‘Will & Grace’ Fans React To Shocking Death Of Beloved Character
Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers from the Nov. 2 episode of Will & Grace, “Rosario’s Quinceanera.” Do not read if you did not watch the episode yet.
Will & Grace fans are in mourning. The revival of the long-running NBC comedy took a serious turn as Karen Walker’s (Megan Mullally) long-suffering maid, Rosario Salazar (Shelley Morrison) was laid to rest shortly after she went missing in the episode “Rosario’s Quinceanera.”
While Shelley Morrison’s character hadn’t yet appeared on the NBC revival, fans had been waiting for her appearance, especially since the actress made a cameo on the show’s voter-themed reunion video last year. Sadly, Morrison’s Will & Grace character died off-screen in the “Rosario’s Quinceanera” episode after Karen found out her long-suffering maid was in the hospital. Karen’s emotional goodbye to her dear friend was punctuated with the tearjerker line, “You were my everything.”
The fan favorite Rosario character was written out of Will & Grace because 81-year-old Shelley Morrison has retired from acting. Still, Will& Grace creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan told Variety they wanted to give Rosario a proper send-off, despite the fact that Morrison wouldn’t commit to a return to the show.
“The [Rosario] character felt too much a part of the fabric of the show to just dismiss it with a line or two or an explanation,” Kohan told Variety. “It felt like it merited more of a loving farewell.”
Karen and Rosario’s relationship dated back to the very first season of Will & Grace, almost 20 years ago. In the episode “The Object of My Rejection,” Jack (Sean Hayes) even “married” Rosario so she could stay in the United States.
Two decades later, fans are already screaming “Emmy” for Mullally’s poignant portrayal in the goodbye episode. While there were plenty of comedic moments, the actress showed a different side of Karen in this very special episode.
“You can’t be as funny as Megan Mullally without having the inverse ability, and that’s just something you know if you work with actors that are very good: the best ones can easily do both very well,” Mutchnick told Variety.
“And Megan is just someone who’s displayed this one side, but as soon as we knew we had a chance to do something heavy, we knew we had the actress that could deliver the most dramatic episode we’ve ever done.”
Now, with the Rosario storyline forever wrapped—Mutchnick noted that “it’s finite, and we wrapped it up. Rosario died, and Karen dealt with it. She brushes herself off and presses on”—Will & Grace fans will likely never again hear a mention of the character. But fans definitely took the death of Rosario very hard, with many admitting they cried while watching the latest episode of the NBC comedy. Following the surprisingly sad Will & Grace episode, fans took to Twitter to remember Rosario.
https://twitter.com/poehlerfey/status/926254510367956992
That was the saddest #willandgrace ever. I miss Rosario! @WillAndGrace
— Just Me (@jstmeandthewrld) November 3, 2017
So sad watching Will & Grace with Rosario’s funeral. #willandgrace
— Robert Freeman (@robertfreeman2) November 3, 2017
Definitely teared up as Will hugged Karen, then cried as Karen said Rosario's full name watching @WillAndGrace Deft comedy, lovely depth.
— Emerson Collins (@ActuallyEmerson) November 3, 2017
https://twitter.com/LMaycroft/status/926268557704523777
Saddest @WillAndGrace episode ever, cried my contacts out @MeganMullally @DebraMessing Devastated Rosario has gone. #FarewellRosie #TeAmo ?
— Tom Bishton (@tombishton) November 3, 2017
While watching Will & Grace last night, I cried like it was an episode of This Is Us. #Rosario ?
— Coby D. Stephenson (@CobyDStephenson) November 3, 2017
You can see a scene from the Will & Grace episode “Rosario’s Quinceanera” below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=44&v=6uAcTWXRQ-w
Will & Grace airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.
[Featured Image by Chris Haston/NBC]
