It seems that season nine of Scrubs is slowly but surely getting better. This week’s episode, “Our Histories,” was a step up from last week’s.

In this episode, the medical students learn the importance of teamwork after Cole, Drew, and Maya literally throw Lucy under the bus and refuse to work together.

Cole has planned a party, and all the medical students intend to go—that is, until Denise, under the orders of Dr. Cox, makes all of them stay late to take “final interviews,” the process in which doctors interview patients about to die. Four patients must be interviewed with 25 questions, and none of the medical students can leave until all four interviews are finished.

Meanwhile, J.D. has the weekend to spend with “the love of his life.” No, not Elliot. Turk. With their wives out of town, J.D. and Turk have planned a bonding weekend that they like to call “bro-a-palooza.” J.D. even made matching T- shirts.

While I have recently complained about Scrubs overdoing J.D. and Turk’s relationship, this time I think it worked.

The entire weekend, Dr. Cox tries to make J.D. and Turk realize that they are growing up and getting older. He even tells them that Cole’s party, the happening spot that evening, is a cowboys and Indians themed costume party.

Naturally, J.D. and Turk show up dressed to kill, decked out in chaps and Wild West attire, only to realize that the party never had a theme in the first place.

After J.D. shows off a little too much on the dance floor and kicks Turk in the face, Dr. Cox, always with a lesson handy, tells them that there’s nothing wrong with getting older.

Here is what I had a bit of a problem with: this episode reminded me too much of “My Big Brother,” in season two, episode six. In that episode, J.D. and Turk also worry about getting old and panic when an employee at a store calls them “sir.” However, at the end of that episode, J.D. and Turk embrace their youth and go out on the town. In this episode, the two go home and fall asleep watching TV. I guess the writers were trying to make a point that the original cast really is getting older, and that it’s time for a younger cast to move in.

I’m still resentful.

Back at the hospital, Lucy is the only one who cannot get her final interview, because her patient refuses to talk. Cole decides to leave and desert the other students, but later he comes back, claiming that Denise forced him to.

Drew, Denise, and Lucy walk in to find Cole enjoying a conversation with the patient, who turns out to have been a war veteran who was insulted that Lucy had only been trying to ask him questions off a survey instead of talking to him. Before this moment, Lucy and I, along with the entire Scrubs audience thought that Cole could not possibly be anything but selfish and irritating. Apparently, he has a soft side. I’d say that I look forward to that part of Cole coming out more, but I really would just rather kick him off the show. He’s that annoying.

As the patient talks to the medical students about his war buddies, Lucy makes a parallel from his stories to her own life—she sees her fellow students as her own war buddies, unwilling to desert each other in their long and dangerous trek to becoming doctors.

Dr. Kelso and Ted have large parts in this episode, and the Gooch even shows up. Ted has decided to quit working at the hospital and tour the country singing with the Gooch. Dr. Kelso decides to let Ted make the decisions for once on their last night together, and they go to Cole’s party for the night. Still, at the end of the night, with Dr. Kelso horribly drunk, Ted is insulted that Dr. Kelso only offers a single handshake as a goodbye to eight years of Ted’s “slavery.” However, the next day, Ted leaves the hospital with a crowd to see him off…until he turns around to grab his keys, when the entire crowd disperses. The only one left is Dr. Kelso, who gives him a whole-hearted goodbye.

This moment with Ted was almost touching—that is, as touching as a moment can be with Ted. It also showed the soft side of Dr. Kelso, which, although nowhere near as funny as his crude side, is nice to see once in a while.

While I will miss Ted as I already do miss Elliot and Carla, I will begrudgingly say that the new cast is growing on me. We’ll see if they continue to do so next week.

Charlotte Hagerman can be reached for comment at [email protected]