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Picking up where season 4 left off, the employees of Cloud 9 are learning a new normal: life without one of their own (Mateo). As Amy and Jonah try to quietly continue unionizing the store’s workforce, we find out that Mateo has been detained in a facility nearby. While Amy has visited and planned vigils for Mateo, his best friend Cheyenne has come up with multiple excuses to avoid seeing him.
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As the team gets used to not having Mateo’s snark and wit, they’re introduced to Cloud 9’s rebranding attempts: an app that costs $2.99 and a robot named Glen that is essentially the perfect worker. “Glen” does not demand healthcare. “Glen” doesn’t ask for more hours. “Glen” does not ask for time off. Automation meet Cloud 9.0.
While the other employees are worried about Glen the robot, Dina and Marcus are building a Lego replica of the ICE penitentiary where Mateo is…in order to break him out of course. Skeptical as always, Garrett is guilted into helping by Dina reminding him that he murdered all of her birds.
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With Cheyenne’s anxiety over the missing Mateo manifesting as OCD and rage, Amy takes charge and takes her to visit him. The two friends share some laughs but the stark circumstances that Mateo is in is evident when he tells Cheyenne how awful the conditions are. It’s telling that a comedy such as Superstore is willing to take on social commentary in such a way.
As the team decides they’ve had enough of Cloud 9.0 and Glen the robot, they launch it off the roof in a show of worker solidarity. The cheering is quickly shushed when Glen the robot pops up and goes right back to cleaning.
Rebranding indeed.
You can catch Superstore Thursdays at 8PM on NBC or catch up anytime on Hulu.
