‘Scrubs’ Revival’s Season 9 Retcon Keeps These 2 JD Storylines

Warning: Spoilers ahead for the Scrubs revival’s double-episode premiere!Almost all of Scrubs Season 9 is no longer relevant to the show’s larger continuity, although Zach Braff’s JD has still canonically lived through two storylines that were introduced in the divisive Med School episodes. The medical sitcom’s double-episode premiere has already paid off the Scrubs revival’s refusal to acknowledge almost anything after Season 8. As such, all the new Med School characters and settings don’t exist after the Season 9 retcon. Still, the writers clearly weren’t all that interested in a complete removal of all that Med School lore.

Those who enjoyed Scrubs Season 9 can still watch it. However, instead of seeing it as a continuation of Season 8, the Med School episodes can be said to exist in a separate timeline that diverges from what’s currently happening in the show’s current era. Given how poorly Med School was received, this is a perfectly understandable creative decision. Regardless, not all of Season 9’s worldbuilding deserved to be ignored. In fact, some of it was downright logical, and it wouldn’t have made sense to get rid of it. Therefore, two Med School plots involving JD were held on to in the revival.

‘Scrubs: Med School’ & the Revival Both Had JD Marry Elliot

ABC

JD and Elliot (Sarah Chalke) aren’t together anymore in the Scrubs revival. Still, it has at least been explained that they did tie the knot at some point after the Season 8 finale, the aptly named “My Finale.” This was also the case in Med School. Although neither Med School nor the Scrubs revival showed any footage of the wedding, it still took place in both versions of events. Considering how content JD and his wife-to-be were in “My Finale,” getting married was the next logical step after what was seemingly a satisfying conclusion to their eight-year will-they/won’t-they storyline.

The only footage of JD and Elliot’s wedding so far is from the fantasy montage at the end of “My Finale.” However, this sequence wasn’t a canonical glimpse of the future. It was all in JD’s imagination.

The reason behind JD and Elliot’s divorce hasn’t been explained yet. Thankfully, there are still seven episodes to go after the revival’s double-episode premiere. So, there is plenty of time for this to be addressed, and I’m sure it will be. Although Med School unfolds in a different future, it’s still very possible that they also got divorced at some point after those 13 Season 9 episodes as well. Then again, it could be an event that’s exclusive to the revival’s reworked continuity. It’s interesting to think about, but probably not something we’ll ever get a solid answer to.

JD & Elliot Still Had a Child Together in the ‘Scrubs’ Revival

Sarah Chalke smirking as Elliot in Scrubs

The other big milestone for JD and Elliot in Scrubs: Med School is that Sarah Chalke’s character was pregnant with the couple’s first child together. While JD already had a son named Sam, Elliot had yet to become a mother. Even in Med School, the show spent its time building up to the birth of the baby without ever actually showing it. Near the very beginning of the revival’s first episode, “My Return,” JD’s inner-monologue strongly implies he became a father at least a second time.

When talking about the sparse benefits of being a concierge doctor, JD praises how much free time the job gives him to spend with his kids, plural. Because JD and Elliot were married at one point, and Elliot really wanted to become a mother, it stands to reason that they started trying for kids soon after they became man and wife. It’s even possible they had more than one kid together, because neither of the show’s first two episodes shows any of JD’s offspring or discusses them in any great detail. Just like how close-to-the-chest Scrubs is playing things when it comes to JD’s split with Elliot, the revival has yet to reveal pretty much anything about the family they built together.

How the ‘Scrubs’ Revival Has Set Up JD & Elliot To Return To These Storylines

The Scrubs revival is based on JD’s incidental return to Sacred Heart for the first time since he left in “My Finale.” So far, the episodes have revolved around his reunion with friends and colleagues from whom he’s drifted in the last 17 years. The coming back together of JD and his ex-wife is initially framed as something that neither side really wants. If they did still have a child (or children) together, then they’d likely still be in each other’s lives. However, JD now serves as Chief of Medicine at Sacred Heart, where Elliot works. This creates a dynamic between them that is a little more difficult to get through. They keep it professional at first, but they already seem to be getting along again.

Furthermore, neither character appears to have moved romantically since their divorce. Elliot clearly has a crush on one of the hospital’s new doctors, but it hasn’t led anywhere of note yet. JD, on the other hand, hasn’t mentioned whether there’s anyone new in the picture. As such, the stage is set for the will-they/won’t-they that once defined JD and Elliot’s shared storyline to return with a bang as the show continues. It would be really strange if the Scrubs revival didn’t end up with them getting back together, although I suppose the show is no stranger to emotional left-turns.