Review: Scrubs, "My Poker Face" | Season 10, Episode 4

I’m always intrigued by the impact that a last episode screened for critics can have. ABC sent out the first four Scrubs revival episodes ahead of time, which means “My Poker Face” was the last thing critics saw before they sat down to write their reviews. If you watched the first three episodes and felt their takes didn’t line up with your own, it’s the last chance to try to reconcile the wide-ranging perspectives of those pre-air analyses and what’s being experienced week-to-week.

That said, I didn’t expect that “My Poker Face” would be transformative in any way, given the kind of show we’re talking about: this is still a procedural medical sitcom. However, the more distance we get from the structural “work” of reviving the show, the better perspective we have on how sustainable this is moving forward. There’s also the fact that with its short order, it feels safe to say that this new chapter of Scrubs is fundamentally in dialogue with its existence, meaning that each new episode does offer additional insight into the mindset of those behind-the-scenes.

We see this in an episode that actively interrogates the idea of whether J.D. and Turk can settle into old habits. The poker game that becomes the episode’s structure gives us a flashback set to “Macarena,” and it certainly plays on our desire to relive the show’s glory years. But when Turk’s plans get sidelined by dirty pictures from Carla and a promise of sex he thought might have to wait until Bridgerton returns, it disintegrates. J.D. is left with a motley crew who doesn’t have the same vibe, and the betrayal he feels taps into the character’s inherent insecurities. As I’ve said in past reviews, this friendship is the core of the show in a lot of ways, and it’s not in a good place when the dust settles on their failed night away from their other responsibilities.