MovieChat Forums > Scrubs (2001) Discussion > Why did JD like Dr. Cox?

Why did JD like Dr. Cox?

posted 8 years ago by gentey
15 replies | jump to latest

Cox deemed himself the biggest Samaritan and most professional of the entire staff, and based on that he was abusive and sexually harassed all of his students and coworkers. If this show was based in reality everyone would of hated Cox and invented some means to fire him. There was more than one episode where Kelso attempted to have Cox fired, but he was saved at least in one case because of Jordan's position on the board.

Why would JD want him to be his mentor? He was consistently mean to him (JD). I think he actually turned JD into his personally whipping boy when he learned of his affection for him. Also, Cox had no life and was clearly a miserable person. He basically hated everyone and his opinions of people were just cultural stereotypes.

Despite that, I think the tug of war between Cox and JD was more relevant to the story and the thing between he and Elliot was just a subplot.

So was JD just a stalker? It would be conceivable if JD was gay and actually attracted to Cox to be able to deceive himself into believing that he was a good person rather than what the audience actually sees of Cox. Even the way he whistled was excruciating. If he was a real person there would be 1000's of HR complaints about him and he would of been sued for sexual harassment at least 5 times.

And yes I know that Cox develops into a better person. But again if he was a real person, why would you even want to know about his personal life? Why even develop this character?

[–] justanicknamed 8 years ago

Cox deemed himself the biggest Samaritan and most professional of the entire staff, and based on that he was abusive and sexually harassed all of his students and coworkers.

We must have watched a different show. This board is for "Scrubs."

It would be conceivable if JD was gay and actually attracted to Cox to be able to deceive himself into believing that he was a good person rather than what the audience actually sees of Cox.

It stared Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke, John C. McGinley. Started off on NBC and then moved to ABC.

You might want to watch it some time. It was great for most of its run.

[–] sixerfan 8 years ago

JD was seeking a father figure in his life as well as a mentor. Cox's constant personal confliction with his rage and being an a-hole to those closest to him stemmed back to when he was abused by his own dad. Despite that, he still took JD under his wing and showed him valuable lessons, like how much care he had for his patients. That was his own way of opening up to JD and it was a huge barrier for him to overcome. JD gravitated toward that. The relationship dynamic between the two of them was actually extremely compelling in my opinion - hidden under the jokes and the comedy was something really strong.

[–] gentey 8 years ago

Since watching Scrubs the first time when it aired, I've worked with abusive people like Dr. Cox. It's difficult not to hate them. So, while I might of originally agreed with you, and I assume you're right/that was the pov of the writers. I still can't even understand the initial attraction. I think JD could of just been an overly submissive person who projected his feelings onto people like Cox and Elliot, and those feelings developed into co-dependence.

[–] justanicknamed 8 years ago

I've worked with abusive people like Dr. Cox. It's difficult not to hate them.

Dr. Cox was abusive to people he didn't like. Those people included arrogant people, lazy people, willfully ignorant people and people who needed their hands held.

He never ripped on anyone who was humble, made an honest effort, tried to get better in their job and stood up for themselves. At least not to people he was actually close to.

It is an exceedingly difficult job they do, and he didn't want any thin-skinned, "too good" or "too lazy" to do the dirty work moron to waste his time, make his job more difficult, and kill someone.

Throughout the show he talks about all of the heartache he's gone through. Just like Kelso, Cox learned to put up walls to keep from getting his soul crushed every day. But, he did care. He was there for all of them. He complimented them when they deserved it; even if he did it in a smart-azzed way.

I still can't even understand the initial attraction.

JD's father was kind of wimpy. JD looked to a strong personality to lead him. That makes sense, especially when the other choice was Dr. Kelso, and we saw that he was worse than Cox in many ways.

[–] gentey 8 years ago

You're clearly a bigger fan, but as I remember it he took pretty aggressive jabs at everyone who wasn't a veteran. The only people I remember him being friendly too were Laverne and Carla.

Yes, because television is fiction you can create all kinds of theories to explain the characters motivations. Main characters can be very submissive and insecure or abusive tyrants and people forgive them because it's pretend. In real life it's nothing like that and people like Cox are just usually toxic miserable people who use their place of work and coworkers to abate their own creepy personal desperate needs.

[–] justanicknamed 8 years ago

He took swipes at everyone, including those two. At some point, they were confident enough to stand up for themselves and believe in their abilities, and at that point they realized he was pushing them.

