Following a lackluster cold open featuring Tom Hanks’ return as David S. Pumpkins, a Donald Trump impression that veered into unexpected territory, and a Nicki Minaj cameo, host Inde Navarrette delivered a sharp opening monologue targeting Shane Gillis. However, the standout moment of the Halloween edition of “Saturday Night Live” arrived with the pre-taped digital short, “The Inventor’s Wife.”
The sketch opens with Navarrette eulogizing her late husband, an “eccentric” inventor who “spent his final days in his workshop building god knows what,” noting wistfully, “My husband loved his inventions and he… liked his wife.”
Returning home from the wake, the widow discovers a final gift in the workshop: a charming, Wall-E-esque robot designated the PD 44. The pair form a close bond over the ensuing years, though the machine’s true function remains a mystery.
Six years later, the widow tentatively re-enters the dating world, matching with a charming man named Tom Oakland (Ben Marshall) on a dating app. Their romantic evening culminates back at her apartment, where she introduces Tom to PD. Without warning, the docile robot transforms into a hulking, menacing automaton, violently severing Tom’s penis and launching it into the lunar surface.
“PD stands for Penis Destroyer?!” the widow exclaims in realization, moments before the machine vaporizes her date with a laser beam, showering her in gore.
“He did love me… My husband loved me after all!” she declares with twisted delight.
The segment served as a showcase for Navarrette’s impeccable comedic timing and total commitment to the premise, marking one of the stronger “SNL” digital shorts in recent memory.