Kate McKinnon’s somber Clinton/Cohen open, Dave Chappelle’s return to TV
In case you haven’t seen this yet: In the cold-open sketch of Saturday Night Live, Kate McKinnon — who played Hillary Clinton brilliantly throughout the election season — effortlessly combined Clinton’s shock defeat with the news of Leonard Cohen’s death to deliver a message by simply singing Cohen’s “Hallelujah” (runtime 02:57). She added the verse: “I did my best, it wasn’t much, I couldn’t feel, so I tried to touch. I told the truth, I didn’t come to fool ya. And even though it all went wrong, I’ll stand before the Lord of Song with nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah.” McKinnon finished her rendition by addressing viewers directly saying “I’m not giving up, and neither should you.” It’s not clear whether she’s still in character or not at that point.
The episode McKinnon was opening for was comedian Dave Chappelle’s return to TV, and his opening monologue was as raw and funny as his performances always been (warning: expletives, runtime 11:30).