Hulu’s ‘Happiest Season’ Is a Huge Holiday Letdown

Graphic by Trinity Kendrick ‘21

By Sabryna Coppola ’22

Arts & Entertainment Editor

Content warning: This article mentions homophobia and emotional abuse.

The holiday season traditionally involves going home to see family, and that presents a potentially harrowing experience for many LGBTQ+ people. 

On Nov. 25, Hulu released their original film “Happiest Season.” Directed by Clea DuVall (famous for her role in “But I’m a Cheerleader”), the film follows Harper (Mackenzie Davis) and her girlfriend Abby (Kristen Stewart) as they visit Harper’s home for Christmas. Harper admits on the way that she lied about being out to her conservative (read: homophobic) family, and since her father is a politician running for reelection, she wants to keep their relationship a secret until after the holiday passes. 

The film opens with all the usual antics we can expect from this popular trope in LGBTQ+ movies, including lots of misunderstandings and innuendos. But as the movie progresses, Abby and Harper’s relationship becomes more strained. 

Since Harper’s family doesn’t know about her identity, they keep trying to set her up with her ex-boyfriend. Left alone in an unfamiliar place, Abby befriends Harper’s ex-girlfriend, Riley (excellently played by Aubrey Plaza). Harper’s tense relationship with her parents, her extremely competitive older sister and her hiding of Abby all come together to create a ticking time bomb.

The movie promises a star-studded cast, including Stewart, Plaza, Alison Brie and Dan Levy. However, it is only Stewart and Plaza’s talents that are fully utilized, as only their characters are fully developed. The rest seem to fall into flat stereotypes. 

Throughout the movie, Harper ignores Abby, who has admitted how hard it is for her to celebrate Christmas after the passing of her parents, and repeatedly convinces her to stay despite her discomfort. Levy plays Abby’s friend, John, who occasionally advises Abby over the phone to remove herself from the situation, eerily reminiscent of Jordan Peele’s horror film “Get Out.” However, at the end of the movie, he tells Abby that just because Harper is afraid to be open about her sexuality doesn’t mean that she loves Abby any less. Reminding Abby how scary it can be to come out to one’s family, he convinces her that Harper’s manipulative behavior is justified. 

Without revealing too much, I will say that I was immensely disappointed in this movie for many reasons. Following in the footsteps of almost every rom-com relationship, Abby and Harper are completely dysfunctional and, frankly, toxic. The cast is also mostly white, and the three characters of color lack dimension. They seem to be used as diversity tokens for the election of Harper’s father, which is wildly problematic and wholly unaddressed. Two of them frame Abby for stealing something from a mall, adding an unnecessary and racist plot point. Harper spends the entire movie pandering to her right-wing upbringing, hiding the parts of her that will tarnish her father’s reputation and, in the process, actively hurting Riley and Abby. 

This portrayal of LGBTQ+ romance is not the representation I wanted to see from DuVall, a lesbian icon. The best-case scenario would be a lesbian rom-com that wasn’t about their sexual orientation. But this toxic couple undermines that possibility. Instead, preying on the terrifying feeling of coming out enables an unhealthy relationship in which Abby is emotionally manipulated into letting herself be mistreated by Harper. I’m not asking for the perfect movie, but it would have been nice for the first mainstream lesbian rom-com to promote more meaningful representation.

The movie has had some mixed reviews. NPR called it “funny,” “charming” and “warm” and lauded the cast for their performances. However, lesbians on social media have expressed disappointment in the couple, pointing out how Harper’s general mistreatment of Abby is thinly glossed over by appealing to the fear of coming out. Like any rom-com, the problems are easily solved and the ending is perfectly happy —  every problem is neatly wrapped up and put away. Despite how much I wanted to like this movie, I think it’s something that will land differently with everyone who watches it. Knowing how hard it is to come out to family shines a sympathetic light on Harper, but for me, it wasn’t enough to excuse her actions. 

The movie is still worth watching, but don’t expect too much. There are some genuinely funny parts and a cozy, festive atmosphere to the film. Stewart and Plaza, both usually typecast as cold and sarcastic, give wonderful performances. It does show a nuanced relationship, which is important for “representational” movies, but marketing toxic as romantic just doesn’t sit right with me. 

