SNL premiered its 42nd season with a politically-charged bang Saturday—but host Margot Robbie was the real star of the show.
It was a strong debut, but the highlight may have been a digital short in which the Robbie played a not-so-stereotypical sexy librarian. Student Andy Moynihan helplessly lusted after her until she learned about his desire and revealed what she really was. It was a clever spin on the sexy-but-scary vibe that Robbie brought to her portrayal of Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad—which many critics felt was the highlight of the DC supervillain film.
Saturday Night Live and political comedy go hand-in-glove, so naturally the show’s cold open was a wicked riff on the first presidential debate between GOP nominee Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton. Neither candidate escaped SNL‘s satirical gaze—Alec Baldwin portrayed Trump as a schemer who would say anything and Kate McKinnon’s Clinton was a calculating operator struggling to be “relatable.”
The Trump and Clinton camps didn’t go unscathed, as another sketch depicted a Steve Harvey-hosted Family Feud episode between the Clinton side—headed by Larry David’s pitch-perfect Bernie Sanders—and the Trumps, led by Robbie, playing Ivanka Trump as a robotic beauty.
Robbie was an excellent host, even providing some unscripted comedy in the show’s close. Looking stunning in a low-cut jumpsuit, she flubbed a cue then muttered “oh shit” on air, cracking up the cast and the show’s music guest, The Weeknd.
The next SNL is set to be hosted by Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, but we’d just as soon have Margot back again.