It was all about love on Superstore “Valentine’s Day” episode. Although the journey was not smooth for anyone. In the end, it was all about harassment in the modern workplace, much to Glenn’s chagrin, and Dina manages to scuttle Jonah’s burgeoning romance with Shannon the shoplifting suspect.
Perhaps the highpoint of this episode was the appearance of Bernie Kopell, better known to millions in his decade long run as Dr. Adam Bricker on “The Love Boat.” Kopell has been working steadily since 1961 and in terms of comic performances from the heart, no one does it better.
The storyline this week has Glenn, and later Amy, playing cupid after two Cloud 9 employees find love on Valentine’s Day. Glenn hired them so he begins matchmaking in earnest. Amy, seeing how much Arthur clearly likes Myrtle, does some matchmaking of her own.
Glenn helps her to set up Myrtle and Arthur and it results in the store, Glenn and Amy being charged with harassment. Arthur, is not the sweet little old man that Amy believed him to be.
The staff have to attend a sexual harassment training session run by Jeff. Glenn tells how he got his wife to marry him and describes how he asked her to go out with him every single day till she said yes. Jeff explains that this is not a good thing.
Glenn then goes on to explain that his father, who they both worked for, told her that if she did not go out with Glenn she would be fired. The Cloud 9 staff are horrified.
Jonah believes he has spied the shoplifter from earlier in the season. He talks Dina into letting him act as the plainclothes floor detective. Jonah flies a drone into the gorgeous young woman’s head and when he goes to apologize, he is instantly smitten.
Dina is furious that instead of concentrating on catching the woman in the act, Jonah is flirting with her. The two make plans for a date when Dina turns up in shorts and a hat accusing Jonah of leaving her and the kids in the car for hours.
Jonah then gets into an argument with his “wife” and Shannon leaves while he is distracted.
Sondra takes her pretend affair with Jeff to new, and expensive, levels. Giving herself a dozen roses and other extravagant gifts from “The Man.” Mateo gets increasingly jealous and Cheyenne ends up telling Garrett that he and Jeff are dating for real.
The cutest part of the episode has Jeff giving Mateo a small Valentine’s Day gift and topping it off by calling Mateo his boyfriend. All jealousy is forgotten and Mateo’s day is made. He then swans out of the dressing room shutting Jeff in.
Amy and Jonah have a splendid moment breaking up all the Valentine’s Day signage, a move that is slightly reminiscent of the forklift mayhem in Secret Shopper. While not as hysterically funny as the carnage caused by the forklift, there is something about these two gleefully destroying things that counts as a win.
Another highlight in this episode had Cheyenne wowing the staff with her “Catch 22” reference. Jonah congratulates her on this show of knowledge. She responds by saying that she has been studying for her SAT’s. “It’s been an extrapolatory experience,” Cheyenne says while working on her giant lollipop.
As part of the sexual harassment training session it looks like the “in love” couple are breaking up. What Glenn brings together he also breaks apart. The highlights of this episode included Dina and Jonah’s argument, the valentine signage carnage and the Arthur/Myrtle storyline.
Superstore is still the best thing about Thursday night comedy on NBC. Do not miss this one if you like to laugh.
Cast:
- America Ferrera – Amy
- Ben Feldman – Jonah
- Lauren Ash – Dina
- Colton Dunn – Garrett
- Mark McKinney – Glenn
- Nichole Bloom – Cheyenne
- Nico Santos – Mateo
- Kaliko Kauahi – Sandra
- Josh Lawson – Tate
- Linda Porter – Myrtle
- Michael Bunin – Jeff
- Jon Barinholtz as Marcus.
Guest starring Bernie Kopell as Arthur and Andree Vermeulen as Shannon.
Mikes Film Talk 