Medical sitcom Scrubs was brought back for a ninth and final season, only to ruin JD’s (Zach Braff) perfect ending. Creator Bill Lawrence oversaw a radical change for Scrubs season 9, with a primarily new ensemble supported by just a few of the original stars. Braff only returned for a handful of episodes, but JD’s inclusion was a misstep that only served to undermine the former protagonist.
Scrubs follows the daily lives of employees at Sacred Heart Hospital, with John “JD” Dorian anchoring the series with his internal monologue. JD’s regular daydreams provide fantastical sketches that act as welcome comic relief from the severity of the characters’ jobs. Scrubs charts JD’s rise from lowly intern to a respected doctor, alongside his best friend and surgeon Christopher Turk (Donald Faison) and physician Elliot Reid (Sarah Chalke, How I Met Your Mother's Stella), with whom JD has an on-again-off-again romance.
Although the show’s quality dipped in later years, Scrubs season 8 managed to fittingly end the ensemble’s story. “My Finale” provided JD with an emotional send-off, only for him to return in a much smaller capacity for the poorly received season 9, subtitled Med School. Scrubs’ final season ruined JD’s perfect ending by having the character regress into the childlike adult of the first season, undercutting season 8’s proposed future for the character that showed him move beyond life at Sacred Heart and finally grow up.
There are many reasons for the failure of Scrubs season 9, including Carla's (Judy Reyes) absence, but one of its greatest sins is how it undermined JD’s story. Season 8's “My Finale” reflects the character’s growth as he leaves Sacred Heart, acknowledging that the day is probably far more special for him than it is for his colleagues. He is delighted to finally hear what his reluctant mentor, Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley) really thinks of him, but the day is otherwise rather mundane. However, JD’s narration shows his acceptance that he can’t please everyone and is lucky to have a positive impact on even one person. Except, he can’t help but daydream about old faces, imagining a corridor full of friends, colleagues, and patients who passed away. JD’s perfect ending is bittersweet, where he imagines his future playing back to him like an old home movie, fragmented glimpses of everything that’s yet to come. Scrubs' final season doesn’t retcon this ending, but it ruins its profundity by completely ignoring its message of looking forward.
Although Sacred Heart was demolished and rebuilt as a med school, some of the original characters are forced into a narrative that's torn between the old and new. JD’s maturity is swept aside when he returns as a teacher, and the final season fails to further his character in any meaningful way. Instead of moving on from the past and focusing on his family, JD is back with his former colleagues. He is once again desperate to be liked and placed in embarrassing situations alongside Turk that make the new med students appear considerably more adult than their teachers. Season 9’s JD is stuck in limbo - a far cry from Scrubs' perfect pilot - ruining season 8's perfect way to conclude the habitual daydreamer's arc. "My Finale" didn’t provide a definitive ending, but its power came from teasing numerous possibilities. Scrubs’ final season makes JD’s vision of Christmas gatherings and the engagement between his and Turks’ children seem like nothing more than another empty fantasy.
Scrubs' final season deprived JD of the chance to change, ruining a hopeful ending that emphasized how life continues. Ironically, season 9 was too reluctant to say goodbye to beloved characters to effectively develop its new ensemble. As JD admits in season 8, “Endings are never easy.” They are often weighed down by expectations, like with How I Met Your Mother's hated ending, but Scrubs got it right the first time.