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My Finale

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My Finale

Directed by Bill Lawrence
Written by Bill Lawrence
Air Date - May 6, 2009 on ABC
Transcript - Images
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Season Eight Episodes :
  1. My Jerks
  2. My Last Words
  3. My Saving Grace
  4. My Happy Place
  5. My ABC's
  6. My Cookie Pants
  7. My New Role
  8. My Lawyer's in Love
  9. My Absence
  10. My Comedy Show
  11. My Nah Nah Nah
  12. Their Story II
  13. My Full Moon
  14. My Soul on Fire, Part 1
  15. My Soul on Fire, Part 2
  16. My Cuz
  17. My Chief Concern
  18. My Finale
   Episodes: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 w • 9


“Who's to say my fantasies won't come true, just this once?”— J.D.

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

J.D. asks Elliot for morning sex

J.D. wakes up to his last day at Sacred Heart and can't help but reminisce about his first day. He then ends up waking Elliot for morning sex. At first she refuses but he guilts her into it when he figures out that she is moving her furniture into his new apartment. Upon arriving at the hospital Turk has a banner with "Goodbye J.D." written on it and he has pads set up for J.D.'s final "Eagle!" While spinning around a bleeding man and a woman arrive and Elliot recommends her to another hospital.

Inside the hospital, Turk realizes that he may have prematurely given J.D. his goodbye. They agree to hug every time they see each other that day. Carla sees this and tells Turk that she has come to terms with Turk hugging J.D. more than he hugs her. She and Elliot then begin hugging and grinding, much to the pleasure of J.D. and Turk. J.D. spots Dr. Cox and Jordan and gives Perry a present: a pleather-bound collection of all of his rants, organized and ranked by how much they emotionally hurt him. Dr. Cox shares a couple: The only way you could be less productive right now is if you were, in fact, the wall on which you're leaning against. (My Student) and I suppose I could riff a list of things that I care as little about as our last week of residency: every hybrid car, every talk show, everything on the planet, everything in the solar system, everything, everything, everything, everything, everything, everything, every-everything that exists past present & future, in discovered and undiscovered dimensions! and Hugh Jackman! (My Old Friend's New Friend) J.D. then attempts for a hug but doesn't get one. J.D. then proceeds to diagnose one of his last patients at Sacred Heart, Mrs. Stonewater. She is delusional and her son Dan Stonewater is concerned. J.D. acts a little loopy but promises to figure out her illness.

Dr. Cox refuses to take the imaginary reigns

During rounds, J.D. announces to some of the interns that he is leaving. He forces Denise to give him a farewell message, and shoots down Sunny when she gives a legitimate farewell. Dr. Cox arrives to take over rounds, and ignored J.D.'s requests to hand off the imaginary reigns and torch. He is then informed that Mrs. Stonewater has Huntington's Disease, a incurable and genetic brain disease. He breaks the bad news to Dan, and also informs him that Dan is at risk for the disease.

Meanwhile, Dr. Kelso reveals to Carla and Ted that he has decided to spend his time working locum tenens, a practice that will force him to travel. He takes his last muffin from Donny and thinks about how he will be able to steal a memento from Coffee Bucks.

After getting 'dumped' by a patient on his last day, J.D. heads outside for some fresh air. He mistakes Dr. Kelso's farewell for his own. Dr. Kelso has stolen a table and two chairs from Coffee Bucks and tells him that he shouldn't expect a grand exit from the hospital, but offers his own sincere goodbye and handshake, then drives off. Inside, quickly after being told by Dan that he doesn't want to be tested for the brain disease, J.D. finds Dr. Cox and before he can demand a heartfelt goodbye, Dr. Cox tells him that J.D.'s last day is not special at all to him, which hurts J.D.

Carla and J.D.'s final moments together

In the ward, Carla tells J.D. that she will miss him. He asks why she was always nice to him and she tells him that it was because he was "Bambi" and needed protecting. Later, Ted attempts to tell J.D. goodbye and so does Jordan, but after being nice she picks on Ted. Back in the ward, Dr. Cox yells at Sunny about how to prescribe ibuprofen.(My First Day) J.D. comments that he functions on a cycle, and realizes in his head that Dr. Cox is just a gruff teacher and has made him into the person he is today. Turk and Elliot then apologize to J.D. for the premature goodbye and moving in. He tells them that it is alright. He then asks Dan why he doesn't want the test, and Dan says that he doesn't want to be held down under any fear of the future.

