After a first season full of starts and stops, Kapil Sharma and Co. delivered a hits-and-misses opener in Season 2 of The Great Indian Kapil Show.

Dropped on Netflix on Saturday, episode one headlined by Alia Bhatt and Karan Johar (along with actor Vedang Raina and filmmaker Vasan Bala to promote their film Jigra), left us wondering how to put all that fresh-yet-stale action into words.

So, here’s our attempt to list the hits and (often interlinked) misses.

Hit: Kapil Sharma kicks things off with a trademark stand-up routine, catering to his desi fanbase yet sharpened for an OTT crowd, complete with VFX pop-ups. If you are missing the Kapil who makes you laugh about things you otherwise would turn a deaf ear to, he is back and in form.

Miss: The sameness of the intro act – isn’t it time the gig got a different gag?

Hit: Alia Bhatt and Karan Johar’s special bond – as mentor, father figure, friend, his ‘pehli beti’ and now co-producers – shines through.

Alia, looking truly radiant, goes on to share sweet tidbits about baby Raha and husband Ranbir, giving the audience a glimpse into her off-screen life.

Miss: Too little time and spotlight for Alia and KJo to gupshup and gossip, reveal and regale.

Hit: Vedang’s playful introduction by Kapil as a ‘fresh apple from Kashmir’.

Miss: We knew nothing new about Vedang through the entire episode. The same goes for Jigra’s director Vasan Bala (apart from his hairstyle).

Hit: Sunil Grover, re-emerging as Ranbir Kapoor’s jilted lover Dufli, the vanquished ‘woman’ in front of ‘victor’ Alia.

Miss: The Dufli act is overlong and repetitive.

Hit: Sunil Grover when he morphs into Shah Rukh Khan. He is good enough for his co-stars Krushna Abhishek and Kiku Sharda to break character and urge the nakli SRK to act less authentic and tell him, ‘jitna paisa mile utna kar’!

Hit: Krushna’s playful jabs and on-the-fly jokes, especially as Gully Boy’s Safina — ‘main duplicate Alia hoon’ – made for self-aware and spontaneous comedy. Kiku Sharda also pitches in, well, manfully as Alia’s Gangubai persona.

Hit: The loudest laughs – for the star guests and the audience alike – come from carefully curated messages of Instagram trolls. Kapil pulls up comments on Insta photos of his guests, and the sheer wit of some of these internet warriors steal the show. Who knew a comment section could upstage an entire cast of comedic veterans?

Hit: Alia Bhatt reprising her famous Raazi dialogue, ‘Mujhe ghar jana hai’ to which Karan Johar promptly adds, ‘Mujhe bhi’!

Or is that an epic Miss for the show?!