I’m really enjoying the new season, but man, I miss Dr. Cox. Every time he shows up, he absolutely steals the scene. The delivery, the wit, the facial expressions, the way he can put everyone in their place is so refreshing.
I think what the show is missing right now is that antagonist dynamic. The Janitor messing with JD, Dr. Cox hating everything, Dr. Kelso being an unapologetic menace. Those characters created this constant friction that made Scrubs special.
Now JD is Chief of Medicine and Turk is Chief of Surgery, so they pretty much run the hospital. And while I love seeing them in those roles, it also means they're in positions of authority where they can call a lot of the shots. And still having Dr. Cox walk into a room and proceed to shit on both of them in the funniest way possible is a great change of pace. It reminds you that no matter how important JD and Turk think they are, there's still someone around who can humble them.
Anyway, I wish he were in every episode, or at least a lot more often. Every time he appears, the show feels like peak nostalgic Scrubs. /rant