Jordan Sullivan

Infobox character
name = Jordan Sullivan


first = "My Bad"
last =
gender = Female
age = late 30s
occupation = Board member
title =
spouse = Perry Cox (divorced)
family = Quinn (father, deceased),
Ben (brother, deceased),
Danni (sister)
children = Jack, Jennifer Dylan
portrayer = Christa Miller
creator = Bill Lawrence

Jordan Sullivan is a fictional character on the TV series "Scrubs". She is portrayed by Christa Miller.

Profile

Jordan is Dr. Perry Cox's acerbic ex-wife and current partner, and an employee of Sacred Heart Hospital, where the show takes place. Throughout most of the show, she is a member of the hospital’s board of directors, and so only appears at the hospital on occasion. As such, much of her role on the show was originally focused on her and Cox’s private relationship, although this has changed in recent years since she became a full-time employee at the hospital. She balances the budget when Ted Buckland is unable to.

Background

Jordan is first introduced in the episode "My Bad" (Season 1, Episode 6) as a surly board member who is given to series protagonist J.D. to treat as a patient. Soon after, the two sleep together and it is revealed that she is the former wife of Dr. Cox (J.D.'s attending physician and "Mentor"). Although not much is known about her personal background, a few details of her life have been revealed throughout the course of the show. Dr. Cox implies on one occasion that Jordan is five years younger than he is, which would probably place her birth somewhere around 1967. She had an abortion when she was 19 after being impregnated by her then-boyfriend's best friend, whom she says was the first man she'd ever been with in the episode "My Best Friend's Baby's Baby and My Baby's Baby" (in Her Story II, however, she claims to have given up a baby while still in high school).

Family

Her father, Quinn Sullivan, occupied a position in the hospital board of directors, a position Jordan inherited after his death. Although not much is known about him, Dr. Cox implies that he was an alcoholic and abusive towards Jordan's mother. [cite episode
title = My Interpretation | episodelink = My Interpretation | series = Scrubs
serieslink = Scrubs (TV series) | network = NBC | airdate = 2003-04-03
season = 2 | number = 20 ] However, in contrast to this, Jordan says in "Their Story" that her mother and father were actually nice to her, despite what she has claimed for several years as an excuse for her nastiness. Comments made by Jordan in "My Dream Job" and "My Bad" suggests that her mother is still alive, although she has yet to be seen.

She has a sister named Danni (played by Tara Reid), who eventually dates J.D. According to Danni, Jordan has slept with every boyfriend Danni has ever had, although this does not seem to have damaged the relationship between them.cite episode
title = My Fifteen Seconds | episodelink = My Fifteen Seconds | series = Scrubs
serieslink = Scrubs (TV series) | network = NBC | airdate = 2003-11-20
season = 3 | number = 07 ] Jordan also had a brother named Ben (played by Brendan Fraser) who was Dr. Cox's best friend. Ben is diagnosed with leukemia in the episode "My Occurrence". His cancer goes into remission, but he dies of cardiac arrest approximately two years later in the episode "My Screw Up". Both Jordan and Dr. Cox are devastated, and take a long time to recover.cite episode

title = My Screw Up | episodelink = My Screw Up | series = Scrubs
serieslink = Scrubs (TV series) | network = NBC | airdate = 2004-02-24
season = 3 | number = 14 Jordan also has a second cousin who won a Super Bowl with the New England Patriots. In the episode "My Lips Are Sealed", Dr. Cox implied to the Janitor her cousin may punch him in the throat, leaving an imprint of his Super Bowl ring, if she found out their son needed stitches because he got hurt playing with him.] cite episode

title = My Tormented Mentor | episodelink = My Tormented Mentor | series = Scrubs
serieslink = Scrubs (TV series) | network = NBC | airdate = 2004-03-02
season = 3 | number = 15 ]

Relationship with Perry Cox

It appears that she and Dr. Cox have known each other for a very long time, at least since the latter was a medical intern (approximately 20 years ago). Although it isn't clear when their relationship started, it is known that they are already a couple by the time Cox occupies the position of Chief Resident at the hospital. They eventually marry, only to get divorced five years later (shortly before the show's first season) due to Jordan's infidelity (specifically, she cheats on Cox with his then-protégé and former co-worker, Dr. Pete Fisher). Their separation lasts approximately 18 months, during which Cox and Jordan maintain a strictly sexual relationship.

