The Boy Who Lusted: SNL’s Harry Potter ‘Heated Rivalry’ Mashup + SNL Gives Us the Stranger Things Reunion We Craved
- Je-Ree
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
If you had “Finn Wolfhard making out with a Ginger in a Quidditch locker room” on your 2026 bingo card, congratulations you’re either a prophet or you spend way too much time on AO3. This weekend, Saturday Night Live decided to choose violence and high-octane fan service all at once. Hosting just weeks after the Stranger Things series finale left us all in a puddle of nostalgia, Wolfhard steered an episode that felt like a fever dream curated by a very specific corner of Tumblr.
Expelliarmus Your Pants: The ‘Heated Wizardry’ Sketch
The crown jewel of the night was undoubtedly the pre-taped parody, “Heated Wizardry.” Taking a massive swing at HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter reboot, the sketch reimagined the Wizarding World through the lens of Rachel Reid’s Heated Rivalry. For those not chronically online, that’s the iconic gay hockey romance novel about rivals who hate-love each other.
Wolfhard played a brooding, perpetually sweaty Harry Potter, while SNL’s Ben Marshall stepped into the role of a surprisingly shredded Ron Weasley. The two weren't just competing for the Golden Snitch; they were competing for the title of "Most Likely to Forget the Masquerade Policy."
The production value was suspiciously high, capturing that grit-and-glamour HBO aesthetic. We got wand innuendos that would make a Mandrake blush and a locker room confrontation that involved a lot of heavy breathing and "accidental" broomstick contact. The highlight? A surprise cameo by Jason Momoa as a version of Hagrid, who didn't kick down the door to tell Harry he was a wizard but to let him and Ron know the he knew. It was the sharpest satire of the "dark and gritty reboot" trend we’ve seen in years, perfectly skewering the industry’s desperate need to make everything “prestige.”
The Hawkins High Reunion We Needed
While the Harry Potter parody was the viral bait, the heart of the episode resided in the monologue. Wolfhard was joined on stage by Caleb McLaughlin and Gaten Matarazzo, marking the first time the core trio has appeared together since the Stranger Things finale on New Year’s Eve.
The banter was classic TV Cave fodder: self-deprecating, slightly bitter and incredibly charming. They joked about being able to do "adult films" and how strange it is reading comments about them from grown folk. It was a meta-commentary on the transition from child stardom to the "What now?" phase of a career, delivered with a wink that suggested they’re doing just fine.
Torch it or Tomb it?
SNL managed to bottle the lightning of two massive fandoms without it feeling like cheap pandering. By merging the high-stakes drama of Heated Rivalry with the childhood nostalgia of Harry Potter, they created a segment that actually felt fresh. And seeing the Stranger Things boys back together? It was the perfect palate cleanser for those of us still mourning the end of the Upside Down.
Was it thirsty? Yes. Was it necessary? Absolutely. If this is the energy Finn Wolfhard is bringing to his post-Netflix era, we are seated.
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