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This entire episode had me ho-ho-howling (forgive me) from start to finish

Hyping something up for yourself, whether it’s a concert or an upcoming movie or even the opening of a new restaurant, can be a dangerous trap to fall into — nothing sucks more than being disappointed by something you’ve been really excited for. So for that reason I was trying to stay relatively cool about Eddie Murphy’s highly anticipated return to SNL, which, lemme tell you, was not an easy task. And it was pretty much all for nothing, because holy shit, this was an episode that exceeded any expectation I or anyone else could’ve had.

After 35 long, long years, Eddie Murphy returned to Saturday Night Live for the last episode of 2019, or, as he put it, “if you’re black, this is the first episode since I left back in 1984.”

This episode received the highest rating of any episode in the last two-and-a-half years, and really the only problem I have is that it’s hard to write an article about the best sketches of the night when they’re ALL the best goddamn sketches of the night.

Eddie’s monologue

Not only did this monologue not pull any punches and deliver THE final blow of the decades long feud between Eddie Murphy and Bill Cosby (not that it was ever like, neck-in-neck or anything, but this was definitely a Mic Drop Moment), we were given the added treat of a tiny reunion between Eddie, Chris Rock, Tracy Morgan, and Dave Chappelle, and got to see Kenan Thompson take his rightful place on stage alongside those greats.

Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood

Much to everyone’s delight, Eddie’s homecoming saw the return of many of his iconic characters, including Velvet Jones, Gumby, Buckwheat, and our favorite neighbor, Mr. Robinson. Pay attention, boys and girls!

Holiday Baking Championship

Who doesn’t love festive baked goods? It wouldn’t be the holidays without snickerdoodles, gingerbread men, and hedgehog cakes from the bowels of Hell — complete with human teeth.

Home For The Holidays

This heartwarming sketch perfectly encapsulates what the holidays are all about: coming together with family and spending quality time with loved ones… through gritted teeth and migraines.