The first Saturday Night Live episode since the end of the months-long writers’ strike started with a somber message from the series alum Pete Davidson. He began his cold open by referencing “the horrible images and stories from Israel and Gaza,” then quickly addressed the elephant in Studio 8H: “I know what you’re thinking—who better to comment on it than Pete Davidson?”
But however preposterous that premise might sound, Davidson’s cold open and his later monologue made the case for what entertainers—and comedians, especially—can offer audiences in moments of crisis. The 29-year-old comic reminded viewers that his own life had been shaped by a violent attack: When he was 7, Davidson lost his father, a firefighter who died on 9/11. “I saw so many terrible pictures this week of children suffering—Israeli children and Palestinian children—and it took me back to a really horrible, horrible place,” he said.
He recalled his mother trying anything she could to lift his spirits after his father died, including buying him what she thought was a Disney movie but was actually an Eddie Murphy stand-up special. And though the subject matter wasn’t appropriate for a child his age, the 8-year-old Davidson got to keep the tape because Murphy’s comedy elicited laughter in him for the first time in a long while. “I don’t understand it—I really don’t, and I never will—but sometimes comedy is really the only way forward through tragedy,” he said, before offering the SNL audience an earnest reflection on the show’s relevance during such times. “Tonight I’m going to do what I’ve always done in the face of tragedy, and that’s try to be funny. Remember, I said ‘try.’”
Though Davidson left the series last year after its 47th season, he ended up being the perfect host for its much-anticipated Season 49 premiere because of how deftly he navigated the tonally disparate material that the episode called for. With alternately subdued and zany delivery, he shepherded SNL through difficult news, silly hijinks, and a surprise appearance from Taylor Swift. In a later monologue, Davidson pivoted from the heaviness of his cold open to focus on a more lighthearted (and oft-repeated) feature of his early life: “A lot of people ask me—and by that, I mean two—is this what I wanted to do when I grew up, and no,” he said. “I’m from Staten Island; my dream was to be a construction worker. It was! You know, hopefully work for a construction company for like eight years, and then, if I’m lucky, fall off a ladder, sue the city for $6 mill, settle for three.”
In the sketch following his monologue, Davidson joined several cast members on a mock filming of Fox NFL Sunday. The crew of sports commentators attempted to discuss a game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Jets without focusing on the biggest NFL news of the era: It sure does seem like Taylor Swift is dating the Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. The sketch played on the strangeness of the pop-cultural moment, skewering the NFL fans who’ve responded with bizarre vitriol to the coupling and gently teasing the Swifties who’ve analyzed each “Traylor” move with all the intensity of, well, sports commentators.
While the other Fox NFL Sunday anchors at least tried to keep their fandom in check, Davidson’s Kenny Ditullio joined the broadcast from MetLife Stadium, where he stood wearing a pink sequined cowboy hat, pink sweater wrapped around his waist, and pink polo shirt popping out from underneath a crew neck. Devastated because Swift hadn’t made an appearance at the game, he told the others, “There was a rumor online she was coming to cheer on Travis Kelce’s brother, Jason, who plays for the Eagles, duh. But so far no sign of blondie—I’m starting to wonder why I’m even here!”
[Read: Where would SNL be without Kenan Thompson?]
Davidson’s willingness to lean into the character’s silliness, analyzing Swift’s facial expressions and gestures instead of the actual game he was meant to cover, was particularly amusing given that the sketch ended with a cameo of Kelce himself: After Kenan Thompson’s Curt Menefee grew frustrated with his peers’ refusal to discuss anything but Swift, he insisted that the show would bring on “someone who actually wants to talk football”—and the camera cut to Kelce, who offered a quick “Yes, please!” in reply. In fact, both Kelce and Swift appeared momentarily in the episode. Swift introduced the show’s musical guest (and her collaborator), the Bronx rapper Ice Spice, who brought a delightfully youthful energy to the stage alongside the Nigerian singer Rema as the pair of 23-year-olds performed their new song, “Pretty Girl.”
But despite Swift and Kelce’s collective star power, neither brought as much energy to the premiere as Davidson. His sketches were the highlights of the night, which saw the series really finding its footing again after an extended hiatus. “I’m Just Pete,” a play on the stellar Barbie dance interlude, began with him giddily walking the SNL halls with a cake that read Excited For a Fun Week! But before he could present the cake to his colleagues, Davidson overheard them mocking his post-SNL career. “No one cares about the work I do / I made a show with Joe Pesci too / And no one streams but my mom,” he sang, despondently sitting on a re-creation of the Barbie set.
The entire sketch saw Davidson making fun of … Davidson, in vignettes that got gradually more outrageous: “I’m just Pete / Anywhere else I’d be a three,” he sang indignantly, “But I guess I’m hot for dudes in comedy, because it’s an ugly industry.” The entire time, Davidson was fully committed to the bit. He was well aware of his reputation as an unlikely lothario, and “I’m Just Pete” deployed his sordid personal life to hilarious effect because Davidson isn’t afraid to laugh at himself. Considering the rest of the subjects that the show tackles, it’s hard not to want more of that.