After 10 seasons on Saturday Night LiveKate McKinnon bid farewell to her castmates – and Earth in general – during an emotional and hilarious Cold Open for the Season 47 finale.
McKinnon reprised her role as Ms. Rafferty, the cigarette-puffing, amply-jeaned woman who has had numerous encounters with the Third Kind.
In the sketch, McKinnon’s Rafferty sat spread-legged beside Cecily Strong and host Natasha Lyonne and shared her intimate alien interactions, like how they were “climbing all over each other like my bush was the last lifeboat on the Titanic.”
The sketch took an emotional turn when McKinnon’s character volunteered to go back to outer space with the UFOs. “Sure, why not?” she said. “I always kind of felt like an alien on this planet anyway.”
Boarding the craft, Rafferty turned back to face her sketch-mates and Earthlings, as an alien head poked out beside her, to give her final send-off:
“Well, Earth, I love ya,” McKinnon said with glassy eyes. “Thanks for letting me stay awhile … Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!”
Thank you, Ms. Rafferty #SNLFinal pic.twitter.com/eJ7YaonB4U
– Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) May 22, 2022
McKinnon joined Saturday Night Live in 2012 and quickly became a breakout star, thanks to impressions of Hillary Clinton, Justin Bieber, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and more. McKinnon’s work di lei on the series earned her eight Emmy nominations for best supporting actress in a comedy. She won the award in 2016 and 2017.