S05.E20: Customer Safari

[Aulty]

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Amy joins Jonah for lunch with his parents and brother, but she's caught off guard by their family dynamic. Dina worries about being fun and spontaneous when her new boyfriend surprises her at work. Meanwhile, Garrett and the other employees create a game around the store's weird customers, with a suspicious Glenn hot on their tails.

Original Air Date: 04/02/2020

[Commando Cody]

Nice to see Jason Ritter again.  I was so bummed when 'Kevin (Probably) Saves the World' got cancelled. 

[possibilities]

Ritter had a major role on Netflix's "Raisin Dion" in case any fans of his want to seek it out.

I liked seeing Amy and Jonah act like they actually do still like each other. Jonah's family is a nightmare, though.

I thought Dina wasn't really into the vet after all, when she was so wigged out by the lunch. But she seemed to enjoy having him team up with her as a detective.

I don't get why Amy is getting rave reviews from her superiors. They haven't shown her to be at all successful as a manager.

[Corgi-ears]

"It's like holding a bag of marbles."

"Well, I'll be happy to smooth that cat out for you."

Weirdest incentivization ever. 

[Harvey]

It's Amy we're talking about. Filled up on bread is going on her headstone. 🤣

I liked how she stood up for Jonah and that it lead to his dad admitting an affair 😄 It was so unexpected and hilarious. But also, Amy not being able to stop herself from getting into other people's business was very in character for her. Remember when she told the entire store Sandra was pregnant and she was considering an abortion? Her behavior in this episode reminded me of that one, which was superb.

[BusyOctober]

Best storyline was the customer safari.  When I worked in retail we would share our war stories about nightmarish customers.  Of course, we didn’t have phones in the 90’s to document our sightings.

Jason Ritter is more fun to watch when he’s allowed to be funny.  He was great in Comedy Central’s “Another Period” and “Drunk History”.  Playing Jonah’s a-hole brother could’ve been done by any actor, so I think Ritter was wasted here.

Glad Dina and her vet are still a thing.  Hope Dina gets promoted when Amy leaves for Palo Alto.

[Kiddvideo]

5 hours ago, Harvey said:

Remember when she told the entire store Sandra was pregnant and she was considering an abortion? Her behavior in this episode reminded me of that one, which was superb.

Wellness Fair! One of my favorites. lol. I literally watched it after reading your comment. So many people had great lines: Cheyenne volunteering that Jeff dumped Sandra on a Tuesday and that she might have the abortion on a Wednesday. Garrett, signing the card, "Sandra, this must be a giant surprise for you." Garrett making a store announcement that they hadn't hired a teenage boy to do breast exams. Marcus: "All gas, no brakes." The abortion argument in the store that was so unexpected HR didn't have a training video. Amy did apologize to everyone for getting involved.

I liked this episode! I was worried about Dina and the vet, but after he wanted to be involved in the sting operation, I think she relaxed since it was in her area of expertise and felt in control. I hope those two crazy kids can make it work!

I liked Amy and Jonah in this one, too. I missed the SIL leaving. She was angry that he'd had the party at her place and told her to blame the dogwalker. She seemed as big a douche as the brother, though. Can't see her caring about firing the wrong person, and a party, in the scheme of things, isn't that big a deal so many years later.

The promotion seems several leaps up the ladder for Amy. District or regional manager, maybe.

ETA: I understand the show is looking for a way to separate them, so maybe she gets assigned to a region in another state. Would Adam want to be halfway across the country? 

Edited April 3, 2020 by Kiddvideo
clarifying a thought

[joanne3482]

1 hour ago, BusyOctober said:

Glad Dina and her vet are still a thing.  Hope Dina gets promoted when Amy leaves for Palo Alto.

I'm a little on the fence about that given how by the book and relatively inflexible Dina is. I feel a little like it would be too similar to when Dwight got promoted when Michael was gone and he went off the deep end. 

I loved the customer safari, and Cheyenne cheating! That cracked me up. I worked in retail briefly (although not at a big box store).  Patrons be crazy.  

[vibeology]

9 hours ago, possibilities said:

I don't get why Amy is getting rave reviews from her superiors. They haven't shown her to be at all successful as a manager.

