'Saturday Night Live' recap: Nate Bargatze hosts, Coldplay as musical guest

It's SNL in Review : the anniversary (recap) season. As always, honored to have you skimming along. Last fall's Saturday Night Live episode host by Nate Bargatze was a season 49 highlight, in particular the puntastic George Washington sketch . It's no surprise that the stand-up comedian is back for round 2, but the burning question is: Can the show resist the urge to revisit last year's highlight, or will it inevitably rehash what previously worked? (Bargatze already relived the sketch earlier this week on Seth Meyers , which increasingly acts as PR for NBC's occasionally lethargic live comedy tentpole.)

This week's musical guest is Coldplay , back for their eighth appearance at Studio 8H. That's Foo Fighters and Tom Petty territory. I am joined tonight by former SNL cast member Jeff Richards. While Jeff hasn't performed music as much as Petty or Chris Martin at the show, but he recently put out his own album, Love on Ice, as well as a music video for the eponymous lead single . Given that it's SNL50, I asked Jeff which musical performances across the show's history he loves the most. He cites the Strokes, Outkast, and Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band — "loved those." He also considers Beck and Kylie Minogue to be inspiring. And while Coldplay just released their own album, Jeff hopes they "mix it up tonight — and cover my album." Maybe!

I'll be honest with you, reader, I think our comedy overlords stumbled out of the gate last week . The cold open was putrid. But now that this season's election casting stunt has been formally established, maybe the writers will settle in. Sometimes, I think, comedy premises and sketch structure are helpful tools. Who knows? (For the record, I asked Jeff if he thought the show just needed to shake loose the summer vacation cobwebs — he quipped no, not with "Halloween around the corner.")

Okay, Conehead nation, read on!

VP Debate 2024 Cold Open We're at the vice president's residence and Kamala Harris (Maya Rudolph) is asking for her husband, Dougie (Andy Samberg). Rudolph fumbles her Bruce Springsteen line but lands the punchline. I will admit, I am a fan of their 2000s-era chemistry! They switch the TV to the VP debate.

Jeff Richards "loves Maya like everyone else. She's the best ever — person and performer. Her husband, Paul Thomas Anderson, is a close second. He introduced me to Tom Petty, who you mentioned earlier, once after a show, which is still something that still blows my mind."

Chloe Fineman is perfectly cast as moderator Margaret Brennan. Dead ringer!

Gov. Tim Walz (Jim Gaffigan) makes a flub: He's become friends with school shooters. He connects with Sen. JD Vance (Bowen Yang), which is baffling. He's a knucklehead, he confused Tiananmen Square with Epcot. Walz and Vance have a lot of common ground, they're "vibing." Yang is nothing like Vance, but his chemistry weirdly works.

(FYI: Jeff Richards is working on his own Tim Walz impression. And he already does Jim Gaffigan , for what it's worth. "He did repost it" on Instagram, Jeff notes, though he's unsure if Gaffigan is a fan of the portrayal.)

We cut back to Dougie and Kamala. For some reason, Joe Biden (Dana Carvey) shows up in their home. Still not loving this take, but it's way better than last week. He makes a great point, as he shares ice cream with Kamala: This VP debate made no difference. To the Harris campaign, that is a huge victory. Ruling: worth a watch!

Bargatze notes that he's back, then talks about going to community college. He took all remedial classes — one year, zero credits. His courses included speech, nothing fancy like "business math." His pronunciation of "oil" is discussed at length. And his preferred amount of virgin olive oil — no "extra" necessary. The first time he had a raspberry was at 40 years old. He didn't see raspberries growing up, he didn't grow up from money. (He prefers processed food! Same!) The audacity of DoorDash.

Pretty funny! Put it on.

Jeff Richards doesn't know Bargatze personally but has watched his stand-up before, and thinks he's solid.

George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River We knew they couldn't avoid scratching this itch. Gen. George Washington is fighting to do his own thing with the English language. Like a word for the number 12, a dozen. Some words you can spell multiple ways. And the name Jeff. Err, the stupid way: Geoff. Chickens are chicken, while beef gets other variations. (The less said about hamburgers, the better.) Puns about hot dogs! The design of the dollar! Kindergarten!

Now if, let's say, this was a genuine sequel and not simply the same premise as last season, then fine. But they can't let characters breathe in new scenarios right? They make the same exact joke with Kenan Thompson. Twice!

I mean, it's cute. Watch, if you like puns. Or watch the first one!

The Oakmount Classic We're on the Golf Network. Brady Knoll (Bargatze) is taking a par 5 to green. He takes a drive and smashes a bird like Randy Johnson . Knoll proceeds to have a bunch of bad luck with endangered eagles and eggs and iconic snapping turtles.

Lots of Heidi Gardner in the moderator role so far this episode!

Univision — Sabado Gigante Marcello Hernandez gets a star turn! He's a Spanish-language game show host in Miami welcoming the very white Nate Bargatze, who is having a panic attack. He is very bad at speaking basic Spanish. (Ashley Padilla, Ego Nwodim, and Chloe Fineman back Hernandez up, with Emil Wakim dressed as sidekick Dracula.) It's surreal and confounding, including when a child appears as mini-me Bargatze.

In an earlier era, Bargatze's role would have been played by Louis C.K. Goofy! Five dogs!

Devil Dog's Drop There's a medical emergency at an amusement park water slide. The EMTs (Bargatze, Michael Longfellow) and lifeguards (Devon Walker, Jane Wickline) talk about the right way to get rid of the body. Should they carry the corpse down the 255 steps, past all the kids? Or... should they let him go down the water slide? "He did wait in this long line... seems respectful!" posits Bargatze.

Wickline is the straight role but does not especially land the dark comedy. Longfellow is more deadpan, funnier.

Coldplay, "All My Love" Coldplay recently released the heartfelt video for this song, their "last single" ever. This has a bit of a pretty-boy version of a John Lennon song.

Weekend Update Colin Jost lands an incisive joke about Donald Trump and Elon Musk cohosting SNL's Christmas show. For the folks who pretended to love the Musk episode , think about it! Jost also notes that the VP debate was so white it made him look Haitian. (Another highlight, the Jimmy Carter joke — love the SNL lore here, folks! The show has been commenting on Carter since the beginning!)

A new study on nightlife found that Gen Z isn't going out as much. New cast member Jane Wickline comes on to sing "Party." She intends to keep singing, Colin! A bit quirky. Tom Lehrer, anyone?!

"Two claps Che, no claps Jost!" — great ad-lib!