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[ThisstorycontainsspoilersforMyCelebrationthefinalseasonofMyCelebration[Thisstorycontainsspoilersfor“MyCelebration”theseasonfinaleofScrubs.]
alive Scrubs It was never intended to be a solo series. The proof of that is all over the season finale.
Wednesday’s episode, “My Celebration,” introduces or reinforces a host of open-ended storylines, including a new love interest for Zach Braff’s J.D. in the form of Rachel Bilson; Dr. Perry Cox (John C. McGinley) tries to hide negative news about his condition from Jordan (returning Christa Miller); And a possible love interest between the new group of trainees. It’s the ending that largely defines future seasons. (ABC hasn’t made a decision on the show’s future yet, but ratings have been strong — the season premiere grew to more than 10 million viewers across platforms over four weeks.)
“There’s a lot we want to do,” showrunner Asim Batra said. Hollywood Reporter About a possible second season. Batra and McGinley spoke with THR About the end and the different open threads it leaves.
JD’s (potential) new romance
Charlie Bilson doesn’t spend much time interacting with JD in the episode. He ruins a potential meeting at the hospital gift shop, so Turk (Donald Faison) and Carla (Jodi Reyes) try to be his assistants — just to make it look like they’re trying to pick up Charlie themselves. They finally have a chance to connect as J.D. escapes the returning janitor (more on that in a couple of sections below) and stumbles into the room where Charlie’s grandmother is suffering.
“We told her, ‘We’re sorry,'” Batra said of Belson. “All she has to do, really, is get past the viewer and let JD see her, but not call her. We promise we’ll get something more fun than that.” [next season]. But it was a sport and she knew she was preparing for something to come. So we’re excited to embody that.
J.D. and Charlie have some bonding time at a patient’s daughter’s wedding – made possible after Elliot (Sarah Chalke), Turk and the interns win by discovering a heart problem in the bride’s father and holding the ceremony at Sacred Heart before the father undergoes surgery. Batra said that in Season 2 she and the writers wanted to delve deeper into J.D.’s attempt to date at this point in his life.
“She and Zach worked together[onthe2006film[inthe2006movieThe last kiss]And we know each other, so there’s a nice built-in chemistry,” Batra said. “I think what will be interesting for her upcoming character is that JD is in a whole second act of his romantic life, and he brings baggage to it. He has a child, and he’s exploring what dating is like for him now that he’s this age, how he’s changed and what he’s learned, and what it will bring up for him and Elliot.
J.D. and Charlie share a kiss, but he gets a text from Dr. Cox and has to leave. But there’s a definite sense of “more to come” about the budding relationship.
Dr. Cox gets bad news
Turns out this text from Perry was intended for someone else, but before that, Braff and McKinley continue the strong work they did in the previous episode, as Perry learns he has an autoimmune condition that requires long-term treatment.
Adding to the mix at the end is Jordan, who is as caustic as ever and demands that J.D. provide top-notch care for his mentor. On this issue, they’re on the same page, even when Perry resists further testing for fear of hearing discouraging results.
The results, actually, aren’t great — but Perry still asks J.D. to hold off on telling Jordan (despite her showing up at J.D.’s house to demand answers) until he pulls himself together. He says Perry needs the time for the same reason he “watched the Michael Jordan documentary for eight minutes at a time in the bathroom” — so Jordan wouldn’t see him cry.
JD and Perry are setting up a whole scene, which Jordan sees right away, of course. “I love the way you see me, and I didn’t want to lose that,” Perry told her. Her response: “If it helps, I’ve always seen you as a whiny man-child. Let me be the strong one for once.”
McGinley said he would love to have another chance to work with Miller, whom he calls “the Rosalind Russell of her generation” for her ability to deliver snappy comedy. “We were doing these short volleys at the net, and the scenes are an exercise in technique. I don’t want her to know that I’m going through those challenges. But [Jordan] She’s so bright intellectually and spiritually – you can’t pull the wool over her eyes. …So the conflict is explosive, and she handles it like a matador wearing a cape. “It’s a Hall of Fame.”
Both McGinley and Miller are regulars on other series – HBO Rooster And Apple TVs Shrinkrespectively. McGinley said THR He hopes to return to it Scrubs In Season 2, Batra said Miller wanted it too. (Maybe it doesn’t hurt Rooster and Shrink Both are executive produced Scrubs Creator and EP Bill Lawrence, who is also Miller’s husband.)
“I talked to [Miller] “When she came for the ADR session, she said, and I’ll ask her, that she wanted to do more,” Batra said. “I think if we can get her out there for more and she wants to do more, we’ll love it, because she’s been a fan favorite and has such a fun energy. It’s fun to watch her come back to Jordan. We’re really hoping for more from Krista, too.”
Interns in Love (?)
The bar wedding also upends many of the dynamics between the group of interns, whose characters are just starting to make their breakthrough after the first several episodes of the season focused mostly on the returning stars.
As a group, they’re all feeling overwhelmed, so much so that Dr. Park (Joel Kim Booster) suggests a bet on who will be the first to leave the hospital. Asher (Jacob Dudman) is particularly frustrated by his cooling relationship/attitude with Amara (Leila Mohammadi). Elliot, remembering her exhaustion from that point in her career, rallies them to help rescue the father of the bride, and they all seem visibly relieved to be separated from the bar.
In fact, so much so that Tosh (Ava Boone) kissed Asher and admitted that she’s had a crush on him since day one. Asher returns the kiss and they spend some time in the bar’s photo booth. Amara doesn’t seem too bothered, dancing with Blake (David Gridley), while Dashana (Amanda Morrow) has her sights set on the bridesmaid.
“They were slower to get into anything romantic, but that’s what we hear about their generation anyway,” Batra said of the trainees. “They have a more chaotic way of doing it. … I think we took our time getting them to a place where they have to have their own version of chaos — it’s more of a triangle for them. It’s really kind of exploring why that’s happening, and what does that mean? Does Asher still have feelings for Amara, or is he already moving on with Tosh? I think it’ll be fun to get into more of their romantic lives. But we’ve also heard from interns and residents about how busy and crazy their lives are and how hard it is to have any kind of romance, So it’ll be fun to see things fall apart as well.
Callbacks, odds and ends
• Batra said the return of the Janitor (Neil Flynn) was always part of the plan this season, and for most of the episode JD seems to be doing a better job than he used to at avoiding the Janitor’s torment. Until he learns that the maintenance man (Darcy Michael) – with whom he has had a lovely working relationship up to that point – is the janitor’s son and says it’s a good thing his father can get a job at Sacred Heart. Wrong Move: The maintenance worker and the janitor are both offended by the idea of nepotism, and J.D. has a new enemy at work.
• Elliott and the team initially diagnose the bride’s father with an intestinal obstruction, prompting her to refer to a line from the original script ScrubsMusical Episode: “It’s All About Poop…and Sounds.”
• Scrubs She has a tradition of name-checking members of her cast and production team on the show. In the end, the intern looking forward to rectal exams is named Winston, after the episode’s longtime director. Scrubs EP Randall Keenan Winston.
