Last night was John Oliver’s final episode of The Daily Show. After more than seven years on Jon Stewart’s team, he’s stepping up from the dregs of basic cable to launch his own show on HBO.
Stewart stunned Oliver — whose importance to the show in recent years cannot be overstated, especially after he masterfully played guest host over the summer — with a surprise retrospective, in a move that required some elaborate planning. Stewart actually wrote and rehearsed a bit for the duo to perform, just to lure Oliver to the desk. Once there, Stewart cut the bit short and dedicated the entire segment to celebrating Oliver’s run on the show.
Things got hilarious. Then they got emotional. Then they got hilarious again.
