Jason Sudeikis was first hired as a writer on Saturday Night Live in 2003 before getting his big break and becoming a cast member two years later. He was on the show until 2013, a glue guy who was often put into the role of playing the straight man in sketches, political figures (Mitt Romney, Joe Biden), and the occasional wacky and/or Southern figure (Jon Bovi, Maine Justice Judge Marshall T. Boudreaux, Male A-Hole, Potato Chip astronaut recruit). He was always a welcome presence and came across as an unselfish team player who was happier to contribute to the sketch than steal the spotlight. His film career, in which he often played romantic leads (Sleeping With Other People, Mother's Day) or smarmy assholes (Horrible Bosses, We're The Millers), put him on solid footing, but it wasn't until Ted Lasso that Sudeikis really became an award-winning, kindness-touting breakout star.

So Sudeikis was never the most dominant performer on SNL during his time on the show—Fred Armisen and Will Forte were weirder, Andy Samburg had a more popular niche with Lonely Island, Bill Hader was the jack of all trades, Kenan Thompson was the rock, and Kristen Wiig, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were all bigger stars with bigger careers outside of Studio 8H—but he undoubtedly is a star now. So it was in this context that Sudeikis returned to SNL this weekend to host for the first time, alongside musical guest Brandi Carlile.

Throughout the episode, he proved himself to be a fantastic host, with the same infectious energy and unflappable stage presence as he did back in his SNL days—only this time, in his first ever Monologue, it was combined with the same unapologetic sentimentality which fuels Ted Lasso. SNL changed his life twice, he explained—once as a viewer, once as a castmember—and he unabashedly believes in the power and importance of this comedy institution.

As Sudeikis noted in that monologue, this episode in particular “probably won’t change your life"—I would say it seemed overall to be a notch below last week's season highlight, but still much better than the first two episodes. And there were several standout sketches, first and foremost the immortal What Up With That, a ridiculous, overstuffed, joyous sketch that always works no matter how many times the show trots it out (for the record, this was its twelfth appearance, but only the third since Sudeikis left the show). The random assortment of guests this time were Oscar Isaac, Emily Ratajkowski and Nicholas Braun, whom Kenan Thompson assumed was Lindsey Buckingham dressed up in an incredibly realistic Cousin Greg costume.

My other favorite sketch of the night was Parent-Teacher Conference, in which Sudeikis' undeniable chemistry with Ego Nwodim kept escalating as Kyle Mooney's jokey uncomfortableness gave way to sheer panic.

I also enjoyed Mellen, a pre-taped sketch about a masculine daytime TV host modeled off of Ellen, with all the inappropriate pranks (Gritty!) and nut punches that implies. It's worth watching just for the increasingly bizarre ways Sudeikis says the character's name.

Science Room with Jason Sudeikis was something of a tired sketch premise, but the performances from Sudeikis, Cecily Strong and Mikey Day were all excellent, making this more enjoyable than not.

Sudeikis also got to shine in Annie, in which he plays Daddy Warbucks' most mysterious fixer.

Sudeikis teamed up with Heidi Gardner in the 10-to-1 sketch Casino Proposal, but Kenan Thompson stole the sketch as a creepy rich dude who is very bad at negotiating, and may not actually be as rich as he claims.

Check out the rest of the sketches below: the founding fathers come up with the plot of National Treasure in Declaration Pitch; Chris Redd was the standout in the surprisingly gross Men’s Underwear Commercial; and 2013 Joe Biden (Sudeikis) hung out with 2021 Joe Biden (James Austin Johnson) in Ghost of Biden Past Cold Open, which was totally fine and thankfully not dragged out too long (it also very briefly featured Alex Moffat as March 2021 Joe Biden).

Weekend Update was unusually short this week with only one guest, but at least it was a really good one: Sudeikis brought back his recurring character The Devil on His Latest Accomplishments, taking credit for climate change, Tom Brady's youthful appearance, pop-up ads, Florida, and the fact that Colin Jost married Scarlett Johansson. But don't blame him for QAnon: "Those guys are crazy. A bunch of sad Internet psychos thinkin' a cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles exist. It's like, excuse me, don't drag my good name into your sick fantasies."

It turns out there's a good reason it was so short: there were two (very good) cut-for-time Weekend Update guests: first up, Melissa Villaseñor on Hispanic Heritage Month, which turned out to be about Villaseñor's dating life (or lack thereof). Then there was Guy Who Just Bought a Boat on Halloween Dating Tips, which remains one of my favorite recurring Alex Moffat characters.

Music guest Brandi Carlile performed "Broken Horses" and "Right On Time."

There's no new episode next week (NBC is showing a repeat of the season premiere with Owen Wilson), but the show is back on November 6th with Succession star Kieran Culkin hosting, and Ed Sheeran (if he isn't still quarantining with COVID-19).