Superstore Season 3 Premiere Review: Cloud 9 Has A “Grand Re-Opening”

It’s been a long summer, but the Cloud 9 Superstore has finally re-opened for business. With it comes resolution to several hanging plot threads and more intimate character relationships. At first I wasn’t sure what to think, but by the end I was cackling at every joke, which makes me thrilled that this show is back. It’s just as funny, real, and relatable as ever.

Of course, the big story was how they were planning to resolve the Jonah and Amy story after that big kiss in the second season finale. The answer: they both did and didn’t resolve the lingering tension between them. At first, they didn’t talk about it. Then, they did, but only about how awkward all of it was. Of course, they finally rekindled their friendship while wearing minion costumes, because that is a very Superstore gag. Of course, the real bombshell in the episode was the fact that Amy and Adam are getting divorced. How long will it take now, before she and Jonah are caught making out at work? Only time will tell. My guess is mid-season. Ben Feldman and America Fererra have fantastic chemistry, and I imagine that this will be a major story going forward.

The other hanging plot threads slowly untangled into some fantastic bits. Mateo waffling back and forth on the Jeff situation was a fantastic one, trying to figure out whether Jeff got his voicemail or whether he even wanted him to have seen it. The hilarious saga ended not with their reconciliation or even acknowledgement of said voicemail. Rather, it ended with Jeff wearing a hairpiece and fielding calls from his ex, and Mateo venting some of his frustration at that fact. I laughed very hard at that bit, and it’s good for both characters.

Some of the rest of the bits were hit and miss. Marcus makes me cringe much more than he makes me laugh, so most of his stories fell flat. I didn’t really care for Glenn’s existential crisis, either. Jonah and Garrett doing the dance around becoming roommates was interesting, but I’m much MORE excited to see them once they’ve become roommates. Either way, it’s set up some exciting stories for the future.

Here are a few other thoughts:

• They still haven’t found Brett. That’s both sad and hilarious.
• Howie Mandel. “Not the head of marketing, the comedian. Same name”.
• As much as I have never enjoyed Marcus, when the lady crashed into the blowup photograph of an aisle I nearly spit out my drink.
• I really appreciated the scene between Amy, Dina, and Glenn discussing the language on workplace emails and memorandums. Someone who has never worked for a large company would likely have no idea the kind of problems this creates, but just about every working class American can relate to things like that. It was both funny and real, which is Superstore’s sweet-spot.
• You think Amy and Jonah couldn’t stop laughing and that’s why they had the Minion costumes on?
• “Elias is afraid of Minions”. Lauren Ash is a gem.

Overall, I’m very pleased that Superstore is back. It’s not perfect and it never has been, but it’s very funny and relatable as ever.

What did you guys think? Did you enjoy the episode? Let us know!

Superstore airs Thursdays at 8/7c  on NBC