Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Dustin Rowles | TV | February 1, 2026
Cold Open — Great news: Lorne must have seen all the articles pleading with SNL to quit it with the Trump Cold Opens, because this week, Pete Davidson appeared as … Tom Homan? Not the guy I would’ve recruited to play Homan, but it works. He speaks with members of ICE, who clearly don’t know how to do their jobs, and Homan ultimately concludes that it’s insane that he — the guy who took a $50,000 bribe and started the separating children from their families policy — is the reasonable guy in the room. Better, SNL. Much better. (Score: 6 out of 10)
Alexander Skarsgård Monologue — He really is tall. Skarsgård doesn’t spend a moment talking about himself, but instead uses the 1,000th episode of SNL to spotlight the band playing behind him (and also does a goofy sax thing). Not that funny, but generous. (Score: 5 out of 10)
Mom Confession — Padilla plays a MAGA mom who tries to confess to her children that she may have been wrong, but insists that they not react or say “I told you so,” and it proves to be hilariously impossible. Oh, this is good. We’re in a good place tonight, SNL. Keep it up. Mat sketch of the week! (Score: 8 out of 10)
Winter Olympics Promo — Focus on three Olympians, two of whom are the best in the world and one (Jane Wickline), who hates her sport (luge), is scared to death to do it, and knows that it requires no skill, just the right weight composition. The AI is bad, but the pretape is good. (Score: 6.5 out of 10)
Scandinavia Film — They did this earlier this season, where very serious actors doing very serious scenes in a very serious Scandinavian film keep breaking and laughing for the blooper reel. It’s not great, but Stellan Skarsgård does make an appearance. (Watch Here) (Score: 5 out of 10)
Immigrant Dad — Marcello’s Immigrant Dad makes another appearance, this time with his neighbor from Finland. They have very different parenting approaches. It works mostly because of another Stellan Skarsgård appearance (and Cardi B). Scores: 6 out of 10)
The Viking Raid — While chopping up Christians, a group of Vikings have a bonding moment after their leader feels left out of the fun. Pretty good, though it would have been a good opportunity to bring in another Skarsgård, Gustaf, from Vikings. (Score: 6.5 out of 10)
Weekend Update — The jokes were mostly weak, but the spirits were high, so it all kind of evened out. Meanwhile, Sarah Sherman appeared as a weather correspondent, but mostly to make fun of Colin (always a hit), and Andrew Dismukes and Ashley Padilla returned as two people who just hooked up to talk about the Super Bowl. They’re chemistry is so weirdly good. (Score: 6.5 out of 10)
Play Date — Alexander plays a pre-teen girl at a playdate who is very sweet but has a violent, throw Sarah-Sherman through the window temper. (Watch Here) (Score: 5 out of 10)
Tarzan - So, Tarzan breaks up with Jane because Tarzan begins to recognize all the red flags, like the fact that she’s a British woman who lives in the jungle with Tarzan. I’ll say this: After two weeks of limited screentime, it’s good to see more of Sarah Sherman again. (Watch Here) (Score: 5 out of 10)
Funny Boyfriend — Skarsgård plays a “funny boyfriend,” but he has a secret that comes out during the get-together: All his jokes come from Cards Against Humanity. (Score: 5.5 out of 10)
Verdict — It was a weird show where the sketches themselves were mostly just OK (except for the Mom confession), but the energy was so good and Skarsgård so likable that it ended up being enjoyable all the same. Honestly, not having James Austin Johnson’s Trump on the show probably helped a lot, and I didn’t realize how much I had missed Sarah Sherman.
I should also note that Connor Storrie, the guy from Heated Rivalry that no one had ever heard of two months ago, has already been tapped to host SNL. He will host the post-Winter Olympics Feb. 28 show, joined by Mumford & Sons. Unfortunately, that also means that SNL won’t be back until the end of the month.
