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The season 51 finale of Saturday Night Live took place last night (May 16) where famous SNL alum Will Ferrell hosted the show, making it the actor's sixth time since leaving the cast in 2002.
He was joined alongside Paul McCartney who was the musical guest, as the legendary artist performed his songs, 'Days We Left Behind,' and 'Band on the Run,' plus a surprise third song as the credits rolled.
The finale went out with a bang, as the cold open saw James Austin Johnson's Trump having a dream where the ghost of deceased child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein (played by Ferrell) pays him a visit, while Aziz Ansari reprised his role as FBI director Kash Patel. Then during the Weekend Update segment, Colin Jost and Michael Che continued their end of season tradition of swapping jokes.
Here are 5 of the biggest moments you missed this week..
The ghost of Jeffrey Epstein pays Trump a visit in cold open
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The cold open of the season finale saw a Christmas Carol-inspired skit where James Austin Johnson's Trump is napping in the Oval Office when the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein played by Will Ferrell appears.
"Don't worry, Donald: It's me, your best friend, Jeffrey Epstein!" Ferrell said, who then gives the president a glimpse into the future showing Ashley Padilla as Kristi Noem selling vacuums on the Home Shopping Network saying the "best way to clean up that mess your dog made … besides a gun.”
We also see Colin Jost's Pete Hegseth and Aziz Ansari's Kash Patel on podcast called Kashcast, with beer bongs and the FBI director was selling a cologne made from sweat from his Senate hearings, while Hegseth is selling “Poland Sprung,” “the first-ever hard water.”
Cut back to the Oval Office, where Ferrell's Epstein tells Trump, "Just remember, no matter how many wars you start, or how bad you tank the economy as a distraction, people will always associate you with me. And that, my dear, close friend, is a beautiful thing."
The pair then performed a duet of “Just The Two of Us” by Bill Withers and Grover Washington Jr.
Trump has not been accused of criminal wrongdoing, and appearing in the Epstein files does not suggest otherwise.
Previously, Trump has said he knew he disgraced financier and sex offender but says their friendship ended long before Epstein became a convicted sex offender.
Will Ferrell's opening monologue - with Chad Smith and Paul McCartney cameos
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At the beginning, Ferrell's' doppelgänger Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers walks out in a suit similar to Ferrell's where he kicks off the monologue saying he was a cast member for seven years, and hosting for the sixth time "feels like coming home."
The real Ferrell then suddenly makes an appearance, where he declares, "He pushed me down backstage and I fell, hard. Lorne (Michaels) had to give me mouth-to-mouth!"
There was also a cameo from musical guest Paul McCartney who shouted from the audience at one point, "What do you think you're doing Chad?" as he gets on stage he tells Smith, "Get you a** behind the drums!" much to Ferrell's amusement.
Cast List 2 - with Molly Shannon cameo
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A sketch from 2019 that was cut for time was revived for a sequl this episode, where Will Ferrell played a dramatic high school teacher Mr. Koeing. Ahead of the anxious students anticipating the Grease cast list, the teacher taunts them - with Molly Shannon returning in a cameo as the choir teacher.
Weekend Update: Michael Che and Colin Jost joke swap tradition
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In true finale tradition, Weekend Update hosts Michael Che and Colin Jost did their biannual joke swap where the comedians give each other jokes to read on the air for the first time.
Some of the jokes were about the new autistic Barbie, erectile dysfunction, and Sinners star Michael B. Jordan and then at one point Jost pledged his season’s salary to Dr. Umar Johnson’s school for Black boys and offering up his Staten island Ferry as a “free one-way trip back to the motherland.” As for Che, the jokes he read out were on the topics of erectile dysfunction and Michael Jackson biopic controversies.
Jost was forced to read joke about Ye and Hitler and to make up from the joke, he read from the cue card how he would be “sacrificing” his signature hair. “That’s right: I’m shaving it off,” he pledged. “Send in the barber!”
Enter the barber, but much to Jost' relief he was spared at the last second. “You was really gonna do it?” Che questioned. “Man, you are the greatest comedian of all time.”
Although he didn't flinch, the host admitted at the end of the segment, "I was so scared."
Paul McCartney performance - surprise encore during credits
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Paul McCartney was the musical guest this episode where he performed his songs, 'Days We Left Behind,' and 'Band on the Run,"
Usually, musical guests only perform two songs, but during the credits McCartney rejoined the band where he performed a third, the track ‘Coming Up’ from his 1980 album McCartney II.
Why not read...
- SNL: 5 major moments you missed from 2 May's show
- SNL fans think Aziz Ansari ‘nailed’ his Kash Patel impression
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