r/LiveFromNewYork • u/bjkman SNL • 1d ago
Discussion Live Discussion - October 3, 2026 (Dakota Johnson/Turnstile)
Welcome to the SNL live discussion thread for the 2nd episode of season 52! This week, Dakota Johnson returns to host for the 3rd time, and making their debut as Musical Guest, Turnstile. For those new to the show, tune into your local NBC affiliate or Peacock around 11:30 PM ET to follow this episode live.
And if you're here early you still have time to do your SNL predictions for this week that are due at the start of the show! While you wait for the episode, we have some college football!
Enjoy the Episode!!
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u/DrGonzo1930 2h ago
Dakota Johnson fucking sucks, why the fuck is she hosting? ZERO timing nor personality.
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u/Background-Check-222 3h ago
At the end of the ep, anyone else notice that Marcello walked up to taylor, they chatted, she said something, and he made a strange face and like slowly turned away? As she walked away? Idk im probably overanalyzing but it felt strange!
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u/TheBigIdiotSalami 9h ago
Turnstile. Early contender for best musical guest of the season?
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u/DumbWhore4 6h ago
That would be Katseye.
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u/abrahamisaninja 2h ago
Nah Katseye was trash
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u/DumbWhore4 2h ago
Wrong.
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u/abrahamisaninja 1h ago
Hey, if you enjoyed it, good for you. It just wasn’t good ¯_(ツ)_/¯
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u/DumbWhore4 1h ago
It was excellent.
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u/abrahamisaninja 51m ago
You know I went back to rewatch this episode to see if I was wrong about katseye and unfortunately I was not. They were trash. Happily this week’s turnstile was excellent.
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u/FutureBack1 11h ago
It was better than last week, but still kind of a weak episode for me. I am not sure who is hosting next, but I hope we get a comedian or someone with good comedic chops.
I remain a believer that the reason certain hosts are better than others is because they push for the better sketches. It’s a good cast, but you have to write around the star.
I enjoyed Mikey and Marcelo on update and the Press Your Luck sketch made me laugh a few times.
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u/TheDivine_MissN "There's a dead man in all of us!" 11h ago
I'm not surprised that T. Swift made a cameo but it still annoys me. I watched the cold open specifically because I saw a comment last night about Mikey's Mitch McConnell and that didn't disappoint. I haven't decided if I'm going to finish the episode in its entirety. I might just watch clips this time.
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u/Final-Beginning3300 14h ago
I thought the last sketch just seemed like an apportunity for Veronica to show us she can sing. Otherwise there was zero point to it. Lame AF.
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u/iamagarden 3h ago
there was a second part of the sketch after it in dress that made the whole thing much funnier but i guess i they cut that part for time
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u/Uncle-Cracker-Barrel 5h ago
I think she’s got an album in the works so yeah, she’s trying to do something with singing.
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u/Legitimate_Zone1449 14h ago
Worst SNL ever! I ended up turning the channel which I've never done. It was embarrassing 😭😭😭😭
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u/laredotx13 5m ago
I even questioned if I didn’t get it bc I’m too old to be open to change (40) .
It was rough
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u/GAMESHARQ 15h ago
I can't believe they didn't do a sketch about the Jack Smith hearing, particularly the part with Eric Schmitt and how he totally sh** the bed. It was practically written for them. A lot of people were expecting them to do something with it, so I'm pretty disappointed that they didn't.
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u/mikecantreed2026 14h ago
Yea that’s insane. Every single comment on instagram or facebook or YouTube clips of the hearing was excitement about tuning in for SNL for this. The show is so out of touch it’s crazy.
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u/Savings-Cow322 1h ago
They've really been playing it safe and basic with the political satire. Mikey as McConnell was pretty good though.
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u/FlyMetroNix 15h ago
Why did Marcelo not get a reaction from the live audience when he walked into the cold open? He didn’t get a pop last week when he interrupted the Monologue either. Just something I noticed.
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u/PeltzerBilly 11h ago
He warms up the crowd before the show so it's not the first time they're seeing him - probably dampens the impact
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u/mrcorndogman33 12h ago
Because the premise was boring and no one cares about his Rubio.
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u/Savings-Cow322 1h ago
It's a real toothless impression. They also seem to be consistently treating him like some kind of victim of this administration instead of someone complicit in it.
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u/EmuAffectionate8453 15h ago
Bc it’s Marcelo Hernandez we know we are about to get an accent screaming through the sketch
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u/Entire_Blueberry_470 17h ago
Just my two cents, but I thought Dakota Johnson’s outing on SNL this time around was way better than her first one two years ago, even if that’s not saying much.
