Apparently the attitude at Studio 8H in Rockefeller Center last night was: humanizing Hillary is a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it. Almost certainly, the blaze of publicity for Mrs. Clinton’s appearance helped push the ratings up of the venerable program’s season premiere, and in evident gratitude, the satirists there did everything they could to promote the image of a funny, humane, grandmother, while saving their barbs for Republicans, especially Donald Trump.

A video of the principal sketch featuring Hillary is embedded below, but for those fearing a gag reflex, I will rely on the summary provided by the UK Daily Mail:

[Kate] McKinnon played Clinton, while Clinton took on the role of a bartender named Val, helping the fake Clinton to blow off steam after 'a rough couple of 22 years.'

Lamenting her flagging campaign, 'Clinton' can be heard complaining 'why won't the people just let me lead, just give me the hammer and nails and let me fix everything?'

As the conversation continues, 'Clinton' turns to potential political rival Trump, moaning that 'all anybody wants to talk about is Donald Trump'.

'Val' shoots back: 'Trump, isn't he the guy that's like.. "ugh, you're all losers," mocking Trump's distinctive accent.

The conversation then turns to whether or not Trump can win the Republican nomination race, with 'Clinton' vowing that 'he must' so that 'I can be the one to take him down'.

McKinnon's Clinton then promises: 'I will destroy him him and mount his hair in the oval office.'

The skit also poked fun at Clinton's political record, in particular her opposition to the Keystone pipeline and her support of gay marriage.

Bartender 'Val' mentions that she opposes the pipeline, and 'Clinton' enthusiastically agrees, adding: 'I took a long time to decide that, I do do believe it.'

A similar criticism was aimed at the real-life Clinton's support for gay marriage after another bartender appears to compliment 'Clinton' on her stance, saying his brother is gay.

'Clinton' then replies, 'well I could have supported it sooner' to which 'Val' responds that she supported it sooner than a lot of people.

With a wink, McKinnon's Clinton then repeated: 'It could have been sooner'.

The sketch also took on Clinton's attempt to appeal to younger people despite being a grandmother, saying she 'must work in Brooklyn' because she seems so with it.

Kevin Fallon of the Daily Beast thought it was “basically a Hillary Clinton campaign ad…”

...tailor-made to lampoon the two biggest critiques of her persona—that her presidential ambition can at times read as deranged entitlement and desperation, and that she lacks relatable charisma—all while not-so-slyly dropping campaign platforms disguised as jokes.

So pleased was Hillary with her portrayal that she tweeted this:

A vote for Hillary is a vote for four more years of Kate McKinnon's impression. #citizens pic.twitter.com/8WFlf1dy9n

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 4, 2015

Trump was the butt of some fairly pointed barbs:

 Donald Trump, easily spoofed by Taran Killam, was the subject of the cold open, joined by Cecily Strong’s unexpectedly sharp take on Melania Trump. The gimmick: Melania’s praise of her husband’s presidential bona fides surreptitiously illuminates the lunacy of his candidacy. A fake commercial then continued the damnation of the Republican presidential candidates, advertising Abilify, the drug for people who think they can be president. It’s meant to be subscribed to “11 specific people.”

We begin to see the media uniting around Hillary, even in her moments of distress. The email scandal? What email scandal? It was entirely absent, despite being the principal object of attention toward Hillary and her obvious Achilles Heel.

I have no idea if mention of it was forbidden by some agreement, but it might as well have been. Either way, the SNL crew is in the bag for Hillary.

Here is the principal sketch with Hillary playing bartender “Val” to McKinnon’s fake Hillary: