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Me, I don't believe in fate. I believe we have more control than we think and that every action has a reaction.J.D.

"My Butterfly" is the sixteenth episode of Scrubs' third season. J.D. contemplates chaos theory. Turk can't find his lucky do-rag, which helps him with surgery. Elliot has to look for her patient's lost stuffed pink dog.

Synopsis[]

J.D. talks about superstition. The surgeons start their day with an ass slap and have their own personal good-luck rituals. Turk can't find his Tabasco do-rag. Elliot's patient lost her stuffed pink dog and is scared of her bone marrow transplant. Turk's surgical record with the do-rag is 23 and zero, so he wants to find it.

First Scenario[]

3x16 Turk JD fistbump

J.D. and Turk stare at a beautiful woman

At the reception, Turk and J.D. watch a butterfly land on a busty woman's breasts, and the two stare for a while before walking off. J.D. walks straight into Laverne, who drops all the drinks she was carrying. Elliot asks the Janitor to help her find the pink dog, but he is too busy cleaning up the spilled drinks. Turk asks Carla to go home and find his do-rag. Dr. Kelso begins to chastise Carla for clocking out nine minutes late, and Turk defends her, angering Carla because it made her look weak. When Carla arrives home, she finds an old Snickers bar in the couch, but before she can bite into it, she is called back to the hospital by Elliot asking her to help find the little girl's dog. Carla rushes back to the hospital, forgetting to bring the do-rag, which was in the bathroom on Rowdy's head. J.D. and Dr. Cox begin to treat Mr. Strauss, a patient who they believe has a GI bleed. After Dr. Cox decides to let J.D. take the lead on the patient's case, J.D. tries to help Elliot find the dog. They try to look in the Janitor's supply closet but are kicked out by the maintenance staff, who all hate J.D. By the time the little girl goes into surgery, Elliot still has not found the dog. Mr. Strauss codes, and they find out he had an aortic dissection that J.D. and Cox missed earlier. He is sent to surgery. Turk, who still does not have his lucky do-rag, performs the surgery, but Mr. Strauss dies. J.D. then wonders how things would have been different if the butterfly had landed on a fat man's chest instead, and how the whole series of events were caused because of that one butterfly.

Second Scenario[]

3x16 butterfly man

The butterfly chooses another place to land

The events are different the second time around. J.D. and Laverne do not bump into each other, and thus Laverne does not spill the drinks on the floor. The Janitor does not have an extra mess to clean up and is able to help Elliot look for the dog. During Kelso's confrontation with Turk and Carla, Turk does not defend Carla, but Carla is still angry, this time because Turk is not supportive. When Carla gets home, she finds the Snickers bar and bites it. Carla does not get the phone call from Elliot because the Janitor already agreed to help her. She is disgusted by the taste of the candy bar and runs into the bathroom to spit it out into the sink. Since Carla ran into the bathroom, she found the do-rag on Rowdy's head. J.D. still believes that Mr. Strauss has a GI bleed, but since he was late for his shift the second time around, Cox does not let him take charge and merely sends him off to get coffee. J.D. goes to the elevator to try to make a wise-ass remark, only for the door to close on him before he can do so. J.D. overhears three attendings talking about a patient with ischemic bowel disease and realizes that Mr. Strauss may have the same ailment. He asks Dr. Cox to order a CT scan. The CT scan does not find ischemic bowel disease, but it does detect the aortic dissection that Mr. Strauss originally died from. Dr. Cox decides to prepare Mr. Strauss for surgery and calls Turk, who now has the lucky do-rag, to operate. However, even with the do-rag, the surgery is still unsuccessful, and Mr. Strauss still dies. Elliot tries to look for the dog in the Janitor's supply closet. When the same maintenance staff member tries to kick Elliot out, the Janitor vouches for her, allows her to look in the maintenance staff's Lost and Found/Free Stuff box, and gives her the dog. J.D. again looks at the butterfly and wonders what would happen if things were different.

Recurring Events[]

     More: FantasiesFlashbacksJ.D.'s girl namesJanitor's pranks and lies

3x16 karate Randall

Randall surprises Turk in surgery

Fantasies[]

  • Randall pops out of a patient while Turk is operating.
  • J.D. distracts Dr. Kelso by playing the banjo. (When the butterfly landed on the woman's breasts.)
  • Dr. Cox plays the banjo, while Dr. Kelso plays the washboard. (When the butterfly landed on the fat man's chest.)

