Saturday Night Live Recap: Ryan Gosling Delivers Again

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Hosting Saturday Night Live, Ryan Gosling delivers exactly what you’d expect: a fun, lighthearted show with plenty of moments where cast members break character and laugh. While too much of that can be distracting – sometimes it covered up good jokes – it also created a really positive and collaborative atmosphere. The cast clearly enjoyed the relaxed energy, making for a better-than-average episode. It was also smart to avoid repeating popular sketches he’s done before, like the ones about aliens, the font ‘Papyrus,’ and Beavis and Butt-Head.

Ryan Gosling hosted Saturday Night Live for the fourth time, and he immediately used his opening monologue to build excitement for next week’s show with Harry Styles. Styles even appeared briefly during the monologue, sitting in the audience and playfully unnerving Gosling with his calm demeanor. While the bit was amusing – especially the repeated cutaways to Styles nodding along to Gosling’s slightly shaky performance – it meant the monologue didn’t really focus on Gosling himself. There was a quick mention of his movie Project Hail Mary, but otherwise, the monologue felt like it could have happened on any week leading up to a Harry Styles-hosted episode.

Okay, let’s be honest, Ryan Gosling seemed a little…relaxed during this episode. He brought pretty much the same vibe to every character, which was a bit of a letdown. Except, and this is a big exception, his baker, Monty McTreat, was brilliant. Seriously, think Willy Wonka, but with a dark twist – his Oompa Loompa-like helpers sacrifice themselves every spring to help women and children. The image of the first hanging corpse? Worth the entire wait, honestly. There were also sketches with great ideas that just didn’t quite land, like the one about the hotel charges. I definitely chuckled at the ‘goo goo man’ concept, and Jeremy Cuthane’s fellow enthusiast was a highlight, but something just felt…off. It needed a little something extra to really stick the landing.

Gosling is genuinely funny and likeable, and it’s clear the cast really enjoys being around him. He’s hard not to love, especially with that sweet birthday message to Sarah Sherman at the end.

Here are the highlights:

Wedding Tradition

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=VL7K1ZdNpRw

Ryan Gosling’s character, Donathan, a wedding guest in a gold suit, was the first of several appearances to make the host burst out laughing at inappropriate times. In this instance, his laughter actually enhanced the scene. Donathan has a funny obsession with getting people to kiss – anyone from the bride and groom to her siblings. The way he takes the tradition of clinking glasses to encourage kissing to an absurd extreme – especially with the silly words he uses – was genuinely hilarious. It sounds ridiculous just writing it out, but I couldn’t stop laughing.

Otezla

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=_3QMSVD_PoY

The most unusual thing about this ad is its use of a real brand name – Skyrizi – instead of a made-up competitor. Aside from that, I loved how strangely it portrays Otezla as a powerful, almost supernatural force that bends the rules of time and reality. It appears as a simple pill, but subtly changes when unobserved, and seems to exist throughout history, unable to be created or destroyed. The ad features Gosling playfully stating that nine out of ten dermatologists recommend Otezla, while the tenth… well, he had a much more dramatic reaction. This quirky approach definitely appeals to me.

Cyclops

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=Yrd1vs0mHWQ

I was completely captivated by this scene! Three cyclopes stumbled upon a locked door, hoping for treasure, but they had to solve a riddle first. It was hilarious watching the two maidens, Veronika Slowikowska and Ashley Padilla, desperately try to help them. They kept giving hints, but the cyclopes just wouldn’t get it, repeatedly asking, “Can you open the door?” Honestly, I completely understood why Ashley Padilla started cracking up – imagining those guys just turning around and shuffling back after every failed attempt would be enough to make anyone lose it!

Weekend Update

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

This week’s update wasn’t the strongest of the season, covering topics like Kristi Noem, Kalshi, Iran, and a particularly intense rivalry. RFK Jr. bears a striking resemblance to Walton Goggins, if he were air-fried. There were a few funny, albeit slightly crude, jokes – the one about the dead deer was a highlight – but nothing truly memorable. The only guests were Kenan Thompson as his Pastor character and his bandleader, Teddy (James Austin Johnson). Thompson does a great job with the pastor, who keeps getting distracted while trying to deliver a message of unity, but I especially enjoyed Teddy’s strange, made-up sayings and Johnson’s energetic, quirky performance, always delivered with a smile.

Passing Notes

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=2yE5u0f3msE

Padilla carries this sketch as a teacher desperately trying to stop her students from passing notes. Naturally, the notes end up being mostly about her and the principal (played by Gosling), hilariously detailing their embarrassing moments. A lot of the humor seems improvised, likely because the writers kept changing the notes and letting the actors react to fresh jokes. I liked the nod to John Mulaney’s style, but there’s a lot of laughter in this episode, maybe too much. I personally wanted the focus to be on the funny, sad details in the notes themselves. Still, it’s hard not to laugh along with Padilla when she finds a bag of spaghetti labeled “lunch #2” in her desk and bursts into uncontrollable giggles.

Cut for Time

This week’s ‘Saturday Night Live’ featured Jost playing Fox News host Pete Hegseth, adopting a familiar, overly-confident persona to discuss the situation in Iran. The show also included a cameo from Padilla as Kristi Noem, who jokingly claimed she was fired from her position at the Department of Homeland Security. The funniest moment for me was Noem’s absurd line, “You miss 100 percent of the dogs you don’t shoot”—a darkly humorous statement that perfectly encapsulates her public image.

• “I’m not going to kiss my wife’s poozy.” “Wouldn’t kill ya.”

• “The rules are the rules!” Nice work from Jane Wickline in this moment.

• “They should’ve known something was up when Epstein’s ranch was all ponies.”

• “That’s not what you told me. You said you wanted her to Sheryl on your Lee until you Ralphed.”

To be honest, Martin Herlihy’s humor doesn’t always land for me, and his show ‘Lies’ is mostly just mildly funny. However, it was a clever idea to have him disguise himself as Colin Jost and appear on Late Night with Seth Meyers.

• Not much Ben Marshall this week, but we got tons of Padilla and Mikey Day.

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2026-03-08 22:55