Scrubs/Heartwarming

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • When everyone is hugging after Carla announces her pregnancy (to Kutless's 'All Of The Words', no less) in Scrubs, you can't help but feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
    • This troper is fond of the scene right before when J.D. narrates, "Then I witnessed one of those moments that let me know in my heart that these two would be together forever."
  • The end of the episode 'My Dumb Luck'. Especially Kelso's last line on screen and 'Ted, thanks for everything. Sincerely'. This doubles as a Tear Jerker.
    • Scrubs is filled with these. This troper's particular favorite is when J.D. tells Dr. Cox that, even though he gave three patients that could've waited a little longer transplant organs filled with rabies, he made the right choice and that he's proud of him. "Not for doing your best, but, after twenty years of being a doctor you can still take it this hard." The whole scenario lets you know both that everybody likes Dr. Cox and he actually does care about J.D., actually calling him by name to thank him. Tears abound.
    • Another great one is the end of the Janitor's viewpoint story, where his contribution is finally recognized.
    • One that was very powerful for this troper was pretty early in the series' run when the lady is crashing and we go into a JD fantasy sequence of her in a stunning dress in a spotlight singing "Waiting For My Real Life To Begin". It's just an absolutely beautiful moment.
    • At the end of My Jiggly Ball, when, after a patient dies because of him, Dr. Kelso steps out of the hospital, and, instead of whistling carefree like he always does, is still obviously troubled, showing he does care. Especially when the main cast walks by and he tries to resume whistling to hide the fact.
    • I always like it when J.D and Turk have a heart-to-heart. The best ones are in "My Porcelain God" and "My New Game".

JD: Dude, it was one second of doubt. Since when do you care what anyone thinks?
Turk: I don't, I care what you think.

    • Ted, the hospital lawyer and the girl he has a crush on doing a duet in the episode "My lawyer's in love." D'awww.
  • Mrs. Tanner comforting J.D. in "My Old Lady" after explaining him why she's ready to die.

Mrs. Tanner: Are you okay?
J.D.: I'm scared.
Mrs. Tanner: Come here. (J.D. sits on the bed and she hugs him) You're okay. You'll be just fine, don't worry...

  • The entire episode when Laverne dies. This also makes the preceding episode retroactively awesome if you go back and watch it.
  • The season eight (possibly series) finale when JD made his good-byes to everyone. And ESPECIALLY the ending where he walks down the hallway to the front door, where all the Scrubs characters throughout the years send him off. Out the front door, he looks on at his "Goodbye JD" tarp and imagines his future with a pregnant Elliot, his friendship with Turk, and finally getting his hug from Dr. Cox. All ending with the creator Bill Lawrence himself playing a janitor who takes down the tarp. He bid JD a good night; and JD thinks to himself, "Who's to say my fantasy won't come true, just this once?", implying that the future JD imagined for himself WILL happen. And finally, JD drives away from Sacred Heart Hospital, ending his last day there all the while a slow instrumental to the Scrubs theme playing. This Troper couldn't keep in his tears after seeing this from his many years of viewing Scrubs.
  • My heart still aches.
  • This troper lost it at Dr Cox's speech to Sunny.

Sunny: He's finally gone. Talk about making a big deal over nothing, y'know? I mean, Dr Dorian was fine, but he was no better than any other doctor.
Dr Cox: 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. 'Cause the fact of the matter is, he's a damn exceptional person. That's why people gravitated to him. That's why I did. He was my friend.

    • Of course, Dr. Cox's reaction when he realizes that J.D. heard (and in fact planned) the whole thing doubles as a Crowning Moment of Funny.
  • While the JD/Carla scene was wonderful, this little bit of conversation made this troper weepy and she doesn't even know why:

Carla: Tell me my husband loves me more than he loves you.
JD: It's about the same.

  • Don't forget the ending of "My Soul on Fire Part 2". Janitor's wedding to Lady, itself a crowning moment of heartwarming, inspires a collection of crowning moments of heartwarming for each major couple to Ted's acoustic cover of "Hey Ya", which makes everything seem more poignant and beautiful (and wacky at the same time too, in classic Scrubs fashion). From Carla putting aside her mommish ways for the moment to be the sexy mate Turk had missed, to Jordan bringing herself closer to an healthy relationship with Cox by admitting genuine affection for him (accompanied by Cox's reaction of grabbing her and jumping into the pool with her) to the king of crowning moments of heartwarming between JD and Elliot, when he gives her the tiki amulet after delivering possibly the most heartwarming and romantic confession in the entire series:

JD: I never really believed that I'd find somebody that I'd love as much as you. I love you more than anyone in the world. Elliot... I love you more than Turk.

  • The 4th season Christmas episode, My Best Moment. J.D. promises a patient who comes in with a son that he'll be home by Christmas, only to be immediately reprimanded for making such a hard-to-keep promise. Not only does the patient survive, but the episode ends with the main cast reminiscing over how great that moment was. This troper watched it in the middle of summer and felt like he had a good Christmas-style heartwarming.
  • Jordan and Cox's divorce. Also, after her brother's death, when they just lean on each other, silently supporting each other through it... *sob*...
  • This troper found her favourite moment of heartwarming in Scrubs in the very first episode. At the end, after J.D. realised what a terrible jerk Bob Kelso is, he is wondering "then who is the good guy?" just to get an emergency call and when he's trying to help the patient, he's suprised when dr Cox actually give him support instead of yelling at him.
  • This troper's favorite is the second season finale where Dr. Cox decks Kelso in the face for being mean to Elliot after JD tells him that if he was her father he'd know what to do. Just Watch It.

