In true Scrubs fashion it went out without a lot of fanfare - a lot like ER - as there was no huge wedding or death, but just a doctor, who's life we have all grown to know and care about, was moving on to another hospital.
J.D. (Zach Braff) began his final day at Sacred Heart with some "morning' sex from his girlfriend Eliott (Sarah Chalke) and as he arrived at Sacred Heart received one final mega "EAGLE" spin from his best friend, Turk (Donald Faison).
As the hour progressed, Turk was upset that he might have done his huge goodbye too early, as they were still going to see each other for the remainder of the day. Eliott, however, was mad at herself for not being as sad that J.D. was leaving, because she was still going to see him every day.
J.D. kept going through the day expecting some dramatic exit, but kept noticing that no one was really making a big deal about it. Carla (Judy Reyes) gave him a heartfelt "I'm going to miss you", as her and J.D. had truly grown into a brother-sister relationship over the years. Jordan (Christa Miller) pulled out some emotion, and said her goodbyes as well. Even the Janitor (Neil Flynn) gave him a goodbye, and forgave him for a long running gag 'the penny in the door' after J.D. confessed.
We also learn the Janitor's real name. Or did we? In another great gag, the Janitor has become known as a pathological liar and story teller - so even after he told J.D. his real name, we are again left wondering if it was true.
The one person J.D. was obviously looking for some sort of response from was Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley), but of course Dr. Cox would never give him the satisfaction - knowingly. J.D. ended up tricking him at the end by having Sunny (Sonal Shah) say something to him that triggered a response.
The ending was pretty magical - J.D. (in his head as always) voiced over how in the end your future is what you make of it - and he walked through an entire hallway of people from his past, including the dead, that have been apart of his life for the past 8 years. It was nice to see some of the people from the older episodes.
Finally, the show ended with a montage of things that could happen if the series were to have progressed along with the current cast. J.D. and Eliott get married; they have a baby; they hang out with Turk, Carla, Dr. Cox, Jordan and their families for Christmas; even their children (I want to say Sam and Izzie) get engaged in the future. It was very fitting, and touching.
And in the final moments before J.D. jumped in his car to leave Sacred Heart one last time, he says goodbye to a new janitor cleaning up some garbage - the creator Bill Lawrence.
It was an amazing finale, and an amazing run for this comic gem. One that I don't think every truly got the praise it deserved. But, like Lawrence said, once they realized they weren't drawing in the tons of people - they decided to write the show for their followers - so this finale was for us.
The question mark in the title above is due to the fact that despite the episode title, "My Finale", the final decision has still not been made as to whether or not Scrubs will return for another season. There has been discussion to bring the show back as ABC is liking the pairing of it and Better Off Ted on Wednesday nights.
Whatever happens, though, this was the finale for the main cast because almost all of the entire cast has decided to leave after this season - but they did say they would return in recurring guest spots in the future. Braff has left to focus on movies and directing while McGinley, Flynn and Faison have all signed on for new pilots that if picked up wouldn't allow them to return, except in guest starring roles.
So, in essence, this was the true finale of the show we have come to love over eight seasons., because even if it returns it will never truly be the same.
Thanks for a great eight seasons. I love you Glenn Matthews!!!!!
I've been a fan of Scrubs for its entire run, though I'd say that I've probably seen not more than 60% of the episodes. Luckily, it's the kind of show that you can just up and watch at random. Eventually, I'd like to watch them all in order. Never know when that'll happen, though.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I DVR'd the finale. I liked it enough, but it won't place on the top of the Best Finales list or anything. They certainly didn't screw it up, but I guess I just didn't find myself chuckling as much as I normally do for Scrubs. Maybe that's just because they were going for sentiment rather than laughs this time, which can be forgiven.
Surprised Brendan Fraser didn't show up in a cameo...