Last week, we found out that being a woman is a struggle not only on Earth, but in space as well. After promoting the first all-female space walk (during Women’s History Month no less), NASA revealed that the walk would not happen with both their female astronauts, because there weren’t enough spacesuits that fit both women.
It’s an enraging situation (how did NO ONE pick up on this?), especially for Anne McClain, the astronaut who didn’t get to participate in the space walk. Last night on SNL, Aidy Bryant played an exasperated McClain during a Weekend Update segment to hilarious effect. Bryant’s constrained rage spilled out in poorly formed sentences that barely contained her emotions, while Michael Che tried to remind her that going into space was an achievement all on its own.
Bryant replied, “I got to do all the chill stuff, you know, being shot into the sky like a bullet on fire, and then once I got there I got to eat all the steak dust, and you know, be whizzing in my tube, you know, the business of space!” Bryant continued to deny that she was mad, as her voice kept getting higher and higher.
She also pointed out, “they can make a special space suit for a dog, or a special space suit for a monkey, but human girl? Only one get to be moon queen!” Bryant wraps up the piece by saying, “to all the little girls out there, you can all become astronauts, just not at the same time!”
The bit was the highlight of the episode, which was hosted by an enthusiastic Sandra Oh. Oh was clearly delighted to be there and game for anything, but unfortunately she was ill-served by several uninspired sketches. Her highlights included playing a Four Loko drinking mess of a woman named Tishy, as well as a pre-filmed sketch about the drama of writing checks.
But perhaps her best sketch was one that was cut for time. In “College Admissions”, she plays a member of the admissions panel as they decide which students get the last five slots. The panel rejects qualified students, instead choosing to admit Lou Ferrigno’s grandson, the heiress to the Keebler Elves fortune, and a crew team recruit riding a horse.
Bryant gets another moment to shine as the crew coach, who makes her suggestions before donning a pair of diamond sunglasses and driving off in her very own Batmobile. It’s a clever take on the college admissions scandal:
The other standout was the My So-Called Life skit that ended the show, which saw Oh playing a substitute teacher trying to prep her class for the SAT II, only to find that everyone has way too many feelings. Sidebar: Kate McKinnon as Jordan Catalano was something I never knew I needed:
What did you think of last night’s SNL?
(image: screencap)
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