SNL trolls Jeff Sessions as Forrest Gump in cold open

Saturday Night Live brought back Kate McKinnon’s Jeff Sessions to troll him as Forrest Gump — and it was amazing.

After taking a few weeks off, Saturday Night Live returned and brought the strong troll game we all missed in its absence. While the show has been away, there has been plenty to dig into and it the fun began in guessing what the cold open would discuss.

Typically, the cold open is dedicated to a political skit, with Alec Baldwin dominating most of this season and Melissa McCarthy’s Sean Spicer filling in the most recent segment.

This week it was Kate McKinnon’s Jeff Sessions taking the role of Forrest Gump to make fun of the whole Russia scandal. McKinnon was at her best as Sessions, and the bit working him as Gump — taking about his friends Kelly and Donny — played so well.

We saw Beck Bennett’s Putin make a return as well, along with a rare appearance by the host in the opening skit.

Given the huge and historic Oscars mixup with the Best Picture announcement last weekend, it was safe to assume that might make its way into the show. Whether or not that would make it into the cold open was up for grabs, as it seemed tailor-made for a skit that trolled the election and gave us a chance to see Kate McKinnon return as Hillary Clinton.

Lest we forget that McKinnon was spotted with Clinton during SNL’s break, which seemed like a skit come to life. Drama with Mike Pence’s email server was a candidate for the cold open as was anything to do with Russia and Vladimir Putin — staples of cold opens this season.

This season has been one of the best for SNL, as the show seems to be hitting its stride in a big way. After finding its footing over the last few years, the sow has been aided by a political climate that has allowed for a return to the witty, sharp counterculture comedy the helped make the show special in its heyday.

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Not everyone is a fan of the show — especially the President — but it’s hard to deny that SNL is back in a big way. This cold open is further proof that this season is one that can seemingly do no wrong.