Whether you love him or can’t stand him, Domingo, Marcello Hernández’s unforgettable lothario from *Saturday Night Live*, isn’t going anywhere. This weekend, he officially graduated from a beloved recurring bit to commanding the show’s opening sketch, solidifying his spot in SNL history.
This week’s *SNL* episode, which also featured pop sensation Sabrina Carpenter as both host and musical guest, veered from its usual tradition of starting with a political cold open. Instead, it kicked off with the latest installment of Domingo’s ongoing saga, where he continues to charm Kelsey (Chloe Fineman) — much to the dismay of her long-suffering husband, Matt (Andrew Dismukes).
For those who haven’t been following every twist and turn of Domingo’s saga, here’s a quick refresher: his debut was in a 2024 sketch where bridesmaids, including Ariana Grande, delivered a hilariously off-key “Espresso” parody about Kelsey’s romantic entanglement. This skit exploded online, paving the way for Domingo to crash the couple’s babymoon and even their parents’ (Molly Shannon and Martin Short) vow renewal during SNL’s 50th-anniversary celebration.
Sabrina Carpenter, who was part of that memorable vow-renewal sketch, joined Hernández, Ashley Padilla, Veronika Slowikowska, and Sarah Sherman this week. Together, they performed parodies of Taylor Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia,” Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra,” and Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” — all hinting at further romantic indiscretions involving Domingo.
As a thoroughly exasperated Dismukes declared to Fineman at the sketch’s close, “I’m serious, this is strike six.”
“Hey, babe,” she smoothly replied, already close to Hernández, “it won’t happen again.” But if *Saturday Night Live* has taught us anything, it’s that some things are practically guaranteed to repeat.
Trump to the rescue of the week
Don’t underestimate this quirky sketch, which cleverly spoofs a video podcast from a group of adolescent boys. They enthusiastically share their slang-filled opinions on their favorite (and least favorite) foods. It’s genuinely funny and incredibly convincing to watch Carpenter, Fineman, Slowikowska, and Jane Wickline embody these earnest young goofballs debating whether Twizzlers are “washed” or “fire,” and which vegetables are truly G.O.A.T.-ed. As Carpenter’s character wisely stated, “Some vegetables are fire and some vegetables low-key be a fruit.”
But, of course, there’s a surprising twist: the podcast’s celebrity guest turns out to be President Trump, brilliantly portrayed by resident impersonator James Austin Johnson. Despite the bizarre setting, Johnson’s Trump remarkably fits right in.
Though he couldn’t pinpoint a favorite vegetable, Johnson’s Trump enthusiastically endorsed Little Debbie, stating, “We like Little Debbie. She does tremendous work. It’s awful what happened to her.” He particularly favored the brand’s Christmas Tree cake. “You know, it used to be seasonal,” he recalled. “But I very smartly made a call and now we get it year-round.”
“Dang, that’s so fire, sir,” an astonished Fineman gushed.
“It is,” Johnson affirmed. “It’s very fire. It’s very fire.”
Musical sketches of the week
Sadly, Bowen Yang was absent from this week’s live broadcast. He was busy in Los Angeles, attending an Academy Museum Gala as an honoree. This meant he couldn’t reprise his popular role as George Santos, the disgraced former congressman whose fraud sentence was recently commuted by President Trump. Nevertheless, Yang still appeared alongside Carpenter in a pre-recorded music video. The video humorously depicted teenage students finding surprisingly inappropriate ways to get intimate at a school dance, all while remaining fully clothed.
Carpenter also had another chance to shine, joining Slowikowska in a sketch where they played a washing machine and a clothes dryer, singing various jingles in different musical styles. (It was quite late when this reviewer watched it, but we’re fairly confident that’s precisely what unfolded.)
Weekend Update jokes of the week
At the Weekend Update desk, anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che delivered their sharp takes on current events. Topics included President Trump’s commutation of George Santos’s sentence and the scandal surrounding a racist and homophobic group chat among young Republican officials.
Jost opened the segment:
Yesterday President Trump finally released what everyone has been asking him to release. George Santos. The former Republican congressman who had pled guilty to fraud and something called aggravated identity theft, which I think is when you push someone into a closet and switch clothes with them, is now free and will face zero consequences. But Santos says that he’s a changed man, and he even released a photo of his new prison body. [His screen shows an image of what is obviously Santos’s head pasted onto a very muscular body.]
Che then continued:
Volodymyr Zelensky has said that if President Trump provides Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles, he will nominate Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize. You know, the prize they give you for selling missiles. There was outrage this week over a leaked group chat between Republican leaders which praised Hitler and referred to Black Americans as “watermelon people.” The chat was named “Jost Family.”
Jost went onto say:
While traveling on Air Force One to the Middle East to celebrate the cease-fire, President Trump told reporters, “I don’t think there’s anything that’s going to get me into heaven.” Then he paused for 10 full minutes waiting for someone to say, “That’s not true.” Because Trump can’t go to heaven. He’s far too busy down here, running hell.
Che added:
President Trump announced that another boat from Venezuela that he said was smuggling drugs was blown out of the water without warning. And you may not think that’s a big deal right now, but one day soon you’ll look at yourself in the mirror and realize you’re out of cocaine.
Weekend Update desk segment of the week
Nothing overtly topical or timely graced the desk this week, but since this was already Hernández’s standout episode, we must give him further praise for the latest visit from his recurring character, Movie Guy. This well-meaning theater usher always appears to discuss new films, yet somehow, he’s never actually seen any of them. Even though his puns are predictable, there’s a timeless charm to the character’s unwavering persistence and endearing naïveté. He hilariously explains in broken English his fondness for modern horror movies whose titles clearly state the plot, “Like ‘Scream,’ everybody scream. ‘Smile,’ everybody smile. And ‘Saw,’ everybody saw. Except me. I did not see ‘Saw.’”