Season Analysis: My full SNL Season 37 recap is coming soon.

“716 – Zooey Deschanel/Karmin”

I love Zooey Deschanel, and … well, I’ve already talked about that in my New Girl coverage.  When I heard that Zooey was going to be hosting SNL, naturally I was excited.  And when she ended up being her naturally adorable self over the course of the night, naturally I loved the episode and wanted to give her a hug.  But I contend that even for those who do not like Zooey, there were some things – a lot, actually – to love about this episode.  First off, even though Zooey was a great host, there were plenty of great moments that did not feature her.  Nicolas Cage showed up to square off against Andy Samberg as Nicolas Cage in quite possibly the best example in SNL history of a cast member meeting the object of his impressionism (and in this guest star-heavy season, Jean Dujardin also stopped by for a round of the delightfully light and absurd “Les Jeunes de Paris”).  Then there were Bill Hader’s triumphant appearances as Clint Eastwood in a flipping mad parody of his Chrysler Super Bowl commercial.  Honestly, there were maybe two sketches that traded in on Zooey’s sort-of controversial persona, and one of those – the “Bein’ Quirky with Zooey Deschanel” talk show – was a knowing wink at the excesses of her eccentricities.  In summation, the Zooey Deschanel episode of SNL was for everyone, Zooey lovers and haters alike.