To anyone struggling with difficult family dynamics over the holidays, remember that you are worthy and deserving of self-preservation. It can be a tough time for a lot of us, but remember to take care of yourselves. If you find yourself in Abby’s position, pack your bags and put yourself first. 

Artist Profile: Aftan

By Kenna Hurtuk ’23

Staff Writer

Aftan ’23 is an artist in more ways than one. Incorporating both visual and written elements into their work, they create warped yet reality-based pieces that reflect the existing world as well as the utopias they envision. Their poetry casts a dark but wistful spell over the page, and their art displays darkness openly but with powerful nuance. 

“I feel like there’s a lot of exploration of the body in my art,” Aftan reflected. A psychology major with a particular interest in memory and self-narrative, Aftan uses art to make the internal experiences of physicality and corporeality tangible, often through depictions of the body. Aftan said that their emotions gain tangible form in their art. 

This mind-body dialogue is a recurrent theme for Aftan. They said they are “constantly thinking about the narrative my [written and visual] art create in isolation from each other, but also in relation to each other.” 

Differing mediums provide this cyclical basis of inspiration in Aftan’s work. “My visual art is a byproduct of my poetry,” they explained. “The way I think is through poetry, and then that manifests itself in my [visual] art.” Aftan acts as an artistic translator, ensuring that their sketches and paintings maintain the poetic qualities of their written counterparts. 

Aftan is inspired by Franny Choi, Kaveh Akbar, Kristin Chang and Yanyi. “I’ve learned a lot from queer Asian poets,” they explained. These voices both reflected and introduced new perspectives to Aftan’s identity as a South Asian nonbinary poet. 

Another influence in Aftan’s work is their boundless love and care for others. “Love is everywhere in my art,” Aftan said. “I love very deeply. Love languages are important to me — making art and writing poems for people.” Their greatest hope is that those on the receiving end of their emotional energy “think about the emotions it evokes with intentionality.”

This intentionality is ever-present in Aftan’s life and work. Just as their written and visual art build on and lend creativity to each other, Aftan hopes to see more instances of community where people can depend on each other and build from their resources. They define simply surviving as “allowing the community to sustain us materially, physically and emotionally.” 

However, they are looking for more than that. “What drives my art,” they said, “is the community around me and envisioning a future where living is considered beyond survival.”

To support Aftan’s work, direct contributions can be sent to Amika19 on Venmo. Aftan can also be reached atsethi23a@mtholyoke.edu for inquiries about commissions.

‘Dash & Lily’ Is a Holiday Series Worth Your Time

Graphic by Trinity Kendrick ‘21

By Rose Cohen ’22

Staff Writer & Photographer 

During the first weeks of November, a handful of cheesy Christmas movies and shows begin to appear on streaming services like Hulu and Netflix. Most of them do not deserve your attention; they’re Hollywood fluff filled with cringeworthy lines, cliches and predictable character arcs. However, this year, Netflix’s adaptation of David Levithan and Rachel Cohn’s 2010 young adult novel, “Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares,” proves that worthy holiday series do exist. 

The show tells the epic love story of two 17-year-olds who live in New York City. The romantic comedy takes place during the days leading up to Christmas. 

Austin Abrams of “Euphoria” plays the finicky Dash, who detests the “forced cheer” and “frenzied crowds” that the holiday brings to the Big Apple. Among the tinsel, the carolers and the red and green lights, he finds peace inside the Strand Bookstore in downtown Manhattan. Surrounded by stacked aisles of fiction and nonfiction, the pessimistic Dash escapes the holiday joy by informing an employee that Gabriel García Márquez’s biography was misshelved. It “should be under ‘G’ for García, not ‘M’ for Márquez,” he explains. 

The show begins to pique interest when Dash scans the J.D. Salinger section of the shop and pulls out a medium-sized red notebook. Dash, intrigued by the question on the front cover, which reads, “Do You Dare…?”, flips through the pages. He finds a series of clues and challenges written by the Christmas-loving Lily (Midori Francis). She wants to find a clever teenage boy to go on adventures with; she’s tired of spending her days playing board games with her grandfather. 

