Walton Goggins Defends His Sex Symbol Status On ‘SNL’ With Arcade Fire

Walton Goggins made his hosting debut on Saturday Night Live. The White Lotus star was joined by musical guest Arcade Fire. While it was Goggins’ first time on the show, Arcade Fire has been the musical guest six times since they made their debut in 2007.

It was also the show’s Mother’s Day episode and the penultimate episode of season 50.

Cold Open

The Cold Open starts with Kenan Thompson, Marcello Hernández, Bowen Yang and their mothers. While the cast members begin to sing a song about Mother’s Day, they are quickly interrupted by James Austin Johnson as Donald Trump. They have done a similar format a lot this season, and it would be nice to see a little more variety. So much is happening in the world and in the news. Johnson even jokes that they should be doing a Pope-themed Cold Open, and arguably, they should.

However, this Cold Open features a fun cameo by former cast member Cecily Strong as Jeanine Pirro. Strong often played the Fox News host during her time on the show, and bringing her back felt nostalgic. The sketch culminates in Colin Jost as Pete Hegseth getting spit on. The spit takes are funny, but Jost seems like an odd choice for the character since he doesn’t even seem to try to do an impression.

Monologue

Goggins oozes charm in this bite-sized monologue. He makes jokes about becoming a 53-year-old sex symbol and reads some less-than-flattering headlines about himself. After a somewhat awkward shift, he talks about his mother (who is in the audience) and the two of them dance together. It is very sweet, and he gets to show off some impressive moves.

The Second Amendment

It seems impossible that SNL has never done a sketch about the right to bear arms being a wild choice for a second amendment. It feels like a classic but still slightly political premise and that really works here. Goggins plays the hilariously named Matt, who hopes to add “guns.”

Tiny Baby Shoe

Jane Wickline has to sing after she finds a discarded baby shoe at the zoo. Wickline has brought her songs to Weekend Update a couple of times this season, but it’s nice to see her get the opportunity for a full pre-taped song. It is a bizarre and disorienting sketch that actually really works (especially if you don’t think too much about it.) Sam Rockwell also cameos with his White Lotus co-star.

Mother’s Day Brunch

A flirtatious waiter sees how far he can take it with two moms at brunch, much to their sons’ chagrin. The waiter character really allows Goggins to show off. He gives a powerhouse performance and also seems to be having a lot of fun. It is infectious.

Service Dogs

It is hard to train a bunch of service dogs to sit through a play (especially when the play is bad). This could have been a great sketch. It has cute dogs, fun tonal shifts and some good cut-away bits, but it feels slightly underbaked. The pieces don’t all come together well, and it has missed some opportunities. Maybe they can do this premise again with a little more direction.

Arcade Fire Performs

Arcade Fire performed two songs, Pink Elephant and Year of the Snake. Both felt like classic Arcade Fire performances that will be great for fans of the long-running indie rock band.

Weekend Update

Update was on the longer side this week and featured three character guests. Hernández returns with his “Movie Guy” character, and Heidi Gardner stops by as a mom who only knows about New York from Facebook posts. While both performances deliver some very solid laughs, if you are going to watch just one, it has to be Mikey Day as a man who just walked through a spider web. It is a hilarious physical performance. SNL hasn’t done a lot of physical comedy in the last few years, but between Cold Open spit takes and this, maybe it’s coming back. Part of the magic of this performance is that it feels out of character for Day and Update: a much-needed shake-up!

Deathly Diner

When a family goes to a spooky theme park diner, they wish the waiters were more prepared for the experience. The waiters seemingly have only been trained on saying, “It might be your last.” There is nothing wrong with the sketch, but it feels like forgettable filler. It isn’t helped by being the second “wacky waiter” sketch of the night.

Boss’s Bathroom

Dan Bulla’s shorts always feel surreal. This one, about a recently promoted partner becoming distracted after seeing a Squatty Potty in his boss’s bathroom, leans into the bizarre. While at its center is a fairly pedestrian poop joke, the sketch has enough tricks, tone and oddness to keep it interesting.

SNL returns May 17, 2025, with Scarlett Johansson and Bad Bunny for the final episode of season 50.