The affection for Bowen Yang was unmistakable at Saturday Night Live as the show bid him farewell in a memorable fashion this past weekend.

During his farewell episode, Yang was prominently featured throughout. He kicked off the night with a duet alongside guest host Ariana Grande during her monologue and concluded the evening with a personal farewell sketch. The show even fulfilled his dream by booking Cher as the musical guest, who also appeared in the episode’s climactic 10-to-1 sketch, taking on the role of Yang’s Final Boss. The nostalgia was further heightened by a surprise appearance from former cast member Aidy Bryant, joining Yang for a final round of trend forecasting on Weekend Update.

In her role as Yang’s stand-in boss, Cher humorously remarked during his spontaneous exit interview, “Well, everyone thought you were a little bit too gay. But you know what? You’re perfect for me.”

It was a moment that prompted yet another wave of joyful tears.

Not many cast members get that pointed and that sincere of a celebratory send-off.

But Bowen was different. And not just because of his five Emmy nominations, including four consecutive nods coming into Season 51 for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, more than any of the SNL men who came to 30 Rock before him. Only Kate McKinnon (nine acting noms, two wins) and Kristen Wiig (four noms) can boast as much from their tenures as cast members.

Of course, he meant so much to the Asian and queer communities for giving them much-needed onscreen representation. Initially, that came through in the most obvious ways. While still a writer, Yang registered with audiences standing alongside guest host Sandra Oh in a March 2019 episode appearing as North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. He’d reprise the role that fall in the season premiere, making his debut as a cast member in the cold open, bantering with Alec Baldwin’s Trump. The show also would call upon Yang to represent other Asians either by speaking as himself (to talk on Update about rising anti-Asian violence in reaction to COVID), or by impersonating other Asians, from a Chinese trade representative to more well-known Asian Americans such as George Takei or Andrew Yang.

In later seasons, he’d get tasked to mock Republicans in the news, from George Santos to Vice President JD Vance.

But Yang broke through by proving he was no novelty act. He did so most memorably by inhabiting characters not bound by ethnicity or sexuality, which he could imbue with outlandish costumes and outsized personalities. Starting with his appearance in April 2021 (Season 46) as the iceberg that sink sank sunk the Titanic.

He followed that up with moments as a Chinese spy balloon, a spotted lanternfly with more invasive tendencies, a mysterious drone….hey, not all of these caricatures needed to be so scary in our skies. Yang also made waves as the hippo from a Thai zoo that went viral after photos of the newborn animal surfaced last September. Here’s Yang as Moo Deng.

He could also play against type, such as this March 2024 (Season 49) pre-tape where guest host Sydney Sweeney learned that Yang was secretly straight.

Or he could go hilariously lean into stereotypes, such as when his character and guest host Adam Driver’s character anticipated having a child together in December 2023 (Season 49).

It went over well enough that he got Jon Hamm to join him for a variation on that premise this April (Season 50).

And now he’s said his final Good Nights, waving to the audience once last time as a cast member.

Leaving midseason isn’t that unusual. Cecily Strong, the show’s longest-serving cast member, ended her decade-long run three Decembers ago while she was already starring off-Broadway and in Los Angeles in her take on Lily Tomlin’s one-woman show, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe. If you know you’re ready to pursue other projects, especially outside of New York City, why wait until May if you don’t have to? Especially in such a transitional season as Season 51 already has proven to be. When you’ve seen your peers head out over the summer (like Ego Nwodim and Heidi Gardner), and you’ve seen one of the people who was supposed to join the cast with you in 2019 only to get fired and come back twice so far to host (Shane Gillis), an honor most cast alums have to wait years to achieve themselves, what is the incentive in staying longer? No offense, Kenan.

And then there’s the vibe shift, that SNL is no longer the stepping stone to movie stardom that it used to be.

It’s almost a Faustian bargain for any young aspiring comedian — say yes to Lorne’s job offer, and you’ll soon be rubbing elbows or even kissing the most famous people in the world, partying with biggest musical acts, and talked about online for good and for bad — but you have to survive emotionally and psychologically the pressure-cooker inside 30 Rock, much of it institutional and perpetuated by the older guard, but some of it also self-inflicted thinking you have to measure up to some standard or expectation when you already know you’re one of the funniest people in the country. All while being expected to shoehorn yourself into this institution that sometimes bends the knee too much to preconceived notions of what the country’s viewers or network censors can bear to laugh at.

But Yang doesn’t have to worry about any of that any longer. He can go Hollywood, where he and his Las Culturistas co-host Matt Rogers are writing their own movie to star in, and already have taken their annual awards show from the small Brooklyn comedy clubs to the outdoor stage at Lincoln Center and now to Bravo.

Bravo, Bowen. Your work here is done.