NBC's Superstore - Episode 4.06 "Maternity Leave"
Amy faces a nightmare day at work when she learns she doesn't have maternity leave - made worse by Cheyenne and Mateo's campaign to change her baby's name. Jonah and Garrett take on hiring the new seasonal help.
In 2018, it has become very difficult to keep up with every television show out there. It's even more difficult to provide adequate coverage on this site about the episodes that air every week. Not every show can get full coverage because of my busy and hectic viewing schedule. As such, some reviews will now be condensed to give only some summary thoughts. But it also affords a space for me to jot down my thoughts on the various episodes. And so, here are my thoughts on this week's episode of NBC's Superstore.
"Maternity Leave" was written by Jackie Clarke and directed by Jackie Clarke
It's absolutely horrifying that Amy is required to come back to work immediately after giving birth to her son because she no longer qualifies for maternity leave. Cloud 9 corporate continues to be so impersonal and amoral because it really has no consideration for its employees. And yet, this is an issue that working parents deal with all of the time. Amy knew what the policy was. She qualified for it because she has been with the store for 15 years. Everyone at work trusts her completely. She is the glue that keeps the store together. And now, she is being punished for one mistake. She already served her punishment for the broadcast of her and Jonah having sex at work. But now, that continues to come back to hurt her. That's completely wrong. There is just no consideration for what she is going through. The corporate policy is one thing but there is a whole new disconnect when it comes to Glenn. He has to break the bad news to her. He then spends the rest of the shift trying to make it up to her. He doesn't genuinely understand what she's going through. She wants a nice, quiet place to pump. Instead, she is given a supply closet where Said is also forced to pray during work. That shows that Glenn doesn't want anyone to upset the balance that he has in his office. He sees it as his personal space. He wants to be more than accommodating for the employees he loves so much. He sees them all as one happy family. But they aren't because of a lack of leadership that has empathy for what they are going through. To Glenn, it's no big deal to be back at work despite being a new parent. He is mostly asking Jerusha to be in charge of all of that. Amy also has Adam to look after baby Parker when she is called into work. And yet, this wasn't her decision. This was a choice forced upon her by people who have no compassion. There is more consideration for Dina because she's still in the hospital recovering from her C-section. However, she's eager to return to work. She forces Sandra into putting an iPad on her face in order for Dina to interact with the customers and employees once more. This is the environment she wants to be in. She gave birth but doesn't have to worry about the ongoing struggles of carrying for another human being. Amy blows up at Glenn because he wants everything to be perfectly fine immediately. He thinks a nice gift of a bath bomb will make up for this time away from her child when she is already exhausted and overly hormonal. Sure, she has an extreme reaction as well. She at least learns her lesson though. Glenn makes the same mistake over again. He has no idea how much work and consideration it takes to own a dog. That's just a new responsibility put onto her. When he pulls the dog out from under his desk, it's one of the most hilarious moments of the show to date. But it's horrifying as well because this isn't something that Amy needs right now. Elsewhere, Eden Sher appears and is basically playing an even more extreme and broad version of the character she played on The Middle. It has its amusing moments. But it's a story mostly about Jonah and Garrett realizing how difficult it can be to hire people for the store. Sure, Glenn probably would have made the same mistake as them because he would have hired Penny simply for being his second interview of the day. But all of this still ends with no additional help really coming into the store during the busier time of year.
