General Overview:
“I’m excited to be here tonight to show you guys that I’m so much more than just a pretty face and good hair and great makeup and amazing boobs and a perfect butt. Basically, I’m just so much more than that reference photo my sisters showed their plastic surgeons.”
-Kim Kardashian West, 10/9/21

To start off, I’ll just say that I am not into the Kardashians, so my opinions are biased by the fact that I don’t care when Kris Jenner shows up as a cameo or when Kim plays Kourtney in a sketch. It’s possible that if you know anything about them, then you’d really like this episode.

That being said, I can’t get over the incessant condescension of every second of the monologue. I can’t get over the way she delivered the lines about how great she was in such a flat tone that still managed to keep the Kardashian-stan-populated audience howling in laughter or applause at her every move.

Highlights:
There weren’t a lot to be honest. I think the “Lotto Drawing” sketch was in that “I don’t know why I find this funny” zone that SNL often hits pretty well. It was the only sketch that used Kim well: she was in the background, playing a character meant to be underacted, and the sketch’s comedy relied more on the wackiness of the scenario than the delivery of lines.

Lowlights:
This was clearly just a marketing opportunity for the show. There was a sketch called “The Dream Guy,” of which the entire concept is that there are Famous Hot Guys™ from all over celebritydom standing on bleachers so that they can walk forward and get cheered on by the audience. There was a sketch called “Jasmine and Aladdin” that I didn’t understand until I realized that it was just to get Kim to kiss Pete Davidson.

A solid half of the sketches were about the Kardashian brand, and all the Kardashian Kameos would probably be more funny if I Kared, but even so, it was excessive. Every single thing that Kim was in felt like it was just there to attract people to see the show, just like with Elon Musk last season. This trend of getting hosts to get people to watch the show makes me worried about the future of this season and the show as a whole.

Best Sketch: “Hard Seltzer.” Some new people got a good sketch! These shorts are pretty hit-or-miss most of the time, but I thought it was just a good little satire piece. It was so refreshing to have a normal skit that wasn’t manufactured for views, even if it was pretty stupid. I’m excited to see what the comedy group “Please Don’t Destroy” will do this season.

Best Joke: “This week, Instagram was down for an entire day, forcing Instagram addicts to fill their time with Twitter, TikTok or [shows picture of Kim Kardashian West] hosting SNL.” -Michael Che

Overall Score: 3/10
I can’t get over the fact that this episode was just made to get Kardashian fans to watch the show, and I can’t get over the endless branding of everything. I can only hope that this trend of starpower over quality isn’t something I’ll have to be Keeping Up With.