, and wouldn't they wonder where the money came from....Anyway. But seriously, I can only hope and assume that this entire thing will be some lesson about how terrible all of this is, because addressing the legitimate issue of sexism and double standards by having a bunch of teenage girls sell naked pics for cash is uncomfortable and gross. I really liked the Maya storyline, though. I like this use of Maya so much more than the constant boy-drama of last season. And I'm glad that the balcony thing was her nightmare, because it makes so much sense for the character. I wish they would actually say Cam's name, but it was still all pretty obviously tied in. I also liked seeing her practicing again. I'm pretty ambivalent about Drew/Becky. I'm not really a fan of the pairing, but I also never liked it when the show got couples together at the end of one season only to break them up immediately the next season (hi, Manny/JT). So I'm okay with them getting back together for now, because it makes it seem like the writers actually have things they want to do with them. And I do like both characters individually.

Honestly, I'm not sure that I really dug the Boston part of the monologue, either. I mean, to be fair it's a solid punchline -- running that whole marathon and then getting to the end and being told to run -- but it still seems maybe a little fresh. Also, Chris Rock is great, but I just don't really like it when comedians just come out and launch into their standup. They can (and do) do that anywhere. I want the monologue to feel like something that was actually written for the show. Even though How's He Doing is always the same thing (like probably most sketches), my biggest laugh of the night probably came from "Shut up, bitch!" The gaffes were pretty painful tonight. First Michael Che (though moving past it with "Prince, ladies and gentlemen" did amuse me) to the Leslie thing that was apparently a cue card issue. But that went on FOREVER and was awkward and so visible and you could just feel all the energy drain out of the studio.

I dug that they moved the Miles thing ahead so quickly. I figured that he would be trying to keep his family in the dark for at least a few episodes (although Frankie had already seen him kiss Tristan, right? Or was it just Winston?) I also thought the sibling reactions were true to the characters, with Hunter mostly being quiet even if he's uncomfortable (I get the feeling that he's uncomfortable a lot of the time anyway) and Frankie being a little more playful and aware. I didn't like Becky's attitude towards Zoe, but I figured it would be one of those things where she realizes she's wrong by the end of the episode. Did not expect it to turn out like that. And I'm okay with Zoe still not being all sunshine and rainbows. The Zig/Maya background reactions amused me. But...wouldn't Becky still have a say in who is on the team even if she's hurt, and be even more opposed to Zoe? Or is that not how cheer teams work? Whatever winds up happening with Clare, I do actually think that her reactions in this episode were true to her character. Having said that, I do think a miscarriage is probably the best thing they could do in terms of storytelling. It allows some really good material and still lets them send Clare off the way I suspect they want to. Random things: I think it's funny that it seems like every few seasons they give the cheerleaders a different name and try to act like it's something new. Simpson has a beard! Is this entire season going to take place over the last 10 weeks of the school year? Or will they maybe split it like in Season 11? Hmmm.

I got a good laugh out of Drunk Uncle uncomfortably rolling away from Michael Che and over to Colin Jost. The monologue lost me a little. It was well done but I honestly didn't really know what the comedy in the song was, if it was supposed to be comic. Taran and Kyle were by far the best Jim Carrey impersonators. The Lincoln spots were pretty great.

I enjoyed this one overall. I think part of that is because even though I don't think all the sketches were great (the riverboat sketch in particular I don't think worked), I appreciated that they were trying new things instead of trotting out the recurring standby sketches. I was also going to say that I appreciate that Sarah Silverman didn't just do standup for her monologue, which lots of comedians do, but apparently that stuff actually is part of her routine? Well, even so, I at least appreciate that it was something different than the typical "isn't it funny how" observational comedy. I enjoyed Update. It felt like both guys were pretty on their game and they're building a nice chemistry. I especially liked Colin's shifty-eyed "cool cool cool" when Michael told him why they could say "bitch." Also, Ms. NBC. Did not see Pete Davidson at all, but I think I actually admire that, too. I thought they might give him a bigger part because of the response he got last week, but I like that they held back. Oh, but hey Mike O'Brien!

