This sketch — which kicked off the episode — wasn’t the funniest of the night, but it did pack plenty of topical humor. And that’s kind of the point of the whole thing, right? Jason Sudeikis and Cecily Strong play two cruise directors aboard the stricken Carnival ship that left 4,000 people stranded in the Gulf of the Mexico last week. They’re tasked with keeping everybody in good spirits despite increasingly grim and disgusting conditions. They’ve acquired a newspaper, and decide that sharing some recent headlines might help pacify the restless passengers. Except, oh wait — the crew members soon realize it’s been a pretty unsettling week in news. The Pope resigned, North Korea successfully conducted a nuclear test, Olympian Oscar Pistorius was charged in the murder of his girlfriend… Not to mention the “nightmare cruise” they’re all currently braving. The sketch was a bit darker than the average cold open, but provided a clever way to address the more harrowing events of the past week.
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Everything from the Pope's resignation to Marco Rubio's water bottle gaffe to the Carnival cruise disaster provided fodder for this week's episode of Saturday Night Live.