The Third Wheel Gets the Grace

The Third Wheel Gets the Grace is the 1st episode of Season 4 and 72nd overall.

After Will gets back from Paris, Grace's boyfriend Nathan starts to feel like the third wheel. Karen takes Rosario shopping for their anniversary while Jack spends time with his son Elliot.

Synopsis

Shop and Poop

Will returns from Paris after his affair with his imaginary boyfriend did not work out. As Nathan's plans with Grace gets entangled with her and Will's, he begins to feel less important so he comes along to their annual shopping at the Barney's sale. After causing Grace to break down around marked-down cashmere, Nathan gives up and accepts that he cannot fill in Will's role and sticks as her boyfriend.

Denied, Denied, Approved

To bond with his newly discovered biological son Elliot, Jack takes him shopping for back-to-school clothes. After making him try on flashy clothes, Jack realizes that Elliot does not particularly like the clothes he chooses for him, but rather just wants Jack to like him.

Can't Talk, Feeling Something

For their 15th year anniversary, Karen and Rosario go shopping for new clothes. Karen soon notices that Rosario is stalling from buying anything which she admits is because she just wants to spend time with Karen.

Cast

Main

• Eric McCormack (Will Truman)
• Debra Messing (Grace Adler)
• Sean Hayes (Jack McFarland)
• Megan Mullally (Karen Walker)
• Shelley Morrison (Rosario Salazar)

Guest

• Woody Harrelson (Nathan)
• Michael Angarano (Elliot)
• Jacqueline Beatty (Woman #1)
• Karin Co (Woman #2)
• Jessica Margaret Dean (Woman #3)
• Debra Kay (Woman #4)

Notes

• Grace mentions that she and Will have gone to the Barney's sale every year since college. This is referenced again in Swimming from Cambodia.
• Title of the episode is a play on the saying "the squeaky wheel gets the grease" modified to allude to the fact that Nathan has become the third wheel in their relationship.

Cultural references

• Rosario describes the heels she was trying on as "too Sex and the City", a reference to the show's reputation for popularizing Carrie's obsession to shoes.

Media

Quotes