Alexander Skarsgård Hosts Disappointing 1,000th Episode

Saturday Night Live celebrated 1,000 episodes this week, but it was unfortunately a huge letdown.

Although the 1,000th episode, hosted by Alexander Skarsgård, was filled with guest appearances and so much promise, it fell short of enough. While last week’s SNL episode was disappointing, there were at least a few highlights, but tonight, there were no winners. From the monologue to the sketches, everything fell flat.

SNL ICE Cold Open

This week’s cold open was one of the only passable sketches this week for a show of its caliber, especially in such a huge milestone episode. Amid turmoil in Minnesota, SNL’s President Donald Trump sent border czar Tom Homan (played by Pete Davidson) to oversee operations on the ground. He addressed ICE members in a mock briefing, and the officers were depicted as volatile and ill-prepared. Davidson’s impression of Homan, as well as Mikey Day, Kenan Thompson, and James Austin Johnson’s portrayals of clueless ICE agents, were the only real highlights of the night.

​​​Weekend Update Was Saved By Special Guest Star

Last week’s Weekend Update surprisingly hit, and while it wasn’t as great this week, it was better than the majority of bits that aired during the 1,000th episode. Colin Jost celebrated “Dry January” finally being over as the clock struck midnight. During the news broadcast, the segment cut to Sarah Sherman, who was the new weather forecaster. While standing out in the cold in front of Rockefeller Center, she runs into 30 Rock’s Jack McBrayer.

Skarsgård Is Angry Agnes

A sketch later in the episode focused on Agnes, a preteen girl played by Skarsgård, who had just moved from Iowa and was struggling to fit in. Hoping to help her adjust, Agnes’ mom (Ashley Padilla) arranges a playdate with a few other girls (Sherman, Chloe Fineman, Jane Wickline, and Veronika Slowikowska), who awkwardly try to break the ice by asking her about Bluey, TikTok, and Harry Styles.

However, Agnes has a bit of a temper and screams at the girls every time they mention something she doesn’t know about. She even threw Sherman’s character out of the window three times. This skit was odd and was beneath Saturday Night Live’s usual standards. It wasn’t particularly funny, nor did it have any real point to it.​​​​​​​

SNL Gives Makes Disney’s Tarzan Look Like A Masterpiece

Saturday Night Live takes on Tarzan (Skarsgård). The Disney-inspired iteration of the character is breaking up with Jane (Sherman). Tarzan believes that she had way too many red flags and told her that there was something wrong with her if she wanted to be with someone like him. The sketch ended with Jane walking straight out the door, forgetting that they were in a treehouse and plummeting to the ground.

This segment had so much potential, as SNL has had some very successful Disney spoofs before, such as Lindsay Lohan’s “Real Housewives of Disney” parody. Unfortunately, Tarzan lacked the humor and charm of its predecessors.

Saturday Night Live airs every Saturday at 11:30 PM ET and 8:30 PM PT.