During his penultimate episode on The Daily Show, Jon Stewart pondered his very existence. Yes, he realized that even though the media may think he has some incredible power to change things, the fact is, he might have made the world worse.
After throwing up headline after headline that mentioned how he “eviscerated” or “destroyed” his targets, the comedian looked at three specific cases: ISIS, big banks and Fox News. In each case, his comments did not do anything and even made things worse. ISIS is still powerful in the Syria and Iraq. Only one person has ever been jailed for a role in the 2008 financial crisis. And Fox News is becoming all-powerful, even hosting the first Republican debate for the 2016 presidential race.
“The world is demonstrably worse than when I started! Have I caused this?” Stewart wondered. He then took out a skull and started wondering, like Hamlet, “Hath all my efforts all been for naught?”
Of course, he later realized that one thing has gotten better since he took over the Daily Show. Suddenly, his beloved New York Mets are in first place!
The episode also featured a look back at Stewart’s unfortunate segment titles and an interview with Louis C.K. Well, it was more like two comedians praising each other for five minutes and hoping they die together.
“I came on behalf of comedy to say... nice job,” Louis told Stewart.
Stewart’s final episode, which he promised will run a little long, airs tonight. He will be replaced by Trevor Noah in late September.
screenshot from Comedy Central video