John Oliver returned to HBO last Sunday. It was the first episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver since November, and somehow, it felt like he’d been gone a very long time.
Sunday’s episode was pretty standard stuff, at least for Last Week Tonight: Oliver kicked things off with a rundown of America’s latest school shooting, wisely keeping his anger in check and focusing instead on the words and actions of Parkland’s surviving students. After a far-ranging examination of Trump’s short-sighted squandering of America’s soft power, Oliver wrapped things up with a performance around his desk—one featuring a Batmobile-shaped bed, inflatable T-rex suits, and members of the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus performing a jarringly beautiful rendition of Smash Mouth’s “All Star.” That last bit was about how America creates all sorts of great and terrible things, and not just cruel, inept presidents; it was as good an example as any of the absurd, smart humor that’s become Last Week Tonight‘s hallmark.