Scrubs Season 10, Episode 5 Review – “My Angel”

Scrubs unpacking the midlife crises of its main characters has been a mostly underwhelming affair; Turk’s depression a constant suggestion in the background of each episode, J.D.’s transition to administration reflecting a lesser version of his earlier journeys, and Elliot’s post-divorce, slightly manic forms of introspection have not quite connected in the revival’s first four episodes, especially as it tries to mix and marry those stories and ideas to the next generation of interns and residents. And though “My Angel” is perhaps the worst episode yet for the show’s new characters (and continues to sideline Turk for no apparent reason), it is also the first episode where it feels Scrubs is rediscovering its voice a little bit with J.D. and Elliot, even if the new spaces of nuance and potential growth for its characters is presents to the audience are bit too familiar, and a bit clumsily delivered to really make “My Angel” a memorable episode.

After Turk catches J.D. conferring with a chatbot over plans for dinner and a movie, he forces J.D. to step back into the dating world – and J.D. immediately has a crush on the first woman he sees, of course, back in the lobby of Sacred Heart, the same familiar place he saw Lisa the Gift Shop Girl back in season two’s “My Monster”. It’s not exactly the most intriguing premise – J.D. getting back into dating post-Elliot is something the show’s done multiple times, and seeing a woman as an almost-holy figure is not a new one, either – but Lily (played by Lisa Gilroy) at least presents J.D. with the unique challenge of trying to get himself even interested in the concept of dating again; as he tells Turk, a life without sex is not exactly the most frightening proposition when faced with trying to participate in the world of dating apps (at least as Sam describes it to him).

The problem here is that Lily’s character, and the inner conflict with J.D., ultimately makes no sense; though she’s almost (almost – there’s still almost an obvious 15-year age gap between the two) age appropriate, Lily almost immediately reveals herself to be a horny “crypto whore” who demands J.D. “doink” her since she bought his $19 appletini. All this comes after multiple scenes of J.D. waffling on even dating her, since he’s afraid Dr. Park (the bisexual resident who fucks everyone from doctors to board members) is going to try and usurp him with knowledge of an improper work relationship.

Both of these conflicts diffuse into nothing at a disturbingly rapid pace; and at first, it appears Scrubs is steamrolling over yet another promising story, in order to move onto other, lesser things to fill the last third of the episode. But then, almost out of nowhere, Scrubs throws in a flashback to “My Bed, Banter and Beyond”, Lily’s errant pizza box sending J.D. into a memory of him and Elliot having post-coital pizza – and not only does it provide a great moment giving a bit of resonance to how much time has passed since the show’s first season, but a strong, regrounding reminder to J.D. that the next woman he’s with probably needs to be at least as special as the woman he spent over two decades of his life deeply in love with.

This idea comes through a lot cleaner in Elliot’s arc, which sees her paralleling her life to a patient desperately needing a liver transplant – one who has specifically brought herself to the precipice of a transplant multiple times, only to see things fall apart at the last minute. It’s a massively obvious metaphor for Elliot’s love life – and one that isn’t particularly helped by the resolution, which basically suggests that since her patient compromised and took an old, hepatitis C-inflicted organ, she should be willing to accept whatever might come along, lest she just be alone forever (at least the ‘angel’ she gets in this episode is a medical pilot, not an unstable, horny millennial). It makes for a particularly weird story alongside J.D.’s – but it’s at least a story that tries to restore some agency to Elliot’s character, even if it’s still saddling her solely with plots that have to do with her and J.D.’s divorce.

The rest of “My Angel” is focused on the new generation of doctors – and it’s largely an incomprehensible mess, a plot that both goes for big, broad strokes of story (in the form of a love triangle nobody asked for) and surprisingly nuanced introductions to their backstories (Blake connecting with the pickpocket, presumably as someone who came from a rough beginning). At least Blake’s is trying to tell a story connecting the new doctors with their patients; any scene with Asher derails any goodwill the episode’s built, with his wimpy behavior and incredibly rote, one-note physical performance, which we see in all its underwhelming glory when Asher (who has had an unrequited crush on Amara for about eleven seconds) realizes that his crush has a thing for Blake, the broody intern with a criminal record and a hidden soft heart. When his shoulders limp and his eyes do that subtle wince of sadness, I physically cringed with just how unearned the moment is, a piece of plot that never made any sort of attempt to build emotional goodwill with its audience, before throwing them into faceless and lifeless conflicts.

All things considered, though, “My Angel” is definitely the best of the new Scrubs episodes so far. Although that isn’t saying much, the episode’s third act does suggest there might be a bit of life left in this series yet – though whether a 50 year getting back into dating while horny 20-somethings are running around in the background is interesting material, still remains to be seen.

Grade: C

Other thoughts/observations:

• the whole Amara/Asher/Blake thing makes even less sense when you consider Amara and Asher are the most awkward, mousey characters on the whole show. Who would want to see them get together?
  
• I’m sorry, but the charge nurses are just not funny – and incredibly stereotypical.
  
• Dr. Park notices J.D.’s cologne, which he proudly states is a sample from a 1997 Maxim magazine, which means he’s been saving that since his undergrad years.
  
• Tasha is an influencer, so of course she knows how to use dating apps for middle-aged men!
  
• I will admit, the “she said sihhh” bit about Tasha assuming J.D.’s age is good.
  
• I really, really wish Scrubs would give any of its scenes time to breathe. Always a series that moved quick, but was able to hold onto, and even build, emotional or reflective moments into episode arcs, something new Scrubs continues to struggle with.
  
• “This has been a lovely night and you’ve given me a lot to Google.”
  
• Sibby, to Elliot: “I’m flattered, and I experimented in college, but that’s not what this room is for.” Also – she has a thing for dating dying old men?