Like in “You’ve Got Mail,” writer-director Nora Ephron’s 1998 romantic comedy, the two main characters have never met in real life. For the majority of the series, they only communicate through dares that they create for one another in the notebook. This means that Dash accepts Lily’s challenges, even if they tell him to sing Joni Mitchell’s Christmas folk song “River” in the middle of the Strand. He then creates his own dares and leaves the notebook for her to find so their game can continue. If you accept this improbable premise, you will enjoy the show.

You will also need to embrace the fact that Lily knows a good amount of the people involved in her dares. Her cousin works at the Strand, and he can ensure that Dash completes the challenges that take place there. Her uncle dresses up as Santa Claus at the Macy’s department store, and that makes it okay for Dash to steal his Santa hat to complete a dare. 

As the series progresses, we find out about the two teenagers’ past heartbreaks. Lily has felt like a freak and an outsider since her middle school crush bullied her years earlier. Dash dealt with loneliness after his ex-girlfriend moved to Brazil, leaving him bereft in New York. With each dare, the characters bring out the best in one another and slowly force each other out of their comfort zones. 

 It’s heartwarming to see Dash encourage the socially-anxious Lily — who spends her time sewing her own clothes — to attend a 2 a.m. Jewish punk show on the seventh night of Hanukkah. And it is just as meaningful to see the impatient Dash “go with the flow” in a mochi-making class, surrounded by Japanese grandmothers. 

Another great storyline in the show includes Lily’s queer brother, Langston (Troy Iwata). We get to see his love story unfold and witness him as a three-dimensional character. In an interview with The Wrap, Iwata commented on the role, stating, “Langston is just this really fun, quirky, snarky human who happens to be gay and it’s never really questioned or challenged by himself or any of his friends.”

“Dash & Lily” allows you to fall in love with the challenges in the red notebook and the characters involved. If you are looking to binge-watch a holiday series that actually has a somewhat meaningful plot, set aside roughly three-and-a-half hours for “Dash & Lily.”

‘the Queen’s Gambit’ Brings Glamor and Tension To Cold War Chess

Graphic by Anjali Rao-Herel ‘22

By Sabryna Coppola ’22

Arts & Entertainment Editor

Content Warning: This article discusses substance abuse, addiction and injury due to substance use.

In the grip of the Cold War, a teenage girl battles to dominate international grandmasters of chess to redeem herself and prove the superiority of America over Russia. In Netflix’s adaptation of Walter Tevis’ 1983 novel “The Queen’s Gambit,” Anya Taylor-Joy plays Beth Harmon, a chess prodigy from Kentucky. The seven-episode series is intense, packed with a range of strong emotions and a surprisingly thrilling series of chess matches. Aided by the brilliant score and Taylor-Joy’s cool assurance, “The Queen’s Gambit” offers an exciting story of a girl dominating a traditionally male game. Beth’s troubled past and fraught relationships keep the audience on the edge of their seats, unable to turn away from their screens.

Beth is orphaned at a young age and moves to the Methuen Home for Girls. Sent on an errand to the basement, Beth sees the janitor, Mr. Shaibel, playing chess. Eventually, he agrees to teach her how to play. Beth quickly becomes an expert, even visiting a local high school to play the entire chess team at once and easily beating them all. This marks the beginning of Beth’s journey into global chess fame, expedited by her adoption by Mrs. Wheatley (Marielle Heller), who later helps her travel the U.S. to play in tournaments. Beth continues to play internationally and eventually faces off with Russian World Champion Borgov (Marcin Dorociński). The show has even been praised in The New York Times for its accuracy regarding the details of chess, from the handling of the pieces to the historical references and real masters.

Another plot point centers around the tranquilizers Beth and the other girls are given each day by the orphanage to stabilize their moods. Beth saves these tranquilizers and takes them at night to help her see an imaginary chessboard on the ceiling that she can use to play and analyze games in her head. When the government forbids the use of sedative drugs on children, Beth starts to experience withdrawals, causing her to break into the infirmary and overdose on them. Beth continues to struggle throughout the series with her dependence on drugs and alcohol, battling the conviction that they enable her to be a better chess player.

