Episode 11:
After getting poor reviews, Will tries to impress his students by playing the ukulele, which leads to Jack ridiculing him. He tries it out in class, which leads the class thoroughly unimpressed. This leads to him taking a suggestion from Jack to make his class more like Judge Judy. After class, Will runs in to Karen's stepdaughter Olivia, a student in his class.
Will tells Karen about his run-in with Olivia. She tells him that Olivia still has her necklace, a family heirloom. Jack and Grace are a few days into their diet, but Grace tries to eat some croutons and they fight over it, and they both end up licking an entire container of croutons to get the taste. This ends with Grace swallowing one and Jack yelling at her over it. Jack then proceeds to also cheat on the diet.
Karen shows up at Will's class right before his Judge Judy court reenactment is about to begin, and Will decides to use Karen and Oliver's fight over the necklace as the case. This is as chaotic as it sounds. Will rules in favor of Karen, which causes Olivia to reveal that she thought of Karen as a mother. Will has the two talk out their issues, and Karen reveals that she never called Olivia after the divorce because she was scared to. They resolve their issues, and Karen gives her the necklace back. Jack and Grace decide not to worry about dieting anymore.
Wrap-Up:
The true highlight episode of this episode was Karen's storyline with her stepdaughter Olivia. The interactions between guest star Aya Cash and Megan Mullally were nothing short of breathtaking, and I need to see more of them together. Olivia could be a great recurring character for this series, and would be a refreshing way to paint Karen in a more sympathetic and motherly light. We don't usually get a chance to see Karen speak from the heart, but we did in this episode, and it worked so well. Seeing the two reconcile after their time apart was very emotional to watch. Will played a nice, small role in the plot and what we saw from him was great. His Judge Judy impression was hilarious. On the other hand, Grace and Jack's storyline was pretty forgettable. It wasn't bad at all, but it didn't make much of an impression on me and was the peak point of the episode, even though it did give us a handful of funny lines.
Score: 9/10
Grade: A-
Episode 12:
Grace is trying to convince Karen to start dating again, and Karen decides to give it a try. However, Malcolm shows up to try to win her back. Jack is stopped by Zusanna, the sister of his former acting teacher Zandra (RIP Eileen Brennan). Zusanna convinces him that he needs teaching again, and she agrees to un-retire. She also reveals that Zandra has died, which causes Jack to break down before he realizes that he already knew that. Karen tells Grace that she got stood up, and that she's giving up on love. Once Grace tells her that Malcolm stopped by, however, emotions are stirred up.
Zusanna causes Jack to stop being a teacher and become an actor again, and he even brings back "Just Jack!" Will discovers that Paul has a husband - and a child! - and he feels terrible. Once his husband leaves, Will confronts Paul, and Paul tries to convince him not to break things off, which Will declines.
Karen refuses to talk to Malcolm, even though he's in the same room as her, and they use Grace to communicate with one another. This makes for an extremely awkward experience for Grace, but a hilarious one for viewers. They finally talk to each other though, but Karen still doesn't want to get back together with him. Grace tries to convince her to forgive him, which she eventually does, giving them a fresh start. Jack tells Zusanna that he's getting his job back, but she reveals that her whole experience as his teacher was a stunt to get his job, and thanks to her carefully-spun word web, he forgives her.
Wrap-Up:
From start to finish, this was a terrific episode. Every plot was well-executed and got the screen time that it warranted. My favorite part of the episode was Andrea Martin's appearance and Zandra's sister Zusanna. I was hoping for the show to mention Jack's beloved acting coach since it returned, and I finally got what I've been waiting for, in the best way possible. Zandra was always a colorful character, and her sister is somehow even crazier than she is. The late, great Eileen Brennan brought such energy to the show whenever she'd appear as Zandra, and Andrea Martin did the same thing with this guest spot. I hope to see more of her, because she worked very well with Jack and gave him his strongest plot of the season. Will's plot really didn't get that much attention, but it was a great one anyway. Seeing him develop feelings for someone and then immediately call it off when he learned that that guy was married shows some true maturity and character growth, and I don't know if the Will from the old series would have done that. Karen's story was another great one, and it actually made me root for her romance with Malcolm. They've always been weird together, and they love to act in a way that makes us all uncomfortable, but I really think they're made for one another. They seem to genuinely care for one another, and seeing them go down the road of healing and forgiveness was a very satisfying end to the episode. It would be great to see more of the two of them over the course of the season.
Score: 10/10
Grade: A+