Ryan Gosling returned to host Saturday Night Live for the fourth time this week, delivering one of the season's best episodes. The show opened with a cold open skewering US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, played by Colin Jost, who boasted about military operations in Iran while refusing to call it a war. The sketch also featured Ashley Padilla as Kristi Noem, the former homeland security chief, in a biting parody that referenced her controversial past.
Gosling's monologue was thrown off track by the presence of Harry Styles in the front row, who claimed he was there to take notes. Gosling attempted a dance number to Styles's song 'Sign of the Times' but gave up, singing a bar of 'I'm Just Ken' instead. The actor's tendency to break character added to the humour throughout the night.
In one sketch, Gosling played a weird wedding guest who clinks his glass repeatedly, forcing the newlyweds to kiss. Another sketch featured a fake ad for Otezla, a psoriasis medication that turns out to be a sentient alien blob. A medieval fantasy sketch saw cyclopic warriors failing to solve a simple riddle, with Padilla struggling to keep a straight face.
The highlight was a Willy Wonka-inspired sketch where Gosling played a baker whose factory tour reveals a dough creature hanging from a noose, explained as part of their mating season. The mix of live-action and animation impressed. Weekend Update was shortened but included more jabs at Noem.
