\n<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d and you need someone to play Alexander Hamilton in an opening sketch about the Founding Fathers, there\u2019s only one person you can turn to: Lin-Manuel Miranda.<\/p>\n
And then you make him stand there in silence for most of the sketch.<\/p>\n
This weekend\u2019s \u201cS.N.L.\u201d (which featured Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet as both its host and musical guest) seemed like it was going to begin with a sketch about the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Most of the cast was onstage in waistcoats and wigs, with Mikey Day playing John Hancock and Andrew Dismukes as Benjamin Franklin.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat say you, Alexander Hamilton?\u201d asked Michael Longfellow. And there, in his \u201cHamilton\u201d garb, was Miranda, the decorated creator and star of that Broadway musical.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do I say?\u201d Miranda answered. \u201cI say our lives matter not if we lose them in the cause of liberty. What matters is the nation we build.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
And sure enough, he began to rap.<\/p>\n
\n\u2019Cause in America, all men are created equal,<\/p>\n
America not England; we\u2019re doing the sequel,<\/p>\n
And we will have leaders, but know one thing:<\/p>\n
In America, we will never have a king.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
But then he and the cast members froze in place as James Austin Johnson strode onstage in his recurring role as Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
\u201cNever say never,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cKidding, of course, though in many ways I\u2019m not. I\u2019m in my king era.\u201d And like the Founding Fathers, Johnson said, \u201cI am creating a new country as well. And just like them, we\u2019re doing it very whitely.\u201d He declared that \u201cD.E.I. is over,\u201d adding: \u201cWorkplaces must go back to looking like the TV show \u2018The Office.\u2019 Mostly white people with one funny Black guy who\u2019s having a really bad time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Having returned to the White House, Johnson said that things were largely the same as before except \u201cmy new favorite son is Barron.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he is smacking his head on every doorframe,\u201d he said. \u201cOh, it\u2019s bad. It\u2019s like when Gandalf goes to Bilbo\u2019s house.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\nHe also praised Elon Musk: \u201cWe love Elon,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cBut to quote some of his own children, I do not want him in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\n\u201cThey say he did the Nazi salute,\u201d Johnson continued. \u201cNot true, OK? He simply was creating a new greeting. A cross between hi and hello. We\u2019re calling it a \u2018heil.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
While they were frozen in place, Johnson took potshots at the rest of the \u201cS.N.L.\u201d cast. \u201cWho\u2019s going to play Hegseth?\u201d he asked \u201cI mean look at these guys back here. None of them got the build. Nobody has the jaw. Got plenty of Zuckerberg options though; that\u2019s going to be a fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also teased Miranda, who he said \u201cwrote a whole rap and he doesn\u2019t get to do it \u2014 oh, the audience would have eaten that right up.\u201d<\/p>\n
As he concluded, Johnson said thank you for the \u201cgenerous anonymous $1 million donation to my campaign,\u201d and, turning to Miranda, he said, \u201cI know that was you, Lin.\u201d<\/p>\n
Miranda finally came unstuck: \u201cNo it was not!\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour word against mine,\u201d Johnson replied.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\nThe freewheelin\u2019 Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet of the week<\/h2>\n
Alas, Chalamet \u2014 a newly minted Oscar nominee this week for his role as Bob Dylan in \u201cA Complete Unknown\u201d \u2014 did not get the real Dylan to make a cameo on \u201cS.N.L.\u201d this week. (If Dylan didn\u2019t turn up in Stockholm to receive his Nobel Prize, it was unlikely that Dylan was going to come to New York to watch Day and Chalamet sniff each other\u2019s rear ends while dressed as dogs.)<\/p>\n
But as the show\u2019s musical guest, Chalamet did perform a few Dylan covers with some help from the British pop singer James Blake. In his first segment, Chalamet sang \u201cOutlaw Blues\u201d and \u201cThree Angels.\u201d (He was also introduced by the \u201cS.N.L.\u201d alum Adam Sandler, which isn\u2019t too shabby.) In his second musical segment, Chalamet performed \u201cTomorrow Is a Long Time.\u201d And we\u2019ll just assume that dog sketch was a homage to Dylan\u2019s \u201cIf Dogs Run Free.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\nWeekend Update jokes of the week<\/h2>\n
Over at the Weekend Update desk, the anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che continued to riff on President Trump\u2019s second inauguration and his first week back in office.<\/p>\n
Jost began:<\/p>\n
\nWell, guys, I was never really doing dry January, but this week I stopped even pretending. President Trump was sworn back into office on Monday. But he appeared to not place his hand on the Bible. Well, he tried to, but the Bible screamed. The Bible Trump used was the same one Abraham Lincoln used at his inauguration. And man, I wish those two could talk to each other. Lincoln could teach Trump a lot about the importance of preserving our Union. And Trump could teach Lincoln how to turn your head at the exact right moment.<\/p>\n
During his address, President Trump said he was changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. [Reacting to an audience member\u2019s laughter:] Like you, Hillary Clinton could be seen in the background laughing while he said it. While Kamala could be seen silently begging her edible to kick in.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Che continued: <\/p>\n
\nPresident Trump pardoned Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes, who was serving 18 years for his role in the Jan. 6 attack. And ladies, just like his eye, he\u2019s single. President Trump defended his pardon of the Jan. 6 attackers, saying that these are just people that love their country. You know, like how O.J. loved Nicole.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\nBest of the rest of the week<\/h2>\n
There was no return appearance from $mokeCheddaThaAssGetta, the unusual hip-hop star<\/a> that Chalamet has played<\/a> in his two previous hosting gigs on \u201cS.N.L.\u201d (You\u2019re telling us Lin-Manuel Miranda wouldn\u2019t have wanted to collaborate with him?)<\/p>\n
But as always, Chalamet was game for several other sketches that took full advantage of his versatility (and eccentricity). For our cheddar, the best efforts were this sketch<\/a>, which cast him as the volatile instructor of a bungee-cord exercise class, and a later segment<\/a> in which he played a barista-in-training who aspires to be a standup comedian. In a different era, you\u2019d have killed on \u201cDef Comedy Jam,\u201d Timmy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n