Two weeks ago, “Saturday Night Live” returned to television with its first new episode of the at-home era: a collection of remotely produced sketches that were low on production value but high on spirit and innovation. It offered a window into what the show could do without most of its resources — and into the homes of its cast members, for those of us who always wondered what they looked like.

Now that “S.N.L.” proved that it could be done, what would it do for an encore?

In its second run at an at-home episode, “S.N.L.” got more ambitious, adding flashy graphics and editing tricks, and diving into its pool of celebrity contacts for some well-timed cameo appearances — perhaps none more surprising than the opening sketch, which featured Brad Pitt as Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

In a CNN interview earlier this month, Fauci had said with a laugh that “of course” he would love to see himself portrayed by Pitt, the Oscar-winning star of “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood.” Perhaps he believed it was never going to happen, but there, at the top of the show, was Pitt wearing a wig, glasses, suit and tie, speaking in a mock-Brooklyn accent and offering his thanks to “all the older women in America who have sent me supportive, inspiring and sometimes graphic emails.”