As a fan of Taylor-Joy after her performances in “The Witch” and “Split,” I was excited to see her in such a unique role. Her intensity was strong throughout the series, but I expected to see more moments of vulnerability, especially considering the personal losses she faces. But even with her stoicism, the dry wit and fierce determination of the character won me over. 

The show is visually captivating with a cool color palette and lush outfits for Taylor-Joy, culling the most glamorous trends of the 1960s. The score, written by Carlos Rafael Rivera, is excellent, bringing a sense of tension and excitement to the chess matches which feel accessible to non-chess players watching Beth learn the game. The soundtrack also features some great pop songs from the 1950s and ’60s, including the Monkees, the Kinks and Skeeter Davis’ “The End of The World.” 

Despite these undeniable strengths, I thought at times that the series left something to be desired. Its portrayal of Beth’s addiction seemed to lack consistency. Her use of drugs and alcohol was certainly labeled as a bad influence multiple times, but it still had a glamorous edge, reminiscent of substance portrayal in “Mad Men.” While we watched Beth sink to the lowest of lows, the dangerous effects of her substance use seemed watered down, diminishing the realities of addiction. Her apparent ability to stop her consumption of drugs and alcohol on a whim felt unrealistic, using her troubled genius and tragic past to romanticize a very real condition that nearly 21 million Americans face.

The one part of Beth’s struggle with addiction that does feel realistic is the support she is given from her friends. In her matches, many of Beth’s competitors become her friends and mentors. Harry Beltik (Harry Melling) and Bennie Watts (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) both turn from fierce opponents to trusted friends who offer her guidance on her path to beat Borgov. Bennie helps her stay away from alcohol while studying for her match with Borgov. Harry pleads with her to take care of herself when he sees her at a local chess event in Kentucky. 

She is also helped by a friend from Methuen, Jolene (played by the fascinating newcomer Moses Ingram). Jolene seems to find Beth at her lowest point, bringing symmetry to the show, as she was Beth’s closest friend when she first began taking pills. Knowing Beth’s history, Jolene is able to help her regain her sobriety and prepare for her final tournament in Russia. Jolene is also the only person of color in the series, which was disappointing. The existence of her international competitions seemed like an opportunity to address this, but she only seemed to face white European men, which is reflective of the pool of internationally recognized grandmasters in the 1960s.

 Even her competition with Borgov, like with Harry and Benny, seemed oddly friendly. Compared to all of the Cold War movies demonizing the USSR, their rivalry feels personal, not political. It is unclear if that is a reflection of the current relations between the U.S. and Russia, but it felt less like a political proxy competition than a video game’s boss battle. 

“The Queen’s Gambit” is visually rich and enthralling despite being fairly predictable. Taylor-Joy is charming and easy to root for. The show is cerebral and surprisingly moving at times. It also packs in quite a lot of information about the rules and history of chess. At just over seven hours, “The Queen’s Gambit” is a perfect series to binge in a weekend, especially if you’re looking to enjoy some retro fashion and watch a teenage girl from Kentucky embarrass chess masters at their own game.

‘Bad Hair’ Falls Flat in Tackling Social Issues

Pictured above: Justin Simien (right) most recently directed “Bad Hair.”

By Mariam Keita ’24

Arts & Entertainment Editor

Director Justin Simien’s most recent work, “Bad Hair,” is certainly a lot to take in. The new movie became available on Hulu this October after premiering at the Sundance Film Festival in January. Simien is most well known for his 2014 feature film “Dear White People,” which was later adapted into the hit Netflix series of the same name. 

Much like Simien’s other films, “Bad Hair” boasts a predominantly Black cast and his trademark comedic style. But unlike in his other films, Simien attempts to venture into new territory by crossing over into the horror genre. 

Unfortunately, he doesn’t do it well. I found myself laughing when I was supposed to scream and yawning when I was supposed to laugh.

 The film centers on protagonist Anna Bludso (Elle Lorraine), an assistant at a Black television network who is unsatisfied with her stagnant career. After a suggestion from a co-worker and under the behest of new management, Anna decides to get a sew-in over her natural hair so that she can finally advance in the company. Little does she know, her new hair happens to be possessed.  

