TL;DR – An episode that brings that old-school feel before kicking you in the face.
Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that aired this episode.
Scrubs Review –
When I was reviewing Season 1 of Scrubs, or Season 10 depending on your perspective, one of my main criticisms was that it felt isolated from the older episodes because most of the supporting cast didn’t make the jump. Today is the first episode where it felt like we were finally getting back to that level.
So, to set the scene, at Sacred Heart, there are three relationships on show. JD (Zach Braff) and Charlie (Rachel Bilson) are in that first stage of romance, Carla (Judy Reyes) and Turk (Donald Faison) are working through living together after so many years of marriage, and for Elliot (Sarah Chalke), well, she is single again. Which makes it the perfect time for JD to run into Sean (Scott Foley), his ex’s ex. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.
Something Old
Part of that feeling is coming from us returning to some of the romantic themes of the old series. Elliot having to work out what she wants more: a relationship or her career? Bringing back Scott Foley, acknowledging that his SeaWorld links do not work in 2026, is that link to the past that works in the story. It is almost as if it is a rock thrown into a lake; you can feel the ripples coming out, impacting everyone. That scene where the gang is watching Elliot literally falling head over heels was a fun callback. Also, I think we got a new understanding of Carla and Turk’s relationship.
Something New
The second part of what is making the series feel as if it is a continuation of the past is that all the new supporting players have had enough time to build up their characters to the point where they have real impact. We see that today when the new Chief Resident Grant Summers (John Higgins) and JD get into a conflict about Blake’s (David Gridley) future. Blake wants to be a cardio specialist, JD wants to support him, but Grant sees his flaws and the long path ahead. That is one of the main tensions throughout the episode. However, in Scrubs style, we find that Blake’s strength might actually be in end-of-life care. This comes from a sequence that made me weep, and only works because David Gridley put the work in, both in that moment and in building the character up to where they are now.
Recommendation
In the end, do we recommend Scrubs? Yes, we do. So far, this season has been knocking it out of the park, with each episode building upon the last. I honestly hope we keep seeing this trend for the rest of the season. 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 – Gail Mancuso
Written by – Michael Hobert
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, & Judy Reyes
With – Scott Foley, Rachel Bilson, David Gridley, John Higgins, Michael James Scott, Keyla Monterroso Mejia, K Callan, & Kiana Madeira
And – Sharon Taylor
