Will and Grace – So Long, Division

By: Kelly Kearney

This week Grace and Noah are at odds over their relationship’s longevity, not to mention, when they’re coming out to the Curmudgeon’s daughter, Katie. At the same time, Jack’s leading an army of oppressed people like a true Gaybraham Twinkoln while Will’s dealing with a lonely Marilyn who happens to pop in unannounced with some bad news. It’s love woes, doggie depression and closeted Presidents on this week’s “Will and Grace.”

Lover’s Quarrel

Picking up where we left off the previous episode, Grace (Debra Messing) and Noah (David Schwimmer) are in the hallway of Will’s (Eric McCormack) apartment arguing about when it’s the right time to tell Katie (Cleo Fraser) that they’re dating. Now that they’ve confessed their love to one another, Grace is ready to meet the teenager but Noah’s not so sure. As a dad, The Curmudgeon is worried about how Katie and the newness of relationship with Grace.  The pessimist isn’t ready to throw his daughter into the mix just yet and none of this sits right with Grace.  As the two argue back and forth, Jack’s (Sean Hayes) having issues concentrating on learning his lines for the Gaybrahm Twinkoln musical. In his top hat and beard, he asks them to quiet down while also slinging shade at Grace for her side ponytail saying, “No side pony after 40.” The two bickering love birds continue to fight with Noah reminding Grace that the headline of the night’s story is that he loves her, not that he isn’t ready to introduce her to his kid. For Grace, who wouldn’t know the tenants of journalism unless it was schmeared on a bagel, thinks the night had two headlines; Noah loves her and he doesn’t want Katie to know. Angry, she doesn’t get why this is a big deal and goes to Will for some moral support and advice.

As always, her GBF is the voice of reason and asks her if she would even want to date a man who didn’t put his daughter first. That hits home for Grace, who has had issues with her own father’s intimacy issues her whole life. She agrees, albeit begrudgingly, that Will’s right and she’s off to apologize to Noah face to face. As she’s leaving, Marilyn (Blythe Danner) is at the door for a pop in visit with her son. After an awkward stepdaughter and stepmother hug and greeting, (“Grace, neither of us like this,”) Marilyn lets Will know that there’s been a tragedy in the family. Will’s brother died…while going to the bathroom in the yard. Will freaks because he assumes she means one of his two brothers are not only dead, but also using the lawn as a toilet. Before he has a total breakdown, Marylin admits it’s not his actual brother but Dr. Silly, her beloved dog and surrogate son. Will is obviously relieved, but also angry that his mother would let him assume it was an actual relative. However, for Marilyn, Dr. Silly is Will’s brother and her heart is broken. Besides her obvious loss, Marilyn is also upset at Will’s lack of emotional support. But the mother and son duo never really did touchy-feely kinds of interactions and even Will tells Karen (Megan Mullally) he has no idea how to comfort the woman. When Marilyn steps out of the living room, Karen tells Will to buy his mother’s love with a present to cheer her up. It’s solid advice and Truman asks Karen to stay with his mother until he comes back. Luckily, the two women have a lot in common, both enjoy a stiff drink and both are afraid of foreigners (unless they’re El Salvadorian maids with an attitude).

The Tale of Three Gay Presidents and One Math Tutor Named Kimiko

At the Boys and Girl’s club, Jack gets into a discussion with his boss Theodore (Derek Gaines) about oppression when he asks to leave early for his Gaybraham Twinkoln practice. He goes into a Mc rant when Theodore says his work is more important than his silly show. Offended, Jack tries gaysplaining Lincoln’s importance to the LGBT community and, no surprise, he’s turned the Emancipation Proclamation into a rainbow glittery extravaganza. For him, Abe Lincoln isn’t just the man who freed men from their heteronormativity so they could find love in a club named the Caboose, but he was also one of three closeted Presidents, “Lincoln, Harrison and that confirmed old bachelor James ‘Power Bottom’ Buchannan.”

