Bowen Yang said a heartfelt goodbye to “Saturday Night Live” this week — and added a few laughs on his way out.
Yang, who announced he’s leaving the NBC sketch comedy staple after seven years as a cast member, marked the occasion by playing a Delta airport lounge attendant serving up eggnog in the episode’s final sketch. In a wink to Yang’s exit, his character Ed announced that he’s retiring: “This is my last shift.” He waxed nostalgic about his time there: “I’m gonna miss everything about this place: the way it smells, the celebrities who would come through. Just last week, Josh O’Connor was here!”
Host Ariana Grande played Ed’s wife Rhonda, who called to tell him how proud she was for all the eggnog he made over the years: “Some of it was great… some of it was rotten.” (Ed added: “And a lot of it got cut.”) Yang got emotional as Ed added a wistful note: “I kinda think eggnog is a little like me: It’s not for everyone, but the people who like it are my kind of people.”
Ed and Rhonda then launched into a melancholy duet of “Please Come Home for Christmas” before Kenan Thompson entered the lounge to grab some eggnog and say goodbye to Yang… um, Ed: “Good luck. I’m gonna miss you.” Later, Rhonda joined Ed in the lounge, saying she still can’t believe he’s retiring. Ed insisted, “I just wanted to go out on top,” but Rhonda shot back: “Oh, everyone knows you’re a bottom, honey.”
Ed said a tearful thank-you to everyone he’s worked with, including his boss… “the CEO of eggnog at Delta,” played by musical guest Cher. When Ed asked for a little feedback, Cher’s CEO told him: “Well, everyone thought you were a little bit too gay. But do you know what? You’re perfect for me.” A tearful Yang managed to choke out, “This place will always be home” before launching into a final verse of the Christmas tune and hugging Grande and Cher. (Grande also said a special thank-you to Yang during the episode’s goodnights: “We love you so much.”)
Yang announced his farewell this week
Yang appeared in a series of sketches in his final episode, earning a warm round of applause from the audience as he joined Grande for a new take on Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” and reuniting with former “SNL” cast member Aidy Bryant to play trend forecasters on Weekend Update.
The Dec. 20 episode was the swan song for Yang, who joined “SNL” in 2018, serving as a staff writer for Season 44. He became part of the cast as a featured player in 2019 (ahead of Season 45), and was promoted to full-fledged repertory player at the start of Season 47. His work on “SNL” earned him four Emmy nominations for best supporting actor in a comedy.
Yang posted an emotional farewell to the show earlier on Saturday: “I loved working at SNL, and most of all i loved the people. I was there at a time when many things in the world started to seem futile, but working at 30 rock taught me the value in showing up anyway when people make it worthwhile. i’m grateful for every minute of my time there. i learned about myself (bad with wigs). i learned about others (generous, vulnerable, hot). i learned that human error can be nothing but correct. i learned that comedy is mostly logistics and that it will usually fail until it doesn’t, which is the besssst.”
He went on to thank “SNL” creator Lorne Michaels, his fellow cast members and writers, and his “Wicked” co-star Grande — the host of his final episode — “for sending me off in the dreamiest way i could imagine.”
Press PLAY below to watch video of Yang’s final sketch, and give this week’s “SNL” a grade in our poll.
his last shift at the delta one lounge pic.twitter.com/BvevZHT3Gh
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) December 21, 2025