S06.E05: Hair Care Products

[Aulty]

Quote

After Cloud 9 changes their policy of locking up Black beauty products, the employees are forced to reckon with systemic racism in the store, with Garrett leading the charge. Glenn desperately tries to right the store's wrongs, in misguided ways.

Original Air Date: Jan 15, 2021

Edited December 28, 2020 by Aulty

[Harvey]

First COVID, now this. Superstore taking on every single social issue  under the sun one episode at a time!

[Suzysite]

Oh good, another Very Special Lesson episode.   I don't think so.   

[Empress1]

I just want to say that I’m Black and sour cream and onion chips are my favorite.

[AnimeMania]

I think Justine won that episode.

[Melina22]

That was such a funny episode. I really enjoyed it, and tbh, didn't miss Amy. I like the new additions too. 

Am I correct in thinking the shows been cancelled? If yes, all I can say is WHYYYYY? 

 

[UnoAgain]

Of course glen has numerous bald black friends... Justine was hilarious... I had to call around And oddly neither me nor the 4 friends I talked to really rate sour cream and onion high on our chip list.. Reparations pizza... And I always love sandra... I'm really liking the addition of MIA. 

[North of Eden]

Yeah, no...this was a poor choice to come back from hiatus with and I had been looking forward to the shows return for weeks now. With so few precious episodes left this was a waste because it was simply not funny. It felt like a script written by someone who had NEVER watched SUPERSTORE before.  Garret and Deana's characterizations were so  far off they felt like different characters. The only tiny flicker of life to the show was the Cheyenne, Mateo and Sandra subplot and of course anytime Justine opens her mouth guarantees a laugh but that was far from enough to salvage the episode. Okay well I will give you "Your hair looks FUN" now that merited a chuckle but this was just a big fail.

I think what they needed to do was bring in an Amy replacement that was the total opposite like when Rebecca replaced Diane on CHEERS and watch the characters react. That could have put some life into the show. Hope the remainder of the season/series is better!

[AnimeMania]

It would have been funnier if they had the normal amount black people, about 5, instead of padding the episode out with black employees (isn't that racist for the show to pretend they have more black people than they have). If each black person would have had two pizzas each, that would have been better and would have made everybody else trying to get into the "break room?" (what happened to the real "break room", wasn't that the "loading dock"?) to get all that left over pizza, funnier. I could see one of the white workers showing Garrett all the black artists on their iTunes playlist to show that they are not racist.

[chocolatine]

The B-plot with Cheyenne, Mateo, and Sandra was much funnier than the A-plot. Really didn't need to see Jonah white-splain racism to his coworkers.

[Aulty]

The episode was written by Dayo Adesokan, a man of colour and not a first timer, he has written and edited a few episodes already.

The episode felt a bit weird, but I assume thats what it is like for Garrett in this situation. Well meaning people who default to special treatment instead of equal treament vs. the Jonah the explainer. Thats at least how I perceived it. That episode was proabably never intended to be knee slapping funny.

I liked that their security guard turned out to be such a bubbly person.

Dinah disappointed me a bit when she didn't get started on implementing at least some points from Garrett's list right away.

 

[UnoAgain]

15 minutes ago, Aulty said:

The episode was written by Dayo Adesokan, a man of colour and not a first timer, he has written and edited a few episodes already.

The episode felt a bit weird, but I assume thats what it is like for Garrett in this situation. Well meaning people who default to special treatment instead of equal treament vs. the Jonah the explainer. Thats at least how I perceived it. That episode was proabably never intended to be knee slapping funny.

I liked that their security guard turned out to be such a bubbly person.

Dinah disappointed me a bit when she didn't get started on implementing at least some points from Garrett's list right away.

 

It felt very true in a slightly exaggerated way to me... Even the response to it... Not being funny.. Not wanting to be "preached" to all fall within expected ranges... Ppl struggling with a topic we all say we need to discuss.. And on some level know we do.. But its so massive and personal that doing the work can just be a minefield... Garrett blowing up when the white folks wanted pizza... I've been there... 

On a lighter note... Before they end the show I want Cody and Justine to couple up... My god would those two be a riot

 

[MaryHedwig]

14 hours ago, UnoAgain said:

Justine was hilarious

'That's how you're goin' do me?' I can't stop laughing.

[UnoAgain]

30 minutes ago, MaryHedwig said:

'That's how you're goin' do me?' I can't stop laughing.

When she started with amazing grace... Smh... Shame this show is ending.. I think they could mine much more

[iMonrey]

I thought this was one pretty good. I laughed when Cheyenne said the last time she saw an outdoor movie she was high on mushrooms and it turned out to be a Steak 'n Shake menu.

Look, racial matters are tough to handle but I actually thought Superstore did so by being true to itself. It was silly and they took something simple like not locking up the hair care products for people of color and blew it up out of proportion until it was just absurd. That's what this show does and they do it rather well most of the time. I also thought Garrett got a few good points out there in the process, like white people telling other white people not to "see race." 

I generally feel the quality of the show has suffered the last couple of seasons but I thought this episode really kicked it up a notch. They also managed to acknowledge some of the characters being too casual about mask usage. 

Quote

I liked that their security guard turned out to be such a bubbly person.

He's been on the show before, including last season - he just hasn't had much to do up until now. And he's played by the same actor who plays Bud on Grace & Frankie.

[chaifan]

I liked this episode.  It wasn't as funny as other episodes, but I think had it's moments and was appropriately funny while discussing a not-funny issue (racism).  Most of all, I again don't miss Amy as a character.  It's a shame they didn't give this season more time before cancelling the show, because I think the show is working out fine without Amy.  I think they've given all the extra screen time to Sandra, and she is shining through!

