Will & Grace Review: Grace’s Secret (Season 10 Episode 5)

While I was somewhat critical of Will and Grace‘s first episodes of the season, the show’s quality has improved all while taking some unexpected dramatic turns, first with Will and Grace Season 10 Episode 4, “Who’s Sorry Now?” and on Will and Grace Season 10 Episode 5, “Grace’s Secret.”

Will and Grace has never shied away from dramatic subplots but this season’s installments, focusing on their leading characters’ traumatic experiences are next level, breaking important ground for the show.

There are two main plot lines running through this episode — one absurd and silly one, perfectly in line with the normal tone the Will and Grace universe operates in — and the second more serious and timely, once again allowing Debra Messing to hit it out of the park.

Before we discuss Messing’s work, let’s review the lighter storyline as Will and Karen compete to determine who knows Jack better and earn the official role as his Best Man.

It is no secret that I adore Megan Mullally/Karen Walker. As much as I enjoy her relationship with Jack, it is always a pleasure to see her combative relationship with Will come into focus.

Will and Karen first compete in a “lip-sync monologue throwdown.” Will tackles Chris Crocker’s infamous “Leave Britney Alone!” speech.

This video went viral in 2007, just a year after Will and Grace originally went off the air, and it is exactly the kind of pop-culture moment the original would have referenced, so its inclusion feels appropriate.

Karen performs the Wicked Witch of the West’s “I’ll get you, my pretty” monologue, which as she puts it, is “straight out of the Bible.”

While there are plenty of funny lines during the “Jack-off” game, Jack’s speech calling out some of the warped traditions behind marriage, a crescendo to the proceedings, is what I will remember most.

He vows to do things his way — tradition be damned — and rather than picking one Best Man, he decides both Karen and Will will stand at his side.

My one qualm with this storyline is how much it reminds me that I have zero investment in Jack’s relationship with Estefan and how much I do not think they should get married. How long until we can wind down that story?

I alluded to Debra Messing’s exceptional work earlier, but I really cannot say enough about how impressed I have been with her this season. Messing is a gifted comedic actress with skills bordering almost on Lucille Ball-esque, so it is exceedingly easy to forget what a gifted dramatic actress she is.

I was admittedly concerned during the first half of the episode. There was an uneasy pacing to Grace’s trip with her father Martin (Robert Klein) as they road trip to Schenectady to visit Grace’s mother’s grave, as well as the final resting place for Martin’s best friend, Harry.

During the trip, they stop at a diner and their generational — and gender — differences come into full view as they discuss how Martin interacts with women and how he feels “men can’t be men anymore, not with this #notme stuff.”

Grace pushes back at his every attempt to minimize assault or downplay and reinterpret inappropriate behavior. When Grace again digs in her heels and refuses to visit Harry’s grave, Martin challenges her.

An exasperated, disappointed Grace finally bursts, recollecting a play-by-play of Harry’s assault of her, explaining that she had tried to allude to this in the past, but never felt comfortable enough to tell her father the full story.

It’s a deeply sad, uncomfortable, and all too familiar #MeToo moment.

She reminds her father that she mentioned how creepy Harry was. It’s not that he didn’t hear her; he simply wasn’t listening. There’s a distinction. Messing’s performance during her confession is layered, a mixture of anger, nervousness, sadness, defiance, and detachment.

She’s upset with Harry, she’s upset with her father, she’s upset at men, who so often have to have things spelled out for them, and even then, don’t always take it seriously women when they report assault or abuse.

To cope, she had to become two people, “the one it happened to and the one who gets through the day.”

Klein, who has never been one of my favorite guest stars or member of the Adler family (but really, who could hold a candle to Debbie Reynolds as the late, great Bobbi Adler anyway?) plays his response beautifully. It’s a slow — then painfully quick — realization and about-face as reality sets in and he connects the dots.

While Messing and Klein’s scenes have some funny moments (more on that below), they are primarily serious, a brave but ultimately necessary choice given the content.

I recognize that some people believe that dramatic content does not have any place in a sitcom, but I think Will and Grace‘s choice to occasionally weave drama into the fabric of the season is only adding to the richness of their plot lines, allowing them to tackle significant issues in an accessible manner.

Stray Observations:

• The revelation that the one person Grace revealed her assault to was her mother was a beautiful ending to the episode. Grace’s relationship with her mother was always a complicated but loving one, and knowing that her mother knew about the incident and most importantly, believed her, felt like the best tribute we could get to the departed Bobbi Adler.
• I am loving the random bit players that have been featured this season. Viewing “Where In the World is Karen Walker?” I could  not stop laughing at Linda, a homicidal tourist with a perfectly placid face. In this episode, I could not stop chuckling at awkward waitress Patty, who delivered lines like “I know the glasses look dirty, but it’s just the water” in a delightful flat tone. Kudos to the casting director.
• As Grace “checked in” with her mother at her tomb and shared her latest updates of Noah, I was reminded how much more of that relationship I’m curious to see. Come back, Curmudgeon!
• I am convinced that the writers have some kind of contest in the writers’ room about who can write the most warped line and have it end up in an episode. I give you Exhibit A from Karen, who is trying to prove her greater commitment to Jack: “Did you go on the dark web to find him a real severed hand for his Morticia Addams costume?”

What did you think of this episode of Will and Grace? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Reviewer Rating:

User Rating:

 

Will and Grace airs Thursday at 9/8c on NBC.

Follow us on Twitter @telltaleTV_

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

20 Heart-Wrenching TV Deaths to Make You Burst into Tears