Last time, she was basically written as this smug rich brat, which felt especially weird considering she didn’t really have the track record at that point to justify that characterization. The nepo baby sketch in particular was one of the most self-deprecating things SNL has ever done. Having her roast those three guys for liking Hamilton may as well have been SNL roasting its own audience and itself, considering how often the show has referenced and paid homage to Hamilton, even as recently as last night.
This time, though, I thought she had a much better sense of humor about herself. She came across as more earnest and willing to actually play along with the material, which honestly won me over. There was still some awkwardness with the new season, but I can forgive that if I’m at least being entertained by the sketches.
So I’d give this one a 7/10, compared to maybe a 3/10 for her first appearance. Definitely an improvement.
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u/Ag042019 7h ago
Her first time hosting was in 2015. This is her third appearance as host.
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u/Entire_Blueberry_470 2h ago
I accidentally found this out when I was looking up last night's episode a few hours ago, so I stand corrected!
But now I'm questioning why they wanted to have her host three times..
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u/Entire_Blueberry_470 17h ago
If I had a nickel for every time for every SNL episode starring Dakota Johnson talked about Hamilton... I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it's happened twice.
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u/WordGirl1229 18h ago
Random thoughts:
Mikey Day is a treasure! Commits hard to everything and always delivers.
Not sure what’s up with the host choices so far, but damn. DJ did do better in the pretaped bits, at least. She’s just painfully out of her depth in live skits. Not sure if Lorne is fixated on really bad choices or if more top-tier people are just not interested?
Grace stole the spotlight, even with just a few moments in the mean girlfriend spot! Want to see more of her.
Live, real music any day over the cookie-cutter, choreographed crap. Turnstile brought it!
Stop the DJT skits unless you’re going to go harder. No holds barred. Some commenters said Kimmel and Meyers are putting SNL to shame in calling out this administration, and I 100% agree.
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u/chewytime 18h ago
I was already dragging before I found out there was yet another delay bc of a football game (not used to staying up late during the show’s off season haha). By the time the show started, I was literally half asleep. Barely made it through the cold open and opening monologue. Last thing I remember was the start of Press Your Luck and thinking it was not a good sign if the opening sketch was this weak and then I fell asleep. Based on some of the comments from this thread, it looks like I was right. That said, were there any sketches that seemed to go over well? I’ll have to check out their YouTube channel for the uploads later, but I don’t even feel excited to do that.
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u/the-bryman 19h ago
It’s not that it was a bad episode (it was). It’s that Dakota Johnson might be the most boring human to ever take the stage in studio 8H.
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u/lonelygagger 20h ago
Contrary to most of Reddit, I actually like Dakota Johnson.
The Press Your Luck sketch was rather one-note, but decent Banks impression.
I do want a mean, scary girlfriend.
I liked the Vagun or "glunt." Thought the pixelated imagery was funny. ("Hey...")
The Game of Thrones spinoff was fun, mostly because I liked seeing Dakota breaking at Kenan.
I enjoyed Mikey's commitment to the bit as Link. "RIGHT, CHE?!"
I kind of dug that "Get Ready with Me" bit with the electroshock therapy girl and the depressed dad.
Sweet that Taylor presented her with a birthday cake, but ain't no way either of them are eating that.
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u/sexandliquor 18h ago
>Contrary to most of Reddit, I actually like Dakota Johnson.
I do too. I don’t get the internet’s hate boner for her, I really don’t.
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u/Entire_Blueberry_470 2h ago
I think a lot of the hatred toward Dakota comes from the broader backlash against nepo babies and extremely wealthy celebrities that really intensified over the past decade, around the same time she started hosting SNL.
She’s largely known for being in stuff like the Fifty Shades movies, big bombs like Madame Web, and more recent Netflix projects that haven’t exactly helped her reputation. On top of that, she’s openly talked about her parents helping support her lifestyle, which became particularly easy to criticize at a time when people were becoming increasingly skeptical of celebrity nepotism and inherited privilege.
And I think SNL unintentionally leans into that perception of her. Instead of distancing herself from the nepo-baby image, a lot of her SNL material seems to amplify it, which naturally makes people question how much of her career is the result of genuine talent versus the enormous advantages she was born with.
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u/OgOggilby 10h ago
Usually happens when talentless people are in unjustifiably privileged positions
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u/NoNamesOriginal 16h ago
She doesn’t really have the personality for SNL for me. She makes me think what if Jennifer Lawrence has no sense of comedic timing
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u/-QuestionMark- 23h ago
I know music taste is subjective, but Turnstile was the best musical guest since Gorillaz.
