As an ex-retail employee (I know, I harp on that a lot), there are two things that still give me nightmares: the holiday season in general, and Black Friday. So it’s only natural that Superstore tackles these important parts of a retail year. Obviously, some of the creative force behind this show has worked in retail, because these episodes hit so close to home, and deal with so many things that retail employees deal with. It’s pretty incredible, really.
This week on Superstore: Glenn hires Amy’s husband to join the rest of the seasonal help for the holidays, which causes some friction for Amy. Jonah starts a pool to see which temp will quit their job first. Glenn holds auditions for the store’s Santa Claus. In the second episode, the store does its best to handle the crowds and rampant illness on Black Friday.
Working in retail, the bane of my existence was the holidays. If you’ve never worked a job like that, then you have no idea how close to home these stories hit. The holidays are a happy time for so many people, but it’s a nightmare for retail workers. I still remember working on Black Friday and the stampede of people who came running into K-Mart at 6 a.m., pushing their grandmothers out of the way to get a new flat-screen.
From my frame of reference, all of the nonsense that happens to retail workers on Black Friday is hilarious. Superstore works as a comedy because it’s real. It’s padded by characters and their real feelings and relationships, but the ridiculous stuff that happens is funny because it could and does happen in retail all the time.
I think learning about Black Friday can better serve humanity. Superstore gives us realistic characters who earn our empathy, and then get into crazy situations on retail holidays like this. Subtly, it reminds all of us to be better, so as to avoid the chaos we see. Of course these episodes are exaggerated, but they’re still well-rooted in reality. Trust me.
Also (spoilers ahead), I’m glad that Superstore isn’t shying away from the relationship problems and successes that it’s been building toward. It would be easy to maintain the status quo with Amy married, but she’s addressing the problems she has with her marriage. Garrett and Dina, too, have developed a crazy-weird chemistry over the last several episodes. It’s smart of the show to attack this stuff head-on, and to use it to leave us wanting more when it goes on hiatus.
Here are some other thoughts/funny moments:
- The funniest sequence this show has ever done was all of the Cloud 9 regulars trying to get the temps to quit. Hysterical.
- “You’ll just be ‘Todd’, and you’ll be ‘White Todd”.
- Garrett describing movies that could be on this device instead of working the register was pretty great, too.
- “It’s called war profiteering. I learned about it in Social Studies.”
- Glenn on medication to keep him calm is the best thing that’s ever happened on this show. When he cussed out Jonah in the break room, there may have been tears. Mark McKinney is sorely underrated.
Superstore has really hit a Season 2 stride, and it shows. Each episode is funny, relevant, and the best part about it is how well it lampoons a real retail environment, while staying true to every character and making them true to life.
What did you guys think? Did you enjoy this episode? Let us know!
Superstore returns Thursday, January 5th on NBC
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