It was a blessed time back in September
of 2017 on NBC when one of its big sitcom successes originating from the late
nineties, “Will & Grace,” returned with a surprise ninth season after the eighth
one aired way back in 2005-06. The primary cast were all gung-ho in getting
back to their roles as well, seeing as their show’s revival not only extended
in episodes, but got a follow-up tenth season, and a farewell 11th
season that started October last year. After a Holiday mid-season break, the “Will
& Grace” swan song resumed this past Thursday with Demi Lovato in a sweet
guest-starring role.
As Entertainment Tonight tells it, the mid-break return of “Will &
Grace” season 11 this past Thursday, January 9 on NBC follows up on Will Truman’s (Eric McCormack) quest for
parenthood. Despite having parted ways with his same-sex partner before the
break, Will so wanted to be a father that he is resolved to be a single parent
for his child. But first he needs a surrogate mother, and on the episode “Performance
Anxiety” he meets a potential baby-maker in Jenny (Demi Lovato). While her
surrogate record has been all healthy babies, Will gets second thoughts upon
seeing Jenny’s lifestyle.
Not only is Jenny living like a
slob in a barely-cleaned apartment, she also works as a “camera girl” showing
her body to men online. Despite her assurances that she does not smoke, drink
or take drugs that might affect any pregnancies she carries, Will is so turned
off that their surrogate deal falls apart. It was only after Karen (Megan
Mullally) gives Will a talking-to, that he realizes Jenny’s life choices, while
questionable, are much lesser evils than he fears. The result is a very
touching reconciliation scene between the two that beautifully showcases Lovato’s
polished comedy-drama acting chops.
For all the feels that the main
plot with Will has on this episode, the secondary arc featuring Grace Adler
(Debra Messing) is not quite its story-content equal, but does its job with the
laughs. Grace and Jack (Sean Hayes) goes to the latest AnnieCon celebrating the
iconic “Annie” musical. There Grace tries to get into the spirit by pretending
she used to be an Annie performer, all the while Jack is collecting hair strands
from celebrities present to complete his wig of EGOT stars. Christopher Thornton
is another guest star playing as Jenny’s brother, a wounded veteran, whom Karen
takes a one-episode shine to.
“Will & Grace” and NBC also
took the time at the end of “Performance Anxiety” to pay tribute to cast member
Shelly Morrison, who died during the season’s Holiday break on December 1 from
heart failure at age 83. Morrison portrayed Rosario, Karen’s housekeeper, in
pre-revival seasons of the show.
0 comments:
Post a Comment