NBC's Superstore - Episode 4.10 "Cloud 9 Academy"
Amy and Cheyenne attend Cloud 9 Academy to advance their careers. Dina and Garrett get roped into babysitting Glenn's daughter while he childproofs his office. Jonah and Mateo become political activists.
In 2018, there were 495 scripted shows airing amongst the linear channels and streaming services. The way people are consuming content now is so different than it used to be. It happens according to one's own schedule. As such, there is less necessity to provide ample coverage of each specific episode in any given season from a show. Moreover, it is simply impossible to watch everything. As such, this site is making the move to shorter episodic reviews in order to cover as many shows as possible. With all of that being said, here are my thoughts on the next episode of NBC's Superstore.
"Cloud 9 Academy" was written by John Kazlauskas and directed by Jeffrey Blitz
Amy has made the decision to explore becoming a manager at Cloud 9. She is putting the steps in to achieve that goal. It's not something she ever thought about before. She feared her life would be too busy and stressful at the moment with the new baby. And yet, she is putting the work in. Sure, she makes a couple of mistakes here as well. She first goes to the wrong classroom for this management course. And then, she stresses out after learning that it's a class that one has to pass in order to move to the next stage in the program. That freaks her out because this is something that she wants now. Cheyenne mostly just tags along in order for another familiar character to be a part of this setting. She has no interest in becoming a manager. She is happy with her life as it currently is. Plus, she only has ridiculous suggestions whenever they have to show off their potential skills as managers. She thinks of impossible ideas that can't possibly be implemented in the stores. Plus, she takes role playing a step too far which makes Amy actually support the idea that people can just say whatever they want when it comes to harassment. That's horrifying. Amy is startled by it as well. And yet, there was no real reason for her to worry about any of this. She mostly just had to show up for the class and engage with the program. That's all it takes for her to get the certificate saying that she's ready. That's outrageous. But it's also her taking that next step to a better career with this company. One that can hopefully produce a better life for her and her family. Elsewhere, one would think that Glenn would be better at baby-proofing his surroundings and generally knowing how to take care of a child. He has many kids after all. This new baby only has so much importance because it's his biological daughter. That's a first for him. And yet, he also just passes her off to Dina and Garrett after bringing her to work like it's no big deal whatsoever. He doesn't think about getting a babysitter so that he can do his job. He doesn't even do anything productive at work either. He spends the entire day baby-proofing his office until he eventually gets stuck in there. That too is a ridiculous sight especially once he has to break down the door in order to escape. It's remarkable that he has that strength at all. All of this also does conclude with one fantastic punchline of Dina and Garrett actually coming to care about the children in their makeshift daycare only for Dina to realize she's breastfeeding the wrong baby. Sure, it was a little unclear who was wrong initially in that situation. Glenn easily could have picked up the wrong baby. But instead, it's a personal moment of embarrassment for both Dina and Garrett. That's funny as well. And finally, Mateo tries to become more politically active so that he can have a better claim for asylum. Now, it's so pivotal that the show is tackling the current immigration system and the many ridiculous requirements in the process. That is very much in the news at the moment with many people having some extreme opinions about it. Jonah sees the importance of speaking out against the brutal leader of the Philippines and the human rights violations he has committed for many years. However, he also understands the importance of not letting anything jeopardize Mateo's immigration status. He doesn't want anything bad to happen to his friend - even though Mateo wouldn't say Jonah is his friend.
