Alexander Skarsgård brings Saturday Night Live across the thousand-episode mark

Skarsgård didn’t fully return to his essential yet less persona-specific strangeness until the very end of the night, when he played a “funny” boyfriend cribbing his “random” quips from Cards Against Humanity. By that point, some of the episode’s heedless early joy had dissipated, though the Cards sketch delivered on its own terms. What lingered was the sense that the show doesn’t need a legacy star or old cast member for an installment that feels vaguely like a throwback (complimentary). Given the lack of ceremony in the wake of the 50th season, that was probably the right energy for SNL crossing over into the four-digit episode count. Besides, most comedies don’t really hit their stride until they’ve done at least three thousand.

What was on

As mentioned, that early stretch was terrific, including Wickline finally speaking for those of us who feel strongly that doing fast sports in the cold sounds, frankly, terrible. Again, I know she’s divisive among some fans, but every time she’s the focus of a segment like that, it’s perfectly judged.

While the Tarzan and Cards Against Humanity sketches weren’t quite as great as the early stuff, they both had an agreeable early ’90s vibe, especially Tarzan, even if you felt like Kevin Nealon would have played it better.

What was off

It’s hard to begrudge the show an occasional recurring sketch these days, given how infrequently they go there, but back-to-back returns of the Scandinavian Film Set and Immigrant Dad Talk Show, both featuring a droll cameo from the host’s real-life dad Stellan Skarsgård, recalled a ’90s episode in a bad way, and was maybe not the best strategy. Neither made me laugh much, but I’d give the edge in unfunniness to Immigrant Dad Talk Show. It’s a much stronger recurring concept overall but already feels like it’s running on fumes after three installments, even as the Skarsgård family brought in some minor variations.

Also, the sketch featuring Skarsgård as the awkwardly tall and ill-tempered Iowa transplant Agnes alienating her young peers felt like it wasn’t quite there. Everyone in it was hitting their marks, with the possible exception of the always-dicey person-to-dummy transfer timing for the slapstickiest sections. But there was also a nagging wateriness about how old these girls were supposed to be; I’m not saying there aren’t any kinds who like both Olivia Rodrigo and Bluey (I know, everyone loves Bluey) but between those details, the dialogue, and the general playdate situation, it was hard to tell where between the vast 5-to-10 spectrum the “normal” characters were supposed to be, which throws off their contrast to the outlier character. That might sound astonishingly literal-minded for a sketch where adults dress-up like kids, but that kind of uncertainty can make an outlandish premise harder to sell.

Most valuable player

The best pure performance in the episode was pretty obviously Ashley Padilla in that first sketch and some of the biggest single laughs came from Jane Wickline, but the most overall fun in the episode belonged to Sarah Sherman, whether remote-reporting in a very cold-looking dress on Weekend Update, inspiring a grudge from Skarsgård’s hulking little girl Agnes, or romantically paired with the host in two successive sketches. She also gets bonus points for plugging her recent stand-up special far fewer times than one of her colleagues has!

Next time

I was about ready to say that unless I spend the next month mainlining Heated Rivalry, Connor Storrie will rep the rare SNL host where his episode will be where I see him act for the first time. But I guess he was in the Joker sequel that I reviewed for this very website, so technically that isn’t true. But close! Meanwhile, this will be the fourth musical-guest appearance from Mumford & Sons. Time!

Stray observations

• • Cardi B definitely showed some range in her two numbers, both fun!
• • I’m not sure if the Dismukes/Padilla dance of Two People Who Just Hooked Up really needed to continue (especially because continuing their relationship kinda feels like it moves the whole concept into something else), but it’s hard to argue against seeing them paired again.
• • Speaking of which: I’m not doing a deep-dive fact-check of this at two in the morning, but does this episode having three recurring bits/characters make it the most recurring-heavy episode of the season? (For these purposes, political impressions and repeat-structure sketches don’t count.)
• • I think I especially enjoyed the Cards Against Humanity sketch because I usually find it genuinely endearing when professional comedy writers get catty about what passes for funny during regular interactions.
• • Most SNL fans are aware that the show sometime posts a cut-for-time segment or two in the week following a new episode. It’s not unusual for these segments to be funnier than something than made it to air; they really are cut for time more than quality. And as any Oasis or They Might Be Giants fans are aware, it’s a fool’s errand to spend too much time wondering how the overall trajectory of the main episode could have been changed by swapping in a cooler B-side. That said, last week’s Teyana Taylor episode had a surprising treasure trove of extra material: two cut live sketches and one especially good pretape music video about your mom’s camera roll. If all three had been swapped in for the three weakest segments of the night, a C+ episode would have been an easy B-, maybe a solid B. Just some trivia for the grade-grubbers (and an alert to anyone who doesn’t check the SNL YouTube page).

Jesse Hassenger is a contributor to The A.V. Club.