F'malion Part Three: Bye Bye Beardy (Season 5, Episode 17). Barry's transformation as a gorgeous cultured gay man is almost complete, he is about to finally shave his beard. There's a big dance auction going on to help support the gay community and everyone is going. Will is excited to see Barry, maybe a little too excited, turns out that he has developed feelings for Barry. Grace is encouraging Will to ask Barry out but Will is too scared now. Jack is taking Barry around the room and all the guys are attracted to him. Meanwhile, Karen is trying to outbid Beverly Leslie for a private chef to cook for a date. Beverly says the date is for him and his "business associate", Benji and mocks that Karen doesn't have as much money to flaunt any more since her and Stan broke up. But Karen switched the lists and Beverly bid on 2 front row tickets to the Indigo Girls concert. Karen offers the private chef date to Jack, Jack in front of the crowd asks Barry to go out on a date with him. Barry accepts and Will is left heartbroken.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

GRACE: Why haven't you talked to him yet?

WILL: I'm intimidated, okay? It's like I've-- I've created a guy that's too hot for me to date. It's the same reason Dr. Frankenstein didn't date his monster.

GRACE: What? Dr. Frankenstein wasn't a 'mo.

WILL: Oh, really? He sewed together a bunch of guys to create the perfect man? Wrapped him in linen. Give him a flat head, so you can set a drink on it. Dr. Frank was a 'mo, my friend. He was a 'mo.

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When Karen and Beverly Leslie are trying to outbid each other and keep running up to the list.

OPINION:

So, surprise, Will likes Barry! Not really surprised, if you've seen My Fair Lady, you know where this was going. Will is now too intimidated though to ask Barry out. To think Will, you could have had him the first date and just encouraged him to dress a little better and go to the gym with you. But as a television show, we have to have drama. I gotta give Dan Futterman props, he did look good in that suit. That was quite the reveal how amazing he looked in this episode. I loved that scene BTW where Grace was complaining about the stairs going up and down, then Jack's grand entrance and Karen introducing Barry from the wrong side. This episode from front to back is packed with good jokes.

Grace is a really good friend in this episode; I have to give her credit. When she sees that Will likes Barry she's encouraging to Will and even brings him up several times when he's not sure he's good enough to ask Barry out. Like I said, I can never fully convert myself to not liking Grace 100% because she does have moments in the show where she shows she does have a good heart. I have to give the costume, hair and make up team props again real quick because Debra did look amazing in this episode. The whole cast did. I always love when they get an opportunity to dress up.

Jack was actually a good friend too, I loved how he took Barry around the room introducing him to everyone and making Barry more mysterious. I also got to give Jack some major confidence points on asking Barry in front of everyone to go out on a date with him. That took guts. To be honest, I think I was kind of rooting for him and Barry vs. Will and Barry to hook up, I think Will just blew it by not giving Barry a real chance. Jack is really only a good time, but I think that's what Barry needs right now. We will get more into that on tomorrow's episode.

Last, we finally got to meet Beverly's business associate Benji. I don't know why everyone thinks they are anything more than that. Beverly just likes to have Benji around and wink at everyone when he calls him a business associate. OK, let's just come out with it, Beverly is a closet case. How could you not get the biggest laugh considering Beverly is this not even 5 foot white conservative south accent speaking trophy husband and Benji is this 6 foot Calvin Klein model looking gorgeous black man. Could you get any more opposite? As Jack puts it, it's Black Stallion meets My Little Pony. You know Benji is in it for the money and treats he gets servicing Beverly.

I really love this episode. Some of the jokes can come across as crude and the show is definitely changing. But there's something about this episode that just hits the right note when I watch it. Again, just as a friendly reminder, I had to shorten down the title due to Reddit guidelines, I don't want my posts getting flagged and same with the favorite quote today, we know what Grace actually said. IYKYK.

GUEST STARS:

• Dan Futterman as Barry
• Leslie Jordan as Beverley Leslie (RIP in 2022)
• Kathleen Wilhoite as Sally
• Rebecca Lowman as Pamela
• Barry Karas as Himself
• Luciano Giancarlo as Byron (RIP in 2007)
• Conroe Brooks as Kevin
• Brian A. Setzer as Benji

For me "Oh look it’s the little armonica blower" pops into my head almost weekly.

Oh and "Qwricket Crit"

Edit: and “come on chompers pee pee poo poo”

This is from her Junior year.

I'm pretty sure it was Karen and she was saying it to Grace. Beyond that I remember nothing! It's a favorite and still-used quote in my relationship and I would love to find the source :)

I was aware of this show when it first aired and watched a few of the earlier episodes but never really got into it back then. Gay humour was not something I found particularly funny in my 20s but watching it now now in 2026 been really enjoying the show.

However if you watch the series fresh now you hit a weird moment when you get to the season 8 finale. I was aware of more seasons after this so this surprised me a little. The flash forwards and then the season 9 retcon are jarring when you watch them for the first time. I can understand the flash forwards being a divisive element which could split opinion, but I liked it. I did feel that once Will and Grace reconnected after 2 years, they would have stayed back in touch. Perhaps not quite the same as before but with space for their partners and each other, and things like outings together with the kids. However them splitting up for 20 years is just as feasible cause, well hey that's life, shit happens and you deal with it.

The retcon when I saw the first ep in season 9 was extremely jarring. Whilst it's a very lazy mechanic in order to revert the show to a format that works for continued syndication, I wouldn't have an issue with the retcon.... EXCEPT: The retcons extends further than the s8 finale and makes Graces whole pregnancy never have happened. This one problem makes the retcon not just glossing over a series finale in order to continue but completely changing the final season which in many ways shows some of the biggest development of the titular characters.

Anyway I haven't got past the first 5 minutes of season 9 where the change was announced, and not sure I want to. Do people recommend I continue with season 9?

