Saturday Night Live spent its latest cold open sketch weighing in on the Russian-Ukraine conflict, as well as Russia’s reputation — earned during the U.S. presidential election in 2016 and all the years that followed — for producing awkward, stilted, but still somehow effective memes and social media drops that promote disinformation.
The sketch’s setting is the Oval Office, with President Joe Biden (James Austin Johnson) receiving a briefing detailing Russia’s efforts to smear Ukraine and convince its citizens that an invasion is desirable. It falls a little flat, given the real-world implications of a potentially looming Russian invasion, but there are some solid moments, including a brief appearance from Pete Davidson and Chris Redd, as the actual Aaron Rodgers and a Russian version of Jake from State Farm.
The real winner is the sketch’s punchline, a savage, social media-savvy high schooler —”Makayla, spelled the worst way” (Chloe Fineman) — who understands that the psychological warfare of a well-timed backhanded compliment will do far more to wreck Russian president, Vladimir Putin, than any CIA-authored meme ever could. It’s a bizarre cold open to say the least.