Though this movie had a budget of $8.9 million 一 more than twice the financial support that Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” received 一 it somehow managed to deliver less than half the performance. Featured among the movie’s star-studded cast were names like Laverne Cox, Usher, Kelly Rowland and Lena Waithe. However, not a single one of their characters played a role that is central to the plot.

Anna is a character without any dimension, whose life revolves almost entirely around her unsatisfying job. Her only “friends” and visible love interests are all co-workers, her relationship with her family is not stable at all and she is one missing rent payment away from homelessness. Throughout all of this, she remains a very passive agent in her own narrative, allowing bad things to happen without taking even the most rudimentary actions to fix them. 

As I watched “Bad Hair,” I couldn’t shake the feeling that Simien is trying to punish Black women with this narrative. 

Though I won’t spoil too much of the ending, I will say that “Bad Hair” seems to offer Black women two options: sell your soul by buying into Eurocentric standards of beauty and forgoing all bodily autonomy, or embrace your natural hair and accept the fact that you will never progress in life. 

At different points in the storyline, Anna embodies both choices. She seems to oscillate between just two moods: anger and fear. As one of my friends so deftly put it during our conversation about the movie, the hair had more personality than she did.

“Bad Hair” is an example of a movie trying to bite off more than it can chew. Some subplots that the movie attempted to tackle included colorism and texturism in the workplace, sexual coercion and gentrification. However, most of these themes failed to act in dialogue with one another, creating a chaotic storyline that is difficult to follow. After watching the entire film, I still don’t understand what the writers and producers were hoping to accomplish or what I, as the viewer, was supposed to take away from it.  

While it may have left a lot to be desired, the movie was not all bad. For example, I don’t know how but Simien managed to make something as simple as getting your hair done appear so terrifying and grotesque that I felt as though I was going to throw up and pass out at the same time. Another redemptive arc was the growth in Anna’s relationship with her cousin, with whom she has had a strained relationship from a young age. 

If you are looking for something to watch on a Friday afternoon that will give you a good laugh and get your mind working a little bit, “Bad Hair” isn’t a terrible option. Just make sure you don’t set your expectations too high.

Banksy’s Ironic ‘Show Me the Monet’ Sells for $9 Million at Sotheby’s Auction

Banksy’s work. Image courtesy of Pixabay.

By Hiba Nawaid ’23

Staff Writer

“Show me the Monet,” Banksy’s reworking of Claude Monet’s impressionist painting “Bridge over a Pond of Water Lillies,” was auctioned for $9.8 million (£7.6 million) at Sotheby’s last week, becoming the artist’s second most expensive painting, according to CNN.

Known for his provocative street art, Banksy created a series of oil paintings for an exhibition in 2005 called “Crude Oils: A Gallery of Re-mixed Masterpieces, Vandalism and Vermin,” which featured “Show me the Monet.” These paintings were reinterpretations of famed works by Edward Hopper, Vincent van Gogh, Andy Warhol and more and were showcased by collectors Roland and Jane Cowan in West London. The couple purchased “Show me the Monet” after the show closed for £15,000, according to Banksy’s former agent Steve Lazarides.

After nine minutes of bidding on Oct. 21, a collector bought “Show me the Monet.” The painting features an orange traffic cone and two overturned metal shopping carts in the pond of water lilies under Monet’s originally painted Japanese-style bridge near Giverny, France. These additions, which strike the eye as interruptions in an otherwise peaceful scene, are a nod to the ever-increasing material consumption and environmental pollution levels of the modern world.

Following the auction, “Show me the Monet” became Banksy’s second most expensive piece of artwork. His most expensive piece, “Devolved Parliament,” sold last year at Sotheby’s in London for $12.2 million. “Devolved Parliament” depicts chimpanzees debating in the House of Commons in place of British politicians and was auctioned off during the Brexit negotiations.

In relation to Banksy’s street art, a medium which is often shunned by the art world and regarded as vandalism, there is irony in “Show me the Monet” fetching nearly $10 million. 

