“Saturday Night Live” alumni Aidy Bryant, Kate McKinnon, Pete Davidson and Kyle Mooney performed their final skits as full-time SNL cast members during the show’s season finale on Saturday, hosted by Natasha Lyonne.
Although there have been rumblings for years about Davidson’s desire to part ways with the show which, along with his dating history, has made him a household name; Bryant and McKinnon were a surprise. Mooney, who joined SNL in 2013, stayed somewhat behind for the finale, appearing alongside Bryant and McKinnon in a closing skit about gray adult ponytails, which is either an indicator of his decision to allow to more obvious stars to shine, further proof. that SNL is known for playing favorites. Host Lyonne, star of the current Netflix series ‘Russian Doll’, also appeared to bow to Bryant, McKinnon and Davidson, allowing them their big night in a setting that would otherwise likely be overtaken by Lyonne’s big personality. . Of all the final takeaways, however, one thing is certain. “Saturday Night Live” is going to be rubbish without Aidy Bryant.
Bryant, an Arizona native, was a member of Chicago’s Second City Touring Company before joining SNL in 2012. Once there, her talent led her to quickly skip her second season, similar to her friend and teammate Bowen Yang who went from being a writer for SNL in 2018 to being promoted to the main cast just before the start of season 47.
Just 25 when she joined the show, Bryant stole every skit she was in. Although she was only destined to be a background player, Bryant’s energy, vocal delivery and perfect timing made her impossible to look away from; unlike Davidson who always looked like he was doing someone a favor by being there, showing off the energy of a guy doing a bit of TikTok at the behest of his girlfriend.
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In Bryant’s curtain call skit, performed alongside Yang, the two went wild as influencers reporting on what’s currently hot, or not, culturally.
“Naval Orange, go to bed, b***h!” Bryant and Yang shout in unison. “What’s next, honeydew with C-section scars?!” Bryant asks. The kind of perfectly weird and funny Bryant hardware signature that has kept Etsy t-shirt screenprinters going for years. What are they going to put on the shirts and stickers now that she’s no longer on the show? Lines from old episodes of “Seinfeld”? Leave me alone.
After leading three seasons of his fantastic TV show outside of SNL, “Shrill,” as well as notable guest appearances on other shows like “Girls,” “Portlandia,” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” there are sure to be big things to come for Bryant, but that doesn’t mean it won’t sting not having him look forward to every week on SNL.
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McKinnon, who kissed Bryant and shed tears with her during the show’s credits, said goodbye early in the finale’s cold open. In a final appearance as beloved character Colleen Rafferty, she unraveled one last hilarious alien abduction story before stepping onto a spaceship to leave with them forever.
“I always felt like an alien on this planet anyway,” McKinnon said before crying and turning away.
“Saturday Night Live” has been on the air since 1975 and after all of their 47 seasons, only a few cast members have truly stood out. You have early season heavy hitters like Gilda Radner, Bill Murray, John Belushi, Jane Curtin and Laraine Newman. And then you have the greats of the last few years like Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig. McKinnon and Bryant are now forever cemented in this “glory days” SNL bubble. With them gone, especially Bryant, it’s hard not to feel like that bubble has irretrievably burst.
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