Chappelle's Turn as Host of SNL was What America Needed

I was not brave enough to watch the election results roll in. I didn’t think Clinton would lose, but I felt queasy watching the fate of our nation crawl across the bottom of a screen while pundits guessed at our future. I woke up at 2 am, oblivious to where I was or what was going on, and ran into the living room, where my boyfriend sat. He stood up, put his hands on my shoulders, and told me what had happened.

A lot has happened since that moment, but I will never forget that dazed feeling. I think we as a country are going through the five stages of grief, and for a long time I wallowed in stage one: denial. Little has heled in the ensuing days, because when you try to distract yourself and that feels wrong. You try to digest everything and it feels too upsetting. In a time of such turmoil and division, a lot of us were looking towards “Saturday Night Live” this week, truly hoping for some kind of comfort, answers, or escape. On top its usual appeal came the news that long lost comedy legend Dave Chappelle was going to host, a comeback that could lead to something much grander for the former host of “Chappelle’s Show.”

The opening merged together two news items of the week: the election and the death of Leonard Cohen, aged 82. Instead of opening on anything surely political, the shot was of Kate McKinnon bedecked in a Clinton pantsuit, sitting at a grand piano, singing the great composition “Hallelujah.” It was simple, surprising, and much needed in an election run that has prompted silliness and ire. Though it’s strange to mesh the two unrelated news items together in this fashion, the song comes off as hopeful and cleansing, and honestly its simplicity was beautiful and heartbreaking to hear.

The rest of the show feels invigorating as there hasn’t been much comedy to come out of the election results, just explanations, essays, long winded arguments, and more political and social unrest. Dave Chappelle’s monologue feels so energizing, as he first makes fun of the political climate that currently infuses our everyday life, about the fate of our country, and how he hopes we can come together in the future. Chappelle even relayed a touching story about how he recently attended an all-black party at the White House, and how inspiring that was, given that only two black men had entered its premises before the 1950s. Chappelle’s trademark humor was a much needed signifier on how aspects of the election have been flavored by race, and how at odds we all are in defending each other amid clear tensions.

The highlight of the show was a sketch entitled, “Election Night,” which covered the liberal bias of this election and the obvious ignorance of how this country feels and would eventually vote. This was surprisingly accurate and I had to laugh at myself, as I too believed progress would enable us to step away from racist and xenophobic values, and have us choose someone better suited for the job than someone who said all the right things to white America.

The musical guest was “A Tribe Called Quest,” which featured Jarobi White and Q-Tip singing politically themed songs, before which they asked the audience to raise a fist in unity. A canvas cloth came down from the ceiling to reveal a collaged image of Phife Dawg, who died this past spring from complications from diabetes. The songs resonated politically but were also performed by a radical, talented set of musicians who truly inspired and wee visually entertaining. Other highlights of the night included the always politically resonate “Weekend Update,” Chappelle’s “Walking Dead,” sketch which featured a cast of his favorite past characters, and a short featuring Leslie Jones and Kyle Mooney as backstage lovers, hoping to consummate their love and end Kyle’s reign as a virgin.

While some of the sketches fall flat, for the most part this episode was what everyone needed. It was soothing to watch others panic at the election results, and for some of my favorite comedians to tell me that not only was it going to be okay, but that there was humor in the entire situation. This was a tough feat to pull off, but between the great choice for host, and musical guest, everything just sort of meshed. Hopefully this is a step in the right direction for Chappelle, who we have all dearly missed.