The artist’s graffiti-based works often critique controversial social and political issues; “Show me the Monet” itself is a commentary on the impact of excessive consumerism. “Monet” replaces “Money” in the title, pointing to the larger theme of art commodification. While street art is able to escape such commodification, this Banksy painting arguably has been objectified as a result of its lucrative auctioning to a private collector.

This irony can also be traced back to 2018, when another Banksy painting, titled “Girl With Balloon,” appeared to fall down from the frame in shreds minutes after being auctioned off for $1.4 million. The satirical stunt, which involved a secret installation of a paper shredder in the painting frame by Banksy himself, was arguably a criticism of the art world. However, according to Leon Benrimon, the director of modern and contemporary art at Heritage Auctions, the market worth of the painting doubled following the stunt. The painting was renamed to “Love Is in the Bin” and was claimed by the buyer in its tattered condition. 

Despite the paradoxical relationship between the themes of Banksy’s art and the art collectors who spend millions to own his work, the art world’s fixation with Banksy shows no sign of slowing down. What remains to be seen is how the artist continues to expand his practice and how he will respond to the sentiments of art buyers through his provocative pieces.

Stream These Family Favorites and Thrillers for Halloween

Image courtesy of Flickr

By Rose Cohen ’22 

Staff Writer

This year, Halloween fanatics will have to switch up their spooky game plan of large parties, festive parades and crowded haunted houses for safer celebrations. But those dressed as Frankenstein’s monster can still carve pumpkins or snack on their beloved apple cider donuts. They also can certainly enjoy these eerie movies and funky jams. 

“The Addams Family” (1991)

Before the science fiction action comedy “Men in Black,” Barry Sonnenfeld directed this Halloween classic, which is now available on Netflix. Distraught Gomez Addams (Raul Julia) is missing his long-lost older brother, Fester, who disappeared 25 years ago. Unbeknownst to him, Abigail Craven, a loan shark, knows about the family’s hidden chamber of jewels and riches. She forces her son, a Fester look-alike, to pretend to be the estranged Addams sibling. The quirkiness of the characters makes this film one to watch with the family while in quarantine. 

“Psycho” (1960)

An Alfred Hitchcock psychological horror film should accompany any Halloween party. “Psycho” follows the fleeing Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), who steals $40,000 to pay off her boyfriend’s debts. On the way to deliver the money to her partner in Fairvale, California, Marion stays the night at the vacant Bates Motel. There, she encounters the seemingly normal proprietor, Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), who lives with his reclusive mother. If you are obsessing over Norman after your viewing, binge-watch all five seasons of “Bates Motel,” the disturbing prequel series that premiered on A&E starring Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga. 

“The Silence of the Lambs” (1991)

Follow the journey of the determined FBI trainee Clarice M. Starling (Jodie Foster) as she interviews Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a renowned psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer imprisoned in a maximum security facility. In an attempt to draw up a psycho-behavioral profile and catch Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine), Clarice builds a relationship with Hannibal, despite the fact that he hisses at her and torments her about her childhood. The torturous images of Buffalo Bill’s prey might make you turn away from your screen once or twice. This movie is also available on Netflix. 

“Scream” (1996)

Neve Campbell plays the tough Sidney Prescott in the first of the slasher tetralogy brought to you by Wes Craven, the director of the 1984 horror classic “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” In this film, we meet Ghostface, who hides behind a rubber Halloween mask and threatens his victims on the phone. Maybe the numerous jump scares or the iconic blood-soaked dagger will pull you in. Find this movie on Hulu.

“Halloweentown” (1998)

Perhaps Director Duwayne Dunham’s Disney Channel Original Movie will be more your speed this year. It is the tale of an adventurous teen witch, Marnie Piper (Kimberly J. Brown), who journeys to the supernatural Halloweentown with her grandmother (Debbie Reynolds). Once there and surrounded by goblins, vampires and citizens who have pumpkins for heads, Marnie must save the town from an evil being. It’s family-friendly and allows you to admire the magical creatures that we associate with the holiday. We also get a glimpse of the dearly departed Debbie Reynolds. If you have a Disney+ account, this heartfelt film is a great way to celebrate Halloween!

