One of the most popular characters in all of Scrubs, the Janitor was initially only intended to appear as a figment of JD’s imagination in the show’s first season, but the two proved to have such a strong dynamic that the show’s creators decided the character should stick around.
The pair have an incredibly contentious relationship over the course of the show’s eight seasons, never really overcoming their intense desire to torture each other. Naturally, though, the Janitor is much more persistent and meticulous in his troublemaking, giving him the upper hand in almost every single episode of the show. Here are the 10 worst things the Janitor ever did to JD.
Sprayed Him With Dangerous Chemicals
Frequently seen wheeling around a cart of various cleaning supplies—including several unmarked chemicals—the Janitor has sprayed JD with potentially dangerous substances on multiple different occasions.
In the episode “My Overkill," after already spraying JD with water to make it look like he wet himself, he then sprays him with an unknown chemical that begins to burn his skin. Likewise, in the season four episode “My Office," the Janitor ‘"accidentally" sprays him with ammonia, a chemical that can cause burning, and, in extreme cases, blindness and lung damage.
Spiked Him With Laxatives
JD has an unfortunate tendency to fall for the Janitor’s schemes hook, line, and sinker, often playing into his hand without it requiring too much effort on the Janitor’s part.
In the episode “My Changing Ways,” however, JD finally wises up to the Janitor’s unsavory plans, repeatedly rejecting a slice of pie he suspects is filled with laxatives. At the end of the episode, however, the Janitor professes his innocence, taking a bite of the pie himself as proof. Feeling guilty, JD soon follows suit, with both men experiencing explosive diarrhea as a result.
Various Physical Assaults
While many of the Janitor’s plans are meticulously laid out ahead of time, he’s also not above regular old physical assault. From convincing the whole hospital to pelt him with tennis balls in “My Jiggly Ball” to hitting him with his infamous "knife-wrench," the Janitor inflicts a lot of physical trauma on JD throughout the show.
In fact, the Janitor is eventually fired by Dr. Maddox for this exact kind of behavior after tripping JD with a mop, though his unemployment ultimately ends up being short-lived.
Flipped His Car
After an affable older doctor named Dr. Townshend—played by the legendary Dick Van Dyke—s Sacred Heart, he quickly becomes popular with the rest of the staff, including the Janitor and his shady colleagues.
Due to Townshend’s risky, old-school practices, however, JD is forced to report him to Dr. Kelso to keep his patients safe, which ultimately results in Townshend’s firing. This infuriates the Janitor, who assembles a crew to flip JD’s car as revenge.
Moves His Bed To The Parking Lot, Then Sets It On Fire
When Dr. Cox and the Janitor form an unlikely bond over a few drinks and their mutual dislike of JD, the pair decide it’s a good idea to kidnap him. Moving his bed—which still contains a sleeping JD—to the hospital parking lot, the pair leave a naked JD to be woken up by an ambulance.
As if this wasn’t bad enough, JD then pays the Janitor $90 to moves his mattress back home... only for the Janitor to set it on fire, instead.
Drives Him To The Middle Of Nowhere, Abandons Him
When JD finally receives Elliot’s blessing to sleep with the attractive Dr. Molly Clock in the episode “My Last Chance," he’s naturally eager to reach her before she leaves for Milwaukee. With time being of the essence, JD pleads with the Janitor to give him a ride. The Janitor agrees emphatically, and JD hops into his van.
Instead of delivering him to his requested location, however, the Janitor drives to the middle of nowhere before kicking him out of the vehicle and driving away. In fairness to the Janitor, though, JD should have seen this one coming, with the Janitor shouting “how do you not get how this works?” as he speeds off.
Locked Him In A Water Tower
While the Janitor left JD trapped in many different locations over the course of Scrubs—with the hospital roof and an elevator being two notable examples—perhaps his most egregious effort was locking JD in a water tower for an entire day.
Though the prank serves as a means to remove JD from the narrative of “His Story III," it’s still one of the most dangerous things the Janitor has ever put JD through—and that’s really saying something.
Operation: Boy Who Cried Wolf
With the Janitor pretending to be on a "custodial cruise" throughout the episode “My Perspective," JD lets his guard down a little, allowing the Janitor to enact his most elaborate plan yet. As well as forcing The Todd and Ted to duct tape JD to the cafeteria ceiling, the Janitor’s plan also results in JD being arrested for a DUI.
We find out in later episodes that JD’s license was suspended for a month, and a breathalyzer is fitted to JD’s scooter, which makes Operation: Boy Who Cried Wolf perhaps the Janitor’s most successful plan ever.
Destroyed His Bike With A Baseball Bat—Twice
Finally growing tired of the Janitor’s nefarious plots in “My Lucky Night," JD manages to distract him—as well as his anger-prone colleague Troy—by giving them a riddle to solve. While this successfully distracts the duo for the entire episode, the two feel tricked by the riddle’s solution, destroying JD’s bicycle with a baseball bat and a crowbar as revenge.
In fact, this exact sequence of events happens twice, with the episode “My Déjà Vu, My Déjà Vu” revisiting the gag, resulting in another of JD’s bikes being destroyed.
Framed Him For Theft
In “My New God," JD senses an opportunity to build bridges with the Janitor by helping him move apartments, much to the Janitor’s delight. Once at his place, the Janitor gives JD a black hat and gloves to wear to protect him from fiberglass, which somehow doesn’t set off alarm bells in JD’s head.
After picking up a giant Buddha statue, JD realizes that the Janitor has ducked out, with the apartment’s actual residents standing open-mouthed behind him. This forces JD to flee with the Buddha in hand, with the Janitor having successfully framed him for theft.