Bowen Yang says goodbye to 'SNL' with help from Ariana Grande, Cher and Aidy Bryant

Just a small implicit a twelvemonth aft an all-time show arsenic “Saturday Night Live” big (one of the champion of that season, information beryllium told), Ariana Grande returned again to amusement disconnected immoderate of her talents: mimicry and comic timing, creation moves, and, of course, a spectacular singing voice.

But she besides showed a batch of grace by ceding the spotlight to her “Wicked” co-star Bowen Yang, who confirmed earlier this week’s occurrence that helium is exiting “SNL” midway done his eighth season. At respective turns of this week’s show, peculiarly successful a closing sketch astir a retiring Delta Sky Club worker that served arsenic Yang’s affectional goodbye, it was wide that Grande understood the assignment: this was Yang’s night, not hers.

Which isn’t to accidental Grande wasn’t great. She started beardown with an “All I Want For Christmas” takeoff successful her monologue, played an Elf connected the Shelf who’s been chopped successful fractional successful a enactment radical sketch, exchanged a costume psyche spot with Marcello Hernández arsenic 1 of 2 melodramatic creation instructors, and possibly astir memorably successful this outing, played Macaulay Culkin‘s quality Kevin successful an highly bloody parody of “Home Alone.”

She dated The Grinch (Mikey Day) successful a “Love Is Blind” reunion sketch, played a justice successful a courtroom country featuring Black Santa Claus (Kenan Thompson) earlier portraying Katy Perry and Celine Dion successful a promo for a Peacock peculiar that mashes up antithetic singers similar the viral David Bowie/Bing Crosby “Little Drummer Boy” video.

But successful his past amusement arsenic a formed member, Yang got to look successful astir each sketch arsenic well, from a little quality successful the “Home Alone” sketch to playing Yoko Ono successful the Peacock peculiar skit to reprising his Trend Forecaster quality connected “Weekend Update” with erstwhile formed subordinate Aidy Bryant.

If Grande wasn’t arsenic locked successful arsenic past clip (she broke quality laughing a fewer times), it didn’t substance overmuch due to the fact that she was arsenic funny, energetic and eerily close successful each her impressions. It felt precise overmuch similar Grande was determination little to beforehand the caller “Wicked” movie than to assistance a person accidental goodbye.

Musical impermanent Cher appeared successful Yang’s Delta Sky sketch arsenic his brag and performed “DJ Play a Christmas Song” and “Run Run Rudolph,” the second introduced by Grande arsenic her Castrati character, Antonio. A rubric paper earlier the goodbyes honored Rob Reiner, who was killed with his woman Michele Singer Reiner successful their location past week.

Not surprisingly, President Trump (James Austin Johnson) had a batch to accidental successful a vacation code to the federation portion besides hugging a Christmas histrion (“Remember erstwhile I did this with flag? I’m hugging histrion now.”) and speechmaking his signifier directions retired loud, an absorbing caller wrinkle to Johnson’s masterful impression. Trump reminded the state that “Arctic immigrants are coming successful done our chimneys and stealing our beverage and cookies” and discussed the precocious voted connected sanction alteration to the Kennedy Center, present “The Trump-Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts No Homo,” saying it is conscionable the beginning. His sanction volition beryllium connected the Trump Washington Monument, the Trump Lincoln Memorial and “Big Elphaba,” his sanction for the Statue of Liberty. Why truthful galore names connected things? “We had to instrumentality it disconnected truthful galore files,” helium said, a notation to the much-redacted, recently released Epstein Files. Johnson’s content is getting slurrier and adjacent much meta, but continues to present connected random popular civilization references, which this week included the Indigo Girls, “The Hunger Games” and the videogame “Metal Gear Solid.”

Grande’s monologue concisely touched connected the thought of bringing backmost aged sketches specified arsenic “Domingo” from her past quality earlier declaring cheekily, “When thing is perfect, it doesn’t request a sequel.” She talked astir however hard it is to find gifts for radical she doesn’t cognize well, similar her cousin’s boyfriend, Steve, which led to a full euphony fig to the tune of “All I Want for Christmas,” including Yang and different formed members giving suggestions connected gifts similar backmost massage coupons oregon a container of earthy oysters. The lyrics weren’t each casual to recognize unless you had captions enabled, but Grande sang the heck retired of the Mariah Carey song.

Best sketch of the night: Take a bow, Bowen

Was it the funniest sketch of the night? No, that would astir apt beryllium the Elf connected the Shelf enactment radical oregon the “Love is Blind” reunion. But Yang’s past sketch, astir an aged Delta Sky Club idiosyncratic passing retired eggnog and moving his past shift, was heartfelt and sweet. Even a casual instrumentality of Yang and “SNL” would beryllium hard pressed not to get choked up by Yang talking astir his clip connected the amusement to his woman (Grande), who replied, “All the ovum nog you’ve made implicit the years. Some of it was great. Some of it was rotten.” “And a batch of it got cut,” helium replied. Bowen broke down a fewer times portion expressing his emotion for the radical who enactment connected “SNL” and sang done tears a mentation of “Please Come Home for Christmas” with Grande. “Egg nog is benignant of similar maine — it’s not for everyone, but the radical who similar it are my benignant of people,” helium said to riotous applause. When helium said helium wanted to spell retired connected top, she responded, “Oh, everyone knows you’re a bottom.” The capper to the sketch: Cher appearing arsenic his Delta brag to archer him, “Everyone thought you were a small excessively gay. But, you cognize what? You’re cleanable for me.”

Also good: The vacation duets you didn’t cognize you needed

When you’ve got Grande connected board, it’s hard to defy falling backmost connected tons of personage impressions, particularly if they impact singing. For this piece, random performers are paired up for duets to effort to replicate the magic of David Bowie and Bing Crosby’s “Little Drummer Boy” to varying degrees of success. Grande and Johnson were paired up twice: arsenic Katy Perry and Bob Dylan and past again to adjacent the sketch arsenic Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion. It’s intolerable to overstate however bully Grande is astatine mimicking different singing voices, but the astonishment present is however good Johnson keeps with her arsenic Bocelli. Other standouts: Hernández arsenic Bad Bunny, a backflipping Benson Boone (it was apt a stunt idiosyncratic and not a formed member, we ne'er spot his face) and Veronika Slowikowska arsenic Bjork.

‘Weekend Update’ winner: Mistletoe, you are connected watch!

Kam Patterson did good arsenic Michael Che’s 12-year-old nephew Tyson, who goes backmost and distant betwixt being a saccharine kid and threatening Santa Claus for not bringing him a motorcycle for Christmas past year. And this year’s vacation gag swap was weirdly one-sided with lone Michael Che penning heretofore-unseen jokes for “Update” co-host Colin Jost to read. But Bryant returning to reunite with Yang for their arch Trend Forecasters spot won the week. They targeted mistletoe, philharmonic intros that spell “1, 2, 3, 4!” and successful Chinese Trends, orangish chicken. The duo repeated their catchphrase, “Go to bed, b—!” to each of these outgoing trends earlier declaring that waving pridefulness flags, Marge Simpson hairsbreadth and Michael Che are out. Of course, a stunned Michael Che was shown with a large bluish wig and small pridefulness flags successful his hands.