Yes, because television is fiction you can create all kinds of theories to explain the characters motivations.

Sort of like

It would be conceivable if JD was gay and actually attracted to Cox

when the character had many sexual partners and was involved in an on-again-off-again relationship with Elliot for a few years?

In real life it's nothing like that

You don't say? You mean to tell me that guys can't hold down 9-5 jobs when every night they get off of work and head to the bar for several hours? Or sit on the sofa at the coffee shop? Or pull pranks on their office co-workers?

Wow. That's amazing.

[–] gentey 8 years ago

You don't say? You mean to tell me that guys can't hold down 9-5 jobs when every night they get off of work and head to the bar for several hours? Or sit on the sofa at the coffee shop? Or pull pranks on their office co-workers?

Wow. That's amazing.

I don't know why you have to be so passive aggressive. You already know I was referring to people who create a hostile environment at work.

And yes, I know about Elliot and all of the other girlfriends, yada yada. Like it's illegal to speculate or think about anything at all apart from what you're told to believe? by a sitcom of all things?

[–] justanicknamed 8 years ago

I don't know why you have to be so passive aggressive.

It probably has something to do with your incredibly stupid posts.

Like it's illegal to speculate or think about anything at all apart from what you're told to believe? by a sitcom of all things?

No. Just incredibly stupid. I mean, I don't know what else they could have done to show that he wasn't gay. The relationship and eventual marriage to Elliot. All of the other hot women he slept with or drooled over. Never once mentioning anything about him questioning his sexuality.

Might as well speculate that Mike and Molly are really anorexic. 

[–] gentey 8 years ago

No. Just incredibly stupid. I mean, I don't know what else they could have done to show that he wasn't gay. The relationship and eventual marriage to Elliot. All of the other hot women he slept with or drooled over. Never once mentioning anything about him questioning his sexuality.

Well I agree with you. They really couldn't of done anything else to prove that he's not gay. But Scrubs was aired in 2001 and people then wouldn't of followed the antics of a closeted homosexual intern back in those days, hence all of the evidence to the contrary.

[–] justanicknamed 8 years ago

Oh, so there were no gay characters back then, closeted or otherwise?

Seriously. He wasn't gay in any way. He was a metrosexual, which is something that was booming back then.

[–] hurricanehorton 8 years ago

Well I agree with you. They really couldn't of done anything else to prove that he's not gay. But Scrubs was aired in 2001 and people then wouldn't of followed the antics of a closeted homosexual intern back in those days, hence all of the evidence to the contrary.

What? You know Will & Grace started it's run three years before Scrubs did, don't you?

I don't know if you noticed, but there were the occasional gay theme in that show....

[–] Dextrousleftie 8 years ago

No, JD was not gay. Cox called him correctly, he was girly. Thoroughly in touch with his feminine side to a major degree, to the point of being utterly irritating. And while it had no gay main characters, the show had plenty of gay side characters. And The Todd was bi. Cox was JDs daddy figure, the authority figure he'd always needed and didn't get with his sad sack of a father. Yes, Cox was abrasive and even mean at times. But JD was so freaking irritating thAt I never had any problems with Cox abusing him. Heck, I wanted to abuse him too! Because, the fact is, that JD could be just as mean in his own passive aggressive way, and I really disliked him for that and questioned why any of his friends liked him either.

[–] GGuser 8 years ago

As a doctor he thought of him as Superman since he was the attending physician and J.D. always wanted someone to look up to as a mentor like Turk once pointed out to him

and even when he realized that he wasn't perfect he still wanted to hang on to that idea that he was magnificent because he needed that or someone to look up to so he had something more to aspire to or so that he felt that another doctor 'had his back'
and then maybe also it was because of the whole wanting what you can't have thing
since Dr. Cox would mostly withhold his affection from him, J.D. as a mortal human being was inclined to always chase after it

pathetic, I know but also understandable to me

In the final season Lucy searched for a mentor and wanted to look up to Dr. Reid too

[–] HelloMyNameIsMrBurns 8 years ago

There's no logical reason to like such a *beep* *beep* so it must have been something irrational.

[–] justanicknamed 8 years ago

JD's father was kind of wimpy. JD looked to a strong personality to lead him. That makes sense, especially when the other choice was Dr. Kelso, and we saw that he was worse than Cox in many ways.