It was the final slot of the night on February 4, 2023. Usually, the 12:55 AM sketch is where the weird stuff goes to die. But when Pedro Pascal sat down at that prop restaurant table, nobody—not the cast, not the crew, and certainly not the internet—was ready for what was about to happen. We’re talking about "Lisa from Temecula," the sketch that basically broke the infrastructure of Studio 8H.
If you haven't seen it, the premise is deceptively simple. A group of friends is celebrating a birthday. Pedro Pascal plays Paul, the nice guy trying to make a good impression. Then comes Lisa, played by the brilliant Ego Nwodim. She’s the sister from out of town who orders her steak "extra, extra, extra well-done."
She doesn’t want a speck of red. Honestly, she wants it cooked until it’s basically a hockey puck.
The Pedro Pascal SNL Steak Moment That Changed Everything
When the steak finally arrives, the sketch shifts from a standard "awkward dinner" trope into pure physical comedy gold. Lisa starts sawing. And I mean sawing. Because the meat is so overcooked, she has to use her entire body weight to get the knife through.
The table starts rocking. Then it starts jumping.
Drinks are sloshing. A pitcher of sangria—which Punkie Johnson deserves an Emmy for saving—is sliding back and forth like it’s on a sinking ship. This wasn't just a funny script; it was a mechanical failure turned into high art. You can see the exact second Pedro Pascal loses it. He tries to deliver a line about a dog that followed him home, but his voice just cracks. He’s gone.
Why the "Lisa from Temecula" Sketch Almost Didn't Happen
Here is the thing most people don't know: this sketch almost got cut. During the dress rehearsal earlier that night, the bit totally bombed. According to Ego Nwodim, the table wasn't shaking enough, and she was originally given a T-bone steak that was literally impossible to cut. It wasn't funny; it was just a lady struggling with lunch.
Usually, if a sketch fails that hard at dress, it’s gone.
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But Pedro Pascal stepped in. He told the writers and producers in the post-dress meeting that he loved it. He specifically asked for the table to shake more. He wanted the chaos. He championed the "extra, extra well-done" steak because he saw the potential for the breakdown.
- The MVP: Marc Petrosino, the puppeteer/stagehand under the table who was responsible for the violent shaking.
- The Ad-Lib: When Lisa’s chair fell over, Ego just kept going, propping her foot up on the table (or Pedro's leg, depending on which frame you catch) to get more leverage.
- The "Butt" Quote: "Don't think I'm giving up the butt tonight" became an instant meme, mostly because of Pedro’s stunned reaction.
Breaking Character: The "Debbie Downer" Effect
There is a specific kind of joy in watching professional actors fail to do their jobs. We call it "breaking," and it’s an SNL staple. But the pedro pascal snl steak sketch felt different. It wasn't just one person giggling. It was a total collapse.
Bowen Yang was essentially hiding behind his hands. Kenan Thompson, who usually has a literal iron will when it comes to staying in character, was visibly vibrating with laughter.
When Ego Nwodim dropped the line, "Oh, 'cause we Black?" after a waiter complained about the noise, the entire room exploded. It was a "no survivors" situation. That kind of authentic, unscripted energy is exactly what makes Google Discover and TikTok go wild. It felt like we were in on the joke, watching a group of friends have the time of their lives on live TV.
What We Can Learn From Lisa
Beyond the memes, there's a weirdly relatable core to the Lisa from Temecula character. We all know that person. The one who has a very specific, slightly "wrong" way of doing things—like eating steak with ketchup or wanting it charred to a crisp—and will defend that choice to the death.
Lisa isn't embarrassed. She’s confident. She’s "bussin."
The sketch works because Pedro Pascal plays the "straight man" so well initially. He is the audience surrogate, watching this madness unfold with a mixture of polite horror and genuine delight. His "renaissance" year was defined by dark, gritty roles in The Last of Us and The Mandalorian, so seeing him absolutely fall apart over a piece of rubbery meat was the pallet cleanser the world needed.
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How to Revisit the Chaos
If you're looking to re-watch or share the clip, keep an eye out for these specific details you might have missed:
- The Sangria Pitcher: Watch Punkie Johnson. She spends half the sketch physically anchoring the drinks to the table so they don't fly into the front row.
- The Cue Cards: There’s a moment where the shaking is so bad the actors can barely see the cards, leading to some of the awkward, hilarious pauses.
- The Foot: When Ego puts her foot up for leverage, look at Pedro’s face. That is the face of a man who has completely abandoned the script.
If you want to dive deeper into why this worked, look up Ego Nwodim’s interview on the Good One podcast. She breaks down the technical side of the "steak" and how they actually rigged the table to move that way.
The "Lisa from Temecula" sketch didn't just rank well or get views; it reminded people that Saturday Night Live is at its best when it’s dangerous, messy, and a little bit "extra, extra well-done."