Scrubs: 5 Times Dr. Kelso Was Pure Evil (& 5 Times He Was Actually A Good Guy)

Of all the characters in the popular 2000s sitcom Scrubs, Dr. Robert Kelso was arguably the closest thing to an antagonist. Frequently butting heads with the rest of the cast, Kelso was initially portrayed as a heartless bully, unable to be reasoned with under any circumstances. What’s more, it seemed like he enjoyed striking fear into the hearts of his employees.

Still, as the show got into its later seasons, fans began to see a softer side to Sacred Heart’s Chief of Medicine, calling into question just exactly how evil Kelso truly was. These are five times Dr. Kelso was pure evil, as well as five times he was actually a good guy.

10 Evil: Mercilessly Bullies Elliot

It’s hardly a secret that Bob Kelso takes great pleasure in torturing the fresh-faced young doctors of Sacred Heart. Even by his standards though, he’s downright cruel to Elliot during “My Dream Job,” setting his sights on her after she accidentally sticks him with a needle.

Throughout the episode, Kelso relentlessly bullies the neurotic Elliot so badly she almost breaks, but Kelso’s tirade is soon stopped by Dr. Cox, who punches him square in the face. Still, who knows how far Kelso would have gone had Cox not intervened.

9 Good: Gets Mr. Milligan Home In Time For Christmas

Even in Scrubs’ earlier seasons, which presented Dr. Kelso as a much more morally reprehensible character, he occasionally shows a glimpse of humanity. Take the episode “My Best Moment,” for instance, in which a patient, Mr. Milligan, is diagnosed with mono, promising his son Tyler they’ll be home in time for Christmas despite his insurance issues.

Dr. Kelso eventually takes a shine to Tyler, making a phone call that waives Milligan’s insurance fees, allowing the man and his son to return home for the holidays.

8 Evil: Intentionally Runs Over A Cat

While Dr. Kelso clearly has a huge amount of love for his own dog, Baxter, it seems that love doesn’t extend to all animals. In the season seven episode “My Waste of Time,” we see a flashback to Ted’s first day at Sacred Heart as Kelso orders him to clean his car with a toothbrush.

Kelso instructs Ted to pay special attention to the back-side of the grill since he hit the neighbor’s cat the previous night. While it initially sounds like an unfortunate accident, he follows up with “quick little bastard, I had to cross two lanes to get him.” It’s a great joke, for sure, but doesn’t do much to repair Kelso’s bad reputation.

7 Good: Teaches Med Students

After being ousted from the position of Chief of Medicine in Scrubs’ seventh season, Bob Kelso begins to enjoy his retirement by hanging round the hospital’s coffee shop. In the show’s much-maligned ninth season, however, Kelso appears to have returned to part-time work, teaching the med students of Winston University.

Given his many years as Sacred Heart’s Chief of Medicine, it’s clear that Bob doesn’t need the money, meaning it’s much more likely he’s looking to pass on the knowledge he accrued over the years to a whole new generation of doctors.

6 Evil: Tortures Ted

Sacred Heart’s resident lawyer Ted Buckland is perhaps the most unfortunate character in all of Scrubs. As well as having a rather depressing personal life, he’s relentlessly toyed with by Dr. Kelso throughout his entire time at Sacred Heart.

Making Ted’s life a living hell, Dr. Kelso threatens him physically and mentally, forcing Ted to undertake degrading tasks to earn his keep. What’s more, Kelso is fully aware of Ted’s unstable mental state. Even when Ted expresses a desire to end his life, Kelso only goads him on, calling him a coward for not going through with the act.

5 Good: Looks The Other Way

Although Dr. Kelso is the antagonist of Scrubs in a lot of ways, he’s primarily a physical representation of the bureaucracy and avarice of the US medical system. In reality, Kelso does care about the patients deep down and frequently bends the rules of the system to allow them to receive care.

Kelso often looks the other way, feigning ignorance to enable physicians to attend to those without adequate insurance. In fact, this is an aspect of Dr. Kelso that’s sorely missed when the cruel Dr. Maddox takes over as Chief of Medicine, retroactively making Kelso appear a whole lot more accommodating.

4 Evil: Tricks His Wife Into Getting Mauled By A Dog

While this list could be filled with the terrible things Dr. Kelso has done to his wife Enid alone—from cheating on her constantly to neglecting her physical disabilities—the time Kelso tricked his wife into being mauled by their dog Baxter stands out as one of the worst.

The incident occurs in the episode “My Fifteen Seconds,” in which Kelso is seen on the phone to his wife. Enid claims that Baxter is baring his teeth and growling, to which Kelso advises her to “make a sudden move.” Baxter can then be heard attacking a screaming Enid over the phone as Kelso simply laughs and puts down the phone.

3 Good: Mentors Dr. Cox

During the later seasons of Scrubs, it becomes increasingly clear just how tough the Chief of Medicine job is, making Dr. Kelso’s seemingly cold actions seem somewhat understandable in retrospect.

When Dr. Cox eventually becomes the Chief of Medicine himself, the two become much closer, frequently sharing beers as Kelso dispenses valuable advice about the position. Considering the two were once mortal enemies, the fact that Kelso and Cox eventually come to an understanding and discuss the struggles of the job proves that Kelso may just care after all about both the hospital and its patients.

2 Evil: Removes Dr. Cox’s Dying Patient From A Drug Trial…

The episode “My Jiggly Ball” stands out as one of Scrubs’ very best, following Dr. Cox as he manages to place one of his seriously ill patients on an experimental drug trial. While it’s initially a cause for celebration, Dr. Kelso soon throws a wrench into Cox’s plans.

Removing Cox’s patient from the trial, Kelso subsequently replaces him with a much wealthier patient of his own, hoping that he’ll make a large donation to the hospital in response. As a result, Cox’s patient sadly dies, with Kelso subsequently receiving significant scorn for his decision.

1 Good: …But Opens Up A Prenatal Unit

While Kelso’s decision to remove Dr. Cox’s patient from a much-needed drug trial may have seemed incredibly cold on the surface—with the decision directly resulting in the patient’s death—it’s soon revealed that Kelso’s patient made a sizable donation to Sacred Heart.

This ultimately allows Kelso to reopen a pre-natal unit that benefits underprivileged women, putting his decision in a whole new light. This is part of what makes “My Jiggly Ball” such an incredible episode, as it suddenly recontextualizes the entirety of Dr. Kelso’s decision-making process.