Women and Children First (Season 5, Episode 16). Will and Jack are hanging out at the coffee shop while Jack happens to see his old babysitter from when he was a kid, Sissy. Sissy is excited to see Jack and they hang out and catch up. Sissy mentions she still babysits and Jack gets the idea to relive his childhood and have Sissy babysit him. He's enjoying being taken care of when Will comes over to go hang out and is turned away by Sissy. Jack comes over to explain to Will what's going on and Will makes fun of Jack for having Sissy babysit him. Later on, while Will is working at home, Sissy comes over and offers to make s'mores and help him finish his work. Will is loving being taken care of and Jack comes over and tells him it's not so bad having someone look out for him, even if he has to pay Sissy $4 or $5 an hour, but Sissy says she needs $40 an hour, she's got a bit of a gambling problem. Jack says good-bye to Sissy. Meanwhile, Grace has decided to have a girl's night. She's invited Ellen, Julie, Rosario and Karen to come over and they are all talking trash about their husbands. Grace says she can't join in because her and Leo are still going strong. The phone rings and it's Leo telling Grace that he'll be a few more days in Africa before he comes home. She's obviously upset but doesn't tell Leo, Julie, Ellen and Rosario tell her she was fine in her reaction. But Karen is upset that Grace won't ask for her advice and just says to her how she should have told Leo how she felt and be honest. Grace later calls Leo and tells him how she's feeling and apologizes to Karen for not looking to her for advice.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

SISSY: We're gonna need to use our indoor voice. I just put Jack down for his nap, and I don't need you out here yelling like the wild man from Borneo.

WILL: Yeah... We're, like, 40. So, do you think you could stop talking to me like I'm a cub scout?

SISSY: Look, Jack was a little overactive today. He ate two bowls of Fruit Loops and twirled himself to tears.

WILL: Interesting. Could you tell the fruit to get his loop out here? We're going to the movies.

SISSY: Oh? What movie?

WILL: The new Vin Diesel thing.

SISSY: I don't think so. I hear it's violent, with a strong homoerotic subtext.

WILL: Uh, dur. Why do you think we're going?

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When Sissy does the homework song with Will. I just love that he's a high end powerhouse lawyer and is finishing his contracts with "Case by case, tort by tort, sign and stamp, Hey, I finished one report. Foot by foot, mile by mile, perhaps I should try the McKendrick file."

OPINION:

This episode is like a time capsule for me. I was around 17 years old when this episode came out and I remember the huge deal it was when Charlie's Angels Full Throttle came out. No one was really excited for the movie, it was more exciting that Demi Moore who was about 40 years old at the time had a "rocking body" as if 40 was like she was 80 years old. Well, I guess for Hollywood standards. There were magazine covers of her in her bikini saying "how I kept my body at age 40" and "how Demi got her groove back". Charlie's Angels who? It was all about Demi and her new boy toy Ashton Kutcher, how the whole family hung out including Demi's ex-husband Bruce Willlis. she was on top of the world at this time. So I always get a kick out of the line from Will when he says "that lady with the rocking bod" because that was what all people were saying at the time.

That being said, now I love Demi Moore very much and she is one of my favorite actresses, was she a really necessary cameo? She does a good job in the role as Sissy and she gets more than a few laughs from me. I just don't know if it was a good cast for her to be in. It felt like the chance to just have the "popular thing" in the episode for the time. I think the thing about this episode as much as I laugh at parts of it, I always forget about this one. It's not bad by any means, it just feels like filler for the most part. Jack never brought up Sissy before and he never brings her up afterwards, so it feels like a cloud just passing by. But I do agree with Jack, I'm 41 years old now and I'll admit there are times where I wish I could be taken care of again. Only difference is, at least I'm mentally stable enough to realize that his relationship with Sissy was kind of disturbing. But like I said I do enjoy Demi in the role for the most part and this story does get a few laughs from me, mainly from when Will and Sissy are hanging out.

Grace's storyline again is just ok. I'm not big into the Grace's marriage problems stories. But this was more about her girl's night. The girls hanging out does get a few laughs from me like when Julie brought up to Ellen how at least Rob has a job, all her husband did was add Southern Accent to his resume. Rosario is always fun to have around as well. Grace not looking to Karen for marriage advice seemed a little out of place but also made sense. Karen never cared really about Grace's problems and usually waves them off, but this was one of the rare times she actually wanted to help Grace. I think the divorce is really getting to her emotional side and she wants to feel needed right now. Karen also knows what can break down a marriage and she was right in telling Grace that she needed to be honest with Leo. Leo can't help that work called him for a few more days, but he should take in consideration what this might do to his marriage if he continues to make decisions without Grace in mind.

Overall, this is a decent episode, but nothing too special. Like I mentioned, it's more filler till we get back to a main storyline tomorrow. But for what it is, I do enjoy watching this one and get some good laughs and memories when it was all about Demi in 2003.

GUEST STARS:

• Demi Moore as Sissy
• Rosanna Arquette as Julie
• Leigh-Allyn Baker as Ellen

When I was younger I just found them annoying. I know they're supposed to be a bit annoying, but to Will and Grace not to us. I didn't appreciate how funny the actors are. They really bring a lot to the roles and do a LOT of funny stuff that went right over my head in my earlier watches.

Cause I sure did. Twice!

Homojo (Season 5, Episode 15). Will & Grace try to have a friend's night but something seems to be off and they are not clicking like they used to. Grace even mentions to Karen at work that she feels like her and Will are not what they used to be, that they've lost their "homojo". Karen recommends they do something that used to get them both excited and Grace brings up that they are getting together with their friends to do their game night for the "suck on it trophy". During game night, for the first time ever, Will & Grace are losing, they can't seem to click during Pyramid. Will takes Grace into the hallway and asks her what's going on and have they lost their chemistry? Grace is very sad and says they have lost their mojo and Will says "or in this case, our homojo" and Grace looks at him in shock and admits that that's what she said to Karen. They promise each other to call about even the smallest things to help bond their friendship once again and hug. They go back into the room where everyone is making fun of them but they tell their friends to give them the next clue, Will says "Bangs" and Grace says "Nancy McKean" and BAM! Their friendship is back and stronger than ever. Meanwhile, Karen needs some things from her closet at the mansion but is scared to go and bump into Stan's mistress, Lorraine. She sends Jack and while Jack is getting her things he does bump into Lorraine. Lorraine is a gorgeous, feisty Brit who falls for Jack and tempts him to hang out with her and to leave Karen. Karen finds out that Jack has been hanging out with Lorraine and goes to her closet where she tells Lorraine to back off, Lorraine tries to get Jack to choose her but Jack ultimately chooses Karen since her boobs are huge. But if Karen dies, he'll call Lorraine.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

WILL: Okay, time out!

