Thursday, April 18, 2019

REVIEW: 'Superstore' - Amy and Ben Spy on the Employees to Listen In On Their Criticisms in 'Easter'

NBC's Superstore - Episode 4.16 "Easter"

Suspicious that people are making fun of her, Amy and Jonah spy on Cloud 9 employees through the security system. Dina tries to track down an unsanctioned Easter Bunny in the store. Glenn preps for his church's Passion play.



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.

"Easter" was directed by Victor Nelli Jr. with story by John Kazlaukas and teleplay by Brian Gatewood & Alessandro Tanaka

Amy is still adjusting to being the manager at Cloud 9. She understands that people generally complain about their boss. It's just the typical thing to do in a workplace. No one likes the person in charge because they are the ones giving the orders. They are the ones putting the employees to work. It's the position that Amy asked to be in. She has been an excellent manager so far. The transition hasn't had any notable problems that were created by her - though Glenn left some for her to deal with. And yet, she still becomes so obsessed with listening in on what her employees are saying about her behind her back. She then immediately tries to course-correct to prove that there is nothing that anyone can complain about with her. That's not how any of this works though. She makes the changes and people still find things to say behind her back. Of course, it's also fascinating how the show explains that people usually only say bad things when the subject of the conversation isn't around. To their faces, it's nothing but nice pleasantries. That's not how all of these characters operate. It doesn't matter to Dina whatsoever. She will say whatever is on her mind in order to get her opinion out there even if the person is present. With Amy though, she does want this appreciation. It makes her so despite for it because she has the tools to listen in on the conversations. She isn't too worried about the legal or moral ramifications of spying on her employees. She is more than willing to just write it off as a gray area. Jonah notes that doesn't suddenly make it okay for her to be doing this. She should still have some qualms about this but still seeing it as in the best interest of the store. It's not though. She is invading her employee's privacy which may hurt their safety in the workplace - even though they shouldn't be masturbating here. As such, it's amusing to see them turn the tables on her by saying that they drugged her coffee. She can't let that go unnoticed. It also makes it seem as if all she's doing is listening in on what the employees have to say about her. Jonah gets caught up in it all as well. Of course, his story is much different because he wants Garrett to say something nice to his face after hearing it behind his back. That's a nice way to flip the script on this familiar story. Sure, it's still insanely broad in the final execution. But it also allows for a nice transition where Amy being the manager doesn't change up too much of the dynamic at Cloud 9. Elsewhere, how much more can Dina take before she suffers a complete breakdown? Here, she is hunting down an unsanctioned Easter Bunny in the store. Every time she thinks she's caught him, he slips away somehow. There's nothing suspicious going on though. It's just Jerry finding a way to be in the store to see Sandra. But that also leads to the final note in which Dina believes she's suffering from hallucinations because Sandra makes her believe that the bunny isn't actually there despite the evidence to the contrary. That's a nice way to give power back to Sandra for all the ridicule she has endured over the years. And yet, she's hardly the first character to manipulate Dina in a cruel way as of late. Garrett led her to believe that she let her birds escape and then had sex with her. And now, Sandra makes her being she's seeing things. This means the season could be coming to an explosive ending where these secrets come out and possibly do more harm to Dina and her mental state.