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u/veryterribleopinions 23h ago
Was Taylor also at dress rehearsal?
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u/iamagarden 23h ago
she was not sarah was in her place
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u/pink_faerie_kitten 23h ago
I watch Kimmel and Meyers every night and they have much better writers for political commentary than SNL these last two shows. They manage to have biting and mean jokes while still making me laugh at the dark humor. They show POTUS as the incoherent, shuffling, cruel, dangerous racist he is. And they make fun of the sycophants in the cabinet too. No punches pulled. SNL, meanwhile, pretends T.Rump is a harmless idiot who is physically fit and that Rubio hates him. Rubio does not hate him! He is just as guilty of being a nasty racist as anyone else in this admin. Rubio is about to be crowned Prince of Cuba. He will wear those over sized shoes and kiss T.Rump's ass every day. Making him a good guy is a lie. It's ignorant and out of touch to paint Rubio like this.
The least JAJ could do is walk slower (drag that right leg too dammit!) and talk slower and have him say things like "it can only good happen" with screwy syntax. Maybe let one side of his face droop as we've seen several times. Make him fall asleep on his chair. Make fun of RFKJR. C'mon. This is embarrassing.
Weekend Update is totally milquetoast! Warmed over Noem jokes that they already made last year. Mocking Talarico's masculinity? WTF?! 🙄
The only good joke was how T.Rump will pretend Rs won even when they lose. The McConnell bit was ok, too, I guess.
But Kimmel and Meyers are putting SNL to shame. And they do it every damn night. SNL has a whole damn week and can't come up with anything better? Ugh. And there's also John Oliver and Jon Stewart doing great jokes too.
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u/the-bryman 19h ago
Yep JAJ’s Trump is no longer accurate. Trump hasn’t been that coherent in years. Talks with way too much purpose
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u/Puzzleheaded_Fix594 1d ago
As someone who really likes new blood on the show, I'm kind of glad that Weekend Update isn't as strong this season since hopefully it means next year they're encouraged to finally get new hosts. Sarah roasting Che is like the one highlight they've had hosting this season.
I'm kind of rooting for Tommy Brennan since he seems like a strong writer so hoping it's him and they pair him with someone else.
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u/EmoGothPunk 23h ago
I hope Kam and Marcello get more opportunities to shine. I really like those two see a lot of potential if given the right material.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Fix594 22h ago
Kam and Marcello are naturally charismatic stand ups. Both of them could leave the show at the end of the season and they'll still have successful stand up careers.
Kam is just a bad sketch performer. I was hoping he'd improve a bit between seasons, but he wasn't great last week. His update bits are fine.
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u/sexandliquor 23h ago
Tommy’s standup is really good and it sucks he doesn’t get utilized in the show more
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u/Puzzleheaded_Fix594 23h ago
They basically wasted Longfellow by not giving him update so I hope they don't repeat the same thing with Tommy.
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u/True_Job_7845 1d ago
https://youtu.be/BqZO0O9hWaA?is=PsWdBeROB-xN94yl
Nothing tops that classic when it comes to GTA parodies on weekend update
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u/thesmallprint29 1d ago
I think we needed Mikey to come over and cut into that cake to ensure it was real. You never can be too sure these days.
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u/Hawtdawgz_4 1d ago
Turnstile was a gift to viewers!
Here’s to hoping Nick Cave, Fontaines DC and Idles get an invite soon.
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u/Burner24_5678 1d ago
This was a surprisingly bad episode. Dakota seemed to lean a lot on Taylor. Fine (we’ve had other hosts do this before), but Taylor herself was not worth leaning on.
Dakota seemed unfocused. Weekend Update dragged on without much payoff (Sarah was a plus, but she generally is when sketches are written for her). It makes me wonder about why WU was so long—were other sketches bad or cut for time? The second to last sketch (doctors, Andrew Dismukes) was honestly kind of good—wondering if SNL could benefit from <2.5 minute sketches à la Monty Python, or at least an exploration of the McGruber <1 min. bit.
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u/iamagarden 23h ago
there was a second bit to the Andrew Dismukes sketch in the dress rehearsal that I thought was funnier than the first but they cut it :/
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u/Tasty-Bend-842 23h ago
not enough grace reiter that's why
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u/StonerProfessor 23h ago
I’m going to legit have a problem if content creators start getting cast and we have to deal with their fans like that.