SNL Is ‘Live From New York’ Again

Image courtesy of Flickr

By Kenna Hurtuk ’23

Staff Writer

Season 46 of “Saturday Night Live” kicked off on Oct. 3 with unique guidelines and protocols in place for its cast members, crew and audience. Yes, audience — a select number of viewers, with a limited ticket selection for the general public as well as a special selection for health care workers, donned masks to enter the studio after being rigorously tested for COVID-19 and its symptoms. This is an unprecedented shift from the last several episodes of season 45, which were all aired virtually and filmed from cast members’ homes. Show creator and producer Lorne Michaels defended the decision to include a live audience. “With comedy, when you don’t hear the response, it’s just different. With the kind of comedy we do, which quite often is broad, timing gets thrown off without an audience,” he reflected.

For this episode, timing in general was a major challenge, as just one day before the show went live, President Donald Trump announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19. Writers scrambled to incorporate information surrounding his diagnosis into the cold open which parodied the presidential debate between Trump (played by Alec Baldwin) and Joe Biden (played by Jim Carrey). They ultimately went the ironic route with Carrey as Biden remarking, “Imagine if science and karma could somehow team up to send us all a message about how dangerous this virus can be. I'm not saying I want it to happen, but just imagine it did.”” Later, in host Chris Rock’s monologue, the comedian quipped, “President Trump’s in the hospital from COVID[-19], and I just want to say, my heart goes out to COVID[-19].”

After the show aired, writers were accused of mocking Trump’s diagnosis. Baldwin responded to claims that the jokes were in poor taste. “We only have the words of the White House itself and the people who work there themselves to go on and all of them have been saying he is not in any danger. We only have their word to go by. If their word had been that he was in serious trouble, then we wouldn't have done it,” Baldwin said. Additionally, the (albeit morbid) irony of Trump’s diagnosis would have been difficult to ignore, especially in the context of that week’s debate, in which Trump mocked Biden for wearing masks in public. 

Following the cold open, Rock brought both levity and urgency to the nature of presidential elections themselves. “I think we need to renegotiate our relationship to the government,” he explained. “Does it work? I mean, I think Joe Biden should be the last president ever. Like, we need a whole new system.” 

He added that “we’ve agreed in the United States that we cannot have kings, yet we have dukes and duchesses running the Senate and the Congress, making decisions for poor people. Rich people making decisions for poor people — that’s like your handsome friend giving you dating advice.” The comedian reminded the audience — both the socially distanced audience present and the millions of viewers watching from home — that “we’ve got to take this serious, man.” 

His monologue called into question what the role of comedy should be during this unprecedented time. Can shows like SNL justify the playfulness with which their platform addresses serious structural issues, even in the name of comedy? It is a delicate balance to tread.

Megan Thee Stallion tackled this interplay between entertainment and advocacy in her performance of “Savage.” Midway through the number, she and her dancers raised their fists as the screen behind them shattered and the sound of gunshots rang through the studio. As they stared directly into the audience, an audio clip from Malcolm X’s speech “Who Taught You to Hate Yourself?” began to play, while the screen projected the quote, “The most disrespected, unprotected, neglected person in America is the Black woman.” 

When Megan Thee Stallion broke her silence, she said, “We need to protect our Black women and love our Black women, ’cause at the end of the day, we need our Black women. We need to protect our Black men and stand up for our Black men, ’cause at the end of the day, we’re tired of seeing hashtags of our Black men.” She and her dancers ended the song with emphasis on the message that had been projected onto the back wall of the stage: “Protect Black Women.”

Megan Thee Stallion’s appearance enabled her to make a powerful statement while still being able to enjoy her time on set and showcase her lyrical and comedic talents. The rapper and singer-songwriter continued her SNL debut with a performance of “Don’t Stop” featuring Young Thug. Later, she also joined cast members Chris Redd, Kenan Thompson, Pete Davidson and Ego Nwodim in “Bottom of Your Face,” a music video commentary on dating while wearing masks.

Since the first at-home episode of SNL, COVID-19 has been a recurring cast member, and it framed much of the context for this in-person episode. Despite limitations of social distancing, time constraints and the sheer volume of material to be packed into a single episode, this was a show to remember.