Saturday Night Live closed its 51st season with a strong finale, hosted by former cast member Will Ferrell. The episode opened in the Oval Office, where President Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson) returned from a diplomatic visit to China and dismissed his vice president, JD Vance (Jeremy Culhane). Trump then napped using a gold bar from Sweden, only to be visited by the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein, played by Ferrell. Epstein, busy in hell playing mahjong with Stalin and John Wayne Gacy, showed Trump visions of the future, including Kristi Noem (Ashley Padilla) selling vacuum cleaners and Pete Hegseth (Colin Jost) and Kash Patel (Aziz Ansari) hosting a podcast. The cold open ended with a rendition of "Just the Two of Us" and a near-kiss.
Cold Open and Host Monologue
The cleverest opening in ages featured Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, a Ferrell doppelganger, attempting to hijack the show. Ferrell kicked him off stage and took questions from the audience, where musical guest Sir Paul McCartney sat front row. McCartney confused Ferrell for Smith, telling him to get behind the drums.
Sketch Highlights
Ferrell played a doctor who accidentally removed a patient's penis and one testicle during appendix surgery, a sketch dragged down by Mikey Day's constant breaking. A Midnight Matinee short from Dan Bulla reimagined the Battle of Helm's Deep from Lord of the Rings, with Ferrell as a Hobbit who betrays his comrades to join the orcs, only to be beheaded. The high school drama sketch saw Ferrell as intimidating teacher Mr. Koeing, with Molly Shannon as a saucy choir teacher.
Weekend Update Joke Swap
On Weekend Update, Colin Jost and Michael Che concluded the season with their annual joke swap. Che gave Jost offensive racist material, but Jost countered with jokes about Che dating a little boy and defending Michael Jackson. The segment nearly included a barber shaving Jost's head, but they relented at the last second.
Other Sketches
Day and Padilla played a couple at an auto repair shop, where mechanics Ferrell, McCartney, and Marcello Hernández suggested rebuilding the car and demanded payment "in ass." The finale sketch featured a young woman (Veronika Slowikowska) introducing her boyfriend (Andrew Dismukes) to her family, with Ferrell's dad revealing a leather bra and panties—a sight gag that quickly faded.
Overall Impressions
While SNL didn't give Ferrell enough one-on-one time with cast members like Sherman and Padilla, his strong hosting, the opening prank, delightful cameos, and two performances from McCartney made for an above-average season finale. The new cast is coming into their own, promising an interesting 52nd season.
