NBC's Superstore - Episode 4.12 "Blizzard"
With a massive snowstorm beating down on St. Louis and an unsympathetic home office, the Cloud 9 employees and customers get snowed in, leading to escalating tensions and in-fighting.
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.
"Blizzard" was written by Dayo Adesokan and directed by Amy York Rubin
The main characters of Superstore spend so much time together. They work alongside each other for hours every day. They have gotten into so many hijinks over the years. Romantic relationships have blossomed or fizzled out between them. And yet, it's still meaningful to remember that the moment they clock out at the end of the day they return home to their ordinary lives and families. They aren't trying to hang out with their co-workers outside of the store. Even though there is a closeness between them, there is still the understanding that they don't want to be with each other any longer than they have to be. That's what makes it so amusing and nerve-wrecking when they have to spend an entire day together because they are trapped in the store. It's not just the employees either. It's also the people foolish enough to travel out looking for supplies for the blizzard after the fact. It's chilling to learn that corporate has no sympathy whatsoever for its employees coming into the store despite these poor conditions outside. They just want to remain open for as long as possible in order to continue being of service to the community. Of course, no one new is coming to the store anyway. They can't even get into the building. As such, it just leaves everyone struck at the store with the belief that they won't be here for too much longer. Dina is the only one with the common sense to try to ration the supplies that are still left in the store. It's only after spending the night that everyone realizes they could be trapped here for much longer than they were expecting. That's when the panic sets in a little bit. But it's also much more fascinating to see how all of these personal dynamics flourish without the pressure of workplace conflicts. Sure, they are still at the store and the hierarchy still exists of Glenn and Dina being in charge. But they don't have to worry about the customers or maintaining the operations of the store. They can just relax and find ways to distract themselves to fill the time. The camaraderie still exists in some moments. They can delight in sharing the stories of how they lost their virginities. It only gets awkward after Sandra notes the only man she has slept with is also there at that moment. In fact, it's amusing how this episode continues the story of Sandra and Jerry's romance. Carol won him as a prize earlier. She wanted him even though they are clearly a bad pairing. As such, it's not surprising to see Jerry and Sandra get back together. But it's also very funny to see Dina walk in on them while they are in Glenn's office. Of course, the claustrophobia was bound to kick it at some point allowing tensions to rise amongst the characters. During the second day, they are starting to get really annoyed by the various ticks that their co-workers do. It's very hurtful that they go around in a circle sharing every single detail that annoys them. And yet, they also have respect that they can make these criticisms with it all being done in a fun way. They have relationships with each other and will continue to do so. Some random person can't just come in and make his own complaints. He rightfully deserves all the hatred that he soon gets from the Cloud 9 family. Sure, it's not surprising in the slightest when Garrett just makes a break for it by himself after realizing they can get out of the store once more. These characters are still pretty selfish and have a desire to get out of the store all the time. But it's also incredibly telling when Jonah and Amy admit that they aren't sick of each other after spending all of this time together. That may signal that they could be inching towards moving in together by the close of the season. That too could be very exciting and interesting.
