The latest SNL cold open Matt Damon delivered has quickly become one of the most talked-about political sketches of the season. Saturday Night Live brought back two memorable celebrity impersonations, paired them with one of the show’s regular political characters, and dropped them all into a Washington bar for a chaotic, satirical reunion. With Damon hosting and Noah Kahan serving as the musical guest, the episode opened with a sketch that blended absurd humor, current political tension, and unexpected nostalgia.

A Long-Awaited Return for Matt Damon’s Kavanaugh

It has been close to eight years since Matt Damon first stepped onto the SNL stage to portray Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh during the 2018 Supreme Court confirmation hearings. His original performance, full of theatrical outrage and over-the-top frustration, became one of the show’s most viral moments of that era.

This time, Damon revived the character in a more relaxed but equally exaggerated form. The sketch found him entering a Washington bar with bold confidence, ordering his usual drink — six Bud Lights and three shots of Jameson — which the bartender, played by Kenan Thompson, jokingly described as a “6-3 decision.” The exchange instantly set the tone for a sketch packed with political punchlines.

Aziz Ansari Returns as Kash Patel

Just one week after his last appearance on the show, Aziz Ansari was back to reprise his role as F.B.I. director Kash Patel. He made a memorable entrance by shouting, “Does this bar take Kash?”

His scene quickly turned absurd as he showed off a bottle of personalized bourbon, claiming that he, the F.B.I. director, had somehow created his own liquor brand. He also joked about being mistaken for a child with a fake ID, blaming his comically wide-eyed expression in official photos. His bizarre stare straight into the camera became one of the sketch’s biggest laugh moments.

Colin Jost Returns as Pete Hegseth

Saturday Night Live’s Colin Jost was back in his recurring role as defense secretary Pete Hegseth, anchoring the bar scene with his usual mix of overconfidence and oblivious charm. He requested his “reverse Irish car bomb,” a chaotic drink combination, while declaring that he loved the bar because none of Trump’s people drink as much as he does.

His celebration was short-lived. The arrival of both Damon and Ansari quickly shifted the tone, as the three men began bragging about their political accomplishments in increasingly outrageous ways.

Boasts About Wars and Reversed Rights

The sketch took aim at recent political events with sharp comedic punches. Jost’s character bragged about starting a war, while Damon’s Kavanaugh proudly claimed credit for ending abortion rights. The line “your body, my choice” landed with deliberate awkwardness, drawing both gasps and laughs from the audience.

Jost added that the war in Iran was “totally chill,” comparing it to a DUI checkpoint that “completely blew over.” Damon, meanwhile, dramatically lamented the so-called real fight — the war against male loneliness — wishing more people in the administration could “really hang.”

A Constitutional Twist for Comic Effect

In one of the sketch’s wildest moments, Damon’s Kavanaugh shared a so-called secret with the group. He revealed that former President Trump would be allowed to serve a third term because Trump had supposedly found the original Constitution and written “Psych!” at the end of it. The line drew loud laughter, as did Damon’s exaggerated declaration that they were all going to live forever.

The sketch wrapped up with the entire group bizarrely breaking into a rendition of Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumping,” giving the political satire a chaotic and unexpectedly musical conclusion.

Mother’s Day Tributes Take a Different Turn

Although the episode aired around Mother’s Day, the show stepped away from its long-running tradition of having cast members deliver in-person tributes to their mothers during the host’s monologue. Damon humorously explained that a segment had been planned but had to be canceled because of the recent shutdown of Spirit Airlines.

Even without the traditional tribute, mothers were certainly not forgotten. Damon used part of his monologue to record a flirtatious all-purpose greeting that viewers could send as a last-minute Mother’s Day gift. He also appeared as himself in a fake movie trailer titled “Mom: the Movie,” a film designed entirely with mothers in mind — featuring no conflict, no tension, and a cozy plot involving three adult children happily moving back home.

The fake film starred Ashley Padilla as the mother, with the joke being that the movie was so perfectly tuned to mothers that even after they fell asleep mid-watch, the plot would dissolve into pleasant nonsense.

Weekend Update Tackles Politics and Pop Culture

The Weekend Update segment, hosted by Colin Jost and Michael Che, continued the political satire while diving into a mix of current events and pop culture moments.

Jost began with a joke about Secretary of State Marco Rubio meeting with Pope Leo XIV, with Che playfully interrupting by shouting “Rubio!” as if playing Marco Polo. Jost then teased that the meeting was an attempt to repair U.S.-Vatican relations after the Pope reportedly requested “anyone but JD Vance.” He added a punchline about Rubio gifting the Pope an egg-shaped crystal supposedly purchased from an adult toy website.

Che followed with a sharp joke about the Pentagon releasing never-before-seen U.F.O. files, suggesting that the most dangerous flying objects had already been eliminated — accompanied by a screen image of a Spirit Airlines plane.

Jost then took aim at the cruise ship hantavirus outbreak, joking that authorities were tracking down passengers who had left the ship and quipping, “Damn it, that better not be you, Mickey,” while showing an image of a Mickey Mouse character on a ship’s deck. He went on to compare a recent Trump statement about the virus being “under control” with similar comments made during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

A Strong Lineup of Weekend Update Guests

The Weekend Update segment also brought a series of standout desk-side appearances. Jeremy Culhane returned with his Tucker Carlson impersonation, sharing exaggerated conspiracy-style takes on the Met Gala, the state of Maine, and the HBO show Euphoria.

Jane Wickline performed a humorous song celebrating being young and proudly being late to everything. Meanwhile, Mikey Day and Marcello Hernández stole the spotlight as a pair of kamikaze dolphins strapped with fake explosives, joking about being deployed by the U.S. government against Iranian battleships. Jost’s playful question about whether they could sink any boat — including a financially struggling ferry — gave the sketch a final, absurd punchline.

A Sharp Mix of Comedy and Commentary

The episode reflected SNL’s continued effort to balance political satire with broader pop culture humor. By bringing back Damon and Ansari to reprise their characters and pairing them with Jost’s recurring Hegseth persona, the cold open delivered a unique blend of returning faces, sharp political jokes, and surreal humor.

Damon’s strong presence throughout the episode, both as host and within sketches, helped tie the political and Mother’s Day themes together. While the absence of the traditional mom tributes was felt, the episode found creative new ways to celebrate the holiday while still keeping the show’s signature edge.

A Memorable Episode for SNL Fans

The combination of nostalgic celebrity impressions, modern political satire, and clever Mother’s Day humor made this episode one of the more memorable installments of the season. Whether the focus was on a Washington bar sketch, an over-the-top fake film trailer, or the latest Weekend Update jokes, Saturday Night Live once again proved its ability to capture the political and cultural mood of the moment.

For fans, the SNL cold open Matt Damon delivered served as a reminder of how powerful the show’s recurring impersonations can be when paired with strong writing and well-timed cultural commentary. With Damon, Ansari, and Jost playing off each other so effectively, the sketch felt both like a callback and a fresh comedic moment, blending the past and present of one of America’s longest-running comedy shows.