Saturday Night Live Cast Says Goodbye to Cecily Strong With Elvis Song on Final Episode

Last night’s final is also the last for Cecily Strong as part of the sketch comedy series. The news turned watching the episode into an emotional experience for fans, and the cast capped it all off with one last “sketch” allowing them to sing Strong off of the show. The sketch begins with the premise that Strong is playing a character who’s at a Christmas party on her last day working at Radio Shack. The thin setup barely holds as the sketch reveals itself for what it is: a farewell to Strong from her SNL co-stars.

 “As some of you know this is Cecily’s last day working at Radio Shack,” Kenan Thompson says during the sketch. “Eight incredible years.” Strong corrects him by saying, “Well I’ve been here 11” (the actual number of seasons Strong performed on Saturday Night Live). “I know,” Thompson retorts, “and eight of them were incredible.”

Thompson then offers a heartfelt remembrance of his time working with Strong. “Honestly I don’t think that Radio Shack could have survived this long without Cecily,” he says. “Every time she came to work, she had a new character or a new accent or a new impression that would just blow you away. She had a power and a joy to her performance that made you remember why you love working at Radio Shack in the first place. I know I’m not supposed to say this as your boss but, I love you Cecily.”

“I love you too, Mr. Frank Lasagna,” Strong replies, humorously bringing the sketch back to its premise. That façade doesn’t last long. Soon, the Radio Shack store backdrop pulls apart, and host Austin Butler comes through as “casual Elvis.”

“Cecily I know we only met this week, but I feel like I’ve known you for two weeks,” Butler quips. The then begins performing a rendition of Elvis Presley’s holiday classic, “Blue Christmas.”

Strong sings along, eventually joined by the rest of the Saturday Nigth Live cast, putting a twist on the song’s lyrics: “You’ll be doing alright, every Saturday night, but we’ll all have a blue, blue blue blue Christmas.” You can watch the sketch in the video above.

Saturday Night Live confirmed Strong’s exit with a tweet ahead of the episode that read, “Tonight we send off one of the best to ever do it. We’ll miss you, Cecily!” She missed some episodes early in the season while performing a one-person show, which led to speculation that she had already exited the series.