Will & Grace recap: The 5 best burns in Season 11, Episode 13

Will & Grace honors Cheers with Jack’s rebranded bar, while Karen’s trip to the woods with Filthy Phil has Will and Grace panicked.

Will and Grace never really land on Filthy Phil as a nickname for Joel McHale’s creepy fake doctor Phil, but their care for Karen speaks louder than any catchy moniker. Will & Grace picks up with its two-parter as Karen chooses her fast-paced new romance with Phil over her friends, a decision that leads her directly into a potentially fatal hornet’s nest. But Karen’s smarter than that, right?

Elsewhere in the second half of the two-parter, Jack embarks on his fresh chapter as a business owner with a characteristic optimism. Jack looks forward to reopening Coco’s under new management, but a sit-down with an influential culture reporter sees Jack buckling under pressure and telling lies. A last-ditch nod to Cheers saves the bar and narrowly avoids certain catastrophe.

Let’s recap the latest episode of Will & Grace with the gang’s five sharpest burns.

1. “I knew I should have finished Natalie Portman’s masterclass.”

As Will and Grace chat about Karen, Phil, and what to do about the situation, Friday (guest star Vanessa Bayer) knocks on their door pretending to be Karen. Obviously, they aren’t fooled by her impersonation, even with a martini in hand. (But we’d die to see Bayer’s real SNL-level impression of Karen.) Friday’s arrival, paired with the harrowing reality of Karen escaping to a cabin in the woods with Phil, makes the decision for them: They’re crashing the cabin.

2. “Turns out the devil wears Old Navy.”

Now that he’s the new owner of Coco’s, Jack’s living large as the boss in charge. He’s crossing all of his T’s and dotting all of his I’s for his grand re-opening (though nothing has changed), including sitting down for a chat with elite reporter Dexter Murphy (guest star T.R. Knight). Jack fumbles the interview, leaving him to grasp at straws and tell Dexter a tall tale that he’s in possession of Judy Garland’s ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz, and he’s renaming the bar after them. Sure, Jack.

3. “She’s here. I smell Chanel and Adderall.”

Thanks to Friday’s keen sense of smell (a strange character quirk that continues to add up to the mystery of Friday), Will and Grace and their travel companion make it to the cabin to track down Karen. They’re met with an even sketchier Phil, who informs them Karen’s gone off on a walk and he’s making stew. Given their concern that Phil chopped up Karen and turned her into a stew, these details don’t calm their worry. Against their better judgment, Will and Grace join Phil inside. Friday poses as a Jehovah’s Witness and runs into the night.

4. “Maybe Lin-Mauel Miranda’s doing an impromptu rap somewhere and everyone’s being forced to like it.”

Once Dexter Murphy’s story about Jack’s ruby slipper lie hits the internet, his bar opening flops harder than any of his Just Jack performances. No one shows up, not even the regulars, and Jack struggles with how to move forward. Coco inspires him to put a little of himself back into the bar and make it his own. Once he’s able to lure a crowd, Jack apologizes for lying about the ruby slippers and announces the real name change. Queers: Where everybody knows you’re gay… and they’re always glad you came. (And that’s director James Burrows, Cheers co-created, quipping that he “doesn’t get it.”)

5. “On his diploma, M.D. was spelled wrong.”

You didn’t think Phil actually killed Karen, did you? Nope, she was actually out for a walk, but she and Phil did get married. (Well, Phil and Anastasia Beaverhausen got married.) Will and Grace begin to connect the dots in fits and starts of revelations and confrontations. Karen asks Phil to wait outside while she talks to her friends, giving him the opportunity to drive away from the unstoppable duo that found him out. Phil’s bolting allows Karen to realize companionship wasn’t worth being dangerously taken advantage of. But she’s smarter than her insecurity any day.

What did you think of the latest episode? Sound off in the comments!

Will & Grace airs Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC.