'Chappelle's Show' Characters Revived for 'SNL' 'House of the Dragon' Parody

By Michael Hein

Saturday Night Live staged an elaborate parody of House of the Dragon this week, but the crossover with embattled comedian Dave Chappelle left some viewers unsure of how to feel about it. Chappelle revived some of his most beloved characters from his sketch show days and brought them to Westeros. It was a bit of a shock to see how well some of them fit in.

Chappelle's Show remains one of the most iconic sketch shows ever, though Chappelle himself has become a lightning rod for controversy in recent years. There was even a rumor that some of the SNL writers would be boycotting Chappelle's appearance this week because of Chappelle's jokes about the transgender community, though that has been disputed. Nevertheless, Chappelle's rhetoric on that topic continues to leave its mark on all of his work, including the commentary on this House of the Dragon sketch.

The pre-recorded segment was elaborately costumed and made some deep-cut references to HBO's new Game of Thrones prequel series. After setting up a scene in Princess Rhaenyra's throne room, it introduced many of Chappelle's familiar characters as "potential allies from a faraway land." They included Silky Johnson, Tyrone Biggums and Rick James. Donnell Rawlings also made a cameo as Silky's associate Beautiful, while Ice-T made a cameo as "Light-Skin Larry Targaryen."

House of the Dragon is streaming now on HBO Max. This week's episode of SNL is streaming on Peacock and Hulu. Here's a look at how fans responded to this crossover sketch.

'Dracarys'

For many fans, the punchline that put this sketch over the top was Tyrone's use of the dragon command "dracarys."

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Rhaena and Baela

Fans of the show imposed their critiques on this sketch – including the lack of dialogue and screentime for princesses Rhaena and Baela Targaryen.

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Missed Opportunity

Fans thought that there were plenty of jokes about the Black characters on House of the Dragon that Chappelle would have been uniquely qualified to make. Some counted these as missed opportunities.

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Belated

Some fans were surprised it took SNL this long to do a parody of House of the Dragon.

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Canceled

When the show was over, Ice-T responded to the controversy and his part in it. He seemed dismissive of the entire controversy.

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Premise

Some viewers took issue with Chappelle's set-up for this sketch, feeling that it was a bit thin.

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Chappelle's Show Revival

Finally, this sketch made some fans long for a revival of Chappelle's Show, imagining how it would deal with all of the hot topics of the day.

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