Last Week Tonight found Lord Buckethead and brought him to NYC

This week, John Oliver returned to familiar territory on Last Week Tonight as the show focused again on Brexit.

As they have spent a few of the last several weeks focusing on the current nightmare circus of American politics, this actually felt pretty refreshing. Of course, Brexit is a serious issue, but kicking off the segment by taking a look at some of the politicians that stood alongside Prime Minister Theresa May set the tone for absurdity.

Basically, Oliver explains, Britain traditionally has all party leaders stand together as election results are read, even joke candidates. But before we get to Oliver’s ultimate punchline, he takes a look at the results of the snap election that May called and what this might mean for Brexit.

Though May was at one time expected to secure the strong majority she wanted to make Brexit negotiations easier, that backfired last week. Having lost her majority in Parliament, May is seeking out the numbers she needs in the Democratic Unionists Party (DUP) from Northern Ireland, a far-right group with anti-gay, anti-immigration stances. 

Oliver points out that this definitely positions her for more criticism, even as Boris Johnson (who, Oliver says, is “a grown man who perpetually looks like a seven-year-old who’s just spun in circles for two minutes and is about to throw up”) is attempting to oust her within her own party.

Oliver goes into detail about everything that must be decided in the short two years before Britain actually exits the EU. Like most things political, Brexit isn’t simple, and one of the big questions is whether Britain will undergo a “soft” or “hard” exit.

Somehow British TV news uses cheese to explain this, a comparison that Oliver says is even too far off for Buzzfeed (although, I probably would take the “Tell us what cheese you like and we’ll tell you what Brexit you want” quiz because I have very low standards for procrastination).

At the end of the day, the big factors have to do with borders, trade agreements and tariffs, and citizenship and immigration concerns. Oliver points out that there are also a ton of other tiny things you’d never even think about, including pet passports. Yes, apparently that’s a thing.

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If these things aren’t worked out in the next couple of years, Britain will go “over the cliff edge,” suddenly out of the EU without a deal; the default would be to go with the harshest policies possible. The BBC illustrates this with a car flying off a cliff, a super accurate depiction.

As long as I’m writing these Last Week Tonight recaps, I’ll probably tell you that the show was really informative, interesting, and funny. This week is no exception, so if you find this topic intriguing, definitely give at least the long segment a watch.

To end the show, Oliver brings us a surprise. As we all know by now, Last Week Tonight uses that HBO money to its advantage. This time, they tracked down Lord Buckethead and flew him to New York.

This might cause flashbacks to Vermin Supreme, the guy who wore a boot on his head and promised everyone in America a pony. Lord Buckethead seems a little more raw and menacing, if not just as hilariously odd. What’s that line from Batman? The hero we deserve?

Next: 30 Predictions for Game of Thrones Season 7

Anyway. One of the things news satire does for us is pointing out how absurd the world — particularly politics —  can be, and man, this is some Grade A material. And after being Comey-ed to death this last week, escaping to Britain was a welcome change for a moment.