Kate McKinnon's Haunting 'Hallelujah' Is SNL's Strongest Cold Open Yet

Who really knows what the writers at Saturday Night Live had to deal with this week, having to process unexpected grief while working to provide a comedy show just days after a national trauma. In a rare and sobering move, what they gave us for their first cold open after the election focuses solely on sadness, and there's no one better to commiserate with than Kate McKinnon as Hillary Clinton, wearing a white pantsuit and performing a solo rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." It's not a parody cover. No lyrics were changed. Only Kate performs, her voice growing increasingly unsteady as she approaches the hard-hitting song, especially relevant in the wake of Leonard Cohen's death on November 7th. Watch here:

If you weren't choked up at "And even though it all went wrong," Kate turning to the camera and somberly promising, "I'm not giving up, and neither should you," will bring chills. One must wonder what those at Saturday Night Live feel about having had Donald Trump host their show all those months ago, back when surely this all felt like an impossible joke. No one's laughing now.