TL;DR – A good example of one of the sillier episodes that still sneaks some commentary under the shenanigans.
Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that aired this episode.
Scrubs Review –
When you have a reboot series where you bring back the old cast, you can pretend that nothing has changed, or you can incorporate that time into your narratives. Today’s episode does the latter as it gets into the core of the characters.
So, to set the scene, Dr Cox’s (John C. McGinley) treatment has been going well, and he is in remission. The only problem is that each of his infusions costs $35.000. As they struggle to work out how to fix the American healthcare system, JD (Zach Braff), Turk (Donald Faison), and Elliot (Sarah Chalke) have to see their lives through the prism of their mentees. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.
The Progression of Time
I think because I too am feeling the progression of time at the moment, the whole plot line of this week’s episode did hit home. You feel that want of JD to try to emulate the lessons Dr Cox taught him. The fact that JD is using those very lessons to help Dr Cox is the cyclical bubble that makes it hit that little bit harder. Time also has a way of distancing us from the hubris of our own pasts, and thus giving us a false sense of superiority. I did like how the episode captured these little elements; it made me reflect a little on my own life.
The Small Things
The big gag this week is JD appearing as four versions of himself, and it’s fine; it’s not the best gag, but the tech they used to implement it is flawless. However, for me, it was the smaller moments that hit hard. The sympathetic look Asher (Jacob Dudman) and Blake (David Gridley) give when someone overshares. Or when Sam (Ava Bunn), who may have been the MVP this week, lets Elliot know that she is not locked into where she is. Finally, after a season, they found a way for Nurse Dubois (Michael James Scott) to be more than just a one-line joke character. It is in these small, unicycle-filled moments where the show shines.
Recommendation
In the end, do we recommend Scrubs? While it might not hit as hard as the opener, My First Time in a While, there was still real charm in the follow-up episode. I think it is because they understand the characters so well that they can still have meaningful character progression after all this time, and if they can have character progression, it means I can do. Have you seen Scrubs yet? Let us know what you thought in the comments below.
By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Bluesky at @Tldrmovrev, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.
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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Scrubs
Directed by – Michael Spiller
Written by – Mark Stegemann
Created by – Bill Lawrence
Developed by – Aseem Batra & Tim Hobert
Based On – Scrubs by Bill Lawrence
Production/Distribution Companies – Doozer, Seemu! Inc., 20th Television, Hulu & Disney+
Starring – Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke, Donald Faison, Ava Burn, & John C. McGinley
With – Jacob Dudman, David Gridley, Amanda Morrow, John Higgins, Tamera Mowry-Housley, Robert Maschio, Daniel Thrasher, Michael James Scott, Keyla Monterroso Mejia, & Vanessa Bayer
And – Flavor Flav, Gabriel Drake, Sarah Sawatsky, William Valenzuela, & Aria Kim
