Bowen Yang is a delightfully cantankerous Chinese spy balloon in SNL's cold open

Bowen Yang has practically made a career out of playing objects and insects (the iceberg that sank Titanic, the spotted lanternfly), and this week he returned to the SNL stage as the particularly infamous inflatable boat. Last night’s cold open poked fun at the hullabaloo over the Chinese spy balloon shot down by the Biden administration earlier this week. Yang appears as a balloon and moans about everything from his supposed size (about three buses tall) to “Joe’s Osama”. It turns out that the balloon, like all of us, just wants to be understood (and wants to see Yellowstone).

Chloe Fineman covers the saga as MSNBC host Katy Tur and interviews a no-nonsense Pentagon official, played by SNL veteran Kenan Thompson. This week’s host, Pedro Pascal, was noticeably absent but appeared in a number of excellent sketches, including one envisioning HBO’s dystopian take on the Mari Kart franchise.

https://mashable.com/video/snl-bowen-yang-chinese-spy-balloon Bowen Yang is a delightfully cantankerous Chinese spy balloon in SNL's cold open