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u/Careless-Economics-6 1d ago edited 7h ago
I didn't expect much from a season premiere hosted by an athlete, but was disappointed by most of this episode, hosted by a third-time host. The "Press Your Luck" was a big misfire.
But I really liked JAJ in the Colorado Vicki sketch, and the anti-climactic coma sketch. Those are a good reminder to stick with episodes to the end.
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u/noodlestyles 1d ago
I was nervous about how they might handle the Cornell news and think they really executed it well with Weekend Update
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u/Careless-Economics-6 1d ago
I mean, it ended up being more making fun of Jost. Sort of a default WU move.
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u/officialfairyqueen 21h ago
yes and imo Jost came across as genuinely bothered by the joke and i probably would be too considering the seriousness of the Cornell news and how the punchline is "haha what if Jost were a rapist just like these Cornell guys." then again i wouldnt be able to come up with a better joke and they had to address the Cornell news somehow
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u/noodlestyles 1d ago
Exactly which was perfect IMO! Didn’t put the defendant/women/victims down and didn’t do too much.
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u/tvuniverse 1d ago edited 1d ago
I like how 1stLook has gone from "anyone can travel" to "here, watch these rich people get mulitple custom luxury vacation packages around the world"....in this economy....
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u/onlyididntsayfudge 1d ago
This episode coupled with the audience was rough. Hopefully next week will be better. 🤷♂️
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u/CursedTeams 1d ago
So basically all of Dakota's characters were mean girl with no personality?
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u/weeblewobble82 1d ago
Episode just ended for me in Phoenix and overall, it didn't hit for me. I hate saying that because every episode, even the ones I love, there's a good percentage of people who didn't like it and I know that's just the nature of SNL. That said, all of the algorithms have failed me thus far because I have never heard Turnstile and I am so glad I tuned in because this is my shit. Awesome. Don't care about the rest of the episode because now I got my playlist for the week. Rock on peeps 🤘
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u/Bangkok_Dangeresque 1d ago
Very hit or miss, with more misses in the first half than the second.
Dakota seems game for a lot of weirdo premises, doesn't stumble over lines, or seem married to cue cards. And was cool/self aware enough to do monologue material about her very public love life.
But she's very soft spoken in live sketches, which weighed on them. A central tenet of performing live tv comedy is that you have to move fast to preserve momentum, and moving fast means the audience has to process the words, get the joke, and be ready for the next one very quickly. If they're wasting any focus unsure of a line of dialogue, it kills setups and punchlines and halts momentum. Which isn't funny.
Didn't seem to be a problem in the Mean Scary Girlfriend or VaGun pretapes (under direction), or the sleepover sketch (where there was likely a boom mic much closer than other wide framed shots). Those were also some of the strongest pieces of the night outside of update.
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u/_rhdx 1d ago
Love SNL long time. That was an ordeal. One of the worst. Season 6 bad.
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u/_rhdx 1d ago
Bring back Turnstile in the near future. Make sure their fk mix is right.
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u/Hawtdawgz_4 1d ago
They should have been the cold open with Magic Man
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u/YakAfraid8488 1d ago
Brenden could probably pull it off too.
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u/Hawtdawgz_4 1d ago
Absolutely. It would have made their debut on SNL even more iconic
SNL is best and most relevant with incredible bands featured.
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u/Significant_Peach_26 1d ago
Sketch of the night: "Mean Scary Girlfriend." Nothing else came close. Kind of a sleep-inducing episode. Not "oh my God, how horrible" but that's it.
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u/Ok_Incident_6287 1d ago
There was a cake on stage and nobody bit into it, nobody even had fun with the premise. What a fucking shitty episode
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u/EveningFlights stop asking her if she knows stuff :) 1d ago
Oh, what a strange ending. Wish we’d seen more of the new cast. Turnstile was good!
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u/mosasaurmotors 1d ago
A bad episode, but not as bad as the dude posting in the live thread that there shouldn’t be a woman in the band.
Fuck that guy.
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u/turningtee74 I understand Rivers better than he understands HIMSELF 1d ago
Taylor move around it’s ok. They will talk to you
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u/NullCharacter 1d ago
Holy shit Turnstile was amazing. When was the last time we had a musical act like that? Felt very much like old school musical acts from 20-30 years ago.
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u/flarplefluff 1d ago
Ok. They were fine. It seemed like a very safe version of hardcore. I appreciate seeing them over some over-choreographed group. Hardcore is tough because it basically works off the same musical distillation but never makes that jump to pure atavism that makes a group transcend into something new and different. I know that’s not what SNL is about but I always wish it could go deep and weird like old days with Sun Ra and Capt Beefheart. I’d live to see Taylor Swift introduce Death Grips or GWAR.
