Top 10 Times Karen Was a Savage on Will & Grace

Isn’t it the worst when your friends fight, and you’re caught in the middle? Luckily for Will and Grace, they have the famously selfless Jack and the known-for-her-altruism Karen to bring them back together. During a brainstorming session, they whine about how this feud has impacted them and scheme a way to get their friends to reconcile. Only, it’s tough to come up with a decent plan when you’re not used to thinking about others... After some serious attempts at pretending to care, the writing is on the children’s birthday party invitation. They might’ve been driven by selfish and egotistical needs, but they got the job done all the same.

When her stepson, Mason, makes the swim team, Karen’s forced to step out of her comfort zone and go to a public pool. Of course, she arrives, cocktail in hand, and she’s barely there five seconds before making her feelings about the situation abundantly clear. However, we soon learn she needn’t have bothered showing up at all since she missed the race anyway. If she hadn’t, though, we wouldn’t have heard her brutal takedown of one of the other moms! Even when she tries to engage with her softer and more maternal side, it still results in a hilariously cutting moment. At the very least, we hope Mason ended up getting her heartfelt message at some point!

You could describe Karen Walker in many ways, but a devoted wife probably isn’t one of them. Don’t get us wrong, Karen does genuinely seem to love her husband — and not only because he’s super rich — but she often has a funny way of showing it. For instance, she takes on parenting duties when Stan’s unavailable for a parent-teacher conference. However, she tries to drag Jack along with promises of a spa day and some heavy drinking. But, where’s the father of her two step-children, you might wonder? Well, you’ll have to ask someone else because Karen doesn’t know. Here’s hoping Stan really did say Mercedes!

Karen Walker’s a straight shooter. It’s why we love her. But she doesn’t care who gets burned while she’s telling it as it is. After marrying Rosario, Jack moves into her mansion, which soon causes friction between the besties. Remember how indelicately she broke the news that his bird was missing? Tensions come to a head when Jack sees how badly Karen treats Rosario and cools off their friendship until she changes her ways. However, he overestimates her capacity for compassion, and she fires back with this biting retort. She might be cold and caustic, but at least she’s honest. And, much like Rosario, we wouldn’t want her any other way.

After Stan’s heart attack, everyone rushes to the hospital to rally around Karen in her time of need. However, it soon becomes a contest over who she will open up to first. Karen finds out and decides to mess with her friends in retaliation, playing each one like a fiddle. She asks Rosario to clean the entire hospital, convinces Will to go out with an obnoxious guy, has Jack cut up his credit cards, and persuades a needle-phobic Grace to donate blood. In the end, she reveals the truth and reminds them exactly with whom they are dealing. Karen can often be unnecessarily callous, but in this case, her friends had it coming.

Will and Grace’s crazy dynamic is usually one of Karen’s favorite targets for savagery, and she often has some personalized insults ready to whip out at a moment’s notice. She doesn’t find their chemistry quite as entertaining as the rest of us, often calling out their less-than-amusing jokes or “boring personalities.” Sure, we think Will and Grace are hilarious, but not as funny as Karen’s barbed takedowns of their admittedly dysfunctional friendship. In one of her fiercest moments, she even calls Will the reason Grace is still single. We guess everyone could use a friend like Karen to keep them grounded. But, perhaps one whose tongue isn’t as sharp and whose quips don’t leave such a lasting sting.

The gang gathers to celebrate Will’s birthday, but Karen’s seat remains empty. Since this isn’t out of character for the facetious socialite, Grace and Jack continue with the celebrations, counting down to the exact moment Will was born and giving him his presents. Karen turns up fashionably late, gift in hand, with an all too honest excuse for her tardiness. Will and Karen don’t often see eye-to-eye, but she seems genuinely apologetic — at first. Soon enough, Karen spots some people she’d rather be with and quickly abandons her friends. Oh, Karen, just as we thought… We saw a glimpse of kindness and she pulled out the rug from beneath us. Now, that’s cold.

As we’ve seen, Karen’s never short of a cutting comment or razor-sharp retort. And nothing can stop her from delivering that slap in the face, even if someone else has to do it for her. In this episode, she and Jack are tasked with bringing a cake to Will’s parents’ anniversary party. However, due to a traumatic elevator experience, they must carry it up 80 flights of stairs. At one point, they realize they’ve left the cake behind and retrace their steps to retrieve it. Both are exhausted by all this extra stair-climbing. Still, Karen’s not too tired to leave her sting, just too drained to deliver it herself. Fortunately, Jack’s willing to help.

The live episode in season eight gave us plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. It also brought us one of Karen’s most detailed and viciously entertaining quips. Will, Grace, and Jack discover that, for years, Karen’s hosted lavish birthday parties and never invited them. Karen’s livid that Rosario slipped up and lets her have it. The punchline paints quite a picture and is perfectly emblematic of Karen’s cold, brutal and wicked tongue. While it’s complete and utter unbridled savagery, it also packs plenty of laughs. Karen’s talent for delivering such iconic zingers goes unrivaled. We don’t know whether to chuckle or rush her victims to the burn unit.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Karen vs. Val, “One Gay at a Time”
She Has No Time for People Who Go Against Her Values

Poor People Jewelry, “The Kid Stays Out of the Picture”
Never Buy Karen Walker Flowers Unless They’re Made of Diamonds or Gold

Not Karen’s Type, “Friends and Lover”
That’s Going to Be an Awkward Ride Home Later

Taking Down Aunt Honey, “Moveable Feast”
Poor Aunt Honey’s No Match for Karen’s Barbed Tongue

Don’t Expect an Apology, “Fear and Clothing”
Unless You’re Willing to Go to Court, Don’t Seek Out Remorse From Karen Walker

Who needs the fashion police when you know Karen Walker? Grace certainly sports some unique looks over the years, and Karen’s always on hand to offer her opinion — whether it’s wanted or not. And, if she’s not calling Grace’s fashion choices a “fiesta del failure,” she’s probably distracted by her hair instead. Karen’s found countless creative ways to mercilessly taunt Grace’s clothes, so much so that it became a beloved running gag. Although we don’t condone this kind of behavior, it’s hard to ignore just how hilarious her zingers are.