Scrubs Season 10 has so far proved to be a better revival than one might’ve expected, capturing some of the original show’s magic while updating it so that it doesn’t just feel like a nostalgia play. Even through the early episodes, it’s been great, and occasionally surprising, to see where the likes of J.D. (Zach Braff), Turk (Donald Faison), and Elliot (Sarah Chalke) are now. Episode 5, “My Angel,” might be the best yet in terms of getting the balance of old and new right, and it may confirm where things are headed.
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The episode centers around J.D. getting back into the dating game for the first time since he and Elliot divorced, as he goes out to the tavern with the lobby harpist, Lily (Lisa Gilroy). That naturally leads to an appletini and, after that, a flashback and a crucial realization. While it’s clear that Lily wants to have sex with J.D., he has a flashback to him and Elliot eating pizza in bed together, taken from Season 1, Episode 15, “My Bed Banter & Beyond,” which is where they officially started (and quickly ended) their relationship for the first time.
J.D. & Elliot Getting Back Together Is Inevitable (But Scrubs Can’t Rush It)
The point of the flashback sequence is quite clear: J.D. is not yet over Elliot. That’s not a surprise, given how long they were together, and how much longer he loved her, and is further complicated by the fact that they have a child together (the revival has confirmed that J.D. has two kids at this point). He can’t begin to date someone else while he’s still hung up on her. Similarly, Elliot also proves reluctant to re-enter the dating pool in this episode, though appears more willing by its conclusion.
The end goal of this, I’d assume, is for J.D. and Elliot to get back together… eventually. Season 10 revealing the pair have divorced was arguably the revival’s boldest decision, and a smart one at that. It moves it away from just being a safe reboot that’s content with only playing the hits of what came before, and instead a more poignant continuation that explores where these characters are now they’re older, and how adult life moves in unexpected directions.
This also allows for showing a new side to their relationship, as they navigate parenting a child together while being apart. It’s all relatable for people who loved the show back in the day and have aged with it, adding some more depth to the series, even if it does make their will-they-won’t-they romance from the original more bittersweet, knowing where it ends up. And that’s why it seems likely it will reunite them at some point.
J.D. and Elliot should be together. After watching them go through so much in the original show and now the revival, it’d be disappointing and a little sad if they didn’t get together. And maybe that itself would be realistic, but there’s a chance for Scrubs to have its cake and eat it by taking its time and gradually building to, and earning, the reconciliation. This is a hopeful, heartfelt show at its core, so it’d be very surprising if it didn’t get there, whether that’s at the end of Season 10, in Scrubs Season 11 (should it happen), or further down the line, and the callback to Season 1 supports that notion.
New episodes of Scrubs release on Wednesdays on Hulu.
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