Quinta Brunson Has Benson Boone Flipping Over Her on Saturday Night Live

Quinta Brunson sashayed onto the main stage looking like Betty Boop, ready for her sophomore stint hosting SNL. She gave passing glance to her brief tenure working a phone sex line before moving onto the driving bit of her monologue. The 4’11 Emmy-winning star and creator of Abbott Elementary broke into song—her voice a bit quavery to start—in praise of her humble stature. “If you’re looking for a superstar, start looking down,” she sang. “You can flip like Simone, Olympic superstar, or start a war with Drake like you’re Kendrick Lamar. You can be like Tom Holland and marry a 10, or like Sabrina Carpenter and…” Enter Carpenter in the pink, shiny flesh, cute as a cupcake. She helped smooth out Brunson’s voice and the two were off to the races, singing about about all the fun sights from their point of view, like “toddlers’ eyes, peoples’ crotches, and Jeremy Allen White!” Marcello Hernandez wanted in because hanging around polly pockets helped him feel tall. Basketball hall-of-famer Dwyane Wade was a left-field add to the mix, but a welcome one, mainly because he seemed so earnestly dedicated to his dance choreography.

Brunson’s best scene partner throughout the episode was Kenan Thompson, who was at her side for most of the night. Their finest hour perhaps was “OnlySeniors,” in which they played aging parents bragging to their grown children—Ego Nwodim and Devon Walker—about their new life insurance plan. All they had to was “set up our camera and do stuff to each other.” Sometimes with a ball gag. Or in a swing. Or with the Johnsons from next door, Mikey Day and Heidi Gardner in open bathrobes.

Speaking of Day, he was back raging behind thesteering wheel. Alongside his daughter, played with salivating aplomb by Chloe Fineman, he parked next to Brunson on a ferry. His pantomimes of annoyance over her bad parking job escalated to him acting out the word toxic and Fineman dangling imaginary balls over her mouth to tell Brunson she was nuts. “You raised a hoe,” said Brunson, raking an imaginary garden tool. If the conceit of placing the sketch on a ferry seemed an odd one, the pay off was a frantic Colin Jost appearing in the passenger window wearing a Hawaiian shirt and Thurston Howell’s silk neck scarf. “Hey, you say you love ferries? Would you like to buy one? Please buy it. I’m Pete Davidson, hi.”

With summer fast approaching, women have a big decision to make. Can they still pull off Coachella Whore or is it time to bleach their wardrobes of joy? “Your 20s are over, mama. It’s time to close that book and move on. Introducing Forever 31… with styles in every color of the bummer rainbow.” Fineman misremembering the moves to the Charli XCX Apple dance while draped in shapeless swathes of charcoal grey was one of the best moments of the entire episode. Suits, bigger suits, “big ol’ David Byrne suits.” Trenches, inexplicably expensive t-shirts, and loose trousers, “because we know you freezing your eggs.” Okay, now do Forever 51.

Michael Longfellow, who himself admitted he hasn’t been up to much this season, was a delight on Weekend Update. (Speaking of, he might have anchorman potential…) Piggybacking off the news that travelers will soon be needing REAL IDs in order to fly, he was simply alerting the powers that be that no, actually, he refuses. He’s got a good, withholding energy about him, with top notes of genuine menace. Being told by Jost that he wouldn’t be able to fly if he didn’t submit to government pressure, Longfellow merely scoffed. “Honey, it’s 2025, planes are barely allowed to fly.” In fact, he had some conditions to discuss with the aviation industry. He’s not wrong.

Next were Darlene and Duke, two Applebee’s barflies played by best cast goodbye buds Sarah Sherman and Bowen Yang. They were protesting the nationwide rash of closings of casual chain restaurants. “Where are we supposed to go?” said Yang, trying out a new butch accent and a hair metal wig. “Uber Eats? Hub Grub? Roblox?” In between slurps of their punch bowl of booze, Darlene and Duke sucked a little face before getting back to their mission to save America. “You’re 12 years old in the ‘burbs,” says Yang, getting nostalgic. “You have your birthday at Fuddruckers and you joke about the name.” “I thought it was a slur. Like look at that Fuddrucker over there. What the Fuddruck is wrong with him?” said Sherman, handing the baton back to Yang who said, “Yeah yeah, is he gay? Is he a Fuddraggot?” Soon musical guest Benson Boone was delivering sizzling sriracha fajitas with a side of asian glaze to the anchor desk, which gave them all an opportunity to riff on his earworm, “Beautiful Things,” which happily was not one of his musical performances.

Speaking of Boone, he of course flipped into view after Brunson’s first introduction of him It was a cute little moment, him in his revealing purple pants, grinning cheekily into Brunson’s ear. I do wish he’d showed some restraint and not felt the need to give another showy flip during his second performance. Don’t overwork a bit, kid.