‘Will & Grace’ Just Resurrected a Fan Favorite Character

NBC’s revival of Will & Grace has brought back plenty of characters from the show’s original run, but no moment from the show’s return hit fans as hard as Rosario’s. Shelley Morrison played Karen’s (Megan Mullally) maid and Jack’s former green card wife during the show’s heyday, appearing in 68 episodes (that’s more than anyone else outside of the main quartet). Her droll delivery and withering cut-downs were the only thing that could ever put the wily Ms. Walker in her place–and Karen definitely respected Rosario for that. The two were more than boss and employee; they were family–a very weird, at times upsetting family.

So, what happened to Rosario on Will & Grace? She returned in the episode “Rosario’s Quinceañera,” which aired almost exactly a year ago. Her return wasn’t a happy one, though; she returned for a proper farewell, as Rosario passed away. She died off-screen and the episode centered around her funeral and Karen’s final goodbye. The character was written out because actress Shelley Morrison, who was 81 when Will & Grace came back, had retired from showbiz. Fans of the show were, and this is putting it lightly, not okay with this unexpected goodbye.

That was the last we thought we’d ever see of Rosario, but you just can’t keep a straight-shootin’ maid down. Rosario returned in a truly, and I mean truly, unexpected fashion in the latest Will & Grace episode, “Who’s Sorry Now?” SPOILERS ahead for how this resurrection came to pass!

This bizarre, miraculous moment all starts with–who else?–Jack (Sean Hayes). Turns out Jack’s a bit queer-voyant and has just received his certification from the United Community of Psychic People (or UCPP, an acronym that makes Jack giggle). Armed with an online degree and a presumably here today, gone tomorrow interest in the paranormal, Jack agrees to help Karen sort through some of the belongings she’s moving out of her mansion. With Rosario dead and her divorce finalized, Karen sees no need for all that space–oh, and she also plans to never fall in love again!

Sure, she’ll be up for a “rub and tug” or a “bang fest,” but love? That’s outta the question for Karen now that things have failed with Stanley. Jack tries to use his psychic powers to convince Karen otherwise, but it doesn’t work. And then Jack finds Rosario’s old jacket and sunglasses, a discovery that draws out a chorus of sentimental “awwws” from the audience. A bolt of lightning and sudden power outage later, and Jack is no longer just Jack. He’s Jack… and Rosario!

Now channeling Rosario (Hayes drops his voice down a bit to imitate Rosario’s trademark delivery), the spirit of Karen’s closest confidant tries to convince her that all is not lost. Karen doesn’t believe it at first, obviously, since Jack has pretended to be any number of professions over the past decade. But Karen and Rosario-through-Jack get into one of their characteristic verbal tiffs and that’s enough to convince Karen. Maybe this is Rosario, and maybe she does deserve to love again!

Or maybe not. Karen comes to her sense’s in the next scene, once again doubting if Jack was really in touch with Rosario or if he was just conning her (Karen does know a thing or two about cons). But when Jack leaves, Karen catches a glimpse of something she did not expect to see: caught within the flashes of lightning is Rosario’s spirit, standing there looking at her old boss witha  deadpan look for one last time.

Whether or not this will really change Karen’s mind about love, who knows? It’s way more likely that Jack’s interest in his “psychic abilities” will be totally a thing of the past next week as he moves on to his next scheme. But for this one week, Jack really did seem to be able to commune with something larger than his own ego–and that something was apparently Rosario’s spirit. She lives on, somewhere out there, and she’s still looking after Karen… and also her jacket and sunglasses. Ghost knows how to rock a look.

Stream Will & Grace on Hulu