Dr. Cox: Everyone have a good one! I'm going home to see my son.

  • In "My cake" after JD's dad dies the janitor steps aside to let him get in the door and doesn't hassle him all episode.
  • In "My Cake", Dr.Cox spends the entire episode trying to help J.D by taking all his patients, trying to offer him a hug and then in the end, rallies Dan, who'd been sitting in the bathtub the entire episode. To comfort him in a way that everyone involved is comfortable with, Dr.Cox and Dan sit with J.D drinking beer, talking about his father and Dr.Cox and Dan admitting they were proud of J.D.
    • In loving memory of our friend John Ritter sold it for me as well.
  • Also from "My Cake", during the episode, Turk finds out he has type two Diabetes and takes the whole episode to admit to Carla that he has it, but instead of yelling at him for not telling her straight away, she's completely supportive and already knows and has sugar free food recipes and articles for him.
  • In My Last Words, Turk and JD give up their "Steak Night" to spend a night (and a beer) with a dying patient. Their last conversation, and George's death is set to "I Will follow you into the dark". After George dies, they go to the roof and fire a flare gun into the night. "Goodbye George"
  • Season 8 seemed to be made of these. At the end of "My Happy Place" when JD and Elliot get back together after Kelso tells them to "screw what everyone else thinks and do what makes you happy". It's a double-whammy because JD and Elliot get back together and Kelso sits down and admits he loves his life at Coffeebucks.
  • Despite being a Jerkass Extraordinaire, even Dr. Kelso has his moments.
    • In one episode, he's been dodging Carla, who's seeking advice about Turk's mole, which she hates. Kelso relates to her a story about Enid's snoring and delivers the Aesop that the thing she hates so much may be what she misses when it's gone.
    • In another episode, Kelso goes to great lengths to treat his gardner. Carla points out that this gardner has known Kelso for years, and doesn't seem to hate him. Cox inquires if Kelso is secretly a good person off the clock, and though Kelso tells Cox it's none of his damn business, we later see Kelso treating the gardener's whole family to ice cream.
    • Kelso hadn't been speaking to Eliot after she went to private practice. But when she wound up with a deceased patient's dog, she entrusted it to Kelso, who's own beloved Baxter had recently died. Kelso lifts Eliot's suspension for bringing the dog to the hospital in the first place, though he does remind Eliot that he thinks she's a miserable excuse for a doctor, keeping up his normal facade.
    • After Kelso's retirement, he and Dr. Cox finally bury the hatchet when Cox asks him to help remove the new Chief of Medicine, who is even more of a Jerkass than Kelso was. Kelso agrees, but only if Cox will admit to having missed him. Cox states that while he always hated Kelso, he did feel that his former foe had managed to look the other way a couple of times while Cox was bending, stretching or breaking rules, and that Cox felt that he (Kelso) was burdened by the job he had to do.
    • After Ted suffer's a severe shock, seeing Kelso back in his old office, Kelso asks J.D. if everyone is still taking care of him since he left.
      • This also doubles as a Crowning Moment of Funny when JD explains that they've been taking Ted on walks and then Kelso scratches Ted behind the ears.
    • After Cox is promoted to the Chief of Medicine position (On Kelso's recommendation), Kelso explains that it is now up to J.D. to keep Cox focused on what's important, because he's out of his element, and that J.D. must now fill the roll that Cox filled when Kelso was Chief of Medicine.
  • In My Clean Break, the framing device of the episode is that Cox is talking to his therapist about how he's happy with his family and it's affecting (negatively) his abilities as a teacher, and the realization that he's only effective as a teacher when his pupils fear him, then closes it out saying "I'm telling you this because it's going to affect you", with the reveal that he's been talking to his infant son.
  • In My Bed Banter & Beyond, all of the hospitals' employees are required to speak to a psychologist. When asked about relationships, Cox gives a jaded view , as do JD and Elliot, whose recent relationship is shown to be falling apart. However, Carla and and Turk talk about how happy they are with each other and admit that they love each other. It showed that relationships can work and always made this troper a little misty.
  • In My Screw Up, after Cox's rant to JD about the birthday party, the sudden return to reality at the end and the line "Where do you think we are?" just BREAKS this troper every single time
  • Dr. Cox's final speech in "My Finale".
  • And in fact, pretty much any time Cox shows any respect or admiration he has for JD.
  • The finale of "My Screw Up" is one of the most touching moments in the series.
  • How the hell is Guy Love not on here?! It's two bros singing about their bromance, it's adorable.
  • In My Best Laid Plans the Janitor's little moment with Elliot is pretty heartwarming.
  • J.D. and Cox finally getting over their grief about Mrs. Wilk's death in "My Five Stages".
  • After requesting that someone other than Turk do his appendectomy, but then being rushed to surgery in the middle of the night while Turk is the only one on call, JD apologizes and tells Turk that he was an idiot and if he ever needs surgery again he wants Turk to do it. The fact that you can clearly hear the choked-back tears in JD's voice when he says so clinches the scene.
  • In one of the earlier episodes, Elliot is having a hard time fitting in with anyone at the hospital. While things start to turn around at the end, there's two adorable scenes with Elliot and Laverne. The first has Laverne asking Elliot if everything is alright, and the second has her bringing Elliot a cup of hot cocoa because she's had such a rough time of it.

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