(improv)ised escapades

It was beautifully awkward at times — how she misses the kiss with Jay Pharoah because he’s bowing to her, how Bobby Moynihan ducks away in a hurry because he’s losing it, how seeing Bill Hader is the moment she starts to buckle and the first one where there’s no gag to the dance. And then how grateful she is that Kenan Thompson shows up and does a little “keep going” reset for her and makes her smile, how she and Seth Meyers boogie because that’s who they are, and how that moment with Sudeikis is obviously completely wrecking — he doesn’t look right for the rest of the number, honestly.

And of course, because it’s live television, Andy Samberg doesn’t realize he’s almost pulling her dress up. And of course, because she’s not made of stone over here, she sneaks in a hug with Jon Hamm as the credits are rolling.

The whole thing is really pretty perfect, and pretty perfectly human, right down to the fact that it’s so emotional that nobody is paying a lot of attention to the fact that they’re doing a “Ruby Tuesday” singalong with Mick Jagger. You can see, too, the miracle of people who can instantly make other people feel better — that’s what guest Amy Poehler is doing when it turns into that “Ruby Tuesday” singalong. She’s the one my eyes kept returning to when I watched it, because some part of me believes that she’s somebody who left, and who knows that it’s really, really sad to go, but that your life can also get really, really good when you leave something you love to do something else you also might love. And, of course, you can always come home.