S.N.L. : Watch Charles Barkley’s Weirdness Completely Break Kate McKinnon

When watching four-time hostCharles Barkley tackle his latest monologue forSaturday Night Live, newcomers to the show may be forgiven for wondering how an athlete with such a stilted cue card delivery has been asked back so many times. Barkley even addressed the question himself during the monologue joking that he was there “for no reason” other than, perhaps, giving creator Lorne Michaels someone to talk to about Black Panther.

But though Barkley never quite loses his halting delivery, some of the weirder sketches of the night served as reminders to long-time S.N.L. fans why the basketball star keeps getting asked back for more. Under pressure of some of the night’s weirder concepts, Barkley plowed ahead with a commitment that sold some of the night’s darker and more unsettling concepts. His unflinching delivery in the last sketch of the night—the show’s recurring “Last Call” bit—was enough to break the usually stoic Kate McKinnon in a way I’ve never seen before. You can credit the dental equipment if you like, but it’s Barkley willingness to act a fool that sells it.

That wasn’t Barkley’s only trip to the weirder side of Saturday Night Live. Earlier in the night, Barkley sailed through a sketch he shared with an overly-affectionate puppet (voiced by Mikey Day) with flying colors. Whether it was the repeated use of the word “turkeys” or his character’s earnest-yet-frustrated hope of helping kids learn, Barkley made what was essentially a string of juvenile sex jokes land in “Homework Hotline.”

That last off-beat S.N.L. sketch in Barkley’s hat trick (if you’ll forgive the mixed sports metaphor) was a dating show turned cry for help called “Hump or Dump.” Here Barkley’s subdued delivery works best of all as a morose would-be suitor who threatens to hurt himself if he doesn’t get picked by Aidy Bryant’s reluctant bachelorette. (The show’s host, played by Kenan Thompson, does a lot of work in a running commentary to smooth out some of the potentially problematic messaging that premise could have delivered.)

So is Charles Barkley a chameleon? Most assuredly not. But like some of the very best non-actor hosts before him, his charm lies in his complete commitment to even the most challenging concepts. Does it always work? No. But, honestly, three solid sketches in one night is better than what a lot of hosts manage to pull off.