Tara McCauley February 9th, 2021 - 11:22 PM
As Dan Levy (Schitt’s Creek, Happiest Season) signed-off from his Saturday Night Live hosting debut, eagle-eyed fans might have noticed a special exchange transpire between cast members Ego Nwodim (Saturday Night Live, Brockmire) and Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live, Awkwafina is Nora from Queens) on stage. In the culmination of their week-long fake-relationship gag over social media, Yang proposed to Nwodim on stage, later sharing the moment on his Instagram.
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On Wednesday February 3, during rehearsal week for Levy’s Saturday Night Live episode, Nwodim and Yang announced their fake relationship on social media. Nwodim, promoted to repertory player this season, shared a picture of her holding hands with her new “boyfriend” on Instagram. Though the two cast mates were clearly joking around, not everyone understood that and Nwodim mentioned that “the spirit of confusion has run amuck in these comments” (Instagram).
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The confusion Yang and Nwodim’s fake romance has seemed to induce in some fans bears resemblance to that of Jonathan Van Ness and Antoni Porowski’s fake relationship behind-the-scenes of Queer Eye in 2019.
Perhaps to make the joke more obvious to those who weren’t picking up on it, Nwodim tweeted “should I cheat on Bowen?” the day after her co-worker’s “proposal” on the stage of Studio 8H.
Should I cheat on Bowen?
— Ego Nwodim (@eggy_boom) February 8, 2021
Saturday Night Live is no stranger to playing up a fake relationship for the sake of comedy. In fact, the series had a reoccurring series of sketches that focused on a fictional behind-the-scenes romance between cast members Leslie Jones (Ghostbusters, Saturday Night Live) and Kyle Mooney (Saturday Night Live, Brigsby Bear).
Unlike the series of Jones and Mooney sketches, Nwodim and Yang’s dalliance seems to have originated behind-the-scenes as a joke between friends. The audience was given a brief glimpse into their inside-joke at the end of Levy’s episode. Only time will tell whether the running-gag between the two will get referenced on the show itself or remain contained to their social media accounts.
February 13’s Valentine’s Day episode hosted by Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk, Watchmen) would be a great opportunity for Yang and Nwodim to bring fans in on the joke further. At the very least, fans should keep an eye out for another silly romantic gesture exchanged between the two during King’s sign-off.
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