Will & Grace – One Job

By: Kelly Kearney

Saying goodbye to a parent, even if that parent is at times hard to love, can be the hardest thing you ever do. With the passing of the great Debbie Reynolds, we knew it was only a matter of time when Grace would mourn her spotlight stealing mother, Bobbie. Celebrating the life and birth of their beloved matriarch, disagreements between Grace and her sisters about what to do with their family home threaten to curtail the memorial, it’s laughs, tears, sibling rivalry and learning to let go, in this week’s “Will and Grace.”

Change of Plans

We begin with Will (Eric McCormack) and Grace (Debra Messing) on a spontaneous road trip to Vermont. Grace is driving while slurping down peanuts straight from the jar and just as Will’s day dreaming about becoming a weekend skier, Grace drops a truth bomb…They’re not going to Vermont, they’re going to Schenectady to attend a birthday party for her recently deceased mother. As you can imagine, Will is not happy about this since had his heart set on a vacation – not getting groped by Grace’s younger sister and certainly not getting in the middle of a family reunion. Be that as it may, Will is Grace’s emotional support gay and that means he has one job in life and that’s to stick by her side. After all, this post death/birthday party was Bobbie’s last wish…Well, that and Grace finally getting breast implants.

In Schenectady, Will makes friends with Grace’s dad Martin (Robert Klein) over a golf game on TV. Golf was always something Will’s father wanted to share with his son but the two never got the chance and now Martin is grateful for the company. Meanwhile, Grace is in the kitchen arguing with her sisters, Joyce (Sara Rue) and Janet (Mary McCormack), about what to do with the house now that their mother is gone. Grace wants to keep things the way they are for her father’s sake, but the sisters are tired of taking care of the place and want to sell it. It’s two sisters against one and Grace is outnumbered now that they want Smudge (Grace’s nickname) to tell Martin the house is going on the market. They also warn her that if she tries to ruin this for them, they will be forced to spill all her dirty secrets and since we are talking about Grace. You know these sisters have quite the arsenal.

Back in the city, Jack (Sean Hayes) visits his new boo Drew (Ryan Pinkston) who’s guarding a crime scene in which a piano crushed a man in robot suit. Inspired by Karen’s (Megan Mullally) unwavering commitment to Stan, Jack’s there to ask Drew to move in with him.  He thinks he found his one and only, but Drew turns him down and admits he wants to see other people. Drew only recently came out of the closet and needs to explore the gay world before he settles down with one person. As you can imagine, Jack is devastated and as he’s wailing about nobody ever being as crushed as him, he throws himself on top of the piano which literally crushed robot man.

Fairytales arent always what they seem

Love and marriage is different for everyone and Karen and Stan are no different. While Mr. Walker is using “what he calls the bidet which is what we call the bathtub,” Mrs. Walker is being entertained by her favorite comedian, Smitty (Charles C. Stevenson Jr.). After a hilarious/horrifying story about how the elderly bar keep lost his leg, we learn that Karen’s not having a weekend getaway with Stan but with Malcolm (Alec Baldwin) her sometimes lover! There goes that whole commitment thing Jack was so impressed with. Speaking of Jack, he’s still reeling from his break up with Drew and tracks Karen down at the hotel for a gin-soaked shoulder to lean on. Luckily for Karen, Malcolm always matches his pajamas to the drapes in case he needs to hide so Jack is none the wiser. The last thing Karen needs is for her poodle to learn that she’s not the loyal wifey he’s made her out to be. After all, she has a reputation to protect. With Malcolm hiding in plain sight, Jack eventually figures out what’s going on when he smells Irish whiskey and American Crew hair cream, Malcolm’s signature scent. The jig is up and Karen admits they meet once a year for a memorable romp that works as a refresher to her occasionally stale marriage to Stan. Jack’s entire world shatters since he’s always admired Karen and Stan’s love. Now that he knows that’s a lie, he wonders if maybe its time he grows up and realizes relationships are not always fairytale romances.

Over at Bobbie’s birthday tribute, Will’s getting groped by a very tan and borderline racist Joyce who’s always had a major crush on her older sister’s GBF. Joyce ignores Will’s obvious discomfort and tries playing Lady and The Tramp with a piece of pastrami. Will is all but trapped between the slice of beef and the red-haired Moana wannabe and now it makes sense as to why he tried to jump out of the car when Grace said they were going to Schenectady. The Adler sisters do not take no for an answer, which is why it’s no surprise when the three sisters almost ruin their mother’s party. While reading a letter from Bobbie, Joyce and Janet interrupt their father in the hopes that Grace will bring up their plans for the house. The two sisters try forcing her to break the news, but when Grace deflects the conversation the sisters start airing their dirty laundry, including the time Grace bedded their high school principle in the kitchen. Martin becomes enraged and can’t finish the letter, so he asks Will to continue which ends with all three sisters holding hands and singing along to a song their mother always performed for their birthdays. It’s a tribute fit for the great Debbie Reynolds and when the song is over Grace comes clean about her sister’s plans for the house. Admitting she thinks selling it is a bad idea, Grace asks what Will thinks and, for once, he doesn’t have her back. He thinks maybe it’s time for Martin to start living for tomorrow and not stuck in yesterday and the elder Adler disagrees. The thought of selling the home Martin shared with his wife is unimaginable and the man winds up storming out of the room. Following her father, Grace is outraged over Will not backing her up as he had “one job,” she says and he failed. She then storms out of the room and it’s clear both Martin and Grace are holding on to the house to hold on to Bobbie.

Old loves and new beginnings

As Grace is struggling to let go of her mother, Karen’s in the middle of her own letting go crisis; what to do about Malcolm? She tries explaining to Jack that she loves Stan, but they’ve been married a long time and Malcolm keeps things fresh and in turn that keeps Stan unknowingly grateful.  After playing, “the floor is lava,” Jack skips his way to the door and decides it’s time to leave his childish idealism behind and start acting like an adult. He leaves Karen to figure out what she wants from Malcolm, but it’s confusing because the Malcolm loves her and he’s also one heck of a master in disguise, something the Anastasia Beaverhousen in her finds irresistible. Malcolm gives Karen an ultimatum, him or Stan and he lets her decide in private while he hides in the curtains.

In Schenectady, Grace is disappointed with Will for letting her down with this house situation. Every corner of the place reminds her of a time she’s cherished. Like the time Will came out to her or when she got sick after prom and she and her mother took turns holding each other’s hair and wig. This is more than a house, this is the last thing she has of her mother and Grace isn’t ready to let that go. As Martin eavesdrops from the steps, Will gets Grace to realize that her mother is gone and this house is just four walls and some knickknacks. It’s not Bobbie. The two best friends hug and Martin enters and surprises them both when he says he’s ready for a fresh start because living in the home without his wife is painful. He agrees to sell the house, but when Grace asks him where he will go Will makes the perilous mistake of bringing up the guilt he feels over missing out on golf with his father. Martin takes that as an invitation and agrees to move in with Will and Grace while he figures out his next step. Obviously, this wasn’t what Will meant, but Martin is already sold on the idea of rooming with his daughter and friend. Knowing her father needs to process this new change keeps Grace from strangling the life out of Will. No middle aged, unwed woman wants to shack up with her gay bestie and her father, but that’s exactly the hand Grace has been dealt. Can these two make room for Martin in their lives or will this end in an epic disaster? Find out next week in part two of the season finale of “Will and Grace.”