From all accounts, the store itself does well and that's often the only thing higher ups care about. I'm also not convinced Amy is a bad manager. I think if Amy had started fresh at a new store she probably would have done very well. And there have to be normal days at Cloud 9. Its just hard to make a sitcom about a normal day at a store.

2 hours ago, BusyOctober said:

Hope Dina gets promoted when Amy leaves for Palo Alto.

Dina didn't want it when Glenn stepped back so I'd be surprised if that changed. I think it's more likely they'll bring in a new character to take over.

[EarlGreyTea]

I hope we're not supposed to be rooting for Garrett and Dina over Dina and the vet, because those two were so cute together this episode and it's clear he's all in for her, which Garrett never was. I really liked Garrett and Dina, but Vet is a better match, and Garrett always seemed to like Dina against his will. However, Dina and Garrett are probably endgame, since they are both main cast members.

I wonder how far off America has been planning her exit, because it was only announced a few weeks ago. I wonder when this episode was filmed. I kind of got the the vibe that the cast members only found out fairly recently.

Edited April 3, 2020 by EarlGreyTea

[tennisgurl]

Glad to see Dina and the vet are still together, they seem to really work together really well. He even got all excited about being on a sting with her! That pig really was super freaking cute. 

This was a better episode than lately, probably because Amy and Jonah actually acted like a couple that like each other and stuff. Always happy to see Jason Ritter, even playing such a major asshole, and Amy trying to help but actually prying too much into peoples business is also very in character. Jonahs family seems like an absolute nightmare. 

Customer Safari was cracking me up, like they did a whole plot about the cut aways the show does to weird customers doing weird stuff. The aggressively patriotic tee shirt and the flesh colored outfit were especially on point, I swear I see those every time I go to a Wall-Mart, no matter where that Wall-Mart happens to be!

[Kip Hackman]

14 minutes ago, EarlGreyTea said:

I wonder how far off America has been planning her exit, because it was only announced a few weeks ago. I wonder when this episode was filmed. I kind of got the the vibe that the cast members only found out fairly recently.

According to this article, the writers and actors found out the same day we did (just before the start of filming episode 19).

Superstore's Ben Feldman Reacts to America Ferrera's 'Sad' Exit, Admits: 'Timing-Wise, I Was a Little Surprised'

Maybe that's why last night's final scene felt a little "tacked on".  To me, anyway.

Edited April 3, 2020 by Kip Hackman

[Lovecat]

38 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

Customer Safari was cracking me up, like they did a whole plot about the cut aways the show does to weird customers doing weird stuff. 

Santa got my letter!!  Sometimes those cutaways are the best parts of the show.

[Commando Cody]

I'm kind of confused about Dina and the vet.  Just a couple of episodes ago, she was way over the top in trying to give him a gift - she stole his drivers license so she could photoshop a huge photo of them together.  I wasn't sure, at the time, if she was making some of it up in her head about dating this vet. Now she seemed very indifferent.

[joanne3482]

I didn't get the sense she is indifferent to him.  To me it was almost the opposite.  She was so freaked out about him showing up to her work because she wasn't ready to see him. She hadn't planned and prepared.  She seems to want to be doing everything "just right" with him. Him showing up unannounced didn't give her the opportunity. 

[iMonrey]

Quote

I don't get why Amy is getting rave reviews from her superiors. They haven't shown her to be at all successful as a manager.

I guess that speaks to how bad the other store managers are. Considering that Glenn used to be one of them, I'd say Amy probably is the cream of the crop despite all her failures.

[SnarkEnthusiast]

Customer Safari was a nice return to classic Superstore.

The Amy/Jonah plot was bittersweet. We're finally reminded Amy likes Jonah and sees a future with him, just in time for her to leave? I guess they're staying together, but man, they really botched their entire relationship arc. Nothing has been enjoyable or heartfelt with them since the pregnancy sex (a sentence I'd never thought I'd type). Talk about wasted potential.

Sooo after tonight's adorable vet subplot we're still supposed to root for Dina to dump him in the next few episodes for mopey Garrett because...they fucked first? I hate when TV shows do this. Characters can move on! Remember when Dina spent the whole first season horny for Jonah? Garrett and Dina have nothing in common. Their chemistry isn't even that good, although Amy and Jonah are proof that the writers have never considered that a factor. Hope for their relationship died with Dina's birds.

