“Scrubs” Recap: My Cuz

By Stacey Harrison

Well, looky here. There’s Elizabeth Banks. Nice to see that despite having roles in every other movie that came out last year, she found time to come back as Kim, J.D.’s baby mama. They get along just fine, and J.D. has even learned how to turn their brief encounters to his advantage. He makes sure Kim has a reason to touch him, e.g. a bit of lint in his hair, or maybe a ruffled collar that needs straightening, because Elliot gets insanely jealous and demands sex almost instantly. Sometimes she even takes her underwear off while still at Kim’s just to save time. Usually, they end up in the car, where folks sometimes come up to J.D. to ask if they can take a picture, and he’s happy to oblige.

Kim has a big surprise, though, for J.D. and Elliot. She’s dating Elliot’s former beau (and J.D.’s former nemesis), Sean, played by dreamboat hunky McStud Scott Foley. That’s part of what drives J.D.’s disgust with Sean, the fact that he can’t deny that he is a “beautiful man.” Obviously, there is some tension afoot, and the couples agree to meet so they can clear the air. This leads to a confab at the hospital, where the genders pair off after the initial meeting goes poorly. Sean and J.D. get into a bitter defeat over who said “good” too many times. But they’re able to come to an understanding that they should be able to put the past behind them. J.D. invokes the “wiener cousin” oath, symbolized by the hooking of pinkies, among men who have both had sex with the same woman. Sean refuses to do the pinky thing, but J.D. sneaks in a hand touch and says that counts. Later, we learn about some other Sacred Heart employees who are wiener cousins: Turk and another doctor (is Carla more freaky than she’s let on?) as well as Janitor and Kelso, even though that was “20 years ago.”

Kim and Elliot, meanwhile, resume their friendship by confiding that they both have often wished the other dead out of jealousy and spite. They also share stories about Sean and J.D.’s bedroom habits, revealing that J.D. takes the “play” part of foreplay quite literally with games like “Who’s in there?” and “What’s in there?” They realize they are “bajingo sisters,” and all is forgiven.

J.D.’s happiness is short-lived, however, when every time he holds Sam, the little guy starts to cry. Having Sean be able to calm him down sure doesn’t help. He talks to Kim that he’s worried he’s a bad father, that he isn’t able to spend enough time with his son, and Kim — to her credit — is decent enough to tell him he is a great dad, and that are a bunch of things that could be setting Sam off. That’s when J.D. realizes it could be that nasty cologne he’s been wearing to punish Elliot. Sure enough, once the cologne is gone, Sam is able to enjoy some tear-free daddy time. It’s enough to make J.D. realize, though, that even the best part-time dad is going to miss a lot, so he decides that he’s going to move so he can be closer to Sam.

Meanwhile, Carla encourages Turk to apply for the vacant chief of surgery spot. He knows Cox is determine to not give it to him, but she tells him that if he could convince her to marry him, then turning Cox around is within reach, too. After relentlessly hounding him for most of the episode, to no avail, Turk finally has success once Carla and Kelso chime in, telling Cox he’s making the decision out of his personal dislike of Turk and not his proficiency as a doctor and leader. He grits his teeth and gives in, prompting a trademark celebratory dance from Turk in the hallway.

This was a real solid episode, probably the best of the season. It was the first one in awhile that didn’t make it feel like Scrubs was just finishing out the string. Everyone was involved seamlessly, with even Kelso getting some good scenes. He is a patient in at Sacred Heart after eating some tainted pastry from Coffee Bucks. After surreptitiously treating himself via I.V.s and manipulating his chart, he learns that he truly misses being a doctor.

Just a couple weeks to go, and it finally looks like we’re heading for a strong finish.

© 2008 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.