Flashbacks[]

3x16 young Janitor

A young Janitor.

  • When Dr. Cox asks J.D. if this moment was always how he pictured it, he flashes back to playing with two homemade dolls of himself and Perry, and repeats the same question.
  • Elliot notes that Janitor is taking a personal interest in helping her find the little girl's stuffed doggie. The Janitor then remembers that as a child he could not find a teddy bear. His mother says that she may have accidentally thrown it out while cleaning his room, which wouldn't have happened if his room wasn't so filthy. The young boy picks up a broom and says "Never again," which may be the reason he became a Janitor.

Janitor story[]

When the butterfly landed on the woman's breasts Janitor then had to clean up the dropped drinks which meant he didn't have time to help Elliot look for the lost stuffed doggie. When the butterfly landed on the man's chest he was happy to help Elliot look for the stuffed doggie and they eventually find it in time.

J.D.'s Girl Names[]

  • Carol
Look, Carol, I know you think you look dashing in your navy blue scrubs, but I can't deal with the fact that I walk into the front door of this place and I find you standing there taaaalking at me.Dr. Cox

  • Debbie
It's your show, Debbie. Is this moment just like you always pictured?Dr. Cox

Dr. Cox's Girl Names[]

  • Eleanor - When the butterfly lands on the woman's breasts, Dr. Cox actually leaves J.D. in charge of the hospital, so J.D. attempts to impersonate Dr. Cox, which doesn't faze him at all.
Here's the deal, Eleanor, We're gonna go ahead and get a full work-up on this guy. So, while I drop an NG tube and do a gastric lavage, why don't you go ahead and get an order on EKG with cardio biomarkers. If you need to know where those are, they're on page 37 of the Ann Taylor catalog -- right next to that salmon cable-knit sweater you've wanted for so long but haven't had the courage to order...'cause you're worried the weave's so thin, your nipples might just go ahead and peek their little pink selves through. Isn't that right, Dr. Cox.J.D.

Guest Stars[]

3x16 Janitors

Martin Klebba as Randall Winston


Music[]

3x16 Free Stuff Box

     List of music featured in Scrubs

  • "What a Wonderful World" by Joey Ramone

Quotes[]

I couldn't help but think two things. First, I do look stunning in these navy scrubs - I mean, come on, who wants a taste?J.D.


I'll have to learn to play the banjo.J.D.


I got a pink doggie for you. But it's not little.Todd

If you show me your penis, I am going to take it away from you.Elliot
Cool!


Hhhheeeere's the deal, Eleanor: We're gonna go ahead and get a full work-up on this guy. So, while I drop an NG tube and do a gastric lavage, why don't you go ahead and get an order on EKG with cardio biomarkers. If you need to know where those are, they're on page 37 of the Ann Taylor catalog -- right next to that salmon cable-knit sweater you've wanted for so long but haven't had the courage to order...'cause you're worried the weave's so thin, your nipples might just go ahead and peek their little pink selves through. Isn't that right, Dr. Cox.J.D.


Me, I don't believe in fate. I believe we have more control than we think and that every action has a reaction.J.D.


Son, do you think I got to be chief of medicine by being late?Dr. Kelso

Nooo, Bobbo! You got there by back-stabbing and ass-kissing.Dr. Cox
Maybe so, but I started those things promptly at 8.


Turk! Why didn't you stand up for me?Carla

Baby, you said I was too whipped.Turk

Trivia[]

  • The actor John Ritter who played J.D.'s father died of an aortic dissection, the same way J.D.'s patient dies in this episode.
  • Dr. Mickhead is wearing blue scrubs in this episode, despite being a surgeon.
  • Even though this is his second time appearing as a janitor (he first appeared as one in "My Catalyst" four episodes prior), Randall claims he just got the job and J.D. is surprised to see him.
  • In the second scenario, when Carla tells Turk he needs to be more supportive, they reuse the same shot of Turk appologising as Carla walks away as in the first scenario. This causes Turk to teleport from in front of Carla to behind her as she turns, making her walk around him as she walks away.
  • When the Janitor greets Helen she mumbles "Hey, Cutie" in response, maintaining the secrecy of his real name.

Images[]


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