SNL returned for it’s 46th season Saturday night with John Krasinski and musical guest Machine Gun Kelly. Through multiple The Office references, the show poked fun at John Krasinski’s former character Jim Halpert.
Although Krasinski has moved on to other roles after the end of The Office in 2013, the first-time host embraced all the jokes about the beloved character.
During his monologue, Krasinski can’t contain his excitement over finally appearing on a show he’s watched since childhood. During his speech, cast member Alex Moffat interrupts him, asking him about Pam (Jenna Fischer). Krasinski tries to explain that Pam and Jim are just fictional characters from The Office.
Another cast member, Ego Nwodim, focuses on how Kranski looks different from working out due to his Amazon Prime show Jack Ryan. She tells him to stop exercising because Jim is supposed to be soft. She says, “When you touch Jim, your hand goes in like memory foam.”
Krasinki becomes comically frustrated as people in the cast continue to bring up Jim and Pam’s relationship. Eventually, Pete Davidson comes to the rescue explaining that when COVID hit, everyone binged the show, making the characters appear real.
When Kenan Thompson asked whether Davidson was Pam, both he and Krasinski decided to give the audience what they’ve been obsessing over, a Jim and Pam kiss. With Moffat, Nwodim, and Thompson chanting in the background, Krasinski passionately kisses Davidson.
Krasinski added his own spin to The Office during a prerecorded sketch called “Opening Credits Songs.” In the skit, he sings his “long lost lyrics” to The Office theme song. The lyrics include Kransinski repeatedly singing the word Scranton where the show takes place; he also mentions Dwight and Pam and the lead of the show Steve Carell.
Along with these moments, Krasinski appeared in a variety of sketches throughout the night.
John Krasinski on SNL made us miss The Office so much. We’re still holding on for the chance of a reboot, but for now, we’ll take comfort in these sketches.