After finding out the Janitor's real name, J.D. tells Dr. Cox goodbye, and Perry still doesn't give him a sincere parting moment. Sunny then comments that J.D. was just a mediocre doctor, which sparks Perry into ranting about how "John Dorian was the best doctor to ever come through these doors," unfortunately for Dr. Cox, J.D. and Sunny had planned the entire thing and he hears the whole speech.
J.D. gives Dr. Cox his final hug
J.D. thanks Sunny for helping him, and gives Dr. Cox a hug. Dr. Cox threatens Sunny.

As J.D. leaves Sacred Heart for the last time as an employee, he thinks back about how many people he has come into contact with. He thinks about family members such as Dan Dorian, co-workers such as The Todd, lost loves such as Jamie Moyer and Alex Hanson, people who passed away such as Jill Tracy and Patricia Wilk. He walks down the hallway to the exit and sees all people that have helped make him into the doctor who he was, all standing in line to say their sometimes strange farewells. At the door, he turns around and realizes it was just a fantasy. After walking through the door one last time, J.D. sees his future projected upon the "Goodbye J.D." banner: marrying Elliot, having another child, spending holidays with the Turks and Coxes, and seeing Izzy and Sammy get engaged. He then comments that his fantasies might come true, just this once.

The banner falls down and J.D. sees a custodian cleaning up at the end of the day. He bids farewell to J.D., seemingly unaware that it is his final time there as an employee. J.D. gets into his car and drives away from Sacred Heart Hospital.

[edit] Plot Points

[edit] Recurring Themes

"They're all gonna die!" Elliot screams while everyone panics as the power fails

[edit] Fantasies

  • J.D. imagines his leaving would be like the ending of a series finale of a sitcom and turns out the light and hospital power with one switch, causing all electronic medical equipment to go off as well. This causes the staff to go crazy, until J.D. turns it back on (and comments on how ridiculous it is to have one switch controlling all the hospital's power).
  • During J.D.'s final walk down the hallway, he imagines two long lines of most previous speaking-characters from the show, living and dead, wishing him goodbye.
  • J.D. walks out of the hospital for the last time and sees his future projected on his "Goodbye J.D." banner. He watches his marriage to Elliot, life with a pregnant Elliot, and a Christmas spent at the Turks with Dr. Cox and Jordan sometime after Carla and Elliot's respective pregnancies. J.D.'s son (presumably Sam) gets engaged to Turk and Carla's daughter, Izzy. This may not be a fantasy, however, since J.D. says, as he drives away, "Who's to say my fantasies won't come true, just this once?", implying that the future he fantasized about will actually happen. Also, there is no flash like with his other fantasies, further implying that the future he saw will happen.
Janitor shows the penny that J.D. "put" in the door eight years ago

[edit] Janitor story

Janitor reveals he has kept the penny that jammed the door on J.D's very first day and spends the episode trying to get J.D to admit that it was his fault. After using Denise in a poorly-acted reenactment, Janitor finally gets J.D. to confess, revealing that the penny fell out of his pocket into the door, causing the jam.

Later, J.D. finally inquires about Janitor's real name, which turns out to be Glen Matthews. This may not be his actual name as an orderly walks past moments later and calls him Tommy. (This could be a joke to the episode My Buddy's Booty in which the fanbase believed the Janitor's name was said to be Tom, which was an actual line saying "Yeah, you tell em'. " However, it is speculated that the person speaking to Janitor said " Yeah, Tom!" or some variation on that phrase.)

[edit] Future of the characters

J.D. watches his future on his leaving banner

At the end of the episode, J.D.'s and his friends' future is shown across his leaving banner as a figment of his imagination, although he considers "Who's to say my fantasies won't come true, just this once?", suggesting that his future may in fact happen like he imagines. On his banner, the following things are shown:

  • J.D. and Elliot's marriage.
  • Elliot is pregnant, and J.D. pretends to be scared when he feels the baby kicking.
  • J.D., Elliot, Jordan and Dr. Cox all join Carla and Turk for Christmas, along with their children.
  • Dr. Cox grudgingly walks into a hug with J.D.
  • Isabella Turk and (presumably) Sam Perry Gilligan Dorian announce to Turk and J.D. that they are engaged, causing J.D. to faint.