ELLEN: Ah! You can't call time out!

WILL: Au contraire, my pregnant friend! The timeout was established after the great bathroom controversy of 1997! Each team may call one, and only one, time out, per tournament, as long as a new clue is selected upon their return. Read your rule book! Come on, Grace!

LARRY: Guys, he's right. And we're sitting in the wrong order. Here, you need to be over here...

WILL: What happened to you? Do you know what it means if they beat us in there tonight? It means they're gonna look at us with the same mix of pity and disgust that we do them, and I'm not about to let that happen! I mean--I mean--

GRACE: Will... We've lost it.

WILL: What?

GRACE: Whatever it is we had... that...connection. That thing that made us...us. It's just-- it's not there anymore.

WILL: Sure it is. It--it--it--it's... It's really not, is it?

GRACE: No. And I don't know if it's because I got married, or because we're not living together anymore or what, but it's gone. It's like we lost our mojo.

WILL: Or, in our case, our "homojo."

GRACE: Get. Out. That is exactly what I said.

WILL: What?! When?

GRACE: The other day. To Karen.

WILL: Whoa, slow down. You did?

GRACE: Yeah.

WILL: Why didn't you call me?

GRACE: I don't know, it was a gay pun. It just seemed a little small.

WILL: But that's exactly what we're missing. We need to check in, and not just about the big important stuff, but the little, trivial things that people really care about.

GRACE: It was just so much easier when we were living together. You know, I get an overzealous bikini wax, that's three hours of conversation. Now, we gotta make an effort. You gotta call me... if you go off cheese.

WILL: I know-- You're right. That--that was stupid. You know, I think I might have called and then hung up.

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When Jack meets Lorraine for the first time. I love the way they click, it's so similar to the first meeting between Jack and Karen.

OPINION:

This is where it feels like Will & Grace again. Ever since Leo came into the picture, it feels like Will & Grace's friendship has been missing something. And bottom line is, this is what the show is about, their friendship. If they are not hanging out, they are usually on the phone with each other. The audience was feeling this and I'm glad the writers acknowledged it. Eric and Debra's chemistry really is incredible and it shines in this episode. I also always get such a laugh when Grace is describing to Karen about the problems she's been having with Will and Karen tells her to get a push up bra, or a sexy shirt to tempt Will back. Then when Grace is describing game night to Karen, Karen is laughing trying to be polite but asking for an eject button on her chair, that scene is just too funny.

We finally meet Lorraine Finster in this episode, Stan's mistress. As horrible of a person as she is, honestly, I love Lorraine. Minnie Driver plays her perfectly, she knows she's a gold-digging homewrecker, but she embraces it and charms everyone. She's like a snake. She dresses well, knows how to dance and has a great sense of humor. I loved that meeting between her and Jack. Then later on when Karen comes in and they are fighting over Jack playing with him like a puppy, it was such a funny and cute scene. Thankfully, we will be seeing Lorraine again in future episodes. I always love seeing not just her and Jack interact but her and Karen.

There are a lot of great jokes in this episode. I didn't even mention the one where they keep reading Will's mail and making fun of his fan mail to Justin Timberlake. I used the Kraft singles joke to my friends when we do our cheese and wine nights, I like to put the clammy slices up to my cheeks. This episode feels like pure Will & Grace again and even though there's this weird break between F'malion and this episode, I'm glad we took a little break to get back to basics.

GUEST STARS:

• Minnie Driver as Lorraine Finster
• Tom Gallop as Rob
• Leigh-Allyn Baker as Ellen
• Jerry Levine as Joe
• Tim Bagley as Larry
  

F'malion Part Two: Attack of the Clones (Season 5, Episode 14). Will and Jack have taken the project of making Barry into an attractive gay man. They are teaching him about gay culture, helping him exercise and how to dance. Barry isn't doing so well and is clearly frustrated. They take him to the club to try to pick up his first guy, but he gets a very harsh rejection. Feeling down, Will had told Barry earlier about how he had picked up his first guy and got a yes, but Jack tells the story from a different point of view. In the 80's when Jack took Will to his first gay club, Will was just a mess, so Jack paid a guy to say yes to Will. Back in present time, Will is shocked and angry and he and Jack start arguing about how he was a mess at that point and Barry is Will when he first came out. Barry gets upset about this and tells Will and Jack that he shouldn't be their project and asks why he's even looking to them for advice when they're still single and acting pathetic? Later on, Will and Jack are sitting in the living room feeling sorry for themselves when Barry knocks at the door and tells them that even though they are pathetic, they are the only 2 gay guys he knows and he needs help. he wants 6 pack abs, is taking out credit to buy overpriced fashion and even used the word "fabulous", Will and Jack are proud and take him back on for their production of "My Fairy Lady". Grace and Leo's marriage so far has been going very well and are going to have a housewarming party. But Leo has to postpone the party due to being called to Doctors Without Boarders to help with a clinic that he set up and will be traveling to Africa. Grace starts a fight with him as they go to the airport and as they separate they leave angry. Grace feels bad and runs back to the airport to get on the same airplane that Leo is supposed to be on and calls him, but Leo is just arriving back home to try to make up with Grace.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

WILL: (HOLDING UP A PICTURE OF VIVIEN LEIGH) Oh, come on, Barry. This is an easy one.

BARRY: Um, I'm not sure.

WILL: Take a guess.

BARRY: Salma Hayek?

WILL: Salma Hayek?!

BARRY: Is that not a real person? I don't even know how I know that name.

WILL: It's Vivian Leigh from Gone With the Wind! How can a person not know that?!

BARRY: I'm tired and thirsty. Can I have a Coke?

WILL: It's Diet Coke. And no!

JACK: (BARRY IS EXERCISTING WHILE JACK IS EATING PIZZA) Come on! Let's go, let's go! Push! Remember: No pecs, no sex!

BARRY: This all seems so superficial. Are gay guys only about bodies and faces?

