Saturday Night Live: Ego Nwodim’s versatility is on display this season

Saturday Night Live cast member Ego Nwodim has been getting a lot of positive attention for her performances so far in the current season. Now in her third season, Nwodim has been providing attention-grabbing performances and is getting a lot more exposure and media coverage.

Nwodim joined the sketch comedy show in 2018, having entered at the beginning of Season 41. Nwodim became the seventh African-American female cast member since the show’s inception.

In the second half of season 46, audiences have seen Nwodim continue to transform into different characters and it’s apparent that the 32-year old comedic actress has been making waves as a talent to watch and a cast member who’s proved to be an asset to the ensemble.

Ego Nwodim’s best sketches from season 46 of Saturday Night Live

If you haven’t yet seen Nwodim impersonate Dionne Warwick, what are you waiting for? Now’s your chance. The SNL cast member has been dominating the impression game lately, portraying legendary singer and actress, Dionne Warwick in two sketches during the current season and was even recognized for her performance by the 80-year old singer herself.

The sketch involved Warwick hosting a talk show where she interviewed celebrities only to mess up their names and ask them to help her deal with her feud with another famous figure, Wendy Williams. Warwick and Williams have actually had a real-life feud and this sketch gives a perfect nod to that in a subtle way. Nwodim gets Warwick’s inflection and personality down pat. It’s amazing to see cast members do memorable impressions and this is definitely one that is worth noting. Nwodim can be seen as Warwick for a second time during the Nick Jonas-hosted episode last week.

While this music video sketch is definitely relatable as it speaks to what the last year in quarantine has been like and can do to someone, it is also just outright hilarious. Nwodim’s castmate Pete Davidson shows up and gives his own observations on what a year of quarantine can do as well as explaining the plot of the movie Tenet. I would say this sketch was definitely a stand-out during this episode. This could definitely be seen as an homage to Bad Bunny’s eclectic energy.

This isn’t the first time Nwodim has been the star of a music video sketch, she also appeared alongside Megan Thee Stallion in a laugh-out-loud sketch entitled, “Bottom of Your Face” in the first half of the season back in October.

In this digital sketch, Nwodim and SNL featured player, Andrew Dismukes are put into a reimagined trailer that parodies the FX original streaming series, A Teacher. For viewers who haven’t seen A Teacher, the sketch provides a more light-hearted take. Nwodim plays Nicole Williams, a high school history teacher who gets propositioned by her student (Dismukes) who claims he can’t stop thinking about her. As Williams, Nwodim shuts him down at every compliment he gives her with hilarious lines such as “You’re pulling a C-minus in my class, that’s not hot for me.” Watch it to see Nwodim perfectly capture the energy of a pissed-off teacher trying to escape the affection of her student.

It’s clear that Ego Nwodim’s talent has definitely not been underutilized. She’s been making appearances in live sketches, but it seems as if she’s been showcasing her strengths and abilities in pre-recorded digital sketches as well. She’s definitely been featured a lot in musical sketches so I’m excited to see what other types of sketches Nwodim will appear in for the rest of season 46.

What do you think of Ego Nwodim’s performance so far? Share your thoughts in the comment section. Saturday Night Live will return on Mar. 27 with alum Maya Rudolph as host and musical guest Jack Harlow on NBC at 11:30 pm EST.