It was one of Saturday Night Live's best sight gags, but the only thing funnier than Steve Bannon as the Grim Reaper is Bill Murray.
Right Off The Bat
Breaking with tradition, this week's episode's cold open did not feature Alec Baldwin's beloved take on President Trump, pottering about in the Oval Office. Instead, SNL kicked off with a hilariously pointed slant on MSNBC's morning show, Morning Joe.
With Kate McKinnon and Alex Moffat playing outrageously flirty hosts Joe and Mika, and Mikey Day as their third wheel co-host, Willie Geist, the biggest selling point came from their guests, in the form of celebrated SNL alumni Fred Armisen and Bill Murray.
Armisen played author Michael Wolff, whose hugely controversial book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, has caused shockwaves to reverberate worldwide. Probed about what he may have left out of the book, Wolff replied with the hilariously self-explanatory "baby races."
As to whether he may have embellished certain aspects of his reporting, Wolff explained, "Even the stuff that's not true, it's true."
Legendary comedian and beloved screen presence Murray appeared alongside him as Stephen K. Bannon, long projected in the show as the literal Grim Reaper in his many interactions with Baldwin's Trump.
Lifestyle By Steve Bannon
The President's one-time chief strategist and head of Breitbart News felt the wrath of the White House following the publication of Wolff's eviscerating tome. He appeared on Morning Joe to flog his skin care product, Blotch, web series Cucks in Cars Getting Coffee, and upcoming line of wrinkled barn jackets "frumpers for guys."
"I convinced this country to elect Donald and I can do it again," Murray as Bannon said in relation to his oft-criticized role in electing President Trump.
Leslie Jones also appeared on the mock daytime show as Oprah Winfrey, who explained that her qualifications for running for President in 2020 rely mainly on her being a celebrity.
The episode, which was guest hosted by actor Sam Rockwell, hot off his role in awards contender Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, was mostly well-received. Particular attention was, of course, paid to Armisen and Murray's hugely anticipated reappearances on the show.
"Bill Murray as Steve Bannon... but downhill from there," The Guardian's review headline read.
"The reveal of Steve Bannon, stripped of his usual death cowl, is the best moment," Vulture said in its recap.
