It has all come down to this.

A season of countless sketches.

A grueling tournament.

This is the weekend of the Final Four, and of the championship match-up.

Twenty sketches entered the tourney. Only one will get the Golden Gilda. Final Four and finals action starts…now!

Final Four

Washington rallying the troops takes on George Santons’ musical farewell to the nation, while the Please Don’t Destroy boys get too high while duking it out with iconic cartoon doofuses Beavis and Butt-Head.

Let’s take one last look at your Final Four.

Washington’s Dream vs. Santos’ Farewell

Nate Bargatze’s Washington’s Dream entered this tourney as a favorite. The sketch dominated the Yellow Division, and made it to the Final Four with ease.

Meanwhile, Bowen Yang’s adieu to Rep. George Santos was a dark horse team, somewhat surprisingly winding its way through to the Final Four.

The matchup featured one competitor that was well executed and more smartly written than most competitors we’ve seen vs. a raucous, musical crowd-pleasing barn burner.

In the end, the Founding Father emerges on top, and not by the skin of its wooden teeth. The strength of the writing and performance, combined with the absolute smart and pointed writing on Washington’s Dream propels it to the final game, and one step away from the Golden Gilda.

PDD - We Got Too High vs. Beavis and Butt-Head

The Please Don’t Destroy lads absolutely deserve to be in the Final Four. In the Elite 8 they faced themselves by beating Gone Too Soon for the Red Division championship. One wonders if there could have been a Final Four PDD battle had Gone Too Soon been in the Green Division. PDD is often the highlight of any given SNL episode, so it’s good to see them vying for the Golden Gilda. And their performance here is great. Funny, well produced, and musical, it’s the layered absurd and intelligent comedy we’ve come to love and expect from Please Don’t Destroy.

Their opposition, which laid waste to the Blue Division, is Beavis and Butt-Head. This sketch came out of left field (and the 90’s) to easily extract laughs from not only the audience, but from several cast members.

Much as my heart wanted to see Please Don’t Destroy in the finals, the hilarity of Beavis and Butt-Head cannot be denied here. The sketch was simply too funny to lose at this level, so the MTV video loving duo advances to the finals.

And, we are going to cover the finals now. One more match-up until we get the Season 49 grand champion! That action starts…now!

Finals: Washington’s Dream vs. Beavis & Butt-Head

You could not ask for a more exciting match-up in the final game, nor could you have more different rivals.

Washington’s Dream is a smart take on America’s refusal to use the world’s weights and measures, with a side order of commentary on racism. Nate Bargatze flawlessly delivers the material, and the laughs are smart and consistent.

On the other hand, there’s Beavis and Butt-Head. It is not a sketch based on intelligent material. In fact, it is downright idiotic. But that idiocy is its brilliance, and there is no denying that the sight of Ryan Gosling and Mikey Day as the 90’s cartoon icons is absolutely hysterical. Normally, cast members cracking up doesn’t work for me (or, by all reports, for Lorne). But here, Heidi Gardner’s sheer joy and genuine fit of laughter is so understandable and relatable that it makes a hilarious sketch even better.

You don’t want a blow out in the final game, and I don’t think we got one here. But in the end, there must be a winner. And this tournament is no exception.

Therefore we are please to announce that the winner of the Season 49 SNL Sketch Face-Off, and the recipient of the coveted Golden Gilda is the sketch that got the biggest laughs in recent memory.

Your winner this season is…..Beavis and Butt-Head!

Congratulations to Beavis and Butt-Head for being the first recipient of the Golden Gildas, and kudos to all the sketches that made it to the tournament.

Next up, we will transition from the Golden Gilda to the Silver Segal, the award for the least successful sketch of the season. This tournament will not be broadcast in full, but we will let you know the winners and rankings to date when our coverage continues.

From all of us here at the Howling Monkey Radio Network, we wish you good laughs, good times, and good night.

Comments are welcome. Please feel free to share with family, friends, and vague acquaintances.

SNL After Party (S49 Sketch Face Off - Final Four and Championship)