Inde Television (CREDIT: NBC/Screenshot)

Jeff “jmunney” Malone watches every new episode of Saturday Night Live and then reviews all the sketches and segments according to a “wacky” theme.

For the Halloween* episode of 2026, SNL opted for an appreciably spooky booking. (*-Well, to be fully accurate, most of the episode aired on November 1 local time. But of course, SNL episodes are always identified by the date of their first 30 minutes.) Inde Naverrette is the breakout star of the buzziest horror hit of the year, so this episode is reminiscent of another outing from way back in Season 7 that started airing on October 31. Unlike Donald Pleasance, Inde isn’t in a movie literally called “Halloween”, but it’s close enough to get us in the mood.

Gracie Abrams completes the bill as the musical guest. As far as I know, she doesn’t have anything particularly horrifying in her discography.

In honor of the airdate, my Review Gimmick for this episode will consist of declaring if each segment is more of a Trick or a Treat. That’s not to say that one verdict is necessarily better than the other: there can be good, bad, or neutral versions of both. Here we go:

The Tombs of Doom: It was of course a Trick to interrupt David S. Pumpkins’ triumphant return, but in a way that was pretty enjoyable.

Inde Naverrette’s Monologue: Allowing the cast to just show off their Halloween costumes was a low-key parade of Treats. I also enjoyed the dumb pun.

Ghosts of the Queen Mary Tour: This boat-set sketch was foundationally one big Trick, especially thanks to Kenan’s character zinging his pale wife.

Delta Disruptive: Despite the chaos at its heart, I am going to pronounce this commercial parody a Treat, due to what it promises for the well-behaved.

The Uninterested Woman Game Show: No tricks here. Everything is out in the open. Thus, this game show parody is a Treat for how it makes me thoughtfully laugh.

Midnight Matinee: The Inventor’s Wife: I’ll avoid spoilers just in case you’re reading this review before watching the episode, but do know that this pre-recorded piece relies on a Trickster Twist that sticks the landing.

El Corazón Que No Siente: Product placement is a Trick, but you can mold it to your own ends.

Gracie Abrams, “Hit the Wall”: Was Gracie’s flautist wearing a Daft Punk helmet? What a Treat, if true.

Weekend Update: The Jokes: You know, Michael and Colin have sure been doing this for quite some time, but it’s always a Treat when they have an outing that inspires me to transcribe multiple punch lines in my show-watching notes.
Weekend Update: Pennywise the Clown: Full of Tricks, but probably not in the way any of us were expecting.
Weekend Update: Drunk Uncle: We’ve been patient with this iconic character’s absence since the cast member who plays him left the cast, and we are now rewarded with a Treat in which he returns rust-free with something urgent to say.

Paw Patrol: Special Victims Unit: The real Paw Patrol is more of a Trick than it would like to admit. This parody is Less So.

Friend Dinner (Plates): Ashley Padilla’s specialty is playing characters who are Constantly Tricked by Life.

Gracie Abrams, “Here You Come, There You Go”: Was Gracie’s outfit for Song #2 inspired by Romeo + Juliet (1996)? I’ve never seen it, so I can’t tell if that’s a trick or a treat.

To sum it all up, I thought that Inde was game for anything, and the writers rewarded her with a series of original, clever sketches. So this episode was indeed quite A Treat! We’ll see if things are similarly spooky on November 7 when a fellow who goes by the moniker of Druski is joined on Studio 8H by frequent SNL musical guest The Strokes.