Will & Grace – Conscious Coupling

By: Kelly Keareny

On this week’s Will & Grace a snowstorm descends upon NYC, trapping Jack in an elevator with an old flame and pushing Karen into the arms of a new and very flirty friend. Meanwhile, Will and Grace finally have the relationships of their dreams, but when the question about moving in together becomes a reality the two best friends use each other as an excuse to get out of a situation that would ultimately break up their happy home. It’s old loves, new beginnings and cohabitation confusion, in the hysterically funny “Conscious Coupling.”

Game Night

To know and love Will (Eric McCormack) and Grace (Debra Messing) you have to understand their competitive nature, and nothing unleashes their inner game demons quite like charades. Before the two BFFs found love with McCoy (Matt Bomer) and Noah (David Schwimmer), Will and Grace were always the team to beat at any game night. Now that they’ve partnered with their new loves, the vibes have changed. Grace and Noah dominate the competition leaving the adorably daft McCoy and his new partner Will in the dust. Grace loves to win and she and Noah brag about how their score means they’re obviously the better couple. Normally that would really get under Will’s skin, but he’s quite satisfied being on the cuter of the two teams. And with a guy like McCoy, can you blame him? The man is fine and only has eyes for Will.

Elsewhere, Jack’s (Sean Hayes) in an elevator fighting with Judith on the phone over his ability to stay faithful to Estefan (Brian Jordan Alvarez) after marriage. Screeching like a cat in heat, Jack tells his mother that he is ready for marriage and commitment. “No, I will not feel stuck when I get married. I will never be stuck,” he says and just like that, the elevator stops and Jack is stuck.

Also stuck is Karen (Megan Mullally), whose flight to visit Malcolm (Alec Baldwin) has been put on hold thanks to a power outage that’s forced her to stay at the office until the weather clears. She decides to give her pilot a little work incentive with a phone call to say, “I don’t care if you have to dig that plane out with a coke spoon, I am flying to Islamabad tonight to see my boyfriend.” After Karen hangs up, a very impressed woman wonders into the office sporting a thousand watt smile that could light even the darkest of nights. She heard Karen shrieking at her pilot from the upstairs apartment and was so impressed she just had to see where that adorable verbal take down was coming from. The smooth-talking neighbor introduces herself as Nikki (Samira Wiley) saying, “I’m above you,” to which Karen responds, “Honey, no one is above me.”

Moving Fast and Moving In

After their game night victory lap, Grace and Noah settle in for the night with some take out under the covers while McCoy and Will chat about the anchor’s perfect looks inside their sterile bedroom. Noah is irked by how perfect Will’s relationship seems. He can’t get over McCoy’s endless heart eyes and thinks their undying devotion isn’t really what love is. Love is messy, like Grace’s bedroom, but McCoy loves Will’s neat life and wants to be a full-time part of it. In a move that is so McCoy, he jumps the gun and asks to move in. Will, who was fine dating and maybe offering McCoy a dresser drawer, isn’t comfortable with living together. It all seems too fast and, besides, he already has a roomie and she is not big on sharing. Not her best friend or her leftover Chinese, if the dozens of old cartons in her bedroom are any indication. The funny thing is McCoy isn’t the only one itching to take their relationship to the next level. While Grace is spitting pistachio nut shells all over her duvet, Noah asks her to move in with him too! Grace is just as panicked as Will. She loves Noah, but is she ready to start a new life with him? Both Will and Grace decide to use each other as an excuse to turn down the proposal. Will says he can’t leave Grace because she’s mentally unstable and Grace tells Noah that Will’s a broke gambling addict. Both say they can’t leave the other one in their times of need.

Back at the office Karen and Nikki decide to wait out the storm together, just the two of them and Karen’s martini shaker. Nikki assumed all that shaking she heard upstairs was someone playing the maracas, but it was just Karen’s drink mixing and pill bottle rattling that she heard. Nikki appreciates Karen’s “musical” talents and the two women really start to hit things off. Sharing a few drinks and laughs with the highly amusing (emphasis on high) Karen Walker is not a bad way to spend your night.

In Need of a Rescue

The person who isn’t enjoying his snowy night is Jack. He is still stuck in the elevator and waiting for help. The stress is starting to get to him and It’s making him hot… or maybe it’s the snow suit and four layers of clothing he’s wearing. Either way, Jack strips down to his crop top in a panic and starts screaming like a banshee for help in hopes someone will hear him. He doesn’t have to scream long before Officer Drew (Ryan Pinkston) drops down from the elevator ceiling to rescue his ex! Jack is, of course, thrilled to see Drew and the two flirt like old times, fanning the flames of their former romance. Marriage or not, Drew is almost too irresistible to pass up and Jack is about to fall into the very trap Judith warned him about.

