Will & Grace Review: Bi-plane (Season 11 Episode 9)

Will & Grace continues its upwards swing in Will & Grace Season 11 Episode 9, ” Bi-plane.” That’s not to say it’s a perfect episode; by no means, it’s not, but its script is clever, quippy, and smart.

All members of the Core Four have an equally interesting storyline, though the humor in Will/Grace’s is debatable (it still features some zippy dialogue though, regardless of what you think of the overall arc).

Plus, we’re gifted with three wonderful guest stars; Vanessa Bayer is back as Karen’s baseball team assistant, Ryan Phillippe stars as a version of himself, and Billie Lourd appears as Grace’s niece, Fiona. Lourd is the granddaughter of Debbie Reynolds aka Bobbie Adler, so she’s basically Will & Grace royalty.

Much like her grandmother and mother, Carrie Fisher, Lourd is a gifted comedienne with excellent timing. Even though she’s stuck in a seemingly archaic plot, Lourd’s gifts still shine through and she rises above the somewhat meh material she’s given. Plus, she does a killer Debbie Reynolds impression (no surprises there).

Lourd is incredibly gifted and watching her inhabit a universe where her grandmother reigned supreme is special. That doesn’t change the fact though that she’s stuck in a plot line that her character would probably call “just a little 90s.”

One of the things that has benefitted Will & Grace over its revival’s run is that it captures the essence of the show in its hey day so well. Sometimes though, that’s it’s biggest weakness and it can cover contemporary attitudes somewhat poorly.

Watching Grace and Will deny that bisexuality is real is uncomfortable. After all, this is a show that was lauded for its focus on inclusion and acceptance for so long. But it’s also the same show who was guilty of bisexual erasure last season on Will & Grace Season 10 Episode 18 “Jack’s Big Fat Gay Wedding.”

For whatever reason, the show really struggles to represent other identities beyond the first two letters of the LGBTIQA community. When Will admits that he thinks those that identify as bisexual and queer simply just haven’t decided whether they’re lesbian or gay, it feels less like Will saying that and more like the show’s writers are.

Another qualm: it makes zero sense that Will would have this issue.

He’s traditional but he’s also harped on inclusion and acceptance for the entire series so the fact that he’d have such an issue wrapping his head around the idea that Fiona’s fiance, Trevor, could be bisexual and still want to commit to Fiona, is not just backwards thinking; it’s incongruent with what we’ve seen of his character.

While the episode ultimately uses this as a “teaching moment” for Will and Grace to realize the errors in their thinking, it still rubs the wrong way that this episode included this storyline in the first place. Was there really not another fun way to bring Billie Lourd into the fold?

It’s a shame too because this dialogue is hilarious, but is tied to such a frustrating plot.

Trevor: Of course you’re gay. You have a whole bookshelf of books about butts.

Will: A lot of those were gifts…to myself.

Elsewhere, Jack and Karen are both on a flight though having completely opposite experiences. Jack’s every dream seems to be coming true, while Karen, flying in coach for the first time, is in a living hell while her fellow passengers watch yet another rerun of According to Jim.

Her horror that they’ve shrunk the vodka and worry that she’ll die amongst the “poors, all mixed in with the tater tots and the Crocs” are terribly classist (but when has Karen ever been anything else?) and ridiculously funny.

However, the line of the night might be her comment that Row 3 of the airplane was previously the worst thing she could imagine because that’s “where Melania puts Tiffany Trump.” Little does she know, it gets worse than Row 3.

Besides the sheer hilarity of a barb like this, it’s nice to see Will & Grace figure out a way to poke fun at all things Trump. It went a bit overboard with that on previous seasons, but has been more economical this season with far better results.

Vanessa Bayer is once again a highlight. Bayer, much like McCormack, can play the straight “man” in scenes so well, and her earnestness while reciting absurd dialogue about how Karen will be remembered as a great woman with more enemies than friends, is a true gift.

And what range she has! If you haven’t watched the newest season of Shrill, do so, and you’ll understand what I mean. 

Meanwhile, Jack’s story with Ryan Phillippe, the number one person on his “hall pass” list feels like a nice examination of how much Jack has evolved. 

Jack’s overly excitable on a good day — that much has not changed — but watching his internal wheels spin as he struggles with a real life opportunity to sleep with Ryan while also wanting to stay loyal to his husband is a perfect example of how much he’s grown. He can’t go through with it, and I genuinely can’t imagine the old Jack making the same decision.

Ryan Phillippe, though used sparingly, is a wonderful feature of this episode. I still have no idea how he explained that his process for getting in character for Flags of Our Fathers was “giving his father a flag” with a straight face.

Despite its flaws, this episode has the right energy and is far stronger than some of the other entries this season. Now, if we could just get all of the Core Four in the same scene. They’ve been glaringly separated almost this entire season and it’s holding the show back.

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

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Will & Grace airs Thursdays at 9:00/8:00c on NBC.

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