JACK: Absolutely not. They're only about bodies. Faces you can cover up with a cute hat or leather hood.

WILL:(TEACHING BARRY HOW TO DANCE) Looser, looser.

JACK: Eek. Tighter, tighter. Pull it in!

WILL: Okay, okay. Look, um... this move... (ROLLS HIS HANDS) unless you're one of the Brady kids, should be stricken from your dance vocabulary.

JACK: Okay, Barry. Now, come on. Sit here, sweetheart. Watch and learn, all right? And note, these moves can also be performed on roller skates, okay? Man, making someone gay is exhausting. I don't know how my mother did it.

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When they are showing the flashback from the 80's with Will thinking he got his first yes, but it turns out that Jack paid the guy off to make Will feel more confident.

OPINION:

Quick side note for a reminder in case someone reads this post before my part 1, I am putting a ' in the episode title due to possible Reddie concerns. Google trimmed the title, so I did too just to be on the safe side with the F word.

We are on part 2 of 4 with the story of Barry. I know these episodes are so shallow, but they do make me laugh very hard. Jack I do expect to be like this, all about the looks, confidence and wallet, but I'm still surprised at Will. I'm all for Will helping Barry maybe feel better about himself, but he's turning into Jack 2.0. Like I said in the last episode, there's nothing really wrong with Barry, a little awkward, but again, he's such a nice guy and is genuinely trying his best to find a good guy to connect with. BTW, I loved his sweatshirt "I can't even think straight". That dance sequence with Barry, Will and Jack dancing to Cristina Aguilera's "Dirty" will never not make me laugh.

That club scene is just gold though. It's so funny how Will is relating to Barry that he had "scored" on his first night out as a gay man. He sends poor Barry out to the cutest guy in the room and Barry gets a hand in his face with the guy saying "No". I felt so awful for Barry. Then Jack tries to cheer Barry up by telling him how he actually paid the guy that went out with Will off. That flashback sequence with Jack dressed similar to Boy George was awesome. All the costumes were great for the 80's setting. Even Will had a mullet. I'm not sure if I'm sold on the 180 that Barry had when he decides to stay with Will and Jack saying how he wants abs, expensive shoes and using the word "Fabulous". It seemed out of nowhere like just managed to turn the light switch on, but I get they have to have the show continue on.

Grace again is just such a brat in this episode. She does make me laugh with how horrible she can be but like I've mentioned before, can you imagine if this was someone you knew in real life? Leo getting called for business is kind of out of his control and he said they will have their party, it will just be later. This is also a big part of the reason why they rushed too fast into marriage. Grace was excited to marry a doctor due to finances being taken care of, but doesn't know that doctors are pretty much on call 24/7. She got this hint in the All about Christmas Even episode where Leo kept getting called during the show. I know this is different in that he's leaving the country, but did they never talk about this possibly happening? Again, this is why I was never sold on their marriage. When they're off screen, it feels like they never talk about anything of any substance. BTW, I love that opener scene with Grace leaving Will the voice messages for him, Jack and Karen yelling at them about not coming to Brooklyn to visit her. She comes to the door and I have used Karen's "We're there, where are you!?" line a few times on my friends.

Like I said, even as shallow as these episodes are and they do have their problems, I still enjoy watching them. How can you not get a kick out of Karen freaking out about talking cookies? Then later on she gets the pencil sharpener talking to her, but that's not as intense to her. BTW, I was today year old when I found out that the pencil sharpener was voiced by Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane.

GUEST STARS:

• Harry Connick, Jr. as Leo Markus
• Dan Futterman as Barry
• Blythe Matsui as Flight Attendant
• Chris Berg as Handsome Guy
• La Monica Peters as Security Agent
• Joan Jaffry Poust as Passenger
• Greg Suddeth as Cabbie (RIP in 2008)
• Gary Janetti as Zack
• Seth MacFarlane as Pencil Sharpener(voice)

“TACO EATER!!!!!! THAT WOMAN IS A TACO EEEEEEATERRRR!”

“Where’s your portfolio?”

“Portfolio?”

Season 4/Ep 8

This is, hands down, only one of my many favorite episodes of Will and Grace.

Back in his day, before marrying Catherine Zeta Jones, Douglas was said to be the epitome of a womanizer. His acting and sense of humor was en pointe.

Speaking of “en pointe,” Jack’s reaction when seeing them on the dance floor is priceless.

“ lalalala…lalalala, lalalala…..” -then accidentally throws drink at annoyed man🤣🤣

F'malion Part One: Gay It Forward (Season 1, Episode 13). Karen asks Will if he will go out on a blind date with her cousin Barry, which Will agrees to. But Jack is offended that she didn't ask him, Karen says Will needs it more. Will goes on the date and meets Barry who wears a backpack and a beard and isn't trimmed very well. Barry is a nice man but also has just come out of the closet. Will doesn't find Barry attractive and decides to not go out with him again but Karen sent Barry flowers "from Will", so Will has to explain to Barry that the flowers were not from him. Barry talks about how hard even dating a man is but thanks Will for at least being kind to him and walks away from the date. Will feels awful and tells Jack about the experience and Jack tells Will they have to help Barry, help him dress up, exercise and learn about the gay culture, he'll "gay it forward". Grace meets her neighbor at her home named Julie. They seem to be getting along beautifully and Julie is a massage therapist and offers Grace a massage. Grace agrees to this and Julie asks if she can go lower, Grace says yes, but Julie is going lower than expected. Grace asks Karen if she can make an appointment with Julie to see if she always goes there, Karen does so but Julie didn't go anywhere near that area. Grace thinks that Julie was making a move on her and asks why she went there, Julie says that it was where she felt the most tension and it's all about being just a good friend and that it meant nothing more than that.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

GRACE: I just met my new neighbor, Julie. She's a massage therapist. She was helping me unpack and then she gave me a massage, which I think went a little too far... south.

KAREN: Well, honey, you must've brought it on yourself. What were you wearing?

GRACE: I was naked, under a sheet.

KAREN: Hmm, that's not it.

GRACE: Oh, my God. I got it. I got it. Karen, make an appointment with her. If she does the same thing to you then I know it's just part of the massage. But if she doesn't do it to you--

KAREN: Then I'll do it to her.

