Will & Grace Recap: “Emergency Contact”

Every week it seems like Will & Grace gets more comfortable being back on television since the series ended back in 2006.

“Emergency Contact,” serves as a strong reminder to the original show, similar to the way last week’s episode accented how the characters have changed with the times. With the little help from a prominent guest star, the series continues its hot streak of good episodes.

The biggest story in “Emergency Contact,” is Grace’s visit to her gynecologist. She’s heavily sedated by Nurse Sheila (played by original actress Laura Kightlinger) and wakes up to find that they had to do a biopsy on her left breast. “That’s the big one!” Grace laments before realizing how serious the situation could be, but luckily the doctor called her emergency contact. Expecting Will to walk through the door, she’s more than a little surprised when it’s her ex-husband Leo (Harry Connick Jr.). It turns out that Karen, predictably, forgot to switch the phone number back to Will after the divorce which leads to an odd reunion between the two.

However, Grace attempts to put on a brave face in “Emergency Contact,” before she reaches her apartment to collapse into Will’s arms. The two bond over their shared sadness, with the latter being upset after watching a Princess Diana exhibit before Leo interrupts with an off-handed remark about their codependency. Grace isn’t about to let the comment go, and she marches out into the hallway to confront her ex before he leaves. Turns out, Leo blames their failed marriage on her deep relationship with Will and feels like she always chose her best friend over her husband. She disagrees but he, unfortunately, gets the last word in before slipping away on the elevator.

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Will is quick to come to his best friend’s defense in “Emergency Contact,” pointing out that their friendship was not the problem in her marriage. He agrees that they are unusually close but at the end of the day, she put in the work to make the relationship work but it still failed. Following the support from him, Grace goes stomping down to Leo’s office so she can get the last word in. There, he admits that the problem wasn’t Will but actually Grace because she refused to forgive him for his affair. The two exes part on good terms, as well as a passionate kiss, but the most important thing to Grace is that she got the last word in this time around.

Jack and Karen get the B-Story this week, following the former’s rejection from a dog food commercial. This leads Jack to accept a part-time job teaching drama at a Boys and Girls club to a group of bored students. “Emergency Contact,” also has Karen take a young girl under who wing who needs some guidance after getting her first period. Overall it’s an enjoyable side plot for the two characters, but hopefully, they get to move to the front of the action next week. So far, Karen has been sorely underused, which is a shame considering how easily Megan Mullally slipped back into the role.

Will & Grace has done a fantastic job getting these characters back together to continue telling stories when most sitcoms would have fizzled out by now. It seems like the show gets better every week, and “Emergency Contact,” is just an example of the improvement.

Next: Will & Grace Recap: “Who’s Your Daddy”

Easily one of the best revivals in recent history, it’s nice to see a show that is able to build on the positive aspects rather than fall apart due to the negatives.