Scrubs

Scrubs

Episode 12: My Blind Date

Episode 13: My Balancing Act

By: Carlos Uribe

Scrubs is about a bunch of doctors. It aired from 2001 to 2008 on NBC and from 2009 to 2010 on ABC.

Spoilers Ahoy!

There is something about asking someone out on a date. It's true that most of us want to ask people out that we find attractive. It's very rare for there to be love on first sight, so asking out a stranger is usually done entirely for superficial reasons. It's during the first date where an emotional connection can be made but it doesn't excuse that the primary reason the date exists was entirely based on a person's appearance. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. You want to be in a relationship with someone who not only has a great personality but who you're able to be attracted to. Since a part of being in a relationship is sex, appearances must be a big part of why you decide to date someone. The episode title “My Blind Date” doesn't refer to J.D. or any character going on a blind date. It's about J.D. having to babysit a patient who slipped on the floor so that the patient doesn't sue the hospital. Due to a mechanical error with the MRI machine, J.D. doesn't see actually see her face in the episode. He does like her personality but it isn't until late in the episode that he's willing to take a risk and ask her out. The episode ends with a sort of a cliff-hanger in that it's about to reveal the woman's face only to cut straight to the credits.

While J.D. is slowly developing a relationship with a girl whom he doesn't actually see face-to-face, Elliot is attempting to gain Dr. Cox's favor. The problem is that Elliot is so eager to please that she's not willing to stand up to Dr. Cox. Since Dr. Cox only respects people who have a backbone, the problem is obvious. She does end up taking a stand against him but not until the end of the episode. There's also a separate plot that revolves around Turk and Carla. When Turk gets mad at Carla, she has no idea why he's so angry. There's a scene where it appears that Turk is about to break up with her but then reveals his problem. Carla has been driving him crazy but he's also in love with her. The two say the three words that entertainment puts a lot of importance into: “I love you”. This episode worked well because it continued to develop the relationship between characters in the background while using the main story to introduce a love interest for J.D. The cliff-hanger might not be a large one, but it is an effective one.

It is a bit odd. In the cliff-hanger, it appears that the character has blonde hair and J.D. goes “huh?”. When the next episode picks up right at that scene, the love interest, Alex, all of a sudden has brown hair and J.D. has a different reaction. While it's true that there would have been a week between the original airings, it's noticeable when you watch the episodes back-to-back. “My Balancing Act” is an episode that has J.D. prioritizing his work life over his personal life. He seems to be following his role model, Dr. Cox. It isn't until Dr. Cox lectures him that J.D. realizes that he made a giant error. He manages to get a second chance with Alex. The episode's title obviously refers to the new balancing act that J.D. has to do between his work and his personal life. The main plot works rather well, but there is a part of the episode that doesn't hold up.

That part involves a large sub-plot with Dr. Cox and Dr. Kelso. When Dr. Keslo gives Dr. Cox rounds for a day, Dr. Cox uses the time to undermine Dr. Keslo by removing the fear that Kelso struck in his employees. This fear made even the nervous lawyer to be able to stand up to Kelso. This depressed Dr. Kelso because he lives on that fear. Dr. Cox is forced to make everyone fear Kelso again at the end of the episode, to ensure that the hospital's balancing act works. The problem is that when Dr. Cox decides to allow the fear to come back, the series doesn't actually have him reach that decision naturally. It felt more forced. The other sub-plots worked better. While Elliot had her first orgasm, Turk and Carla had problems in bed because Carla was to worried about their future together. It's just a pity that the Dr. Cox and Kelso storyline didn't develop naturally as this would have been a pretty great episode. It'll just have to settle as a good episode.