Chadwick Boseman took the Saturday Night Live stage over the weekend, where he brought out his Black Panther character, T’Challa, for a new, brilliant installment in SNL‘s hilarious recurring “Black Jeopardy” sketch.
Decked out in his formal dignitary ensemble (in stead of his iconic Black Panther armor) T’Challa’s answers to the “Black Jeopardy” questions painted a really beautiful portrait of his home nation of Wakanda.
Host Darnell Hayes (played by Kenan Thompson) led the contestants through a series of questions regarding black culture in America – from the categories “Grown Ass,” “Aw Hell Naw,” “Fid’na,” “Girl, Bye,” “I Ain’t Got It,” and “White People.”
As it turns out T’Challa’s experiences as the king of Wakanda have given him a remarkably different view of the world and his role, and America’s cultural morays are very foreign to him.
After the category “Fid’na” was chosen, the contestant were asked, “This is the reason your cable bill is in your grand mamma’s name.”
T’Challa rang in quickly, answering, “To honor her as the foundation of the family.”
While Darnell said the answer was “really nice,” it was also wrong. Shanice (played by Leslie Jones) rang in with the correct answer: “What is, ‘I’m fidna to get a car and I don’t need that on my credit.'”
When the “Grown Ass” category was chosen, T’Chall got another chance with the question, “You send your smart-ass child here, ’cause she thinks she grown.”
“What is, ‘To one of our free universities, where she can apply her intelligence and perhaps one day become a great scientist,” T’Challa suggested.
“Okay, well, the answer we was looking for was, ‘Out my damn house,’ but you know what, I’m gonna give it to you T’Challa,” Darnell said. “Y’all must have no mean streets in Wakanda. That must be nice.”
The hilarious cultural divide was even more apparent when Darnell asked a question from the “Awe Hell Naw” category: “The police man says there’s been some robberies in your neighborhood, and asks if you have any information.”
T’Challa rang in instantly, answering, ‘What is, ‘Not only do I tell this man what I know, but I also assist him in tracking down the offender. After all, our administers of law enforcement are only here to protect us.’ Is this correct?”
“I mean, it should be,” Darnell said, shrugging. “I’m thinking you haven’t spent much time in America.”
Eventually, however, T’Challa gets a hang of the kind of answers the show is looking for after Darnell asked a question from the ubiquitous “White People” category. Check out the sketch to see how the King of Wakanda addresses a “bland potato salad” food faux pas.
While Black Panther came out nearly two months ago – and co-star, Sterling K. Brown already hosted SNL in March – Boseman will be reprising the Wakandan superhero for the second time this year when Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters April 26.
Saturday Night Live returns April 14 — with first-time host John Mulaney and music guest Jack White – at 11:30 p.m. ET, 8:30 p.m. PT on NBC.
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