They officially become a couple again during the show's second season, after Jordan shows up unexpectedly carrying Dr. Cox's child, Jack, in "My Fruit Cups". Cox is initially unaware that he is the father; Jordan had lied by saying it was the child of a "Greek bellboy" because she didn't want Cox to feel pressured into being with her. He eventually finds out in "My Dream Job", some time after Jack had been born. Since then, Cox and Jordan have rebuilt their relationship and now live together (though they have chosen not to get re-married), and she has shown herself to be a good mother. Though she and Cox constantly bicker -- once, an exasperated Cox tried to hush her by calling her "Jordan Godzilla Sullivan" -- it is occasionally implied that this is merely their own way of showing affection to each other, and on one occasion, was comically presented as an analogy for the sexual component in their relationship; Dr. Cox confides in Carla Espinosa that, because Jordan doesn't wish Jack to be emotionally scarred, she refuses to argue with him, prompting Carla to ask "How long has this been going on?".cite episode
title = My Self-Examination | episodelink = My Self-Examination | series = Scrubs
serieslink = Scrubs (TV series) | network = NBC | airdate = 2004-04-27
season = 3 | number = 21 ] Even though Jordan constantly berates and insults Cox, she has also been shown to be a loving partner who craves his respect and approval,cite episode
title = My Changing Ways | episodelink = My Changing Ways | series = Scrubs
serieslink = Scrubs (TV series) | network = NBC | airdate = 2005-05-10
season = 4 | number = 25 ] and cares for him very deeply.cite episode
title = My Lucky Charm | episodelink = My Lucky Charm | series = Scrubs
serieslink = Scrubs (TV series) | network = NBC | airdate = 2005-01-25
season = 4 | number = 14 ] cite episode
title = My No Good Reason | episodelink = My No Good Reason | series = Scrubs
serieslink = Scrubs (TV series) | network = NBC | airdate = 2007-03-22
season = 6 | number = 14 ] In the episode "My New Game", it becomes apparent that they signed the wrong papers during their divorce proceedings, and that he and Jordan are still married. This quickly begins to undermine their relationship, so they fix it by having a divorce ceremony. In "My Transition", it is revealed that she was pregnant with their second child, Jennifer Dylan (named by J.D. after his initials), who undergoes pre-natal surgery and was born in "My Long Goodbye".

Personality

Jordan is one of the few people to top Dr. Cox in vindictiveness, coldness, and overall unpleasantness. She is certainly his only rival for sheer sarcasm, and is seemingly the only person able to effectively retort to Cox's many quips and rants. She calls herself the queen bee of the hospital probably because of her good looks but mean attitude and ability to step on other people. She has stated on several occasions that she is "dead inside" and seems to feel minimal emotions, if any. One explanation for her harsh personality could be that she is manic depressive, according to the Janitor, who read her private work file.cite episode
title = My Life in Four Cameras | episodelink = My Life in Four Cameras | series = Scrubs
serieslink = Scrubs (TV series) | network = NBC | airdate = 2005-02-15
season = 4 | number = 17 ] She claims on occasion that her behavior is a result of bad upbringing, though she later admits that this is not the case.cite episode
title = Their Story | episodelink = Their Story | series = Scrubs
serieslink = Scrubs (TV series) | network = NBC | airdate = 2007-04-19
season = 6 | number = 17 ] Despite her rude demeanor, she has been shown to be incredibly loyal to those she feels close to, and on occasion has helped J.D. with problems such as breaking up with his domineering girlfriend,cite episode
title = My Female Trouble | episodelink = My Female Trouble | series = Scrubs
serieslink = Scrubs (TV series) | network = NBC | airdate = 2004-11-16
season = 4 | number = 10 ] and provided helpful advice to J.D. and his ex-girlfriend Kim to determine the fate of Kim's pregnancy.cite episode
title = My Best Friend's Baby's Baby and My Baby's Baby | episodelink = My Best Friend's Baby's Baby and My Baby's Baby | series = Scrubs
serieslink = Scrubs (TV series) | network = NBC | airdate = 2006-12-07
season = 6 | number = 02 ] In recent years, and despite her vindictiveness, she has attempted to soften her personality after obtaining a full-time position at the hospital and becoming pregnant for a second time, and has since become friendly with Carla and Elliot. She will often explain her reason for doing something cruel as doing it "For funsies." This appears to be her catchphrase.

References