"This is our final show of the year, and we just wanted to thank you so much for watching," John Oliver said at the end of Sunday's Last Week Tonight. "Clearly, this has been a dark time to be producing a comedy show, but incredibly we have managed to have some fun this year." He listed some of the lighter highlights of his seventh season, "and of course, I spent the whole year demanding that Adam Driver demolish me," he added, truthfully. Oliver wrapped that year-long bit up with an awkward FaceTime call from Driver himself, who acted less than amused by the whole weird thing.
But Driver also got Oliver to explore the void he has inhabited ever since COVID-19 hit, and as Oliver left through a newly discovered door, he started ruminating on how "this year has been an absolute parade of misery." You may have forgotten some of the low points, or might have added in some of your own. "2020 was absolutely terrible, and I really hope next years is going to be better, but the truth is, what happens next is up to all of us," he said. "It's going to depend on how willing we are to fight, how well we learn from what's happened, and and how much we're able to care about each other. So I don't know what happens next, but I do know what happens now." And what happened then was less a moment of zen than a fiery moment of catharsis, set to classical music.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The Pentagon faces an uncertain future with TrumpTalking Point The president-elect has nominated conservative commentator Pete Hegseth to lead the Defense Department
-
This is what you should know about State Department travel advisories and warningsIn Depth Stay safe on your international adventures
-
'All Tyson-Paul promised was spectacle and, in the end, that's all we got'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
-
Momofuku's 'Chili Crunch' trademark uproarSpeed Read The company's attempt to own the sole rights has prompted backlash
-
Kevin Hart awarded Mark Twain PrizeSpeed Read He is the 25th recipient of the prestigious comedy prize
-
Is Downton Abbey set to return for a final film?Speed Read Imelda Staunton reveals that a third movie may be in the pipeline
-
'Oppenheimer' sweeps Oscars with 7 winsspeed read The film won best picture, best director (Christopher Nolan) and best actor (Cillian Murphy)
-
'Rust' armorer convicted of manslaughterspeed read The film's cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed by actor Alec Baldwin during rehearsal
-
The Beatles are getting 4 intersecting biopicsSpeed Read Director Sam Mendes is making four separate movies, each told from the perspective of one band member