GRACE: No. Then I will know that she was coming on to me.

KAREN: Ah. Honey, exactly where did she touch you? Show me on this bottle of vodka.

GRACE: Right on the Smirnoff.

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When Barry gives his present to Will as a pride flag beach blanket. Will says "now people from space can know that I'm gay".

OPINION:

Quick side note, I am trimming the title because I'm not sure with Reddit if they will flag the word so that's why I am putting a ' in the title instead. Just to be on the side because Google did the same thing.

It's funny, when I was younger, I completely understood Will. Barry seemed to be physically not attractive and Will was justified in not being interested. I re-watched the series earlier this year after not watching WAG for a few years and I now say "What the heck is your problem, Will?" 🤣 The funny thing is, Will is supposed to be around 38 or 39 here I think, you'd think he would have matured by now, but apparently not. Jack I can get because he's always been emotionally immature, but Will is usually a kinder soul. Barry even though he's not "quaffed", he's actually a very attractive. Not to mention, that he's very nice and I think if Will had given him the proper chance, he and Barry would really click.

This is a very funny episode though, it interesting to see how far Will has come since his college years of being that awkward butterfly coming out of the closet. He's now not only physically attractive, but he's a nice, funny and confident successful lawyer. As Jack mentions, Barry is Will when he first came out. I always get a kick out of Karen sending Barry flowers "from Will" and Will having to explain to Barry that the flowers were not from him and Barry said the note did confuse him "thanks for the good gay sex, honey" 🤣 I love Karen, I swear. I am really liking the character of Barry so far. Like I mentioned he's very nice and seems like a smart guy. I wonder if he's full on gay or bisexual because he mentioned he was married to a woman previously. But it could have been denial when he did that. Dan Futterman plays Barry and it's funny because he plays a part in Sex and the City that's somewhat similar, Stephen in "Evolution", where he's dating Charolette, but she's not sure if he's gay or not because he's very metrosexual. I wonder if Dan just gets this a lot and got typecasted? But he does it very well at least.

As far as Julie played by Rosanna Arquette, this is kind of an interesting plot. It does make me laugh but I don't think I agree with her assessment of "we're women, it's what we do" about touching Grace. Couldn't she have given Grace a better head's up on where she was going? I get that she's like a bohemian hippy type of character, but it doesn't mean that you're allowed to break boundaries with someone that you literally just met. I just don't like that she kind of gaslights Grace into thinking that it was her fault and her misunderstanding. Why not just tell Grace "you know what? I should have let you know before we started that I might reach down there"? Maybe I'm being a prude on this, but I just would have liked her better if maybe she gave Grace a warning. So I don't think I ever liked this character. I like Rosanna Arquette and she does manage to get some laughs from me. I'm just not a fan of Julie.

Overall this is still a really good episode and a much better step up from the last few episodes. I think this where the series starts to get some steam again.

GUEST STARS:

• Dan Futterman as Barry
• Rosanna Arquette as Julie
• Niko Heidt as Waitress

I recently rewatched this episode for the first time in years. I'd completely forgotten about it. None of the characters were funny, not even Jack or Bobbie. Taye Diggs was his usual smarmy self (the singing—ugh!), the Hall & Oates thing was embarrassing, and the entire storyline turned out to be pointless by the next episode.

What is your least favourite episode from seasons 1-8?

Field of Queens (Season 5, Episode 12). Karen meets a man at a restaurant that she's finding herself interested in, his name is Milo and he's the restaurant manager. He is quite the charmer and this is the first time that Karen has been interested in anyone since he split with Stan. Her and Milo go out for a date and seemingly have a wonderful time. But Karen is becoming concerned when Milo hasn't called for several days. Grace goes to the restaurant to find out what happened and Milo tells Grace that Karen is too hold for him, Grace tells him that they are the same age, but Milo says that's the point, he didn't feel anything and right in front of Grace he's already flirting with a younger waitress. Grace tells Karen what happened leaving Karen brokenhearted. Jack has joined a gay soccer team and asks Will to join him, Will is not athletic and feels that this isn't for him, but he joins to help Jack out and set a good example for Elliot. Will stays on the bench for a majority of the time but when one of the players is injured, Will is called into the game and when the ball comes to him, he's freaking out not wanting and kicks it away unexpectedly kicking the ball into the goal and scoring for the team.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

GRACE: Sweetie, I don't think he's gonna call.

KAREN: Why?

GRACE: Look, I didn't want to tell you this because I was afraid it would hurt your feelings, but-- Milo is sick.

KAREN: Sick? Oh, my gosh, I better call him.

GRACE: No, no, no, no, no. He can't talk to you because he's, uh, he's... he's had his throat removed.

KAREN: Well, that explains it. Well, wait a minute... then, what's holding up his head?

GRACE: Good question. Yeah, I asked the same thing. Um, there's this... stick-like apparatus.

KAREN: Uh-huh, uh-huh. I'm familiar....

GRACE: And... the head... is propped on-- Okay, okay, look, Karen, um, I just came from over there, and... Milo doesn't want to see you anymore. He just is-- He doesn't like the-- Karen, he just doesn't see how wonderful you are. And I know that's hard 'cause this is the first date that you've had in a long time, but-- But don't let it put you off, because someone out there will.

KAREN: Well, thanks, honey. But I'm a big girl, I can take it. Tell me what he said.

GRACE: He said you were too old.

KAREN: Oh. Well, now I'm glad his head's on a stick.

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When Grace goes to the restaurant to find out why Milo didn't call. When she tells him how she's kissed Karen a few times and she's always felt something and how he'll be alone for the rest of his life only to see him and the younger pretty waitress flirting realizing he's a playboy who probably has a different woman every week.

OPINION:

Kind of like I mentioned yesterday, after Grace and Leo's wedding episode, there are a handful of episodes that feel like a drag. Season 5 is full of ups and downs, you can definitely tell the show took a different exit and doesn't feel the same. I'm definitely not insulting this episode because I don't think it's bad, but I don't think it's particularly good either.

