Culture

10 Times Karen And Jack Stole The Show On ‘Will & Grace’

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Brought to you by Stan

Will & Grace is back from September 29, only on Stan.

Honey, what’s this? What’s happening? Comedy classic Will & Grace is back for a new season later this month on Stan, which means it’s time to acknowledge a simple fact of life: Karen and Jack – Megan Mullally and Sean Hayes, who somehow haven’t aged a goddamn day – were the best parts of the show.

The iconic duo created the template for gay guy/straight girl friendships on TV, and when the “Which Friends character are you?” (begrudgingly… Chandler) and “Which Sex and the City character are you?” (Miranda and proud of it) conversations died down, it became, “Are you Jack or Karen?”. The beauty of that question is that the answer is always “both”.

No shade to Will and Grace themselves, but if it wasn’t for their delightfully unhinged friends the series may not be as beloved as it is today. Jack and Karen are the untamed ids to Will and Grace’s egos, the delightfully bitchy monsters we all secretly want to be.

So, before the reboot hits, we’re counting down the 10 best Karen and Jack moments.


#10 When They Fought, They Were Still Besties

In season two, Jack’s green card marriage to Karen’s maid Rosario eventually crumbled, at which point Jack tried to sue Karen to maintain his cushy lifestyle. In spite of this, Jack still managed to find time to compliment Karen’s outstanding rack.


#9 When They Were Off In Their Own World

The fifth episode of season six sees Karen coaching Jack to victory in the Gay Spelling Bee, AKA Don’t Ask, Don’t Spell. Their mutual misunderstanding of a very gay word shows why they were meant to be. We still wish Karen could’ve also coached Jack as his pageant mother.


#8 When They Were Perfectly In Sync

Later in season six, Karen gets engaged to John Cleese’s Lyle Finster, and in preparation for her wedding Jack agrees to teach her how to dance. Naturally, they get distracted fast – the “and kick it, and kick it!” move is a classic – but also get real about the changing nature of their friendship.


#7 When They Got High

Karen convinces an acquaintance (the wonderful Christine Ebersole) to have a plastic surgery procedure because of her own misgivings about going under the knife. While they’re in the hospital waiting room, she and Jack take hits of helium to mixed results.


#6 When They Made Magic Together

Jack’s endless attempts to make it in showbiz eventually led him to magic in season four, with Karen serving as his assistant. Her vaudevillian focus-pulling is a wonder, and proof that Mullally is a comic genius.


#5 When They Got Real

When Will & Grace wanted to pull the curtain back on its characters and show their depth, it really nailed it. There’s no better proof of this than Karen’s buried desire to be a mother. In season one, Jack helps Karen by taking a pregnancy test with her. Later in the series, Karen shows Jack the nursery she’s always kept closed off in her mansion, and it’s devastating.


#4 When They Blatantly Used Each Other

The battle for best Jack and Karen moment really heats up here, but there’s something so pure and gleeful about Jack using Karen’s cleave and crack as an ATM.


#3 When They Did A Duet

What were then the very last episodes of Will & Grace are not exactly well-regarded, but there’s one scene that absolutely nailed the series finale vibe. Jack and Karen singing Nat King Cole’s “Unforgettable” to each other was a perfect ode to their onscreen friendship.


#2 When They First Met

It’s easy to forget that Jack and Karen didn’t meet until the second episode of season one, but when they did it was fate. Jack is immediately overwhelmed by Karen’s fabulousness, culminating in him asking if they could touch stomachs. “Oh my lord, you are a complete freak!” she says, and does it anyway. And thus, a beautiful friendship was born.


#1 When They Knew They’d Met Their Match

Karen Walker’s iconic full-armed bitch slaps were never funnier than in the show’s third and best season. At a wedding in Vermont, Karen tries to help Jack fight his caffeine addiction but struggles when she realises the party is also alcohol-free. The two slap each other senseless, then decide to just touch each other inappropriately instead. Jack and Karen in a nutshell.

Karen and Jack are back this month, with new episodes of Will & Grace streaming on the same day as the U.S. from 29th September, only on Stan. Get ready and re-live the original magic by binge-watching all 8 seasons now.