Meanwhile, Grace shows up at Noah’s only to find him gone but Katie home and expecting her math tutor Kimiko. Not sure what to say but wanting to know more about Katie, Grace pretends to be the tutor and the girl lets her inside. Whether it’s the fact Grace doesn’t appear to be Japanese or the fact she is truly awful at Math, Katie knows Kimiko with the red hair is no Math tutor. Totally busted, Grace comes clean and admits that she stopped by to talk to her father and wasn’t supposed to meet Katie yet since she and her father are dating. Katie immediately likes Grace and realizes she’s the reason her father seems so happy. “He hasn’t said the word ‘fascist’ in a week!” Grace is very happy to hear that she’s having a positive affect on the Curmudgeon but makes Katie promise to keep this meet and greet a secret. Too bad Noah comes home early to tell Katie that Kimiko cancelled because Grace panics and is forced to hide in the closet. It’s not long before Noah finds Grace, or should I say, Grace comes (falls) out of the closet and tried explaining the whole situation to him. Noah accepts that this was all an accident, but things change when he admits the true reason he didn’t want Katie to meet Grace. Neither have a good track record with relationships and he didn’t want Katie hurt when they eventually break up. This shocks Grace considering Noah professed his love for her and she all but begs him to admit they at least have a chance of working out. After all, what’s the point in dating if there is no hope they’ll last? Noah can’t bring himself to admit they have a chance and that’s enough for Grace to walk out and end things with The Westside Curmudgeon.

Back in the land of the oppressed, Jack is still arguing with his boss over the contributions of Abe Lincoln when the two men start to draw a crowd. One by one, the argument adds another oppressed person from Latinos to Muslims to the invisible elderly and the under paid and over worked women of the center, all have their specific gripes about being the most oppressed group of people in the nation and they aren’t wrong. From immigration camps to bans on religions to the black community’s fear of law enforcement, they all have had their struggles, but as Jack points out at least they don’t have to answer for the crimes of Kevin Spacey and according to him that makes gays the most oppressed. The arguing continues until a white man in the doorway tries to join the rant and miraculously the office door slams shut on its own because this pity party is not for him. Almost on cue, Jack jumps atop the office desk and settles the bickering with a patriotic speech about recognizing they all have an uphill battle but together they can fight for even ground.

The Gay Perks of Motherhood

Over at Will’s apartment, Karen and Marilyn chat over drinks about Will and the real reason the grieving woman stopped by. Sure, she is upset over Dr. Silly, but she came to Will for sympathy because she wants a closer relationship with him. He is her son and according to Karen, Marilyn made him gay so she should be getting the perks of his rainbow coalition. That’s when Will enters with a gift that’s sure to cheer his mother up, a new puppy! Marilyn is immediately offended that Will thinks Dr. Silly can be replaced forcing him to hand the dog over to Karen (who isn’t a dog person) while he has a private moment with his mother. Once Karen leaves to take the puppy for a walk, Will learns the true reason for his mother’s emotional pop in. Marilyn wants what other gay sons and their mothers have – a close relationship. That shocks him since the woman isn’t known for being personable. After Will’s father died his mother assumed they would be closer, but that never happened and now she’s hoping the death of Dr. Silly would bring them closer together. It’s not the passing of Will’s furry brother that makes him realize his mother needs him, but her honesty and the fact she is sharing her emotions with him, which is definitely not a part of Mrs. Truman/Adler’s DNA. In the end, he apologizes for not being more available to her and the two hug it out until his mother reminds him that affection is a Lutheran thing that they do not adhere to.

After the mother and son WASPY make up hug, Karen returns from her walk gaga over the puppy. She orders Will to sue his mother and drown her in paperwork until she relinquishes her rights to the dog, she aptly named Shoe-Shoe. It doesn’t get that far because Marilyn gifts Shoe-Shoe to Karen, who is very excited to take the pup bone digging in Central Park and anybody’s bones will do.

Finally, with Jack learning that oppression is a gift shared by all minorities in the Land of the Free and Will and his mother agreeing to spend more time together, Grace is left recovering from her fall out with Noah. Recovery consists of take-out Pizza and enough Chinese to feed six people. Grace has managed to turn eating her emotions into an art form. While waiting for her delivery feast, Noah’s shows up with some good news that Grace wasn’t expecting. After facing life without the red head, Noah’s realized that there is hope for them, even if it’s slim.  That’s enough for Grace to ditch her take out and accept Noah’s offer for a dinner date. All she wanted was for him to say there was hope because without it she was wasting her time. It seems all the Curmudgeon needed to reverse his pessimism was an equally pessimistic woman with a good appetite and a tiny bit of faith. Will their relationship last? It’s anyone’s guess but faith in their love is a decent start.