SNL Recap: Finn Wolfhard Gets By With a Little Help From His Friends

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Everyone noticed Finn Wolfhard‘s faint facial hair – a sign he’s growing up! With Stranger Things finished, the actor is ready to show audiences a new side of himself. He jokes that it’s amazing 400 million people watched him go through puberty. Hosting Saturday Night Live for the first time is a perfect way for him to step outside the role of Mike Wheeler and establish himself as a performer. Wolfhard seems well-suited for the job; he’s already demonstrated a knack for comedy and even helped Bill Hader land a role in It: Chapter Two because of his enthusiasm. He proved his comedic timing early in the show with a perfectly executed spit take after claiming the drink was too spicy.

Finn Wolfhard appeared a bit anxious at first. He seemed to relax when his fellow actors, Gaten Matarazzo and Caleb McLaughlin, came on stage with him. He did a good job with all his characters – he briefly played Mike Wheeler from Stranger Things, a humorous Harry Potter, an irritated space emperor, and an overly confident video game streamer. However, he didn’t quite seem to fully settle into the role of host, as if something was preventing him from fully taking charge.

This episode was the first since Bowen Yang’s departure, and I have to admit I was wrong about him easily replacing the previous cast members who left – I really miss him! Despite his absence, though, the show was quite good. It started strong with a cold open that humorously highlighted the harshness of Trump’s cabinet, featuring Colin Jost as the immature Pete Hegseth and Ashley Padilla as Kristi Noem looking for ICE agents. They had a funny bit about the type of person they were looking for: someone with a wider neck than head, wearing a Punisher T-shirt, and prone to anger. The only weak spot was the final sketch, which seemed to be based on the rock climber attempting to scale a skyscraper. It felt a little random, like a strange New Year’s resolution.

Beyond the fun cameos by Sabrina Carpenter and Jason Momoa, I really enjoyed seeing some of the supporting cast get more focus this week. Though Ashley Padilla is always great when she’s the main focus, it was a welcome change to see more of Jeremy Culhane, who’s now playing Yang’s version of JD Vance, and the delightful Veronika Slowikowska, who perfectly played a down-to-earth and relatable character.

Here are the highlights:

Heated Wizardry

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=X2FAizaEkls

Okay, look, we’ve all seen a lot of takes on the whole ‘Heated Rivalry’ thing lately, and honestly, I was starting to get tired of it. This parody, though? It landed just before it could become annoying, and I’m so glad it did. It basically asks the question, “What if the new Harry Potter series completely abandoned J.K. Rowling’s original ideas?” And, surprisingly, I think it’s an improvement! Ben Marshall and Finn Wolfhard play Harry and Ron as… let’s just say very touchy teammates – it’s all part of a series supposedly “written entirely by girls who wear tails.” And the best part? Jason Momoa shows up as Hagrid and delivers the line, “You’re a homo, Harry.” Seriously. It’s brilliantly weird. It also got me wondering… is Lorne Michaels just casually texting people to swing by 30 Rock whenever he sees them nearby on Find My Friends? Because that’s what it felt like with this surprise appearance.

Stranger Things Promo

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=fmohHVMMN_o

Even though Stranger Things has finished, Netflix is still finding ways to use the show’s popularity. A recent sketch featured ideas for new sequels, prequels, and spin-offs. Highlights included “The Wheeler Report,” a funny take with Chloe Fineman as Nancy Wheeler investigating the OJ trial, and “Oops! All Mike’s Dad.” The standout sketch was “Mike in Manhattan,” a parody of Sex and the City starring Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler. Gaten Matarazzo and Caleb McLaughlin returned as adult versions of Dustin and Lucas, although Will Byers was notably absent – still stuck in a never-ending coming-out storyline. The promo even joked about “Conformity Gate,” a fan theory that a secret Stranger Things finale would appear on Netflix on January 7th (which didn’t happen). At least fans got to see Kenan Thompson play Eleven!

Weekend Update

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=vHHBrB0qEv4

This week’s Weekend Update was surprisingly strong, especially considering how difficult it’s been to find humor in the news. A particularly good moment was Colin Jost’s joke about Scarlett Johansson, which also poked fun at himself. Michael Che also landed a great joke about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s comments on Donald Trump’s diet, saying he understood how Trump was still alive, followed by a visual gag referencing the attempt on Trump’s life, described as ‘a slight breeze.’

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=kOieikmPWYs

Jane Wickline was fantastic as Tamara, a quirky woman whose New Year’s resolution about buttons is hilariously strange, and she really shines at playing subtly odd characters. I didn’t fully understand the football references in Kam Patterson’s portrayal of Michael Irvin, but he has a really engaging personality – though it’s hard to ignore his involvement with the Kill Tony show.

Space Emperor

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=Mg0yjTB3Ipw

An emperor named Wolfhard is seated on his throne, surrounded by his devoted followers. However, one of them, Mikey Day, whose sole duty is to provide snacks, keeps offering increasingly silly and distracting treats. Day’s over-the-top, cartoonishly loyal performance is funny by itself, but the real highlight is watching Wolfhard struggle to maintain composure. There’s a particularly amusing moment where Day offers him another soft snack, and Wolfhard reacts with genuine surprise, as if the moment wasn’t planned. It’s easy to imagine fans are already editing together clips of Day feeding Wolfhard a gooey, syrup-like space fruit.

Guy’s Girl

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=0leRyNAwW68

Okay, so picture this: a typical guys’ night gets a serious shake-up when one of the dudes brings his girlfriend. But she’s not what you’d expect. Veronika Slowikowska is fantastic as this character who basically is one of the guys. Seriously, she’s rocking a Bears jersey, she’s loud, a little irritating, totally ‘bro-ey,’ but somehow, you can’t help but like her. What really grabbed me was Slowikowska’s performance – her expressions, her vocal range (she does multiple voices!), and the way she just throws herself into these wild, escalating situations. She’s all over the place, chugging beers, playfully hiding her boyfriend’s face… it’s chaotic and hilarious. And the story of how they met? Pure gold. Apparently, she literally pantsed him in a Starbucks – and he was into it! It’s a fantastic detail that instantly tells you everything you need to know about their relationship.

Cut for Time

Huge props to Finn Wolfhard’s stylist! That purple suit with the navy shirt and ribbon tie was a fantastic look during his monologue.

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2026-01-18 22:56