Pedro Pascal took to hosting Saturday Night Live, and I got to see the show in person! It was such a fun experience (and my third time at the live taping). While you can hear me laughing throughout some of the show, that doesn’t mean that I didn’t go home and rewatch all the sketches from Pascal’s hosting gig, with musical guest Coldplay.
It’s not surprising, to me at least, that Pascal was an incredible host. He’s a natural on stage, he knows how to commit to the bit. It lead to one of the funnier episodes of Saturday Night Live in recent years. And that’s coming from someone like me who still regularly watches the series.
So let’s break down all of Pascal’s sketches and rank them, even though they are all, honestly, incredibly good.
8. The Big Hollywood Quiz
Saturday Night Live loves a game show bit, and the call out in this sketch was pretty great. The idea is that these three contestants (Pedro Pascal, Ego Nwodim, and Chloe Fineman) are all experts when it comes to cinema. When the game show host (Bowen Yang) asks them questions about movies made in the last few years, all of them can’t answer because they are the kind of film “snobs” (if you will) who only know what they’ve deemed as the classics.
It’s simple, funny, and a testament to how strong the night was that this ranks as last place.
7. Waking Up
As someone who has a bit of a Californian accent still, I get it. The Valley girl accent has evolved, and so when a man gets in an accident and can’t remember his life, he just starts embodying the ways of the Californian. And it works to help him figure out who he is. This is one of those bits where you might be confused at first, but then you slowly just get on board. And hearing Pascal call himself hot is pretty great.
Again, this night had so many great sketches that something like this is towards the low end of quality. That’s saying a lot, because this would have been a stand-out for other hosts.
6. Wing Pit
The Super Bowl is coming and you need wings, right? What about a house of wings and a dump truck of ranch? Well, that’s what Wing Pit offers to get you ready for your Super Bowl party. It’s very weird and funny to watch a bunch of people just get pelted with wings. Pascal says he thinks they’re good on the wings at one point, and it blows up into even more wings being delivered for their celebration.
And if you think I’m talking about a lot of wings, that’s because…well, there were a lot of wings!
5. Italian Waiters
This is mean! But it is also one of two sketches where Pedro Pascal played an Italian man, and so it’s content for me and my Italian mother specifically. The idea is simply that waiters will be mean to one woman but really nice to all her friends, in the hopes that the larger group of friends will tip better because of the compliments. Poor Sarah Sherman just had to hear constantly how she’s “smart” or “funny” while her friends were told they were beautiful and models.
It’s so funny and yet so mean in a way that you’ll keep thinking about it even after it’s over. And I love Italian waiter Pedro Pascal.
4. Protective Mom
Did I expect to see Pedro Pascal with fake nails as an overbearing mother? No. Do I love it? Absolutely. It’s so aggressive in a way that mothers can be, and making fun of Chloe Fineman constantly is hilarious to watch unfold. When a son (Marcello Hernández) comes home with his girlfriend (Fineman), his mother (Pedro Pascal) judges her. And rightfully so. She brought home vegan sliders and took her son to the doctor without his mother knowing.
As the daughter of an overprotective mother? I loved it. And watching Pascal and Hernández speak Spanish and clearly talk poorly of Fineman was so funny?? It’s just all-around an easy and funny sketch that worked, especially with that Alfred Dunner-esque look Pascal had on.
3. Lisa from Temecula
Lisa (Ego Nwodim) is in town for her sister’s (Punkie Johnson) birthday, and so all her friends are there to hang out. But Lisa is a character that not everyone is ready. She makes the restaurant cook her steak extra well done, and then shakes the entire table to cut it. It is a classic end of the night sketch that just left us howling, because there was wine everywhere. The poor little sangria pitcher that could was fighting for its life.
My god did I think that that sangria was done for. No really, if you hear someone just fully losing it in the audience, it was me. It’s so simple, and yet everyone was laughing, and so we were all laughing in turn? I love Lisa so much.
2. HBO Mario Kart Trailer
The Last of Us is airing on HBO, but what if they did another gritty video game? Okay, the video game itself isn’t gritty, but this retelling would be. I’m talking about Pedro Pascal as Mario Mario. The world is run by Bowser (Kenan Thompson). This sketch is so absolutely off the rails in the best way and was surprisingly appealing? Like…I think I’d watch this?
Was Pedro Pascal hot as Mario Mario? Obviously. Do I like this more than the Chris Pratt movie already? Also obviously. This is the Italian representation my ancestors wanted.
1. Fancam Assembly
There was no real competition here, even though I love all these sketches like my children now. But seeing fancams of Pedro Pascal-as-teacher was a gift I didn’t know I needed. The idea is just that a bunch of kids are making fancams of their teachers. The school doesn’t know if that’s mean or what it actually is saying. And it was just an excuse to point out that Pedro Pascal is the internet’s daddy, because as he said, “Daddy is a state of mind.”
It was so funny?? And also, using “Big Boys” from their own sketch when Keke Palmer hosted with musical guest SZA is just perfection.
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Which was your favorite sketch that Pedro Pascal did on Saturday Night Live? Let us know in the comments below!
(featured image: Will Heath/NBC)
Published: Feb 5, 2023 01:27 pm