TL;DR – Today we have a sad episode, not a dagger to the heart sad, but the sadness of a tide of reality flowing in.
Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that aired this episode.
Scrubs Review Introduction
There are many questions that came up when Scrubs came back, most notably how the happy ending from the previous iteration ended in a divorce by the time My Return came around. Well, given certain love interests were dismissed back in My Best Friend’s Birthday, it looks like today is the day to find out.
So, to set the scene, the new administrator Cassie (Stephanie Koenig) is on the warpath, trying to find any savings or revenue-raising she can. However, after having to have “the talk” with their son Ollie (Kellan Tetlow), JD (Zach Braff) and Elliot (Sarah Chalke) have a moment to reminisce, and maybe it’s time to have dinner together one more time. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.
The Quiet Story
If I were to group all the stories together this week, there was a quiet storyline and a loud one. The quiet one focuses on the little things we do each day to strengthen those around us; for Turk (Donald Faison), that was putting others’ needs before himself. Indeed, you almost don’t hate Cassie by the end of the episode. However, I do wonder if this is just a comment about the modern American healthcare system, or if it is a symbol of an issue closer to home. We also see that in the way that JD comforted Mrs Croft (Clare Coulter); it was with such care, but it produced such sadness in my soul. I believe it was the first thing in this rebooted series that truly moved me emotionally.
The Loud Story
Then we have the loud story, which was something I, and I think many others, had been dreading since the show started back up. Having JD and Elliot divorce in between shows was a bold choice, but I feared it was just a reason for us to go through the same ‘will they – won’t they’ storyline that we have seen at least four times already. While it took two seasons, it looked like they were finally ready to pull that rip cord. My first feeling was the most surprising, and that was, I honestly felt like I was okay with that choice. I had not realised just how much work they had done with the pair to lead up to this moment. My second feeling was that I was okay, more than I usually would be, with this being just a dream. First, because this is Scrubs, that is just part of the DNA of the show. But more, there was a maturity that came with that choice that felt like JD had made a real positive step towards maturity on this issue.
Recommendation
In the end, do we recommend Scrubs? Look, I might have recommended it just for the Bob Kelso Wing shout-out at the start. But this might have been one of the stronger episodes of the season. There was a real strength and sadness to it that you don’t often see. 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 – Aseem Batra & Miriam Girgis
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 – David Gridley, Layla Mohammadi, John Higgins, Michael James Scott, Stephanie Koenig, Kellan Tetlow, Clare Coulter, & Vanessa Bayer
And – Darcy Michael & David Adams
