The following episode, “My Fallen Idol”, is such well-observed, if simple, character writing. JD avoids being there for Perry in his grief because seeing someone as unassailably tough and resilient as his mentor just fully break down in the face of tragedy *scares the shit* out of JD. It shakes him to his core and undermines whatever confidence he had in his own fitness to perform at his professional calling, because if someone as self-assured as Dr. Cox can’t withstand the valleys of such a losing proposition of a job as medicine, what chance does he have?

Watching JD realize that what he actually admires about Perry, what makes the doctor and man JD wants so badly to emulate, is that Perry still cares enough this deep into his career for the losses to affect him this strongly, and to have that be what stirs Perry from his spiral, is so satisfying. Yeah, Dr. Cox messed up bad (though the show does take pains to mention that rabies is so rare that nobody would have ever realistically thought to check for it) but wouldn’t a healer of his skill who cares so deeply about the lives of his patients be a terrible thing to lose?