It’s been less than a year since comedian Nate Bargatze made his debut hosting “Saturday Night Live,” but the appearance was so well received that he’s back already, alongside a stacked lineup of Season 50 hosts that include Jean Smart, John Mulaney and Michael Keaton.

Was it as strong a showing as last time? Not exactly. The monologue was more scattershot and less finely crafted than last year’s and the sketches were less uniformly great, but there was still some strong material. Bargatze’s every-guy vibe still fits “SNL” nicely, particularly in sketches where he’s playing with language, such as a sequel to 2023’s fantastic George Washington weights and measurements scene or a pitch perfect “Sábado Gigante” parody (it only took 50 years) in which Bargatze plays a befuddled audience member pulled into the show with only a rudimentary — but not completely blank — understanding of the Spanish being spoken around him. Bargatze led a funny pre-taped sketch in which a golf tournament competitor keeps inadvertently harming wildlife on the course.

Elsewhere, Bargatze played an EMT who, with his partner (Michael Longfellow), is trying to convince water park workers to let a dead body go down a slide rather than carry it down 255 steps. He portrayed a coach who wants to be paid for football jerseys and the husband of a woman (Heidi Gardner) determined to win a very messy eating challenge at a restaurant. Musical guests Coldplay performed “All My Love” and “We Pray,” the latter featuring Palestinian singer Elyanna and Argentine singer Tini. A title card before the closing hugs honored Kris Kristofferson, who died Sept. 28 at 88. The singer-songwriter and actor hosted “SNL” in 1976 during the show’s first season.

As with Bargatze as host, this week’s cold open was a case of: “It worked great, let’s do it again.” All the guest stars who appeared in last week’s cold open were back for the “SNL” take on the vice presidential debate. Bowen Yang and Jim Gaffigan returned as Sen. J.D. Vance and Gov. Tim Walz, respectively, on the debate stage, while Vice President Kamala Harris (Maya Rudolph) and husband Doug Emhoff (Andy Samberg) watched at home and were visited by a mostly confused President Biden (Dana Carvey).

Kamala, on top of the world, celebrated endorsements from Liz Cheney and Bruce Springsteen, but her joy was short-lived as she watched Walz flub lines — “I’m friends with school shooters” — and got too friendly with Vance. “Why are they friends?” she cried. “Why are they vibing?” On the debate stage, Vance and Walz get so familiar that they try to touch hands across the split scene while “Take My Breath Away” plays. Walz explained his mistake about saying he was in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square massacre by telling viewers he forgot he was at Epcot. Vance, meanwhile, inserted mid-sentence pleas to not be fact checked while expressing support for former President Trump.

But like last week, it was Dana Carvey’s Biden impression that stole the show, whether he was announcing things that are down, like gas prices and Emmys for “The Bear,” or waving an ice cream cone that landed ice cream on Kamala’s face. As Rudolph maintained her composure even as ice cream dripped down her chin, it was hard to forget that Carvey and David Spade, the co-host of “Fly on the Wall” podcast, said this week that sometimes physical ad libs or flubs on the show are really accidental-on-purpose, as was the case with Biden burying his head in Kamala’s hair on last week’s show.

Bargatze’s monologue was shorter than last time around and without a strong close, but it still had great lines as the comedian discussed going to community college (“… where they’re like, ‘You’re probably staying in your community.’”) and, at length, his addiction to processed foods (“I’m a farm-factory-table guy.”) and ordering junk food from DoorDash late at night. Bargatze said he’s even double-dashed, ordering from two places simultaneously on the food-delivery service, which causes him anxiety when two different drivers show up at the same time. “I need one of them to get in a wreck! I’m mortified!” he said. There were also funny bits about the “extra” in extra virgin olive oil and what happened when he ate a raspberry for the first time at the age of 40. Unlike last year’s monologue, this one wasn’t as razor sharp, but the material overall had the comic’s signature specificity and bafflement at the world.

Best sketch of the night: Washington returns to claim freedom for hot-dog lovers

Diminishing returns are sometimes fine if the original was this strong. In a sequel to the weights and measure sketch, George Washington (Bargatze) stands on a boat, telling his soldiers about the future of the English language. A dozen is a word for 12, but, “Only 12 shall have its own word.” We’ll spell Jeff two ways, one with a J and, “The stupid way with the G.” A hot dog, Washington says, will not be made of dogs. But when asked what they’re made of, he says, “Nobody knows.” When a soldier questions that, he’s invited to leave the boat, right into the water. Like last time, Washington largely ignores questions from a soldier (Kenan Thompson) over what will happen to slaves after the war, at least this war in 1776.

Also good: You don’t have to know Spanish to understand ‘Sábado Gigante’

Bargatze plays an audience member called on stage by host Don Francisco (Marcello Hernández), who leads him through a random set of sketches, dance numbers and game-show segments, which is not at all different from what the real show was like; ask anybody who grew up in a Spanish-speaking household before 2015. For Hernández’s absolute commitment to the sketch, Bargatze’s so-real-it-stings confusion, the kid in the beard dressed like Bargatze’s character, and the puppet orange in a sailor suit, this one wins our hearts as much as winning five dogs on a game show might.

Will probably go viral: ‘Sushi Glory Hole’ is the new ‘Dick in a Box’

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Slotted as it was so late in the show, a new “SNL” digital short featuring Lonely Island’s Samberg and Akiva Schaffer was so surprising, catchy and pushing the line of good taste that it feels like something that could take off in a big way online. (The term “Sushi Glory Hole,” in fact, was already trending on X shortly after the episode aired.) The premise? Two musicians (or are they businessmen?) pitch the idea of a hole in a bathroom wall that feeds you fresh sushi. That’s it. That’s the joke. But it’s taken to hilariously dumb lengths even as those being pitched (Maya Rudolph among them) are just trying to leave the room.

