“What will the show do without Digital Shorts?” was a question many fans asked after the end of the 37^th season. Well, the answer to that question starts here, with a short film that didn’t shy away from either the deep melancholy at its core nor from telling a start-to-finish story. Neither element was the point of the “Digital Short” era, where nonsensical, often intentionally inside humor dominated the proceedings. Was this particularly funny? No, but it was incredibly effective all the same, forgoing easy laughs for a slice-of-life study that ultimately drew the audience in to its world. “Sad Mouse” opened up the possibilities for multiple comedic voices within the “SNL” stable being able to explore cinematic storytelling, and kicked off one of the strongest runs of preproduced segments in the show’s long history.