Back at the apartment Will invades Grace’s romantic night of nut eating when he kicks Noah out to talk to her about his McCoy problem. He asks his ride or die to back him up on his “Grace is crazy” lie and she agrees as long as he backs her up on the gambling lie she told Noah. Neither one of them is ready to take that big plunge as they are happy and comfortable living together and don’t want to change it. They both decide their boyfriends do not have to know the truth; their little charade can continue. It always comes back to games with these two, doesn’t it?

With Will and Grace “doing their Will and Grace thing,” Noah wanders into Will’s bedroom to talk to McCoy. The first thing he notices is how clean Will’s room is. Where are all the old take out boxes and nutshells in this pristine boudoir? With nothing better to do, Noah gets comfortable and climbs into bed with McCoy to talk and it’s not weird at all since he is “New York’s must trusted news guy.” They manage to get on the topic of their significant others and Noah tells his bedmate he knows where Will can get help for his gambling addiction. This confuses McCoy until he learns Grace filled Noah in on all the sordid details. The minute Grace is mentioned McCoy assumes it’s her mental illness talking, as if is a part of her condition. McCoy offers Noah his sympathies about how hard it must be to love a crazy woman and as the conversation continues it’s obvious things are not adding up. It’s not long before Noah and McCoy realize they both have been lied to.

Who Takes Care of You?

At the office waiting for the snow to stop Karen is still complaining about missing her flight to Malcolm while also defending her relationship with him to Nikki. Her new friend thinks maybe Karen puts more effort into pleasing Malcolm than he does for her. Karen shrugs that off and asks if Nikki puts a little extra effort into pleasing her man? Not men, Nikki likes women, and this piques Karen’s interest, asking if the woman is a “vagitarian.”  Now Karen wants all the details and asks if Nikki is, “permanently parked in the lesbian zone, or do you move your car from alternate sides of the street from time to time for plowing?” Nikki laughs and promises Karen that plowing isn’t an issue as she is a lesbian, gold star and all. Karen, who has certainly dabbled in a few make out sessions with women (Grace being the usual recipient of her bi-curiosity) has no issue with Nikki’s sexuality. In fact, she seems even more fascinated with her now that she knows she’s gay. Nikki is clearly smitten and wonders if Karen is busy caring for the men in her life then who is caring for her?

Back at the apartment Noah and McCoy confront Will and Grace about their lies. But before the two besties can come up with an excuse, they ask for a moment alone to brainstorm an easy out. After a whole lot of not talking about any of the issues they were concerned about, the two pals turn to their loves and announce they’ve come to a decision shouting, “We’re moving in together!”  Then, all four climb into one bed just so McCoy and Noah can really get an idea of what they’re signing up for. Just because Grace is moving out doesn’t mean Will and Grace are breaking up. New relationships or not, these two are family and their boyfriends will just have to learn to share them no matter where they live.

Will and Grace aren’t the only ones starting a new beginning, Jack makes the choice to put his player life to bed, so to speak, when Drew asks him for another chance at love. Unlike the old Jack, the one that Judith thinks is destined to destroy his marriage, this new Jack is ready to settle down. He isn’t about to risk his future for an elevator hook up with Officer Drew. He is committed to Estefan, claiming “love has changed me.” Drew was the final tempting test for Jack inner playboy and he passed with flying rainbow colors!

As the episode draws to a close what Nikki said about Karen’s love life really starts to sink in. It pushes the woman to open up about all the men who have disappointed her, many of which left her taking care of herself in more ways than one. Karen compares her role in a relationship to a gardener who tends to the flowers, but Nikki disagrees and says, “You’re a flower if I’ve ever seen one.” That touches Karen because nobody ever thought of her as a flower before and they certainly never wanted to take care of her the way Nikki is suggesting. At that moment they both notice the snow is starting to let up, which means Karen’s trip is back on…or is it? Now that someone has made her realize she deserves more from partner Karen is in no hurry to catch a flight to Malcolm. When she tells the young woman she’s staying because she already feels “taken care of,” Nikki sees that as her cue. In an intimate and romantic impulse the sweet woman leans in and kisses Karen on the lips, leaving her breathless and (maybe for the first time in her life) speechless as well. Is this the beginning of a new relationship for Karen? If that kiss was any indication, Karen Walker wouldn’t mind a female gardener tending to her flower patch! The romances and relationships are heating up on Will and Grace. Jack’s getting hitched, Will and Grace found true love and thanks to a curious neighbor and a blinding snow storm Karen finally realized that Malcolm will have to put in some extra work if he hopes to make her garden bloom.