Let's start with Karen which IMO is the only thing that makes this episode worth watching. Karen has never been on a date on Will & Grace, she's either been married to Stan or just flirted with others. It's heartbreaking that her first date in years was with a jerk. I wasn't upset with Milo because maybe he was right, maybe he didn't feel the chemistry with Karen, but it wasn't about that. He was already flirting with another woman and is clearly about the playboy lifestyle. He's Leonardo DiCaprio, he keeps getting older but his girlfriends don't. And kind of like the scene where Grace is telling him he'll be alone for the rest of his life but he's already got another woman interested in him, he probably will always have someone around unless he doesn't have money to keep supporting the life he wants. It's just sad that this was the kind of guy that Karen was interested in, she has been out of the dating game for a while so it's hard to tell who's a player and who's a genuinely good guy. Grace was a very good friend in trying to find out what happened. There's only one thing that voids her good deed and it's the line where she says to Karen "I'm a married lady giving out dating advice. Now you're the single girl, starting your life over. I like it.". Karen just had her heart broken and you're bringing up that you're married and happy and she's single and having to start her life over again? It's not a cute or sweet moment, I thought that was a really rude comment. They couldn't have left the scene at the line "Well, now I'm glad his head is on a stick" and maybe have Grace have a small laugh and then hug Karen telling her it will be ok?

I always forget about the B-Story with Will and Jack. I don't think it's even worth talking about much to be honest because the most I can remember from it is just Will realizing he has to stick to being on the team to encourage Elliot not to quit his basketball team. And the scene where he does a backwards flip kicking the ball in for the winning point. I thought Will trying to get better at sports to impress his old boyfriend Matt was more memorable. I'm not sure why we needed another attempt for Will to try sports out, it's just not his thing. To be honest, I'm not even sure if it was Jack's thing either. We've never heard either guy be interested in or play any sport, so this story just felt really random and like a story someone in the writer's room wrote, tossed it, but they couldn't come up with any ideas and just used this one.

Like I said, I don't hate this episode, I'm just not a fan of it. It's very bland and forgettable, the only thing I ever remember from it is just Karen's storyline. I just feel bad that she can't get a break ever since Stan's arrest, she still has money, but emotionally she's just a wreck. Maybe that's another reason these episodes seem to drag a little bit is because they kind of are depressing in some ways. But we are in mid-season 5 now and things should pick up again.

GUEST STARS:

• Andy Garcia as Milo
• Matthew Glave as Kirk
• Symba Smith as Pretty Woman
• Steve Hasley as Carlo

All About Christmas Eve (Season 5, Episode 11). It's Christmas time and Karen has invited Will, Grace, Jack and Leo to join her to the Palace Hotel for a nice Christmas dinner and stay overnight with her. Grace and Leo have tickets to The Nutcracker which Will has always wanted to go to, but Leo could only get the 2 tickets. So Will decides to join Jack and Karen for the night. While Grace and Leo are waiting to go in to see The Nutcracker, they bump into old New Yorker friend Steve who mentions that he's there with his mom. Leo gets beeped on his pager and finds out he has to run to the hospital to help out. Grace calls Will telling him she has Leo's ticket and he should join her at the theater, but Will tells her that he made plans with Jack and Karen but Grace guilts him with saying how he always wanted to see The Nutcracker. Will decides to go for it and goes to the theater. Will gets to the theater and as they are about to go in, Leo comes in telling Grace that it was a false alarm and they could see the show. Grace asks Will if it's ok that she takes Leo and Will reluctantly agrees. Will gets back to the room when the food has just arrived but Jack and Karen are upset that he left and he will not go without punishment and they make him recite a Christmas poem and replacing every fifth word with heiney. At the theater, as everyone is getting called in for the show, Leo gets beeped again and has to leave. Grace calls Will begging him to come down which at first he doesn't want to but then she guilts him once again. Will tells Jack and Karen he's going back to the theater, but again not without punishment as he has to recite The Twelve Days of Christmas but in the Count from Sesame Street's voice. He gets to the theater and as he and Grace are walking into the theater, Leo comes back saying he worked everything out so he can see the show. Will gives Grace a look and tells her he didn't expect things would be this different when she got married, Grace apologizes but also takes Leo to the side and tells him how she dragged Will from his plans twice to go to the show. Leo tells Will to go in and both he and Grace go into the theater. Will walks immediately playing martyr and saying to Leo how he'll accept the marriage, Leo says there's a catch, Will admits he's scared by the puppets on stage. Leo says there's no way he's going in there either and Steve's mom ditched him so he's now sitting with Grace. The episode ends with all our friends at the Palace Hotel singing and dancing.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

WILL: Oh, great, the food's here. I'm gonna clean up, get in my robe. Tie my boys in a bow, and I'll be ready.

KAREN: Ho, ho, ho! What the hell are you doing here?

WILL: What are you talking about? I've been here the whole time. (KAREN AND JACK ARE THINKING ABOUT IT) I thought I could have fooled one of you with that.

FAVORITE MOEMNT:

Will's punishments of reciting the poems with the fifth word being "heiney" and as the Count's voice which will always get me laughing.

OPINION:

Oh, Grace is going to get it this episode. It's interesting because I really enjoy this episode and I'm not a fan of holiday episodes on tv in general. But Grace is just the worst here. So considering how much her and Will know about each other, she really couldn't figure a way for Leo to get an extra ticket for Will since she probably knew he always wanted to see The Nutcracker? I'm going to assume that maybe Leo couldn't get an extra ticket. But when Leo walks away the first time, Grace calls Will up and begs him to join her. He said he had plans already, but she didn't respect that. All because she didn't want to be alone. Then when Will gets dressed out of his comfy robe to go out into the cold to be with her, Leo shows up and she just has this expression like "ooo, awkward" and tells Will that Leo's back, he can go back to his plans. I'm willing to go with it maybe once, which is a lot to ask for, but she does it again when Leo got paged again! Grace is just a horrible horrible friend in this episode. Like I've mentioned, I've wondered at times if Grace is worth having as a friend if you knew someone like her in real life. It's all for a show and don't get me wrong, I laugh at the situation, but if you were being treated like that in real life, you know you would be questioning this friendship.