‘Weekend Update’ winner: Jane Wickline stayed at the party too long

It sometimes takes a while to get to know new cast members, but this segment was a nice introduction. Jane Wickline appeared in the water slide sketch as the only voice of reason and in a “Weekend Update” segment, playing piano and singing about staying overnight at a party that has long since stopped being a party. When Colin Jost tries to wrap up the song midway through, she says, “I intend to keep singing.” Clever, playful lyrics and a strong performance suggest great things to come on “SNL” for Jane Wickline.

Philippe Lacôte’s Killer Heat is a suspense thriller set on the tranquil island of Crete, Greece. The island’s stunning landscape, with rugged mountains and pristine beaches, creates the perfect setting for this atmospheric mystery. Initially, the film may feel too laid-back for its own good, but as the plot unfolds, it finds its groove, delivering a cohesive, engaging story. Much like its setting, Killer Heat is refreshingly straightforward, avoiding a forced sense of suspense. The mystery unravels at a measured pace, allowing the viewer to savour the journey.

The plot itself may not break new ground, with relatively low stakes, but what makes it work is the absence of unnecessary storytelling shortcuts. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Nick Bali, a private investigator hired to look into the mysterious death of Leo (Richard Madden), the heir of the wealthy Verdakis family.

The film opens with Leo climbing a cliff while Bali narrates the Greek myth of Icarus, the man who flew too close to the sun. Leo soon falls to his death, and the family—except for Leo’s sister-in-law, Penelope (Shailene Woodley)—considers it a tragic accident.

Penelope, however, is convinced otherwise, refusing to trust the local police, claiming her “family owns them”, and that “in Crete, no one goes against the gods”. The film’s integration of Greek metaphors adds a touch of mysticism.

What’s refreshing about Killer Heat is that it doesn’t trick the audience. From the first scene, it’s clear that the culprit isn’t an outsider, but that doesn’t take away from the suspense.

Kim Kardashian wants Lyle and Erik Menendez, the brothers convicted in the grisly 1989 murders of their parents, to be freed.

The reality star, daughter of late O.J. Simpson attorney Robert Kardashian, has fashioned herself as an advocate for criminal justice reform. And, in a personal essay for NBC News, she wrote Thursday that she hopes that the brothers, who have already served 35 years in prison, could have their life sentences “reconsidered.”

“We are all products of our experiences. They shape who we were, who we are, and who we will be. Physiologically and psychologically, time changes us, and I doubt anyone would claim to be the same person they were at 18. I know I’m not!,” the Skims co-founder wrote.

Kardashian rehashed widely known facts in the case — that the brothers, then ages 21 and 18, shot and killed their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills home — as well as their high-profile 1996 trials. But, she said, “this story is much more complex than it appears on the surface.”

“Both brothers said they had been sexually, physically and emotionally abused for years by their parents. According to Lyle, the abuse started when he was just 6 years old, and Erik said he was raped by his father for more than a decade. Following years of abuse and a real fear for their lives, Erik and Lyle chose what they thought at the time was their only way out — an unimaginable way to escape their living nightmare,” she said.

Listing issues with the trials and other legal missteps, Kardashian argued that “the media turned the brothers into monsters and sensationalized eye candy” and that they “had no chance of a fair trial against this backdrop.”

The beauty mogul has visited the brothers in prison and vouched for their “exemplary disciplinary records,” adding that a warden there told her that “he would feel comfortable having them as neighbors.” She asserted that life in prison is not the right punishment for them and argued that the exclusion of abuse evidence from their second trial denied them a fair go.

“The killings are not excusable. I want to make that clear. Nor is their behavior before, during or after the crime. But we should not deny who they are today in their 50s,” she wrote. “The trial and punishment these brothers received were more befitting a serial killer than two individuals who endured years of sexual abuse by the very people they loved and trusted.”

On Thursday, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón said his office would review what he described as new evidence that the brothers were molested — a move that could lead to revised sentences.

While there was no question the brothers committed the murders, Gascón said, the issue is whether the jury heard evidence that their father molested them. Evidence detailing sexual abuse was presented during the brothers’ first trial, which ended in hung juries, but was largely withheld during their second trial, where they were convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Lyle Menendez, left, and Erik during a court appearance in Beverly Hills on April 2, 1991.

(Kevork Djansenzian / Associated Press)

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Meanwhile, a series of creative projects over the past year have contributed to renewed interest in the brothers’ case and their highly scrutinized trials. Ryan Murphy’s splashy “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” for example, raised questions, much like his past anthology series revived the discourse around the O.J. Simpson trial and the impeachment of former President Clinton. The Menendez brothers were also the focus of the Fox Nation documentary series “Menendez Brothers: Victims or Villains,” which premiered in March, as well as the Peacock docuseries “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed,” which presented new evidence and included an accusation of rape against patriarch Jose Menendez.

Citing evidence related to molestation claims, attorneys for the brothers filed petitions last year to reopen the case, and family members have rallied to get the men released. Others, like Kardashian, have argued that times have changed, and that the brothers’ allegations of abuse might have been received differently at trial today.

Times staff writers Salvador Hernandez, Hannah Fry and Richard Winton contributed to this report.