Ariana Grande left a sour note

The 50th season of “Saturday Night Live” began with an exciting reveal of new political impersonations from Andy Samberg, Jim Gaffigan, Dana Carvey, Bowen Yang and more. An episode hosted by Nate Bargatze proved that the series is at its best when it highlights talent with comedic backgrounds, but this week's episode hosted by Ariana Grande proved that it's not always possible after 50 Relays to maintain a hot phase. The episode began with a traditional political cold open, pitting Vice President Kamala Harris (Maya Rudolph) and former President Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson) against each other in a game of Family Feud rather than a regular debate. Hosted by Steve Harvey (Kenan Thompson), Harris was joined by her husband Doug Emhoff (Samberg), Vice President Tim Walz (Gaffigan) and President Joe Biden (Carvey), while Trump reluctantly brought along his son Donald Jr. (Mikey Day) and his running mate JD Vance (Yang). The game was one of the better skits of the night, and represented a predictable repeat of the jokes this troupe had previously made about these characters and candidates, with particular emphasis on the absurdity that Trump is still ahead of Harris in the polls in many key battlegrounds lies states.

When Grande took the stage for her monologue, she was quickly handed a microphone and given the chance to show off both her singing and impersonation skills, singing embarrassingly perfect riffs on Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus and Gwen Stefani, the got the audience in the mood for more of her singing talent. Near the end of the monologue, she was joined by a Glinda-clad Bowen Yang, after which it was made clear that there would be no Wicked or Wizard of Oz sketches in the rest of the episode. That was understandable in the moment, but what followed makes me want to turn a trip down the Yellow Brick Road into something a little more fun.

The monologue was followed by a pre-recorded music video titled “My Best Friend's House,” in which Grande sang about all the wonderful smells and simple joys found in her friend's house, such as always having beautiful candles lit and the Her friend's father always cooks something delicious. However, it turns out that her friend's father (Day) has a secret that he's madly covering up with these scents. From talking furniture to Sarah Sherman's head being discovered in the fridge, the skit was a relatively amusing mix of charm and subversion, but also features the kind of humor that isn't entirely out of left field and doesn't always stick with you appeals to a wide audience.

In another pre-recorded skit, Grande once again showcased her impersonation skills by playing Celine Dion in a promotional video for UFC. While she nailed the French-Canadian singer's powerful and unique voice as well as her speech patterns, not much work was done to make Grande actually look like Dion, leaving Grande's impression half-complete. The juxtaposition of Dion's singing while playing clips of fighters getting their asses beaten was pretty funny, but largely played as a half-formed idea to fill space while the “SNL” cast and crew prepare for the next one Prepared sketch.

As far as live sketches go, there haven't been many that were as memorable. The first part, in which a group of bridesmaids sang about the bachelorette party gone wrong while toasting the bride, was only good for a small laugh, and that was mostly because Grande and other castmates sang off key to Sabrina Carpenter's “Espresso.” . The only sketch that got laughs and showcased some of Grande's previous skills as a sitcom star was “Charades with Mom,” which stars Grande as a suburban mom who becomes hostile after turning against her in a game of charades son and his friends. While the sketch featured Andrew Dismukes, Michael Longfellow, and newcomers Emil Wackim and Jane Wickline, the real standouts were Grande and Yang, whose verbal arguments quickly turn ridiculous and then physical. Apparently, the two developed a relationship while filming Wicked and manage to play off each other perfectly when the truth behind their antics comes to light.

Stevie Nicks helped lighten up the evening a bit with her classic “Edge of Seventeen” and her new single “The Lighthouse,” but unfortunately for some viewers, the feed of her performance may have been edited out of the live broadcast due to a technicality problem. She was joined on stage by guitarist Wally Wachtel, who appears in the Danny Tedesco music documentary “Immediate Family,” which is up for the Grammy for Best Music Film this year.

Michael Keaton will host “Saturday Night Live” next week on October 19th alongside musical guest Billie Eilish.