When Chris Pratt pulled out a guitar I was like "no not a music monologue not you too chris pratt." But I actually kind of liked it. I dig the new look for the Update set. Michael Che had some trouble with his delivery but hopefully that'll work itself out. I did like his reactions to Girl You Wish..., who I thought it was cool to see again even though I liked Cecily as an anchor (I'm fine with Jost, too). I also liked seeing Leslie Jones again. Watching that He-Man sketch, part of me was sort of embarrassed for the guys and part of me was like "oh my god, show, you are so ridiculous that I can't help but laugh." I'm actually a little surprised they were allowed to, uh, do that so much. Re: The Big Fat Ass sketch. On the one hand, I'm kind of tired of how often they go to the crude, sexually aggressive well with Aidy. I mean, she's not the only one, but it seems like it's go-to with her. On the other hand, I liked the reactions of the friends, like when one is like "I think you're hitting the ass thing a little too hard." Also, someone mentioned that it's more clever if you look at it as a jab at how people are with music. A lot of people will sing along with songs and get into them -- even around other people -- even when the lyrics are stuff they would never say in normal conversation. I got a kick out of seeing Colin, Leslie, and Michael cameo in that NFL sketch. Pete Davidson was immediately really likable.

I think Shark in the Water is my favorite. The S12 one is good too, but S10 is is really creative and stylish. And the song is pretty catchy. I noticed in the musical chairs video that Tiny was part of the group, so I'm assuming he'll be around more; and that Lyle's hair is darker again; and I think Eric Osborne's hair was a little longer. I tentatively approve of all these things.

I agree with pretty much everything in that post. In particular, Jay was also a favorite of mine. I was disappointed that he never really had a personal storyline (or even a "Jay episode"). Also liked Dave, and it continues to irritate me that he just disappeared from the show after 4 seasons with no explanation. I liked Jane a lot, too, minus the cheating storyline. She was probably one of my favorite characters/actors brought in around that time, and I was definitely a little bummed that she couldn't stick around longer.

Not the same, but there's a mini (from S6) that is about a future reunion. Speaking of mini's, I'd already seen the first one about/following JT's death, but I had not seen this one, about the 6th month anniversary. The last bit is unnecessary, but otherwise it's kind of touching. And it notably features someone who (disappointingly) did not get to react to JT's death on the actual show, which was awesome. That's interesting to know. If Marco did 4 years of university, he should have gotten his teaching degree at the end of S12. Or whatever his actual major was, with teacher certification. Assuming it works roughly the same way in Canada as it does in the U.S.

I think Marisol's main storyline of her own was getting together with Mo, which unfortunately was not enough to make me like her. And it bugged me that neither she nor Katie (whom I liked much, much better) ever got any comeuppance for the Fiona thing. Re: Gay characters, we should keep in mind that transgender people are not (necessarily) gay. As far as I remember, Adam did not identify as being gay. He identified as a male who was (exclusively, as far as we know) attracted to females. I assume people are meaning more the general "queer" umbrella of LGBTQ, but I thought I'd put that out there. But yeah, Drew's behavior towards Riley when he was first introduced is troublesome, especially because (much like Owen's) it was never really dealt with. Though to be fair, he did also seem to still have a bit of a hard time accepting Adam at first, too.

Responding to some conversation in the Best/Worst thread: Thing is, with the messed up timeline of the show, I'm pretty sure Jack is still only like 7-8. He was born sometime around S2-3, right? Part of me actually wonders if, in 5-10 years, they're going to relaunch the show (or soft reboot it, if this version never ends) with Emma and Spinner in the Spike and Snake roles, with their kid(s) as the new main character. And Marco as a teacher.

Since it's not really about best/worst, I'm gonna respond in the seasons thread.