The musician pulled double duty as the host and musical guest and slayed in both roles.
Harry Styles returned to Studio 8H over the weekend -- this time in the coveted dual role of host and musical guest -- and he brought a wild energy, enthusiasm and charisma that made his episode of Saturday Night Live one of the best of the season.
The 25-year-old singer also brought something else to the show that really stood out in an amazing way: hilariously weird sexual energy and deep-seated sexuality that elevated some of the sketches into the realm of surreal art.
The weirdness started from early on in the episode in a pre-taped musical sketch, "Joan Song," in which a lonely woman named Joan (Aidy Bryant) sings the story of her life, and how she only has one true love: he dog, Doug.
In a bizarre fantasy sequence, Joan imagines how Doug would look if he were human, Doug transforms into Styles, and the uncomfortable yet oddly endearing sexual chemistry is awkwardly palpable.
In "Childbirth Class," Styles and Heidi Gardner play an Icelandic couple (who are also professional lip sync singers and Instagram personalities) who come to a class for expectant parents -- although their experience with the pregnancy journey isn't exactly the same as their classmates.
Through the course of the sketch, Gardner ends up twerking in Style's face, and the pair re-enact their favorite sex position to the discomfort of their fellow expectant parents.
In "Airline Pilots," Styles and Mikey Day play the titular pilots of a flight to San Francisco who, when they think the PA system has been turned off, have a very graphic conversation about the sex lives of Scooby-Doo characters.
Possibly the most shockingly graphic sketch came when Styles played the Instagram manager for the Sara Lee corporation in a sketch titled simply "Sara Lee."
Styles is called in by two of his bosses who have a few questions about some particularly graphic Instagram comments, made by the official Sara Lee account. As it turns out, Styles' character inadvertently forgot to switch to his private account when he commented under a picture of Nick Jonas telling the singer "Wreck me daddy," and "Destroy me, King."
As if to hammer home his willingness, and even eagerness, to get dirty on SNL, Styles wore a white shirt that simply said "Sex" in black letters, under his checkered jacket, during the episode's farewell.
Styles also slayed when it came to his music performances. For his first set, he sang a soulful, smoother rendition of his hit single "Lights Up," off his forthcoming sophomore solo album.
Styles donned a black, sequined jumpsuit that showed off his tattooed chest with a plunging neckline that opened up to his navel.
He then surprised fans with a performance of his new song, "Watermelon Sugar." And by new, he literally performed the song live on air less than two hours after releasing the song to the public.
Styles donned an appropriately light-red suit with a black tie -- giving him a serious Watermelon look -- and belted out the catchy tune while commanding the small Studio 8H performance stage.
From a strong monologue through a serious of seriously funny sketches, Styles' excitement and electric energy felt like a shot of adrenaline that brought the entire cast to life. Hopefully we'll be seeing much more of Styles -- maybe, eventually, even getting him into the five-timers club -- in the future.
SNL airs live coast-to-coast Saturdays at 11:30 pm. ET, 8:30 p.m. PT on NBC.
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