Justin Timberlake hosted Saturday Night Live last night, anchoring a lively season finale heavy on recurring sketches. The episode made solid use of its musical guest, Lady Gaga, who seemed game for anything while managing not to break character. HitFix called it “an often effective, but always safe, ninety minutes of sketch comedy,” saying perhaps the writers “completely ran out of new ideas and just started rehashing old ones.” Entertainment Weekly said the episode “opted for familiar characters and sketches that ranged from quite to very funny.” But Movieline gushed about the host: “Timberlake is such a natural, like some form of sentient artificial intelligence that was put on this Earth to do one thing perfectly: host SNL.” Take a look at some highlights, below.
Most Comprehensive Run-Through of Host’s Talents
Justin Timberlake got the question out of the way at the get-go: Yes, he will sing for you during the opening monologue.
Most Anticipated Team-Up
Another headline-grabbing sketch (see above): a digital short from the acclaimed singers of “Dick in a Box.”
Most Laugh-Inducing
Seth Meyers’s “Weekend Update” segments were, really, the most consistently funny parts of the show this season.
Most Accurate Satire
Justin Timberlake and Lady Gaga were supposed to be parodying themselves in “What’s That Name,” we think. So he’s a jerk who can’t remember the name of his former bandmates, and she’s a weirdo who’s good to her fans.
Most Unsurprising Use of Robot-Egg Womb
Lady Gaga asserts, once more, and still somewhat plausibly, that she hatched from a futuristic egg as a 25-year-old pop superstar.