Saturday Night Live returned last night, with the very first episode of 2021. The cold open featured Kate McKinnon, as herself, asking the question that’s plagued all our minds for a year now: what still works? Kate then interviews several characters as she dissects their respective failings. First, there’s Cecily Strong playing QAnon congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who offers Kate a handgun from her purse. After going through Taylor Greene’s laundry list of hideous beliefs and behavior, McKinnon surmises that “government doesn’t work.”

She moves on to interview Pete Davidson, who played a man who made millions off of GameStop stocks, leading her to remark that the stock market also doesn’t work. This was followed by social media not working, with Mikey Day and Alex Moffat as Twitter’s Jack Dorsey and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. Finally, Kenan Thompson rolls through as O.J. Simpson, who recently tweeted video of himself getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

Finally, host John Krasinski comes out as the only thing in America that functions: Tom Brady. And yet despite Brady’s indomitable football skills, most of the country hates him and he’s “a weird Trump guy.” The best part of the skit was clearly McKinnon herself, who cycled through her world weary questions with an all too familiar exhausted disbelief. Yes, everything is bad now. Yes, things are getting better … kind of? Yes, we’re all still unraveling under the overwhelming stress that is simply existing right now.

In the words of another McKinnon creation, Wenowdis. But it’s still nice to see our anxiety reflected with humor and pathos. “I’m “slowly losing my mind along with all of you,” McKinnon intones, before opening the show.

We’re right there with you, Kate.

(image: screencap/NBC)

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• Hailee Steinfeld talks about Emily’s journey in season 2 of Dickinson. (via THR)
• Here’s a look at Studio Ghibli’s upcoming film Earwig and the Witch. (via Collider)
• Tag yourself, I’m “The deep state created COVID in the pantry of a Marxist pizzeria.”

Anderson Cooper trained crows to unionize for the ghost of Hugo Chavez 😂 pic.twitter.com/ccn0f7yuRN

— Mrs. S (@eatteachmama) January 31, 2021

• Grab your popcorn and gird your loins: The Snyder cut is coming in March. (via comicbook.com)
• Here’s everything from the Star Wars Holiday Special that is now canon. (via CBR)
• We’re getting a movie version of the hit Broadway play Dear Evan Hansen this year. (via /Film)
• Pushing Daisies is on HBO Max? We know what we’re doing tonight!

Several years ago I produced a TV series called Pushing Daisies. It only ran for two years, but has collected many fans in the interim. I just learned it’s on HBO Max. Check it out if you’ve never seen it. @BryanFuller @KChenoweth pic.twitter.com/TerH43U0nm

— Dan Jinks (@JinksDan) January 31, 2021

Hope you’re having a restful and restorative Sunday, Sue Believers!

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The post Things We Saw Today: Kate McKinnon Just Wants To Know “What Still Works” first appeared on The Mary Sue.