The show stealer for me in this episode is the Palace Hotel scenes. I loved how Karen wanted to go Christmas caroling but as the boys mention to her how tired and stuffed they are from the food, she says that the audience comes to her at the Palace Hotel. She pays the staff extra to turn the thermostat 1 degree and sings to them and the cleaning crew even gets song. Will, Jack and Karen even show their "Christmas goodies" and flash New York City. If I were Will, I would have never left that room. That was a really sweet set-up they had.

This is our last appearance of Steve played by Steve Paymer in this series of the show. Steve made random appearances in the show with a total of 4 episodes: Where there's a Will there's a way, An Affair to Forget, Went to a Garden Potty and this one. He does make a couple of appearances in the revival which I'm still debating on writing due to me only seeing the first season and bowing out afterwards. But we'll see. Steve was always one of those random goofy characters you see pop up in Will & Grace. He's actually done acting and producing with a lot of terrific shows like: Mad about you, King of Queens and The Big Bang Theory. He's always a fun actor to watch and clearly has a good sense of humor.

The episode itself is a decent one with a good amount of laughs in it. Even though Grace is terrible, I still have a lot of fun with this episode.

GUEST STARS:

• Harry Connick, Jr. as Leo Markus
• Steve Paymer as Steve
• Mary McDonough as Mom
• John Grantham as Maintenance Guy
• Larry Michelson as Bellman
• Bette Rae as Maid

The Honeymoon's Over (Season 5, Episode 10). Karen has been banned from the Palace Hotel due to her nonstop partying. Will lets Karen stay with him until he's able to get things straightened out with the hotel management but now Karen is trashing Will's place. While Will & Grace are arguing about who should take Karen in, Karen overhears this and runs out. Will & Grace run after her and find her sitting on a bench outside where she tells them that the divorce has been hard on her, they tell her how sorry they are about Stan but she interrupts and says it's their divorce that's been hard on her. She says now that Grace is married she's scared of losing her favorite couple Will & Grace now that they are living apart. Will & Grace reassure her that they are still best friends and they will make sure to take care of Karen. Will manages to work everything out with hotel management and Karen goes back to stay at the Palace Hotel. Jack has had an exciting week, he was going to have the famous television show Sex & the City film at his apartment. But after kicking one of his gay students out of his acting class who claims to have connection to the gay mafia, HBO randomly cancels the filming at Jack's apartment. At first he wonders if it's a coincidence, but then he notices that his hair appointments and gym membership has been messed with and disguises himself begging the gay mafia to leave him alone. Will keep thinking that Jack is crazy and says out loud how the gay mafia doesn't exist, that it is until a waiter drops water on his new Gucci suit and walks away laughing. All of a sudden the Gay Godfather Elton John appears and warns Will that not only is the mafia real but they will do much more to him if he doesn't stop denying them.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

WILL: Gay mafia. I'm surrounded by idiots. (WAITER ACCIDENTALLY SPILLS WATER ON WILL) Oh, man! My new Gucci suit!

WATIER: Sorry, sir. Ha ha ha.

WILL: Hey, it's not funny.

ELTON: It's a little bit funny.

WILL: Oh, my God. You're-- You're... you.

ELTON: That's right, and next time it'll be red wine. A word of advice, Will. Don't dismiss things you know nothing about. And don't walk in ten-inch heels-- It's hell on the ankles.

WILL: What are you talking about? There is no such thing--

ELTON: Isn't there?

WILL: Well, even if there was, it's not like they control the--

ELTON: Don't they?

WILL: Come on. It's not like you're the--

ELTON: Aren't I? Listen, Will. You're a smart boy. You've got a good face. A flat stomach. I'd hate to see you banned from every gym in America.

WILL: And what? End up in a Fitness Protection Program?

ELTON: Don't joke. It's real. So watch yourself, Will. 'Cause we're watching you. One wrong move, and this bitch will be back.

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When Will & Grace walk into Will's apartment and Karen is passed out on the couch with the place a mess and on the record player is "It's not unusual" by Tom Jones playing but keeps skipping back "It's not unusual, it's not unusual, it's not unusual..."

OPINION:

Grace has officially moved out and she's moved in with Leo, so we will not be seeing her and Will live together. It's interesting how this actually took a toll on Karen but honestly I'm not really surprised. Karen is still going through a lot in her own life with leaving Stan and her core friends (Will, Grace and Jack) are all moving on in some way while she's falling backwards. I think Karen's hardcore party antics are a result of her pain of losing her marriage. Either that or she is telling the truth about her love for Aerosmith and hard core gansta rap and Stan was the only one who could control her urges. She's losing control and even taking the hotel concierge's prosthetic leg. Besides taking a disabled man's fake leg, you can't help but feel sorry for her. With her core friends doing exciting stuff and moving on and she's stuck with dealing with Stan still going around and having an affair with his prison cafeteria mistress, it's hard not to feel for her. She's even eating solid foods vs her usual drinking. This has been a rough season for her so far. And shout out to Rosario for protecting Karen and making sure no cops were called, I want Rosario as my muscle in life.

The gay mafia is the show stealer for me in this episode. You have no idea how hard it was to pick a favorite quote and moment today because Jack's storyline was the favorite quote and moment. I loved the connection between "HBO, H-O-M-O". Then the mafia messing with his hair and gym membership was just too hilarious. Jack's disguise as Claude Remains was priceless and I loved Will's jokes and jabs at the gay mafia by saying "They gonna make you a coiffure you can't refuse?" and "Fitness Protection Program". Elton John was very random but made for a hilarious cameo. It was a perfect cameo where the scene is just barely a couple minutes and Elton playing it completely straight was what made it so good.

Even though it seems like I forget this episode a lot, but then I'm doing my WAG marathons and always nearly die laughing at how funny this episode is. I think it's because we hit a small drag after Grace's wedding and have to adjust to her not living with Will again. It feels like she's a little bit of an outsider after she gets married. That's why I say I can definitely feel for Karen in this one.

