Scarlett Johansson becomes the first woman to host Saturday Night Live seven times in a hit-and-miss season 50 finale full of surprises.
Saturday Night Live wrapped its 50th season with a star-studded and often chaotic finale that featured Scarlett Johansson returning to host the iconic show for a record-breaking seventh time—more than any other woman in its history. While the episode had its share of laughs, misfires, and surprises, Johansson remained a steady and charismatic presence throughout.
As has become tradition, the cold open spotlighted James Austin Johnson as Donald Trump, this time delivering one-liners from Saudi Arabia while standing next to his “habibi,” Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (played by Emil Wakim). Trump mocked everything from American aviation to Morgan Wallen, ultimately ending with a wink to the audience: “See you in the fall, if we still have a country.”
Johnson closed the sketch solo with the signature “Live, from New York, it’s Saturday night!”—a fitting nod to his prominence this season.
Scarlett Johansson‘s opening monologue was a musical tribute to SNL, set to Billy Joel’s “Piano Man”. Although fans may have briefly hoped Joel would appear, it turned out to be a clever misdirect. The full cast joined in, including Sarah Sherman, whose apparent exit next season was casually dropped by Scarlett Johansson—much to Sherman’s visible surprise. The moment leaned more sentimental than comedic but avoided veering into melodrama.
The Please Don’t Destroy crew returned for a skit about escaping modern misery via a luxury vacation—until they discovered the plane was landing in Newark. With air travel fears rising, Scarlett Johansson confessed her dying regret: “That The Avengers didn’t make more money at the box office.” A chaotic malfunction followed, but Bad Bunny—as the lone air traffic controller—saved the day. It was one of the group’s stronger outings this season.
Another clever sketch featured couples at a bar—Ego Nwodim and Marcello Hernández, plus Scarlett Johansson and Bad Bunny—engaged in what looked like bilingual bickering. The women fought in broken Spanish while the men bonded in secret, their furious-sounding dialogue hilariously translated via subtitles.
The Straight Bowen series made a return with Bowen Yang’s alter ego romantically pursued by Scarlett Johansson—even booting her real-life husband Colin Jost from an elevator. In typical Straight Bowen fashion, he ultimately ditched Scarlett Johansson for Emily Ratajkowski, teaching Scarlett Johansson the harsh lesson: “Never get your back blown out by a gay guy.”
Mike Myers appeared once more this season in an elevator skit that also featured a surprise impersonation of Kanye West by Kenan Thompson. The scene brought back memories of their infamous Hurricane Katrina telethon appearance. West joked, “I’m in the KKK now,” in a savage send-up that skewered his recent controversies. There was even a brief reference to the ongoing Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial—a strange note given Myers was unexpectedly named during jury selection the day prior.
Bad Bunny delivered two high-concept performances. First, he and his dancers dressed as construction workers atop a city skyline beam. Later, he performed with “RaiNao” in a graffiti-splashed women’s restroom, with the pair getting intimate during a sultry lapdance sequence.
On Weekend Update, Ego Nwodim reprised her wild Ms. Eggy persona, roasting Newark Airport and earning big laughs. Her FCC-fined character dropped outrageous lines, including: “If you don’t take a Benadryl and shut yo’ gay ass up!” While not her best performance of the year, it was a welcome return.
The annual Jost-Che joke swap brought more boundary-pushing hilarity. Michael Che forced Jost to publicly beg for Lorne Michaels’ retirement and apologize to Scarlett Johansson for a previous crude joke. But Jost got his revenge—until Che tricked him into saying the N-word, donning lipstick, and offering oral favors to Michaels on air. A brutal finish that had the crowd gasping and roaring.
Another sketch skewered sexist celebrity interviews, putting Johansson and Sarah Sherman through a gauntlet of absurdly invasive questions while their male co-star coasted through softball queries. Though it started strong, it fizzled without a punchy ending.
The finale concluded with a grotesquely funny Victorian luncheon full of bizarre dishes like “BLTs” (bunnies and little turtles) and hamster sashimi. Despite some technical hiccups and cast members breaking character, it was a decent capper.
The final moments were celebratory, if not perfect. Jost gave his wife a big kiss and flowers, while Scarlett Johansson paid tribute to Lorne Michaels. As for SNL’s future—who’s returning, how long Michaels will stay, or what the upcoming UK version will look like—that remains to be seen.
But one thing is clear: Scarlett Johansson’s historic seventh hosting gig cemented her status as a Saturday Night Live legend.