[iMonrey]

It don't know what makes me sadder, seeing Jason Ritter play such an asshole or the fact that Jason Ritter has to take a job as a guest player on this show. He should be a star on his own show (as he was, all too briefly). I mean he was great, but . . . Jason Ritter, people! He is destined for greater things than this.

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Sooo after tonight's adorable vet subplot we're still supposed to root for Dina to dump him in the next few episodes for mopey Garrett because...they fucked first?

I don't know that we are supposed to be rooting for that. Garrett hasn't really shown any jealousy over Dina. It was Dina who kept trying to to project that on him a couple episodes back when she was going overboard with the gestures and Garrett was trying to clue her in. I don't think Garrett ever really cared about her in a serious way.

[EarlGreyTea]

1 hour ago, SnarkEnthusiast said:

Customer Safari was a nice return to classic Superstore.

The Amy/Jonah plot was bittersweet. We're finally reminded Amy likes Jonah and sees a future with him, just in time for her to leave? I guess they're staying together, but man, they really botched their entire relationship arc. Nothing has been enjoyable or heartfelt with them since the pregnancy sex (a sentence I'd never thought I'd type). Talk about wasted potential.

The whole vibe between them reminds of Gilmore Girls, with Luke and Lorelai. Scuttlebutt with those two was that they didn't get along IRL, so there was a major lack of physical affection onscreen between them, but even THEY were more affectionate than Jonah and Amy. We don't need a sex scene between them, but I can't even remember when they held hands. Had I been channel surfing and came across this series, it would not have been readily apparent that they were an item.

30 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

It don't know what makes me sadder, seeing Jason Ritter play such an asshole or the fact that Jason Ritter has to take a job as a guest player on this show. He should be a star on his own show (as he was, all too briefly). I mean he was great, but . . . Jason Ritter, people! He is destined for greater things than this.

Primetime TV is primetime TV. I remember there was some surprise that Superstore was able to book Dean Norris for a guest spot, prestigious character actor that he is. But why not? A spot on an NBC primetime comedy is no small potatoes, especially one as respected as Superstore, and could lead to more, especially if the producers take a liking to you.

[MisterGlass]

This was a lot of fun.  I need to find a screencap of the rest of the customer safari white board items.  I'm sure I've seen at least 50 points worth.

I really like Dina and the vet.  They are sweet and slightly dysfunctional, not unlike Jerry and Sandra, just in a different direction.

6 hours ago, joanne3482 said:

She hadn't planned and prepared.  She seems to want to be doing everything "just right" with him.

^This.  She wasn't prepared, and was stressed because of it even though she clearly likes him.

As far as who replaces Amy as a manager, I think most likely Glenn takes the role back.  I think Dina is best as the enforcer.  If Glenn stays floor supervisor, then it's hard to guess.  I have two off the wall thoughts - Jeff or Marcus.  Jeff isn't liked by corporate, and I could seem him being demoted and exiled.  I don't know how well he would blend into the day-to-day operations of the store, though.  They would have to have him get over Mateo fast.  Marcus, in his brief try out to be Amy's assistant, was weirdly competent and had some office experience.  I don't know how they would (or could) justify it being him, but I think there would be entertaining possibilities.

[Kip Hackman]

1 hour ago, MisterGlass said:

 

As far as who replaces Amy as a manager, I think most likely Glenn takes the role back. 

Yeah, they don't need to overthink this. Glenn makes the most sense. And it's the best way to make it feel like the same show we've been watching for five years.

[Artsda]

I think it may be new manager Jonah.

[DanaMB]

33 minutes ago, Artsda said:

I think it may be new manager Jonah.

Oh, I hope not.

[chocolatine]

I know the show needs to move Amy far away so that Jonah can't easily follow her, but I had to laugh at the new job being in Palo Alto. I know Zephra is headquartered there, but they would have continued to run Cloud9 from its original headquarters in the Midwest and moved Amy there. Whatever raise they give Amy is not going to make up for the gut-punchingly high cost of living in the Bay Area. A modest 3-bed 2-bath home in a decent neighborhood costs at least $2M there. Even if they triple or quadruple her current salary, she won't be better off. It's also hard to believe she'd move her children 2,000 miles away from their father, especially with Parker being so young.

