We’re rolling through every episode of Key and Peele on Pop Thruster. Here we go with “Les Mis,” Season 3 Episode 1. Follow along on the journey!
Also: check out ALL 351 Key & Peele Sketches Ranked (In Painstakingly Funny Detail)!
Hoodie FTW
Hiding in plain white.
Peele walks down a suburban street with a backpack on, and as he looks at the white kids and families that he passes, they only stare coldly and fearfully back at him in return. When a snarling cop rolls up, Peele wisely puts up his hoodie… which displays the profile of a white, blonde-haired guy. And the cop keeps rolling along. Short, cute, biting.
Mr. Garvey: Substitute Teacher (Chapter Two)
“You about as Spanish as Ree-on Seacrest, with your big ass Fraggle Rock hair.” – Mr. Garvey
Mr. Garvey is back, taking the roll call once again. This time, the kids are used to and accepting of how Mr. Garvey, uh… rolls with his pronunciations: De-nice for Denise, Je-seeka for Jessica, and so on. In this edition, the famous A-Aron asks permission for some of the students involved in clubs to leave early so that they can take their yearbook photos. However, Mr. Garvey is convinced that the class wants to go to “the club,” even though no one is old enough to go to “the club.” This round is not nearly as funny as the original but is still fun.
Battle Rap
“I’m telling you, can you take it down a little bit?” – Diller Killer
It’s a battle rap competition, hosted by Big Peep-paroo. Rhino D is set to go up against Diller Killer (Key). Diller Killer performs first, with some decent battle rap-meets-roasts of his opponent. However, it soon becomes apparent that his hype man (Peele) becomes a little… well, overheated, what with his grunts and growls at his guy’s side. Okay, a lot overheated. There’s a really funny and really dark second half to this sketch too that I won’t dare spoil for you. Steinbeck, y’all.
Browser History
“I don’t know, maybe there’s something wrong with the computer, so…” – Peele
Peele’s wife innocently asks him why the browser history and cache is always every time she uses their shared computer, and that kicks off an ever escalating – and sweat-drenched – investigation into one man’s, shall we say, predilections. But funny!
Les Mis
“Now where did this b—- come from?”—Key
France, 1817. Future Schmigadoon! star Key, his compadre Peele, and others show off their pretty stellar pipes in a Les Misérables-style musical number that delightfully parodies the way that modern musicals use ensemble numbers to allow multiple stories and musical throughlines to play out at the same time (if I’m mangling that explanation, musical theater people, my apologies). In short, I would totally go see this musical.
Luther, Obama’s Anger Translator #8
“I assure you, the country has gotten safer since the Bush era.” – President Obama
It’s a new season of K&P, the first year of President Obama’s second term, and the eighth outing of President Obama (Peele) with his trusty anger translator, Luther (Key), at his side. The topic has something to do with allegations that the Obama administration was illegally spying on people at the time, and I found myself quite distracted – from my current standpoint looking down the barrel of a second Trump administration – by trying to recall the political climate at what seems like very very Before Times. Even so, it’s a peppy and decently funny outing for the duo.
Metta World News: Part One
“Our top story: why are people always trying to steal my magic?” – Metta World Peace
Basketball star Ron Artest, who changed his name (for real) to Metta World Peace, guest stars as a news anchor helming a program called Metta World News. It’s a pretty nice SNL Weekend Update-style outing that allows Metta to fire off sports comedy lines like, “Cat litter can be used to blind people when fighting – interesting, I didn’t know that.” Well… actually that’s about the only line as it’s a super short bit.
Some stats and info about Key & Peele, “Les Mis”
TV SHOW – Key and Peele
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 3, Episode 1
AIRED ON – September 18th, 2013
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – Comedy Central/Hulu
GENRE – Comedy, Sketch Comedy
CREATED BY – Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele