My Lunch
From Scrubs Wiki
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My Lunch | |
 Written by Tad Quill Air Date - April 25, 2006 on  DVD • iTunes • Syndication | |
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- “I was obsessed with getting those organs.”— Dr. Cox
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
J.D.'s latest goal is to have lunch with Dr. Cox who, in typical fashion, rejects him and heads to the grocery store. J.D. follows him where they encounter a former patient, Jill Tracy, who has been stood up for a date.
A few days later, Jill dies with all signs pointing to drug overdose. J.D. feels guilty that he, as a doctor, was unable to see the signs she was depressed. Jill's tragedy appears to be good news, however, for three of Dr. Cox's patients in need of organ transplants, one of whom he has grown quite close to. Dr. Cox takes J.D. out to lunch and reminds him that he is not responsible for Jill's death, as she did not come to the hospital looking for help. Dr. Cox tells J.D. that he cannot blame himself for patients' deaths that are not his fault; once he starts, there's no coming back.
In a subplot, Carla and Elliot speculate the Todd's raucous and inappropriate behavior may be a cover up for homosexuality. They help him come to terms with his sexuality, in an attempt to stop his inappropriate innuendo, but their efforts prove to be futile as he begins directing his inappropriate comments towards men. Elliot and Carla talk to the Todd about his behavior, and it turns out the Todd was scamming the girls with the idea that "chicks dig gay dudes." The Todd walks down the hallway, hitting on at both men and women. The Janitor stops the Todd and asks "What the hell are you?", to which he replies, "I'm The Todd".
Meanwhile, Jill's autopsy reveals she did not die of an overdose; she died of rabies, meaning all three of Dr. Cox's transplant patients are now infected. Despite their best efforts, the staff is unable to save the first two patients. Dr Cox sits in the break room, trying to cope with his mistake. J.D. offers him lunch, telling him that he too shouldn't blame himself for deaths the patients' deaths. They were in critical condition and would have died in a matter of hours, and Dr. Cox had to make a decision; J.D. says he would have made the same call, which seems to make Dr. Cox feel better. They are then about to eat their lunch when Dr. Cox is paged for another emergency. Despite resuscitation attempts, The third patient (the one Dr. Cox was close to) dies, which causes Dr. Cox to have an emotional breakdown. He tells J.D. that the patient wasn't in critical need of a kidney, and his transplant could have waited. J.D. reminds Dr. Cox that "the second you start blaming yourself for people's deaths, there's no coming back", but Dr. Cox says "Yeah, you're right", and leaves the hospital.
[edit] Plot Points
- J.D. and Dr. Cox run into Jill Tracy at the supermarket at lunchtime.
- Jill dies, and J.D feels bad that he didn't help a person who clearly needed help, Dr. Cox takes J.D out on lunch and comforts him.
- Jill's organs are donated to three transplant patients, but something goes terribly wrong.
[edit] Recurring Themes
[edit] Fantasies
[edit] Janitor story
The Janitor makes a claim that J.D. was gay, which was a reference to the episode My Malpractical Decision, during a discussion between Carla and Elliot while they were discussing Todd's sexuality.
[edit] J.D.'s Girl Name
Paula
- “Hey, Dr. Cox. What are you doing for lunch?”— J.D.
- “Not having it with you, Paula.”— Dr. Cox
[edit] Guest Stars
- Nicole Sullivan as Jill Tracy (Patient)
- Rachel Winfree as Jill's mother
- David Warshofsky as Dave Bradford
- Kattia Ortiz as Nurse Bernice
- Lynn A. Henderson as Rebecca
- Frank Encarnacao as Dr. Mickhead
- Rene Hall as Renee (If a nurse, merge with Nurse Rita)
- Christina Miles as Gloria
- Beans Morocco as Katie
- Pat Mulderrig as Man
- Meredith Roberts as Kathy
- Jordan Zucker as Lisa
- Brent Weber as Larry
- Randall Winston (Crew) as Leonard
[edit] Music
- "How to Save a Life" by The Fray
[edit] Quotes
"What the hell are you?" - Janitor
"I'm the Todd." - The Todd
[edit] Trivia
- The plot is based on the true story of three patients who died in June 2004, due to rabies contracted by organ transplants. However, as the commentary on the Season Five DVD mentions that the episode took some dramatic license, as the organs from one donor do not usually all go to the same hospital.
- This episode is tied for the second highest-rated episode of Scrubs on TV.com (9.8 out of 10), tied with "My Screw Up" and "My Finale". However, the episode was criticized for the unlikelihood that Jill's organs matched all three patients, although the critic later acknowledged that he was unaware that the episode was based upon a real case.
- It's likely that Mr. Bradford, (who unlike the other patients, could have waited much more than a few hours for an organ) was the first patient to die due to a mistake made by Dr. Cox, as it was revealed in "My First Kill" that Dr. Cox had never killed a patient.
- At the beginning of the episode, when Dr. Cox is giving his lengthy pep talk to the interns, Turk jokingly tells him that 4 people just died, foreshadowing the 4 people who would die over the course of this episode.
