Since I returned to watching the screwball medical comedy “Scrubs,” with new-found appreciation last season, I have learned to never underestimate the intelligent and touching ways in which the show tackles big questions about the meaning of life. Last night’s episode was no exception, as the show took the glib cliché, “everything happens for a reason,” and created an episode in which, once again, the acid-tongued, cynical Dr. Cox’s, views on God were questioned.

Cox and his equally sarcastic, feisty wife Jordan are facing the bad news that their unborn baby will need surgery. Since Cox is not very adept at handling circumstances beyond his control, he, as usual, finds ways to take it out on his staff. When he goes off on one of his usual rants with the strong yet serene Nurse Roberts, she simply reminds him, “Everything happens for a reason.”

Cox disagrees. But as the episode unfolds he does become aware of the good that is coming out of this crisis: His relationship with Jordan is deepening significantly.

But in true “Scrubs” fashion, just as Cox is thinking Nurse Roberts might be correct in her assertion, tragedy strikes. Nurse Roberts is injured in a car crash and is brought to the hospital in a coma. As the entire Scared Heart staff stares through the window at her lifeless body, the question lingers–and for last night’s episode remains unanswered.

Next week’s episode promises a continued reflection on this theme of the possibility of a divine connection between pain and personal growth, as Nurse Roberts life continues to hang in the balance. And with the delightful, irreverant nature of “Scrubs,” I am not willing to make any predictions on whether or not either Nurse Roberts’ body–or Dr. Cox’s soul–will be revived.