While Charlie and Sean are left to entertain themselves, J.D. and Elliot are reminded of just how well they still work together. It’s also the first real indication that the former spouses may be headed for (an inevitable) reconciliation. They reflect on how difficult life was in the immediate aftermath of their divorce. Elliot recalls bingeing Pringles straight from a can wedged between “the girls,” while J.D. admits that he spent a period sleeping at the foot of Turk and Carla’s bed like a dog. But they’ve both come a long way since then, and they’re genuinely happy to see each other moving on.
“It’s clear how much Charlie likes you,” Elliot tells J.D.
“Thank you. And I know I haven’t always been a huge fan of Sean, but he is a handsome SOB, and I can tell that he really loves you,” J.D. replies. Famous last words!
Just as J.D. and Elliot finish congratulating each other on their respective relationships, they catch Charlie and Sean making out, with Charlie straddling Sean. Turk arrives just in time to join his two stunned best friends, delivering the only appropriate response: “Damn!”
Later, J.D. and Elliot meet their now-exes at Lloyd’s Tavern, where Charlie and Sean apologize for how things went down. And in a fitting conclusion to Foley’s return, Sean gets the last laugh when J.D. insists that he’s technically Elliot’s ex-ex-ex-boyfriend now.
“Nobody cares, J.D.!” Sean fires back.
And just like that, J.D. and Elliot are both back on the market. But for Sean, there’s a certain poetic justice to how it all played out. After years of J.D. coming between him and Elliot, Sean finally got to turn the tables on his longtime romantic rival — and he barely even had to try.
Of course, there’s one rather significant piece of history that goes unmentioned: This isn’t the first time Sean has gotten together with someone J.D. was romantically involved with — you know, other than Elliot. Back in Season 8, Sean began dating Kim, the mother of J.D.’s son Sam, though J.D. and Kim had long since broken up and were merely co-parenting by that point. But as I confirmed with showrunner Aseem Batra, the powers that be have decided to sweep that particular development under the rug and pretend it never happened. And given how brief Foley’s return turned out to be, that was probably for the best.