The two-part premiere kicked off Wednesday, bringing Scrubs back for its second season with Dr. Cox’s health crisis deepen even as his friends rally around him. The episodes find Cox poked and prodded as J.D., Turk, Elliot, and Carla try to figure out why his initial round of treatments aren’t still working. Aseem Batra, who runs the show, sat down with TVLINE to talk about the season opener, Cox’s future plans, and what the rest of the cast has coming up.
Cox’s Most Vulnerable Moment
In episode 1, Cox gets poked and prodded while J.D., Turk, Elliot, and Carla try to work out why his first set of treatments aren’t doing anything. He depends on others for even the simplest tasks, such as going to the bathroom. The episode ends with a classic Cox-and-Carla heart-to-heart about what it means for the former chief to be back at Sacred Heart as a patient.
“She’s seen a lot, and he knows that.”
Carla takes Cox’s hand and assures him she knows how to get a patient through this. Batra explained why Carla can reach Cox in ways J.D. and Jordan cannot. “She was sort of the only one that he truly was a little scared of and respected on a level of, you wouldn’t mess with her,” he said. “Even doctors don’t stick around long enough to see that. So, you know, she’s seen a lot, and he knows that.”
Insurance Forces a Hospital Admission
In Episode 2, J.D. adjusts his treatment plan and finally gets good news: the treatments are working. But Cox’s insurance company won’t cover the infusions unless he’s admitted to the hospital. That gives J.D. a chance to teach new mentee Grant (John Higgins) a lesson in working around the system, though Grant isn’t exactly eager to learn. The straight-laced chief resident even reports J.D. to Sibby.
Batra confirmed that John C. McGinley is committed to more episodes beyond the premiere. “We have him for a couple more,” he said. “We’re getting creative with how to bring him back. So we have a little surprise in how he comes back that, you know, we get to see him in a different capacity than we’ve seen him [so far].” The showrunner added that the actor is busy between Scrubs and Rooster, and the production team is “eking out time, being like, ‘Whatever days you could give us to shoot, we’ll write you in!'”
J.D. Finds Love With Charlie
J.D. gets along better with Rachel Bilson’s Charlie once they’ve had sex. He races over to Sacred Heart to high-five Turk, getting there in record time on his cherished scooter Sasha. Sasha shows up again for the first time in a cold open that recalls the show’s early days.
Elliot gets a sudden boost of self-assurance once she realizes Cox’s equally intimidating better half Jordan in her place. The boost is short-lived, but TV’s Scott Foley is close by. Sean will give her a lift in no time, and under Tosh’s push, Elliot starts rethinking what she wants from the next stage of her working life.
The Mentor-Mentee Dynamics
Grant isn’t the mentee J.D. was hoping for. The dynamic between the two is more about J.D. adjusting his teaching methods for someone who plays by the book, or wearing Grant down and showing him that sometimes you do need to work around the system. Batra said the show doesn’t feel rushed to solve anything between the two of them. “He’s like, ‘Don’t you see I’ve got the answers and I’m a good guy?'” he said. “So we don’t feel the need to rush to solve anything between the two of them.”
Batra said that even newer additions to the ensemble get their own storylines from time to time. “We do have some of the new cast with slightly bigger storylines than we were even able to give them last season,” “Their own storylines may not be the A-story, but they’re significant arcs in the episode.”
What Comes Next
Sean and the Janitor are returning to the fold, and the news comes with a promise: Turk’s mental health journey continues, and Batra confirmed that Neil Flynn’s Janitor is coming back.
Sacred Heart’s first episode establishes a season of change for all its characters. J.D. finds himself instructing a mentee who resents his approach, Elliot is reconsidering her job, and Cox is managing a health crisis that has left him reliant on the people around him. The show is returning to its history with the Scooter Sasha cold open, and Batra’s pledge to find creative means of bringing Cox back gives the season a distinct direction ahead.
Sacred Heart has taken the good doctor back in as a patient, and those around him are working hard to keep him there.
Source material: “Scrubs Boss Unpacks Season 2 Premiere And Teases More Dr. Cox, More Janitor, And TV's Scott Foley,” TVLine.
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