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In a milestone moment for Saturday Night Live, the show celebrated its 1,000th regular episode by welcoming back a familiar face with a knack for stirring up laughs. Pete Davidson made a surprise appearance during the cold open, portraying the White House Border Czar, Tom Homan, amidst the backdrop of ongoing tensions in Minneapolis.
Davidson, stepping into the shoes of Homan, humorously navigated the complexities of his character’s mission, claiming he was dispatched “in response to the chaotic situation in Minnesota” to engage with “ICE unit commanders to clarify the mission objectives.” Yet, these clarifications took an amusingly awkward turn.
“I’m Tom Homan,” Davidson began, setting the tone for his satirical take. “I know many of you are curious about why Greg Bovino, my predecessor, was let go. Let me assure you, it wasn’t due to him doing a bad job or lying publicly about the shooting of an American citizen, or even dressing like a Nazi. The issue was that he was caught on film doing these things.”
Attempting to regain control, Davidson’s Homan insisted on a return to focus. “I’m here now, and we need to tighten up. Let’s start by recalling our mission objective. Who can tell me why we’re in Minneapolis?”
The responses he received were a mix of confusion and hilarity, with one pretend ICE agent opting for “Pass,” and another humorously guessing, “This could be wrong, but Army.”
“That’s close,” Davidson replied. “We’re here to detain and deport illegal immigrants who have committed crimes.”
“That is literally the first I’m hearing of that,” an agent responded, prompting Davidson’s character to try — again — to redirect.
“Forget everything you were told before. We’re not here to intimidate, racially profile or violate anyone’s rights. So again, what are we looking for?” he asked. One agent confidently replied, “Epstein files.”
“Nope, we actually just released those to distract from this, you know, which is ironic because we did this to distract from those,” Davidson shot back.
Davidson was a cast member on SNL from 2014 to 2022 and has remained a frequent presence since his departure. His appearance marked his second cameo of Season 51, following a November 8 Weekend Update segment where he and Colin Jost joked about the Staten Island ferry they famously bought together.
The January 31 episode was hosted by Alexander Skarsgård, who made his SNL hosting debut, with Cardi B returning for her second turn as musical guest. (She previously appeared on the April 7, 2018 episode alongside Chadwick Boseman.)
During his monologue, Skarsgård poked fun at his Swedish roots. “Now, when I was a kid, I loved watching this show from my igloo back in Stockholm,” he joked. “But during these monologues, I would never focus on the host. I was more interested in the band back there in the background, sometimes laughing, more often than not.” He later joined the SNL band onstage to play the saxophone.
Skarsgård’s father, Stellan Skarsgård, also made surprise appearances in two sketches. In the first, Stellan played the father of a Swedish sibling duo portrayed by Alexander and Chloe Fineman, culminating in an absurd bathtub reunion where his character announced he was ready to die.
Stellan later returned in a new installment of SNL’s “Immigrant Dad Talk Show,” alongside Marcello Hernández and Cardi B, who played Hernández’s character’s wife.
After Stellan’s first sketch, SNL announced that Heated Rivalry star Connor Storrie will host the February 28 episode, with Mumford & Sons serving as musical guest.
The milestone episode closed with a tribute to Catherine O’Hara. Season 51 has already featured an impressive lineup of hosts, including Bad Bunny, Amy Poehler, Sabrina Carpenter, Miles Teller, Nikki Glaser, Glen Powell, Melissa McCarthy, Josh O’Connor, Ariana Grande, Finn Wolfhard, and Teyana Taylor.