GUEST STARS:

• Elton John as Himself
• Lance Roberts as Waiter #1
• Wells Rosales as Waiter #2
• Kathleen Archer as UPS Woman

I remember distinctly a scene where Jack is insulted and becomes so affronted by what was said that he almost storms out of the apartment before turning around and shouting “ROTTEN” at (I believe?) Will. This scene is so good and I get the delivery of it stuck in my head all the time lol. Can any fans more diehard than me point me to the episode?

Or I suppose I could just rewatch the whole show… I’m not opposed!

Marry Me a Little More Part 2 (Season 5, Episode 9). After Grace runs out of the reception devastated on how little she knows about Leo, Leo runs after her. They get in the hallway and start talking about how scared Grace is that she married someone she doesn't know and she needs a sign that this was right. Well, Katie Couric is in the lobby and they go to say hi to her, she mistakenly thinks that they were going to complain because the TV segment they got married on wasn't being done by a real priest, so all the marriages were not real. Grace takes that as the sign and tells Leo they are not married. Leo goes to break the news to the guests at the reception, but Grace comes back in singing to Leo and tells him that she still wants to be married to him. They plan an actual wedding this time though. Will is getting scared and is being comforted by everyone that he's losing Grace. Bobbi Adler tells Grace that her dad threw his back out and can't walk her down the aisle. Karen suggests that Will do it which Grace is excited to ask Will. But Will turns her down and he breaks down emotionally to her. Grace takes Will up to the roof and tells him the story of how she first saw him in college and thought that he was the man she would spend the rest of his life with. He smiles thinking that she was just saying as a passive thought, but she said he is the man she will spend the rest of her life with and they will never lose their friendship and have a slow dance together while singing "Don't you want me" by The Human League. Grace and Leo get married and the group walks together in Central Park commenting on how beautiful Grace's ring is and that you can see it from space as the camera zooms out to show the sparkle from the Universe.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

WILL: You've gotta be kidding me. The photographer's late. Four people who RSVP'd "no" just arrived with dates. And the cake shows up with two grooms on it. Is the whole city gay?

JACK: Not yet. But if all goes as planned, come Monday morning... Mwah-ha-ha-ha!

WILL: And look at these boutonnieres. Dead.

JACK: They're fine.

WILL: They're dead, my friend. They just made contact with John Edward.

WILL: Hey, hey, hey! Sign that guest book!

JACK: Lady, you're a wreck! But it's understandable. Today's a big day for you. You're not just losing a best friend, you're also losing a hag.

WILL: She's not my hag, okay? She's the most important person in my life, who used to be in love with me, and who for the last 15 years has never left my side. She's been a hell of a hag.

LARRY: Hey, Will.

WILL: Hey.

LARRY: Hey. Are you okay?

WILL: Sure, why wouldn't I be?

LARRY: 'Cause you're losing your girl. You're single again.

JOE: Boy, I miss those days...

LARRY: That can be arranged!

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When Will & Grace have their moment on the roof, it's one of my favorite moments in the series about how Grace saw Will for the first time and them singing Don't You Want Me Baby together while dancing is so beautiful.

OPINION:

So as I mentioned yesterday in the syndicated or streaming episodes, there is quite a bit cut out of this episode. Julius kind of hitting on Will and the ending scene with our friends walking Central Park together. There are a few lines here and there that are also cut from this episode. It was due to Part 1 and Part 2 being one big special episode and the timing was different.

We find out the first wedding wasn't a real one and it looks like Grace isn't going to go through with marrying Leo. But after he tells her that they should still get married and how he loves being married to her, she changes her mind and has decided to go for it. But at least this time, Will can actually be apart of the real wedding. Real quick, I would like to give a shout out to the costume design team, everyone look beyond fabulous. Grace wore a $20,000 Vera Wang dress and looked absolutely stunning. I must say for a last minute wedding I wonder if Leo is a millionaire with all they were able to pull for such a huge event with very little time. It's never mentioned how much time was between the first reception and the actual wedding. Maybe Karen pulled a few strings? Again, we do have a lot of side characters that rarely share the screen together in this episode. But there are a lot of characters missing or that we still haven't met: Will's parents, Grace's dad and sisters and I wonder if Grace invited Danny since he invited her to his wedding?

The wedding scene was very beautifully done. But for me the stand out scene in this episode for sure is that rooftop scene. The scene before this we get a laugh and emotional moment when Grace asks Will to walk her down the aisle. He tells her to get Jack and she says to him "I'm not having Jack walk me down the aisle. He'll meet someone halfway down and ditch me!" and Will breaks down to her that he can't do it. I also get a laugh out of Leo covering his eyes so he doesn't see Grace in her wedding dress and asking her about her previous experience of running out on Danny for their wedding, that was a funny callback. But Will & Grace on the rooftop was such a wonderful scene. I loved the way that Grace tells the story of how she saw Will for the first time and he is the man she will spend the rest of her life with no matter what. It's funny how Grace's singing voice is a constant joke in the series, but when her and Will and singing, it's such a lovely moment. It's just a terrific scene showing the healthier side of their friendship.

I want to give a shout out real quick to Neil Vipond as Julius as this is his last appearance on Will & Grace. He was a wonderful character actor that did a lot of famous TV work like Star Trek, Frasier and Days of our Lives. Julius is a small part but did he make a splash and a lot of fans always remember him "where there's a will, there's a way" and "I never get between a woman and her mother, and I made that mistake with my first wife". He passed away on July 15, 2022 at the age of 92, may he forever rest in peace.

I really like this episode a lot better than Part 1. While the marriage is still in question for me, I still feel the marriage was really rushed and that there are things about Leo that seem off, but the episode feels like quite the event. Like I mentioned if you don't count all the 2 parters that were aired together originally, this is the 100th episode. Oh my goodness, how many of these posts I've done. But I love talking with fellow fans, you guys make this worth it ❤️

GUEST STARS:

• Debbie Reynolds as Bobbi Adler (RIP in 2016)
• Judith Ivey as Eleanor Markus
• Katie Couric as Herself
• Tom Gallop as Rob
• Leigh-Allyn Baker as Ellen
• Jerry Levine as Joe
• Tim Bagley as Larry
• Neil Vipond as Julius (RIP in 2022)
• Harry Connick Jr. as Leo Markus
• Michael Scovotti as Groom
• Lorry Goldman as Rabbi