Blanket Apology is the 19th episode of the eighth season and 181st overall.
Will and Grace visit his parents and try to hide her pregnancy. Karen persuades Jack to return to doing what he loves.
Synopsis[]
Squealing Queen #3[]
Zandra returns.
After getting fired from OutTV, Jack feels hopeless that he may never get another job. Karen advises him to take this chance to return to the one thing he has always been passionate about: acting. She even brings in Zandra, his former acting coach who is now old and senile, to help Jack train for his audition.
Under the pretense of going to a dance club, Karen takes Jack to an audition for a bit part of a new show. She persuades him by reminding him it is the only thing he really cared about. To both their surprise, the casting director tells them that Jack did not get the bit part but rather the lead role of Chuck Rafferty because he just embodies the "devastated narcissist careening toward a dismal future".
"Nothing potentially awkward"[]
Grace is worried that during their visit to Will's parents, they would find out that she is pregnant with her ex-husband's baby and Will's mother Marilyn is going to be judgmental about it. However, when she eventually tells them the truth, Marilyn is supportive. Will's father George even takes out Will's old baby blanket and gives it to Grace as a gift. This gesture upsets Will as he admits that one day he plans on giving the blanket to his own baby. When he finally confronts his father, it escalates into an argument with George being forced to admit that he preferred Will was straight. Will is heartbroken to hear this and storms out of the house.
Two days later, Will learns that his father had suffered a heart attack and died.
Cast[]
Main[]
- Eric McCormack (Will Truman)
- Debra Messing (Grace Adler)
- Sean Hayes (Jack McFarland)
- Megan Mullally (Karen Walker)
Guest[]
- Blythe Danner (Marilyn Truman)
- Sydney Pollack (George Truman)
- Eileen Brennan (Zandra)
- Brooke Baumer (Alex)
- Tim Hayward (Guy)
Notes[]
- Final appearance of George Truman, who dies in this episode. Actor Sydney Pollack would also pass away two years later in 2008. This is also the last appearance of Eileen Brennan as Zandra, as Brennan would pass away in 2013.
- Although Karen points out that Jack got fired from Jack Talk, he actually quit on air during the previous episode so as not to compromise his values. However, during the credits scene, he is seen begging for his job back.
- Only episode written by James Lecesne.
- Assistant to executive producers Tim Hayward appears as the guy who Karen asks to be his "poodle".
Cultural references[]
- Describing Grace's beret and dark outfit, Will jokes about her being a part "the Rhythm Nation", after the famous music video of Janet Jackson's song where the singer and her dancers wore unisex black military-style uniforms and caps.
- Karen refers to Backstage magazine as Waiter Weekly, poking fun at the stereotype of actors working as waiters while pursuing a career.
- George names the boutique ale he made "Georgie's Girl", a play on the 1966 song Georgy Girl.
Media[]
Quotes[]
If your mother finds out that I'm pregnant because I had unsafe sex on an airplane and haven't told the father yet because he's engaged to another woman, she is going to find some way of making it sound sordid. — Grace
| Grace: | The baby kicked. It's happened a couple of times now. |
| Will: | That's amazing. |
| Grace: | I know. She's gonna be a soccer player. |
| Will: | Or he's gonna be a Rockette. |
For years now, I've watched you flit from career to career, and you always come back to this. And you know why? Because this is the only thing that you have ever really cared about. And now, it's the only thing you've got, Jackie. So. When they call your name, you go in there and squeal like your life depends on it. Because, honey... it does. This is it, Jackie. You've run out of options. — Karen
Here we are, back in the gay minefield. The flowers are prettier, but the bombs are still there. — George