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"My Finale" is the 40-minute-long eighth season finale and 168th and 169th overall episodes of the American television
sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
'' Scrubs''. It was originally broadcast as episodes 18 and 19 of season eight on May 6, 2009 on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
, and was intended to be the series finale during production. However, while the episode was billed as the "Scrubs finale" at the time of airing, it was unknown whether this would be the series finale or the season finale. The show ended up returning for a ninth season. Since the show underwent many changes for the ninth and final season, this is the last episode in which all of the main cast appear as series regulars and the last appearance of
Judy Reyes Judy Reyes (born November 5, 1967) is an American actress, model, and producer, best known for her roles as Carla Espinosa on the NBC/American Broadcasting Company, ABC medical comedy series ''Scrubs (TV series), Scrubs'' (2001–2009), as Zoila ...
as
Carla Espinosa Carla Espinosa, RN is a fictional character in the American comedy-drama ''Scrubs (TV series), Scrubs'', portrayed by Judy Reyes, who appeared on the series from October 2001 to May 2009. Carla appeared in every episode during the first eight sea ...
.


Plot

On the morning of his last day, J.D. lies in bed next to Elliot as he thinks back to his first day at Sacred Heart. Elliot reveals she has been "sneak moving in" by slowly replacing J.D.'s stuff with her own. At the hospital, Turk greets J.D. with a giant goodbye banner in front of the main entrance and a final "full-turbo spinning eagle" as his goodbye to his best friend. J.D. realizes Turk said goodbye too early and the moment will be ruined later so they decide to have intense hugs whenever they run into each other. Meanwhile, at the hospital's CoffeeBucks, Dr. Kelso tells
Carla Carla is the feminized version of Carl, Carlos or Charles, from ''ceorl'' in Old English, which means "free man". People Notable people with the name include: * Carla Lazzari (born 2005), French singer and former member of the children's mus ...
and Ted he wants to be a doctor again, albeit part-time, and he won't be hanging around Sacred Heart any more. Kelso grabs his last free muffin and plans to steal a table from the CoffeeBucks. J.D. hunts for Dr. Cox in hopes to receive a heartfelt goodbye from his mentor. He finds Dr. Cox and gives him a home-made anthology of all his long-winded rants, each with a rating on how much they hurt J.D., numbered 1 to 5, with 5 being the times Cox made him cry. Even though J.D. steals a laugh from him, Dr. Cox refuses to give him the sentimental moment or show any emotion. Afterwards, the
Janitor A cleaner, cleanser or cleaning operative is a type of Industry (economics), industrial or domestic worker who is tasked with cleaning a space. A janitor (Scotland, United States and Canada), also known as a custodian, Facility Operator, porter ...
confronts J.D. with the
penny A penny is a coin (: pennies) or a unit of currency (: pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. At present, it is ...
that had started their ongoing feud (now on a necklace that he wears) as he tries to finally get J.D. to admit he put it in the door. Later, after forgetting a patient's illness and name, J.D. feels like a terrible doctor. His day goes from bad to worse when he finds out another patient will eventually die from
Huntington's disease Huntington's disease (HD), also known as Huntington's chorea, is an incurable neurodegenerative disease that is mostly Genetic disorder#Autosomal dominant, inherited. It typically presents as a triad of progressive psychiatric, cognitive, and ...
and that he has to tell her son that he might have inherited the disease too. The son disregards J.D.'s advice and doesn't want to get tested. J.D. storms outside with Elliot for some air, distraught that nobody else wants to give him a heartfelt goodbye. Elliot points out the happy staffers yelling goodbye from the windows of the upper floors of the hospital. J.D. jumps at the chance to make a heartfelt yet clearly pre-rehearsed speech about his maturation at Sacred Heart, only to find that the goodbyes are meant for Dr. Kelso, who has taken his table and is finally leaving Sacred Heart a full year after his own retirement. Dr. Kelso reminds J.D. that no one ever really makes a big deal when someone leaves the hospital, but offers J.D. a handshake and proper farewell. This reenergizes J.D., determined to get his sentimental goodbye from Dr. Cox, who tells him this day is nothing special. J.D. tells him that if he is gonna put that in the book, he should put that on the 5 and walks away. Watching his terminal patient, J.D. sits with Carla, who defends him against Dr. Cox one last time as he walks by. J.D. asks her why she has always been so nice and never harassed him the way she does Dr. Cox. Carla reminds him that he is "Bambi" and she wanted to teach him. They have a tender moment as J.D. thanks her for teaching him, and they say how much they are going to miss each other. Later in the cafeteria,
Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
says goodbye to J.D., reminiscing about how they had slept together (S01Ep06), and then kisses him on the cheek before realizing with horror how nice she had just been. She then makes things right by insulting Ted, who allows her to because " heneeds it". The Janitor attempts to demonstrate to J.D. how suddenly accusing someone will make them own up to what they did in a pre-rehearsed trick with the intern Denise, who walks off unfazed. Janitor tells J.D. one last time to admit putting the penny in the door, and J.D. finally cracks, saying that he did it, but it was eight years ago and an accident. The penny had fallen out of his pocket and rolled into the door, and J.D. hadn't owned up because it was his first day and didn't want Janitor to be mad at him so early on. When J.D. asks if Janitor believes him, he replies that he saw the incident happen, and only asked J.D. back then if he was responsible as a test of character. J.D. had failed the test, starting the feud and missing out on a great friendship with the Janitor. As he is preparing to leave, he sees Dr. Cox ranting at the intern Sunny. He finally relents, admitting to himself that Cox is gruff and insensitive, yet still a great teacher. He thanks Dr. Cox for everything, before moving on. Turk and Elliot both rush up to J.D. and apologize for saying their goodbyes too early, but he understands. He's glad that Elliot is moving in with him, she crazily blurts out that she has sub-let her house and they now officially live together. At the end of J.D.'s shift, the Janitor actually offers his goodbye to him. They wish each other luck and the Janitor reveals his name as Glenn Matthews; however, an orderly then calls him "Tommy", making it uncertain whether this is indeed his real name. (In a
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
post on April 5, 2011, Bill Lawrence confirmed that Janitor was telling the truth when he revealed his name as Glenn Matthews.) As he walks through the ICU for the final time, J.D. thinks of how he is lucky to have gotten what he has from the day, he says his goodbye to Dr. Cox before leaving. Sunny tells Dr. Cox how glad she is that J.D. is finally leaving. Dr. Cox replies that he considers J.D. a talented doctor, a good person, and a friend. J.D. (who had planned this in advance with Sunny) is secretly behind him and hears the whole thing, finally hugging a mortified Dr. Cox. Dr. Cox then erases the smile on Sunny's face by reminding her she will be at Sacred Heart for a long time. J.D. then walks through the halls of Sacred Heart for the last time and, as he does, he sees visions of many of the people he has encountered over his eight years there. He sees his family, ex-girlfriends, former patients (both dead and alive) and co-workers before walking out the door for the last time. Upon leaving, he makes his final inner monologue about being able to shape his own unknown future. He visualizes a film of his future playing on the still hanging "Goodbye J.D." cloth, showing him marrying Elliot, having a child with her, sharing
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
with Elliot, Turk, Carla, Dr. Cox, Jordan and all their children, his grown son Sam getting engaged to Turk's grown daughter, Isabella, and showing off to J.D. and Turk (and faints two times), him hugging everybody in those visions, and finally him getting an honest hug from Dr. Cox. This sequence is constructed in a musical montage style, and is accompanied by a
Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...
cover of " The Book of Love", originally written by the
Magnetic Fields A magnetic field (sometimes called B-field) is a physical field that describes the magnetic influence on moving electric charges, electric currents, and magnetic materials. A moving charge in a magnetic field experiences a force perpendicular ...
. The cloth is torn down by an unfamiliar janitor (played by series creator Bill Lawrence) who says goodnight to him. With that, J.D. gets into his car and drives off. As he does, an ambulance drives past him, signifying that life in Sacred Heart goes on.