[edit] Guest Stars

Josh Cooke as Dan Stonewater
Most of the guest stars from the series

[edit] In J.D.'s last fantasy

[edit] Music

Music from Season:

One • Two • Three • Four
 Five • Six • Seven • Eight

  • "Snow ((Hey Oh))" by Red Hot Chili Peppers
  • "The Book of Love" by The Magnetic Fields, performed by Peter Gabriel
  • "Superman" by Lazlo Bane, performed by The Blanks

[edit] Quotes

“Well long days are like pancakes... Admit it!”— Janitor


“You were Bambi, you needed someone to teach you how to walk.”— Carla's goodbye


"Thank you, God. That was beautiful." - J.D.
“For the record he was the best that ever came through this dump. John Dorian was the first and only doctor I ever met who cared as much as I do, and you can forget about him being just an exceptional physician. Because the fact of the matter is, he's a damn exceptional person. That's why people gravitated toward him, that's why I did. He was my friend.”— Dr. Cox on J.D.
“Thank you, God. That was beautiful.”— J.D.
"Oh god no."
"It's okay, Perry. You just said how you feel. Honestly, I am so full of your love right now, I literally couldn't take another drop. Brace yourself, I'm coming in"
[J.D. hugs Dr. Cox]


“I guess it's because we all want to believe that what we do is very important, that people hang on our every word, that they care what we think. The truth is, you should consider yourself lucky if you even occasionally get to make someone - anyone - feel a little better. After that, it's all about the people that you've let into your life. and as my mind drifted to faces that I've seen in here before, I was taken to memories of family...”— J.D.
“Hey, little brother”— Dan Dorian
"Of co-workers..."
“Goodbye five! From the big dog!”— Todd
"Of lost loves..."
“You never called.”— Jamie Moyer
“I miss you.”— Alex Hanson
"Even of those who have left us."
“There you are!”— Jill Tracy
“Hi tiger.”— Patricia Wilk
"And as I rounded that corner, they all came at me like a wave of shared experience."
“Keep it holy, Q-tip”— Laverne
“Boink Vwip!”— The Worthless Peons
“I broke my penis again, but this time it was fun.”— Mike Davis
“Take care, bra! Take real good care.”— Lloyd
“I didn't kill her.”— Dr. Mickhead
“Way to leave a cheery gig, bra.”— Randall Winston
“I love me some white meat.”— Leonard
“We can party later. There'll be prostitutes.”— Dr. Zeltzer
“Did you ever go on that picnic? Make sure you do.”— Mrs. Tanner
“I hate you so much J.D.”— Lonnie
“It's like a baguette.”— Dr. Steadman
“Hooch is crazy.”— Hooch

[edit] Trivia

  • The entire regular cast and nearly all the supporting cast appear in this episode. Several recurring characters (alive and dead) also have cameos during J.D's final walk out of the hospital. Doug is the only supporting character not to appear in this episode.
  • The penny The Janitor claims to be the one he found in the door on J.D.'s first day couldn't have been due to the fact that it was dated 2006. However, this probably was an error on the part of the director. Alternatively, the Janitor could simply have been lying about that being the same penny.
  • Bill Lawrence makes an appearance in the final scene. He portrays the custodian who rips down the "Goodbye J.D." banner.
  • The episode won nearly universal positive reviews from critics (examples include the reviews by Examiner.com, EW.com, TV Squad, Moviehole, iFMagazine, and KorbiTV); elements singled out for particular praise included the reveal of Dr Cox's true feelings for J.D. and the entire finishing sequence.
  • Bill Lawrence revealed on his blog that J.D. and Elliot's dialogue in bed at the start of the episode was taken exactly from the pilot of his other show, Spin City.
  • The doctor who says goodbye to J.D. as he leaves the ICU is the "real J.D.", Dr. Jonathan Doris, whom the show is loosely based upon.
  • This second part of this episode is currently the highest-rated episode of Scrubs on TV.com (9.9 out of 10), and the first half is tied with "My Screw Up" and "My Lunch" at 9.8.
  • When Bill Lawrence visited his alma mater, The College of William and Mary, in January, 2009, he spoke about the Janitor's real name and said, "And the only clue I ever gave those insane fans was that his name is the same as the name of the janitor on Clone High." The name of the Janitor on Clone High is Glen.
  • Dr. Kelso's theft of the Coffee Bucks table mirrors how he stole his portrait when he quit his Chief of Medicine job. (My Dumb Luck)
  • The episode was split in two parts on DVD, ABC.com, Hulu, and syndicated reruns, but aired as an hour long single episode when it originally aired on ABC.

[edit] Images

J.D. asks Elliot for morning sex

J.D. imagines switching a switch and turning all the power off

Carla and J.D.'s final moments together

Janitor shows J.D. the penny he put in the door eight years ago

J.D. gives Dr. Cox his final (and one of the first) hugs

J.D. leaves the hospital, and imagines everyone seeing him off

J.D. watches his future on his farewell banner, including...

...J.D. and Elliot kissing on their wedding day...

...a pregnant Elliot

...their child...

...young Sam and Izzy playing together...

...and Sam and Izzy getting engaged

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