(S07E04) This was kind of a quiet episode, wasn't it? It seemed to go at a relaxed pace that I haven't seen from the show in quite some time. As we've been finding out this season, Bill Lawrence and company have been trying to scale back the zany and make some episodes that were more reminiscent of the show's early years. But this one felt like an early one, like one of the first few half-dozen where even J.D.'s internal monologue was subdued.

But I liked it. It really got in and explored some of the characters' insecurities while giving us a few of the classic laughs that Scrubs is known for.

This week was about identity crises. Carla thinks she's losing her Latina identity. Cox is mourning the loss of his grouchy loner persona. And J.D., in a continuing effort to mature from manchild to man, learns the names of everyone in the hospital after the Janitor challenges him to.

For some reason, the one person who is ripe for a crisis but didn't suffer one was Elliot. In fact, she was essentially Cox's foil this week, poking at him and prodding him to finally admit he's lonely (the dark moment of the soul: he actually called J.D. his friend, much to his former student's glee). I think it's because Elliot's the one who's come the furthest in the seven years we've been with the folks at Sacred Heart. There's no need for her to have a crisis because Dr. Reid knows exactly who she is. It's a good thing that she's no longer a victim and has the capacity to be a hard-ass, even to the glaring Cox.

(By the way, the Coxian rant this week was pretty good, especially with Kelso's interjections "A right bastard!" was my favorite one. Who knew that Cox was a Parrothead, though? Doesn't seem to be part of his personality.)

I wonder why Jordan decided to stay at her mother's for a week? Think there may be trouble down the road? I enjoyed the very rare Jordan - Janitor exchange, though; he's one of the few people who doesn't get flustered at her bitchiness. Even when she purposely spills coffee on the counter, he just slurps it up and goes "first spill of the day!"

I just love how Carla has a dream about J.D., Turk, and Elliot conspiring to kill her and all she cares about is that it's in English. Was there really any doubt that her Latina identity was disappearing? Really? Turk's reassurance was a bit pat but it was sweet nonetheless, as is his effort to learn Spanish. But it didn't go by without a few jokes. "Your homeland is Chicago!" he tells Carla. "Why don't you just buy (Izzie) a deep-dish pizza?"

So on to J.D. While this seems just like another goofy row with the Janitor, it really goes a long way to showing how immature J.D. has been over the years. The nicknames are cute, but it's definitely time for him to grow up and act like a functioning adult. And the fact that he didn't even know that Beardface's last name was "Beardface" (pronounced Beard-fa-SAY), even though everyone else did was a bad sign for him. He lost the bet; he learned everyone's names via mnemonic... except for the Janitor's. It's too bad; I thought we were going to finally find out Janitor's real name. But it's still shrouded in mystery for now.

A few more things:

• The whole name issue started with Nurse Shirley, played by returning regular Aloma Wright. We still don't know if she's related to Laverne, but that didn't stop J.D. from calling her "LaverneAgain."
• And, by the way, J.D. has called people by name in previous episodes. But he's also been referring to Colonel Doctor, Beardface, and Snoop Dogg Attending by nicknames for so long, it's believable that he never knew their actual names.
• Of course, the main fantasy (besides Carla's English and Spanish death dreams) was J.D.'s imagining of what Cox would do on his day off. I think it was funny to not only see J.D. slide in, but Turk and a banana-hammocked Todd as well.
• Poor Ted. "You're looking bald and sweaty, Teddy," says the Janitor. "My smile goes away. On with the rest of the day," replies our favorite sad sack. We got a lot of him this week, including an appearance by the barbershop quartet, who conveniently were learning the episode-appropriate Who song "Who Are You?"
• When are we going to finally see J.D. not pine for affection from Cox? Is that the last step in his journey to adulthood? Seeing Elliot constantly get in his face and Turk stand up to him makes J.D.'s begging even more unseemly. Maybe if we ever get a final episode, we'll see J.D. and Cox finally treat each other as friends and colleagues. Maybe not.

So far, so good for the seventh season. The writer's strike may pull this show from us early, but at least it's going out on a good run.