I’m not sure Superstore can get much better. At least, that’s what I tell myself every week. But then it comes out with a new episode that simultaneously develops the characters and lampoons something relevant and real, like the election. Each episode I tune into pushes my infatuation with this show ever deeper. I ain’t even mad.
This week on Superstore: Cloud 9 is a polling location, so Amy and Jonah create a new pamphlet to combat the corporation favoring one that Cloud 9 is peddling. Glenn and Dina accidentally lose around 50 ballots, and then try to pin the “crime” on the other one. Amy meets Jonah’s new “friend”. Mateo tries desperately to get a voting sticker, so that Dina won’t know that he’s undocumented.
I’ve grown fond of Cheyenne, and I appreciate how quickly she’s found a function in the group post-pregnancy. Rather than “token pregnant teenager” (trust me, every retail giant has at least one), she’s now the friend to everyone who knows all the secrets. Every time someone comes to her with some new revelation, I chortle a little harder.
I’m probably going to write a little bit over the next few reviews of how much I love each character and why. In this episode, Glenn was an MVP. Mark McKinney plays Glenn with such conviction. Lots of increasingly ridiculous things happen to Glenn, which makes it all the funnier when McKinney stays perfectly within that character to deliver those moments truthfully. He and Lauren Ash are the perfect odd couple. They move perfectly in sync with one other. Even though their characters are dissonant, neither would be successful without the other. Not to mention, they’re hilarious.
I find the Jonah and Amy relationship to be even more compelling now. I mean, everyone clearly sees the chemistry between them. But, we know that Amy is married. When the all-knowing Cheyenne points out to Jonah in last week’s episode that everyone thinks he likes Amy, he classically pushes back on that too hard by dating another woman. Now Amy, who clearly feels things for Jonah as well, is jealous of this new girl but doesn’t know why or how. What I’m really curious about is what their endgame is. People who work in close proximity to one another like this can sometimes develop deeper relationships, and sometimes they don’t. Ben Feldman and America Fererra do great work with their respective characters subtlety, and keep that mystery alive.
Few other thoughts:
- I love that Mateo makes weird and dated references. No one knew James Brolin? Fantastic.
- “Oh, I know that girl!”
- Garrett’s sarcasm was up a level in this episode, but I am not bad about it at all.
- “Not all warehouse workers are from 1950’s Brooklyn”
- It was really sweet when Jonah and Amy admitted that they’ve grown on each other.
Superstore continues to find the perfect mix of heart and funny. They’re doing episodes that are around 22 minutes (standard network sitcom sans commercials), but every episode is funny, develops almost every character in some way, and still tells stories about interesting and relevant topics (like the upcoming election). I can’t get enough. If you’re not watching this show, you should be.
Superstore airs Thursdays at 8/7c on NBC
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