The most recent SNL brought back two of the show’s legends: former cast member Martin Short and frequent host Steve Martin, who’s lorded over the show 16 times. (During their opening monologue, they were briefly interrupted by their Only Murders in the Building colleague Selena Gomez.) Being the penultimate episode of 2022, it was a Christmas-heavy episode, complete with an opening song about ignoring all the annoyances in the world, like Elon Musk and Kanye. The episode also featured a nod to a holiday classic.
In a pre-taped segment, SNL sent up A Christmas Carol, turning the climactic moment of epiphany into one of untold bloodshed. Short played Ebenezer Scrooge, who awakens from his revelatory dreams hellbent on procuring a Christmas goose. Alas, when he flips a golden coin to an orphan boy (Sarah Sherman), the coin lands square in his eye. Other coins fare just as well, leaving multiple people blinded. Conditions do not improve upon the appearance of Martin, as one of the ghosts, who winds up only contributing to the bloodshed.
And so what began as a straight adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic turned into probably the bloodiest SNL sketch since the Dead Poets Society send-up from 2016, which kicked off with Pete Davidson losing his head to a ceiling fan and proceeded from there.
You can watch the sketch in the video above.