I thought Jonah's brother's open derision of Jonah was too on the nose. In families like that the insults are usually much more underhanded.

I did love the customer safari as well as Dina and her boyfriend. I hope he is her endgame. I don't think Dina and Garrett will ever get together because she'll never forgive him for the birds.

Edited April 4, 2020 by chocolatine

[ALenore]

Here's a screenshot of the Customer Safari board.  Took it to send to a friend who just started working in a big box store (Home Depot).

[Lovecat]

Danny Trejo - 250 points.  I died!

[iMonrey]

Quote

 Primetime TV is primetime TV. I remember there was some surprise that Superstore was able to book Dean Norris for a guest spot, prestigious character actor that he is. But why not? A spot on an NBC primetime comedy is no small potatoes, especially one as respected as Superstore, and could lead to more, especially if the producers take a liking to you.

I suppose that's a good point. It's a way for actors to remain visible and remind casting agents they can do comedy, especially when they are better known for their work in dramas like Dean Norris. I still want better things for Jason Ritter though. 

Quote

As far as who replaces Amy as a manager, I think most likely Glenn takes the role back.

I'm betting they will introduce a new character for the job. With America out the door they probably want another "name" to headline the show. 

Quote

Here's a screenshot of the Customer Safari board. 

Bwah! Clothes the exact shade of skin is worth 100. So Cheyenne might have won by cheating. Also, I wouldn't have gotten the gag about the adult twins both crying if I hadn't seen the board. Didn't know what a VSCO girl was either. Had to look it up.

[Giuseppe]

I loved the customer safari, and had to laugh because I was unwittingly a part of one a few years ago. A guy I met online started chatting with me because he recognized me from frequenting the Kroger where he worked. He told me that they used to do store scavenger hunts like the customer safari, and I was "collected" once for being 'guy wearing flip flops in 30 degree weather' or something like that. I actually thought it was pretty funny.

 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 4/3/2020 at 8:19 AM, Kiddvideo said:

Would Adam want to be halfway across the country? 

 

On 4/4/2020 at 1:03 AM, chocolatine said:

It's also hard to believe she'd move her children 2,000 miles away from their father, especially with Parker being so young.

One parent shouldn't be allowed to move that far away with the kids, and she certainly can't argue that she doesn't have a good job now.

Edited April 5, 2020 by ItCouldBeWorse

[possibilities]

Wearing more than 2 shoes???

[Kiddvideo]

On 4/4/2020 at 12:15 PM, Lovecat said:

Danny Trejo - 250 points.  I died!

Good lord I hope he's seen this. I'm gonna guess he's friends/worked with some of the people, and that's how he ended up on the board, but it's gold. And at 250 points, they think it'd be a long shot but that it actually might happen.

I really, really, really want him to show in one of the background customer shots now.

On 4/4/2020 at 11:02 AM, ALenore said:

Here's a screenshot of the Customer Safari board.  Took it to send to a friend who just started working in a big box store (Home Depot).

HERO.

[Sile]

On 4/6/2020 at 11:32 PM, Kiddvideo said:

Good lord I hope he's seen this. I'm gonna guess he's friends/worked with some of the people, and that's how he ended up on the board, but it's gold. And at 250 points, they think it'd be a long shot but that it actually might happen.

I really, really, really want him to show in one of the background customer shots now.

HERO.

I was just about to say the same thing!  That's the one I laughed out loud at when I froze the DVR.  My first thought was that they have to get him as a cameo before this show is done.  And not draw attention to it or have anybody recognize him. 

Just make him a random customer in the background.  We're smart enough to get it, show!  You don't have to hit us over the head with a machete to make sure we know.

[chaifan]

14 hours ago, Sile said:

Just make him a random customer in the background.  We're smart enough to get it, show!  You don't have to hit us over the head with a machete to make sure we know.

Googling "Danny Trejo"...

oooooh.... that guy!

[MisterGlass]

Danny Trejo was on Brooklyn 99 - maybe they can share contact info with their new-network sister show.

[Aulty]

Has anyone checked the last couple of episodes, maybe they have had him on already - as a reverse joke. 😂

Edited April 14, 2020 by Aulty