Jonah and Amy's first Valentine's Day together gets derailed when Dina brings her birds to work, which also causes trouble for Garrett. Cheyenne offers to give Marcus a sentimental tattoo. Glenn makes videos for his daughter to watch while he's at work.
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.
"Lovebirds" was written by Aaron Lee and directed by Mark McKinney
Dina's birds have long been an amusing running joke about her home life. They have often been mentioned but never actually been seen. Much like Glenn's wife and children though, the ridiculousness eventually makes its way onscreen. Here, Dina brings all of her birds to work with her because she believes that they are suffering from separation anxiety. She can't leave them alone all day long. That's what makes it hilarious and tragic when they escape their cages and promptly fly away from the store and Dina's life. She is desperately running after them in the hopes of catching some. They all escape though. It's all because Garrett wanted some takis from the vending machine. That is so mundane and crazy. But those are the circumstances of this story. As such, Garrett has to worry about telling Dina the truth about what happened. He feels the pressure to do so the more that she beats herself up about not locking the cage properly. Jonah and Amy keep going back-and-forth over whether Garrett should tell the truth. It creates a fight between them in which they proclaim their love for the first time. That's a huge step even though it's also cliche that they are doing so on Valentine's Day. It would suggest that this relationship is continuing to strengthen in meaningful ways. Some big developments are probably more than likely to happen throughout the remainder of the season. But right now, the focus is rightfully on Dina and Garrett. He presents as the strong and supportive friend in her time of need. He is there to keep hope alive that the birds would eventually fly back to her. And yet, they never do. Instead, a sexual connection is reignited between Dina and Garrett. That only makes this more complicated. It makes it increasingly feel as if Garrett is taking advantage of Dina. That may not be true. He just may not know how to tell her the truth or say no when sex is offered to him. But him tearing himself up inside is bound to keep festering until he explodes at some point. That may not happen here. Instead, Dina joins Amy and Jonah on their romantic dinner. But Garrett's implosion is coming at some point. Elsewhere, Glenn is mostly isolated from the rest of the characters here. He is simply recording videos of himself for his daughter to watch when he isn't at home with her. It's crazy to think about how long he actually spends at the store each day. It's humiliating and depressing that his remarks at the start of each day in the break room are actually rehearsed. Those aren't remarks he makes off the top of his head in the heat of the moment. He has to prepare for them. He is only now starting to see the amount of time he is away from his family. That is meaningful to him right now because of his newborn. He wants to be there for her. He doesn't want to miss out on her life. This has never been a problem before. But now, it's enough for him to impulsively quit as manager. That's shocking. It could also create a reality in which there is a major shake up at the store just as Amy has been training to become a manager. That too should be fascinating to see develop. And finally, it's just amusing to watch as Carol and Justine believe that Sandra has once again mailed Valentine's Day gifts to herself to create the illusion that she is seeing someone. No one suspects that she is having a secret affair with Jerry. That makes it exciting for the moment and very funny too.
