Will & Grace has had some intense and very emotional episodes over the course of its original and rebooted one, however tonight's episode may take the cake for the saddest and most heartfelt one yet. Spoiler alert if you don't want to read ahead. But no joke, I'm still fighting back the tears.
There was hope that Shelley Morrison, who played Karen's lovable maid Rosario, would come back tonight as the episode was called Rosario's Quinceanera. Turns out that wasn't the case, as within the first five minutes of the show, we find out that she passes from a heart attack.
The Will & Grace portion of the episode pales far in comparison to the meaty and emotional scenes that felt raw and completely unnerving to the last moment. Essentially, they bicker about Will leasing a space behind Grace's back, and her saying that he works for her and needs to clear things before they happen. That will manifest itself in future episodes, but not the focal point here.
Although Rosario has passed, Karen decides to throw her a Quinceanera as opposed to a traditional funeral as her mother never gave her one (this is a celebration for a girl's 15th birthday). Karen decides to not attend the funeral, and instead is at a bar where the bartender named Smitty (Charles C. Stevenson) is back to her amusement. Amusement meaning that he always makes her laugh over his life being so awful. This time around, he can barely hear, which cheers her right up. It's terrible… but done in a hilarious way.
Each of the three primary cast members go to the bar to try to convince Karen to get to the funeral. Karen makes Jack dance to a variety of numbers including Michael Jackson's "Thriller" all while singing Pharrell William's hit "Happy." It's hysterical but he fails in getting her there. Grace, as usual, makes it all about herself and talks about her mother's recent passing (this is how they deal with Debbie Reynolds, who passed in real life last year). Then Will walks in, gives her a hug, and makes it all better.
Karen returns at the end of the episode to say her goodbye to Rosario, and I couldn't see for a couple of minutes as I was crying my eyes out. "She was my maid, my sparring partner. She was my best friend." The last thing Karen says is, "Te amo, Mami" before they cut to Will, Grace & Jack crying at the entrance of the funeral. It's a beautiful scene and one that is a great sendoff for a character that helped make the show what it was for eight years.
Notable quotes from tonight:
Minnie Driver's character Lorraine Finster is back! Yay! Karen sees her and says, "Lorraine Finster, you have got to be out of your mind showing your faces here."
Other fantastic quotables:
"I've been on my own since I was 9 months old, I breast fed myself."
"That's Rosie at Burning Man!"
"I'm more confused than Britney on stage in Vegas."
"Turn around and Brexit!"
"Oh my god, I'm lying to a corpse."
"Father Closet Case wants to start."
"You put the Nancy in Nancy Drew."
What did you think of tonight's episode?
Great commentary but for Dios
Great commentary but for Dios's sake, spell correctly. "She was my maid (not made)" and "Te amo ( not llamo)" Look it up as it makes a world of difference. Gracias.