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u/skomehillet 1d ago
Paxton’s daughter running fuckass campaign ads for him. Why would he drag her into this
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u/Marshfacekillah 1d ago
Swift doesn’t usually bother me but seriously why did she keep showing up she added nothing
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u/willshapps 1d ago
I know for WU standards, that was below. And wether the audience felt the same or was just bad, I still laugh at Colin and Che's stupid jokes lol.
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u/stephapeaz Stop asking her if she knows stuff 1d ago edited 1d ago
Truly not surprised Taylor stole Turnstile’s thunder but just disappointed, they were the best thing about this episode and deserved to not get their moment crashed by her. Still waiting to see how she supports smaller musicans 🙄
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u/rutfilthygers 23h ago
No one will ever top her ability to get people mad about the tiniest things. You're upset that she presented her friend with a birthday cake.
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u/stephapeaz Stop asking her if she knows stuff 23h ago
A cake that didn’t have any candles on it and probably wasn’t even real
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u/geotraveling 1d ago
In what way was her 1 minute cameo in the monologue and 1 minute cameo in the goodnight "stealing Turnstiles thunder"? What moment was "crashed"?
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u/stephapeaz Stop asking her if she knows stuff 1d ago
I didn’t mention the monologue. She made it about her when the camera focus would’ve still been on them. Like the cake is something that should’ve been done at the after party. Other celebrity cameos stay off to the side and don’t take attention away like that
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u/YakAfraid8488 1d ago
The Turnstile love in this thread makes my heart happy
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u/Ferbussy 1d ago
First time hearing them. Will def add to my library. The energy was the highlight of the episode.
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u/newmusictribune 1d ago
I am with you. Most of the musical guests get thrashed. Finally one that lifts everyone up. No sleep tonight.
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u/Ok_Incident_6287 1d ago
Everyone on the cast is miles better than the host. They're just no nepo entitled
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u/last-rose-ofsummer Dobby can't remember if the character Cho Chang is Asian 1d ago
They should've given Veronika a higher key for "Over the Rainbow" because that was a bit too low for her.
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u/blizzaga1988 1d ago
The complete lack of applause/reaction to Veronika's singing was confusing to me because she killed that
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u/CookieDoughSport69 1d ago
im still high af ong
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u/tvuniverse 1d ago
you really are, because what even is this comment? And you posted it twice for no reason:
https://www.reddit.com/r/LiveFromNewYork/comments/1wwx3sj/comment/pdr1dmy/
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u/freshmanflop 1d ago
Shoutout Turnstile for getting to this point in their career where they’re very popular on tour and getting to be on the same stage as Taylor Swift. One of their ex guitarists tried to murder the frontman’s father. It’s been heavy.
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u/The_Lone_Apple 1d ago
For someone as attractive as Dakota Johnson she gives off a really needy pick-me vibe.
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u/Savings-Cow322 1h ago
It's funny, I always found her to be a flatline as an actress, and never really found her attractive either...until tonight. Maybe she's aging gracefully, or something. I just wish yer acting would too.
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u/bjkman SNL 1d ago
this is the worst episode in a long time (Turnstile innocent)
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u/guyinskeletoncostume 1d ago
Dakota Johnson sucked the life out of every sketch as soon as she showed up
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u/willshapps 1d ago
I know some people in here didn't like that last sketch, but it being a very long set up for a short kinda predictable abrupt ending makes it funny for me.
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u/Usual-Celebration-44 1d ago
There was a surprise second part of this sketch during dress that was enjoyable! Could see this coming back
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u/stephapeaz Stop asking her if she knows stuff 1d ago
It reminded me of the kind of things Bill Hader used to do
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u/dreamcicle11 1d ago
I am so surprised by the people saying this week’s sketches were better than last week.
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u/ExplanationTimely561 1d ago
I hate how peacock just auto plays whatever it wants and now The Traitors will be in my “continue watching” forever because 2 seconds played before I could stop it
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u/apartbyhorses 1d ago
I think on the website or the phone app, you can remove shows from your Continue Watching.
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u/Ok-Key-9146 1d ago
Firstworldproblems.
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u/ExplanationTimely561 23h ago
I like how you read one comment of mine as if it surmises my whole existence
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u/abrahamisaninja 2h ago
Weird episode where the musical act was good and the guest was awful