Production

On his
blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...
, writer Bill Lawrence admitted that the dialogue between J.D. and Elliot in bed at the beginning of the episode was lifted from the pilot of a previous show of his, ''
Spin City ''Spin City'' is an American sitcom television series that aired from September 17, 1996, to April 30, 2002, on ABC. Created by Gary David Goldberg and Bill Lawrence, the show is set in a fictionalized version of the New York City mayor's off ...
''. Also of note, the doctor who says "adios" to J.D. as he leaves the ICU in the final attempt for Dr. Cox to give JD a goodbye hug is Dr. Jonathan Doris, upon whom the show is loosely based.


Cast

It was reported a week after filming in September 2008 that the finale of season 8 would feature a large cast of characters who had appeared throughout the show's eight-season run. Over fifty actors reprised their roles as patients, medical staff, and supporting players from prior episodes for the finale.
Heather Graham Heather Joan Graham (born January 29, 1970) is an American actress. The accolades she has received include nominations for two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, and an Independent Spirit Award. After appearing in tel ...
was also invited to reprise her role as Dr. Molly Clock, but declined for personal reasons.
Masi Oka is a Japanese actor, producer, and digital effects artist who became widely known for starring in NBC's '' Heroes'' as Hiro Nakamura, for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, ...
, who played Franklyn the lab technician, was then appearing on ''
Heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...
'', while Sarah Lancaster, who played Lisa the Gift-Shop Girl, was then appearing on ''
Chuck Chuck () is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet * Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV produce ...
''; both were asked to appear but were denied permission by
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
."Scrubs: NBC Stars Not Allowed to Return for Series Finale"
TVseriesFinale.com, September 8, 2008


Music

*" Snow (Hey Oh)" by
Red Hot Chili Peppers The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982, consisting of Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (musician), Flea (bass), John Frusciante (guitar), and Chad Smith (drums). Their music incorporates elements of a ...
*" The Book of Love" by
The Magnetic Fields The Magnetic Fields are an American Band (rock and pop), band founded and led by Stephin Merritt. Merritt is the group's primary songwriter, producer, and vocalist, as well as frequent multi-instrumentalist. The band is named after the André B ...
as performed by
Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...
*"
Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
" by
Lazlo Bane Lazlo Bane is an American alternative rock band from Santa Monica, California, United States. They are well known for collaborating with former Men at Work member Colin Hay, and providing the song "Superman" as the theme for the television show ...
(acoustic instrumental) *"Superman" by Lazlo Bane as performed by
The Blanks The Blanks are an American a cappella group. They were recurring guests on the TV series '' Scrubs'' under various names such as Ted's Band and The Worthless Peons. They have released two albums: '' Riding the Wave'' and ''Worth The Weight.'' ...


References


External links

* * {{Scrubs 2009 American television episodes Scrubs season 8 episodes Television episodes directed by Bill Lawrence (TV producer) Television episodes written by Bill Lawrence (TV producer)