Sons and Lovers

Sons and Lovers is the two-part 24th & 25th episode of the third season and the 70th & 71st overall.

Grace struggles trying to get Nathan and Will to get along. Jack prepares to meet his birth father, only to get a surprise of having a new family member altogether.

Synopsis[]

Part I[]

Meeting Joe Black[]

Trying to reach out to his biological father, Jack sends out letters to potential leads until a letter from "Jo Black" confirms his identity. Karen sets up a party at Will and Grace's apartment to celebrate their meeting.

However, a woman arrives telling the news that his husband, the actual Joe Black died five years ago

The Beau and The 'Mo[]

Grace learns that her new boyfriend Nathan is still living with his ex-girlfriend, she arranges for him to live with her and Will. Things get awry as Will finds Nathan's crudeness annoying.

Grace tries to find a way for the two to connect but to no avail. She uses Jack's party to create a theme of "togetherness" and bring the Will and Nathan closer.

Part II[]

Elliot[]

Cast[]

Main[]

Guest[]

Woody Harrelson (Nathan)
Michael Angarano (Elliot)
Claire Malis Callaway (Jo Black)
Helen Eigenberg (Vicky)
Michael Philip (Imaginary Boyfriend, Chris)
David Correia (Sky Cap)
John David Conti (Man)
Marcia Ann Burrs (Woman)

Notes[]

This episode marks the first appearance of Elliot, who becomes a regular in Season 4.
When they first meet, Jack expresses confusion that he does not sense the "gay vibe" from Nathan. This is a reference to the running joke that Grace has had a long history of dating gay men who are in the closet.
Sean Hayes held the note on "Papa Can You Hear Me?" for almost 20 seconds.

Cultural References[]

After finding out Grace has been dating Nathan behind his back, Will compares himself to Captain Von Trapp in the musical film The Sound of Music (1965) where the eldest daughter Liesl sneaks out to meet with the delivery boy (later Nazi officer) Rolf during the famous gazebo scene. Later in the series, during the season 8 episode Von Trapped, Will actually dresses up as Captain Von Trapp at the Sound of Music sing-along.
When Grace threatens to force Karen into "brightly colored poly blend", Karen calls her Hannibal Adler, after the cannibal psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter from the Thomas Harris novels.
After Nathan learns that Will is a lawyer he remarks that since he is man without a spleen and Will is a man without a heart, they should take a trip to Oz, a reference to the characters from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) where the characters go to see the eponymous wizard to ask for body parts they lack.
After Jack sings "Papa, Can You Hear Me?" from the musical Yentl multiple times, Will accuses him of having a "Yentl breakdown".
During the memorial for Jack's father, Will regrets that he did not get to "meet Joe Black", but mentions he "saw the movie", a reference to the film Meet Joe Black (1998) starring Brad Pitt.
- Meet Joe Black also starred Anthony Hopkins, who famously portrayed Hannibal Lecter in the film adaptations.

During breakfast, Will remarks to Nathan that "I get too hungry for dinner at 8:00" and both burst singing "that's why the lady is tramp!", from the musical Babes in Arms.
Jack accuses someone of touching James "and the Giant Peaches", a euphemism to his sex organs and reference to the 1996 film James and the Giant Peach.
The morning after the revelation about his father, Jack states that he is in the third stage of grief, a reference to the popular Kübler-Ross model that states the grieving process into 5 stages (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance). However according to Jack, the third stage is leather.
Will, Grace and Nathan go to see the movie Chocolat (2000) in the Village Cinema.
When asked why she cared so much about family, Karen tells the story of the children's book Heidi.
Jack claims that a son will not fit his E! True Hollywood Story, a documentary series that focuses on celebrities other public figures.
Jack and Elliot don't know who Richard Nixon was, the controversial 37th president of the US, who was involved in the Watergate scandal prior to his resignation.
At the airport, Will asks Grace if he loves Nathan, to which she asks back "Do I what?". Annoyed, Will then tells her, "don't do Fiddler with me!". This is a reference to the duet Do You Love Me? from the musical Fiddler on the Roof.

Quotes[]

Rosario, let me get this straight. You want to take some time off to spend with your family? Okay, yeah, good idea. Let me get on the horn right now to Air Fat Chance. Yeah, they probably got a buzzard taking off out of LaGuardia any minute now. — Karen, on the phone

Karen:	I am gonna throw you a fabulous dinner party so that you can meet your daddy in style.
Jack:	You'd do that for me? You'd open your home to me and my family?
Karen:	Well, when you put it that way... no. We'll do it at Will and Grace's. Hey, it'll give 'em a chance to break out the good plastic.

You'd eat your own foot if it had parmesan cheese on it. — Will, as Grace enjoys Nathan's cooking

You are more gay before nine A.M. than most people are all day. — Grace, to Will

Nathan:	Will, lighten up. It's breakfast, not a pelvic exam.
Will:	Well, forgive me if I don't leap to take advice from someone whose family portrait includes two bloodhounds and a pickup truck.

Well, I get it. Because I'm from the South, I must be stupid, and because you're gay, you must be clever. Just goes to show you how wrong those stereotypes can be. — Nathan, to Will

Boy, if this day gets any better, by noon I should be rolling in glass. — Will

Honey, what is going on here? There's fingerprints on the China, spots on the silver, the vodka is warm. What is this, junior high? — Karen

Hey, back off or I will force you into brightly colored poly blend. — Grace

I'm a man without a spleen. You're a man without a heart. Maybe we should take a trip to Oz. — Nathan, finding out Will was a lawyer

Will:	How you doin', pal? you ready?
Jack:	Yeah, I think so. I did a papaya salt scrub, a cucumber mask, a hot oil scalp treatment, and two shots of wheatgrass.
Will:	Wow, you're more than ready. You're a gay salad bar.

Honey, it must be a relief to finally have someone else kill your party. — Karen, to Grace

I'd like to say thank you to Joe Black. Thank you for giving me my piercing blue eyes, my impossibly high cheekbones, my rock-hard ass. And my feminine side... Which I did not get from my mother. — Jack

Grace, if you're gonna think I'm gay every time I pass out with men, you're in for a lifetime of heartache. — Nathan

I'm in the third stage of the grieving process. I'm past anger and denial and into leather. — Jack, the morning after finding out his father is dead

Grace:	If I had your boobs, I'd have two black eyes right now.
Karen:	Yeah. you'd also have a rich husband.

—as Grace jumps on a trampoline

Jack:	So, where are you from?
Elliot:	I'm from Queens
Jack:	Yes, you are, but we'll talk about that when you're older.