The three best sketches from Saturday Night Live with Jason Momoa

Jason Momoa hosted a holiday themed episode of Saturday Night Live last week and here are the top sketches of the night.

It is fitting that Jason Momoa hosted a very Christmas episode of Saturday Night Live.After all, the Aquaman star has been dreaming of the job since he was a kid. So this weekend, his wish came true and he was able to celebrate his early Christmas present with the rest of us.

Overall, the episode was a little uneven. That means it fits in well with the rest of season 44 that has struggled to find consistent footing. It certainly wasn’t Momoa’s fault as the enthusiasm he showed all week was visible from the opening monologue. However, some sketches had difficultly coming to a natural ending or featured timing that was off in delivering punchlines.

Nowhere was this more apparent than in the cold open. Usually one of the highlights of each week, this one failed to live up to the others despite having Mikey Day and Alex Moffat as the Trump Brothers. The relationship between the fictional duo is entertaining but is best used during the Weekend Update segments.

The biggest problem with the cold open was Robert De Niro returning as Robert Mueller. Yes, De Niro looks like Mueller. Yes, De Niro’s own political attitudes align with the rest of Saturday Night Live and the Trump criticism. But whether it was from a lack of rehearsing or lack of interest, De Niro seemed out of sorts from the start. It may be time to shelf this particular cameo or transition it into a non-speaking role that relies on an intimidating look from De Niro rather than delivering a punchline.

Certainly not every cold open can be expected to be a slam dunk. This one just happened to set the tone for an episode that was also just off the mark and unable to land smoothly. That isn’t to say there weren’t any highlights. Here are the top three sketches of the night:

First Impression

This isn’t the first time that a pretaped short is the highlight of the night. It also joins the tradition of other Chrstimas-themed pretapes that take a classic premise to weird directions. This was perhaps the best material Jason Momoa was given to work with. It didn’t rely on his physical appearance, making the left-turn the sketch takes that much more entertaining.

Beck Bennett continues to do some of his best work in these types of sketches. It also added to the growing trend of Bennett appearing without a shirt.

Them Trumps

Another highlight was another pretaped sketch. In the episode preview, we suggested this may be the week that the political humor was dialed back. While it was a longshot to come true, there was still some relief from the Trump circus. Thankfully not entirely now that we know it gave us “Them Trumps.”

A Kenan Thompson-led sketch will also be in consideration for best of the night. Those odds are substantially increased when Thompson isn’t just there for his reaction shots or to give one liners about how insane whatever situation he is in has become.

Alec Baldwin’s Trump impression wasn’t missed all that much in the weeks prior to his return last week. It was nice that Saturday Night Live was able to find a new way to satirize the president that also parodies a popular show in Empire and gets in its social commentary in short burst.

Khal Drogo’s Ghost Dojo

Like Last Night On said in the episode preview, we were going to get Jason Momoa as either Aquaman or Khal Drogo in a sketch. Perhaps if Aquaman was already in theaters and audiences were more familiar with Momoa’s take then the DC hero would have popped up. Instead, the show went with Momoa’s popular Game of Thrones character.

The talk show premise was probably the best way to get Drogo on screen considering the character hasn’t been on the show for some time now. But Saturday Night Live certainly understands the popularity of Game of Thrones and the dedication of fans, so it didn’t matter how long it’s been since Drogo was on air.

There aren’t too many jokes that land that would entertain the non-diehard GoT fans, save for an Oscars-hosting jab. The direction and timing was off at points which made the flow a little sluggish. However, Heidi Gardner as Brienne of Tarth and Kate McKinnon as King Joffrey were outstanding.

Saturday Night Live will look to bounce back with an even stronger episode next week. Matt Damon returns to host on Dec. 15 with musical guests Mark Ronsen and Miley Cyrus. Last Night On will keep you posted with updates throughout the week leading up to an episode preview and another recap of all the highlights. Stay tuned!