Late Night Last Week: Will Magic: The Gathering Decide the Election?

By Will DiGravio  |  October 28, 2024 | 4:58pm
TV Features late night
Late Night Last Week: Will Magic: The Gathering Decide the Election?
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​​​​​​Late Night Last Week is a column highlighting some of the more notable segments from the previous week of late night television. Today’s installment features The Daily Show’s investigation into JD Vance’s Magic: The Gathering habit, more jokes that Seth Meyers can’t tell, good stand-up from Ian Lara on The Tonight Show, and more.

Turn on cable news right now and you are likely to be confronted with a panel of so-called undecided voters, a group deemed by Lewis Black, as covered in last week’s column, as “a few dozen Pennsylvanians with carbon monoxide poisoning.” But in late night this week, The Daily Show turned to a panel of citizens who are far more informed and interesting than those you are likely to encounter elsewhere on television: Magic: The Gathering players. 

Following the news that JD Vance was a fan of the game, correspondent Ronny Chieng sat down with a group of Magic players to get their reaction to Vance and the state of American politics. “So, what is Magic: The Gathering?” an incredulous Chieng asked. “And how would you explain it to someone doesn’t give a fuck about any of this shit?” 

Chieng then asked the panelists about Vance’s reported approach to the game, including the news that his favorite deck has been basically banned for being too unfair, a metaphor that was just a bit too on the nose for the vice presidential candidate. “You can’t be touched for a whole turn,” one of the panelists said. “I wouldn’t worry about that,” Chieng replied. 

The panelists then revealed themselves to be just as divided as the electorate writ large. One said he planned to vote for Harris-Walz, another said he would vote for Trump-Vance, and the remaining two said they were undecided. “What are you gonna do,” Chieng asked, “get in the voting booth and roll a 20-sided die?” 

It’s been awhile since this column checked in on the evolution of the “Talk Show Portion” of After Midnight, the segment during which host Taylor Tomlinson interviews her contestant-guests, all of whom are seated together on a comfortable-looking couch. On Friday, October 25, Tomlinson chatted with Diona Reasonover, Scott Aukerman, and Colton Dunn for the segment that, as she put it, is their dedicated “time for plugs.” 

After plugging upcoming television shows and stand-up gigs, Tomlinson asked each of her guests to share a piece of advice with the audience. Dunn’s blew us away. “If you have lost your phone charger, just go to any hotel and walk in, and tell them you just checked out and you left your charger,” Dunn said. “They’ll hand you a big box full of chargers people have left, and you just pull one out and go on your way.” The next time I am in Midtown and realize I forgot my charger in Brooklyn, you best believe I am doing just that. 

Say what you will about the current state of The Tonight Show, but it remains one of the few programs to consistently welcome stand-up comics to plug their work, even if it is often the tamer portions of their set (an important caveat to keep in mind while watching). 

On Thursday, October 24, Ian Lara joined the program to offer his hilarious take on topics ranging from mouthwash and ex-girlfriends to the stock market. “Rich people, they don’t just drink mouthwash straight out the bottle,” Lara observed. “I thought we was all raw-dogging the bottle like a flask at a funeral.” 

Lara ended his set by humble bragging about the three shares of Delta Airlines he recently purchased. But he was confused why, as an owner of the company, he was seated in Zone 7 on his most recent flight. “But I was like, you know what, I’m not gonna make a big deal about it,” he said. “I guess it’s just gonna be an Undercover Boss-like situation.” 

Finally, we end with one of this column’s favorite segments, and one of the best recurring late night bits, “Jokes Seth Can’t Tell,” in which Amber Ruffin and Jenny Hagel deliver monologue-style one-liners beside their white, straight, male host, Seth Meyers. “According to the website Mashable, the best dating app for lesbians is called her,” Meyers said. “As in, I’ve already dated her, her, her, her,” Hagel said. 

Then came Ruffin’s turn. “Nike has officially revealed the Nike Air Max in Black Tiffany,” Meyers said. “Black Tiffany is like White Tiffany,” Ruffin said, “except it doesn’t know the words to ‘Wonderwall.’” 

One of the most delightful parts of this bit is how the trio revel in its sameness. We know the beats. We know the kinds of jokes that will be told. And we know how it will end: with Meyers telling a joke after being given “permission” by Ruffin and Hagel, who in turn, actually get mad at him. A silly, slyly subversive end to the entire enterprise. 

Will DiGravio is a Brooklyn-based critic, researcher, and late night comedy expert, who first contributed to Paste in 2022. He is an assistant editor at Cineaste, a GALECA member, and since 2019 has hosted The Video Essay Podcast. You can follow and/or unfollow him on Twitter and learn more about him via his website.

 
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