Turkey. Football. Giant inflatable Angry Birds. These are the things that bring American families together on Thanksgiving—but none of them can prevent the dinner table from descending into the abyss of political argument from which there is no return.
The only thing capable of stopping the downward spiral, it seems, is Adele.
Saturday Night Live rebounded nicely from its disastrous Donald Trump-hosted episode on Nov. 7 with a much better one on Nov. 21, hosted by Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey and featuring two rousing performances by the English singer Adele. The best bit of the night was a sketch in which Adele’s hit song Hello featured prominently:
The sketch is the rare parody that works on multiple levels—it ridicules several of the more asinine political beliefs held by certain US presidential candidates while simultaneously mocking our immense, borderline-obsessive love for Adele. It also confirmed that, at least recently, Saturday Night Live is at its best doing pre-recorded shorts, not live sketches.
We wonder if this trick would work at the next presidential debate, or—even better—at a session of US congress. Meanwhile, unless you have Adele’s record-breaking new album 25 handy, it’s highly recommended that you just don’t discuss politics at the Thanksgiving dinner table. But, if you must, The Atlantic published a guide on how to do so constructively.