Characters in long-running comedy shows can often devolve over the seasons and become caricatures of who they once were. Elliot Reid from the comedy-drama Scrubs was one of the unique characters that managed to actually become more compelling and entertaining as the series went on.
She was good from the start, yet there were certain aspects of the character that were improved upon during the show's nine seasons. Some improvements made her a better person in-universe, whereas others made her a more enjoyable character to watch. And the writers were great at making these changes to Elliot through natural development, instead of retcons (most of the time).
10 Stopped Relying On Her Parents
At the start of the series, while her peers were struggling financially, Elliot was being bankrolled by her parents — that is until she refused to become an OB-GYN as her father wanted, and he cut her off.
Elliot found it hard to survive without her parents' money at first, even becoming homeless for a short time. She eventually persevered, though, and became an independent person. It was an fascinating arc for Elliot, which made her a more sympathetic character going forward.
9 Improved Her Relationship With Carla
In the early seasons of the series, Elliot and Carla were constantly at each other throats. Elliot's tendency to always say the wrong thing, plus the condescending tone she often used during the show's early years, rubbed Carla the wrong way.
The relationship between the pair slowly improved, with the characters eventually becoming great friends. Their friendship provided a lot of entertaining moments, like when they both tried to hire a prostitute for their patient.
8 Treated The Janitor Better
The creator of the show, Bill Lawrence, has said that if Scrubs only lasted one season, then the Janitor was going to be a figment of J.D.'s imagination. So, the character didn't interact with many people during the early episodes. However, there was an occasion in the first season where Elliot rudely threw her coffee at his feet when he was cleaning.
That was the only interaction Elliot shared with the Janitor for some time. But later, the pair became friends. She was the first character whom the Janitor was consistently nice to. And the kindness was reciprocated, which was proved when he said to her, "You are the only one around here who treats me like a real person."
7 Stopped Being An Outcast
At the beginning of the first season, Elliot wasn't welcomed into the hospital family as quickly as the likes of J.D. and Turk.
While it wasn't entirely her fault, she certainly didn't help her case. The doctor was a know-it-all who was belittling to the nursing staff, and she regularly put her foot in her mouth. Once Elliot started treating people better, she stopped being an outcast. By the end of the show, she was a vital part of the Sacred Heart family.
6 Established A Better Rapport With Patients
When J.D. was a patient at the hospital in the first season, Elliot gave him an overly forceful physical, showing that she didn't have a great bedside manner. And a few years later, when Elliot was given the position of Chief Resident, she had to share the role with J.D. because she lacked the interpersonal skills that a good doctor needs.
Over time, though, Elliot got much better at interacting with her patients, and she even became friends with some of them.
5 Became Less Self Centered
Elliot's self-centered nature was first showcased in the pilot episode. J.D. was stuck for an answer at rounds, and not only did Elliot not help, but she took the glory by answering the question herself, despite J.D. helping her earlier.
That scene was typical of Elliot during her early days at Sacred Heart. The self-centered aspect of her personality never went away entirely, but as the first season went on, she started to care more about other people.
4 Stopped Being Controlled By Men
Scrubs had two storylines about Elliot being controlled by her boyfriends. The first occurred in season 2 when she was constantly doing what Paul told her to do. Years later, the same thing happened during her relationship with Jake, albeit that story was more about Carla's sadness toward Elliot leaving.
Eventually, Elliot stopped letting men control her, which made her a stronger character. In her relationship with Keith, she was the dominant one, which she took a little far at times. And when she was with J.D., neither bossed the other around.
3 Improved Her Relationship With J.D.
Despite their relationship being one of the focal points of the show, Elliot and J.D. didn't treat each other well a lot of the time. He broke her heart right after she left Sean for him, and she dated his brother.
In the last few seasons, they were much kinder to each other, both before and after they got back together. While there were still moments of dissension between the pair, the things they did to one another weren't as cruel.
2 Became Funnier
At first, Elliot wasn't among the funnier characters on the show. She did provide some amusing moments with her social awkwardness, but she was a little one-note when it came to humor early on. However, it didn't take her long to get funnier.
She got given more running gags, such as her inability to say sexual words and her unbelievable physical strength. And the character loosened up a bit, which allowed her to be involved in the show's wacky moments more often.
1 Grew In Confidence
One of the most evident ways that Elliot got better during the show was how she became much more confident. She spent much of her early days at Sacred Heart afraid to stand up to her superiors and hiding in supply closets.
Then during her residency, she gained plenty of confidence and started challenging Dr. Cox and Dr. Kelso's decisions when she didn't agree with them. She was still the same funny and clumsy Elliot, but she now believed in herself, and it was great to see.
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