Harry Styles pulled double duty as host and musical guest on Saturday Night Live, celebrating the release of his new album. The British star delivered a decently silly episode, with cameos from Ryan Gosling and Paul Simon. Styles joked about his music, fashion sense, and queerbaiting accusations, even kissing Ben Marshall on stage.
The cold open avoided politics, instead featuring a family struggling with high gas prices blamed on the Epstein Files. Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson) appeared to explain the butterfly effect, and Colin Jost played a drunken Pete Hegseth claiming victory in Iran. Jost's impression was praised as one of the best of the Trump era.
In sketches, Styles played a prosecutor facing Sebastian Maniscalco (Marcello Hernández) in court, delivering a spot-on impression of the comedian. Other sketches included a rightwing medical drama parody and a German cruise line ad. A Best Buy sketch saw Kenan Thompson's Mr Pooty blaming Styles for his bisexual magnetism.
Styles performed his new songs, with Gosling introducing his first number. The episode was better than average, though some sketches dragged. Styles' natural drollness worked well, even if not deadpan.