 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

I thought this was a really good episode. Garrett's exasperation seemed completely true to his character, as did Glenn's failed efforts to do the right thing (and obviously Jonah's reactions were completely predictable.)  I agree that Dina seemed a little too empathetic, but her reactions weren't the focus.  It wasn't too surprising that the rest of the Black workers were fairly pleased with the pizza party as reparations, probably because their expectations of Cloud 9 are so low.  And Justine was a treat!

It's not easy to create a funny, non-insulting episode about racism, but I think they succeeded.

Edited January 15, 2021 by ItCouldBeWorse

[EtheltoTillie]

Sorry to hear it’s not going to continue, but not surprised given the pandemic.  I thought it was a well done episode that demonstrated well the frustrations for someone like Garrett. 

[MaryHedwig]

On 1/15/2021 at 11:23 AM, GussieK said:

I thought it was a well done episode that demonstrated well the frustrations for someone like Garrett. 

Poor Garrett also has to deal with people's insensitive wheelchair remarks as well.

Edited January 16, 2021 by MaryHedwig

[MisterGlass]

At the beginning after they took off the padlock Janet was 'clapping' by tapping one finger against her coffee cup.  It was just for a second but it cracked me up.

14 hours ago, UnoAgain said:

Before they end the show I want Cody and Justine to couple up... My god would those two be a riot

Oh, wow, that could be great

[Skyfall]

8 hours ago, chaifan said:

I liked this episode.  It wasn't as funny as other episodes, but I think had it's moments and was appropriately funny while discussing a not-funny issue (racism).  Most of all, I again don't miss Amy as a character.  It's a shame they didn't give this season more time before cancelling the show, because I think the show is working out fine without Amy.  I think they've given all the extra screen time to Sandra, and she is shining through!

 

I don't think it's ending due to ratings (they've been what they've been and everything is low nowadays), I think it's just the writers and actors wanted to move on. I bet contracts were expiring and they had to decide if they wanted to negotiate or just end it after this season.

23 hours ago, Melina22 said:

That was such a funny episode. I really enjoyed it, and tbh, didn't miss Amy. I like the new additions too. 

Am I correct in thinking the shows been cancelled? If yes, all I can say is WHYYYYY? 

 

It's been announced as a final season.

[foxfreakinmulder]

23 hours ago, North of Eden said:

Yeah, no...this was a poor choice to come back from hiatus with and I had been looking forward to the shows return for weeks now. With so few precious episodes left this was a waste because it was simply not funny. It felt like a script written by someone who had NEVER watched SUPERSTORE before.  Garret and Deana's characterizations were so  far off they felt like different characters.

Agree 100%. I didn't laugh once. I'm out.

[memememe76]

Is locking up the black hair products actually a thing in real life?

I thought the episode was fun. As this is their last season (I actually think this season is better than at least the last couple), I will miss those scenes where the entire cast is just making stoopid comments. 

[possibilities]

12 hours ago, UnoAgain said:

Shame this show is ending.. I think they could mine much more

I feel the same way.

----

I'm glad I'm not the only one who liked this episode. When I came here last night, I was intending to say how much I liked it, and then I saw everyone hated it and I thought: hmmm! usually I'm the most cranky person in the room; what's up?

I thought it was very true to actual situations and conversations I've either had or observed in real life, and I liked that they allowed Garrett to get openly angry. I also love Nia and wish she was given more to do, but at least what they give her is perfect. Her interactions with Garrett give him a perfect counter-balance, because other people he rolls his eyes at don't really hold their ground in the same way. She kind of holds him accountable! 

This episode was like the customers doing crap in the background-- but this time they brought the white people doing crap in the background into the foreground. If you never worked in retail, you might think the customer shenanigans are over the top. Likewise, if you're not used to open conversations about racism, maybe this episode seemed intense and uncomfortable, but it is realistic.

[foxfreakinmulder]

12 hours ago, memememe76 said:

Is locking up the black hair products actually a thing in real life?

When I worked at Walmart they were locked up because they were a high thief item. Their were lots of high thief items locked up, video games, tools, headphones, even some toys. 

[tennisgurl]

Sad to hear that this is the last season, the last few seasons have been running out of steam but I think that it still has some good episodes to go, so it sucks that the show will be ending. I feel a bit bad saying is, as I like America a lot, but I don't really miss Amy. I do hope they can bring her back to the finale though. 

As far as "comedy tries to deal with Topical Issue" episodes go, I found this to be mostly successful. They raised a lot of good points, especially Garretts annoyance at being stuck having to now be a representation of black people and has to deal with his white co-workers well intentioned but annoying attempts at being more contentious about what black people go through, while also staying silly and funny. Of course the black employees (except for Garrett) are still excited for free white guilt pizza no matter how ridiculous it is. I especially like the security guard, who I don't think we have seen a whole lot of his personality before. They dealt with the issues without getting too serious to the point that it becomes tonal whiplash. 

Justine singing Amazing Grace killed me. So did Sandra saying that Cheyanne and Mateo have all these pictures of them on Instagram of them not wearing masks, only bandanas tied around their necks. 

[Kip Hackman]

I thought it was a good episode. Besides laying out Garrett's frustrations, they also did a good job with with the idea of white people wanting to do/say the right thing, but failing. This show has never backed away from social issues, so I don't expect them to start now, even down the final stretch. 

I have to say that this may have been the first episode where I didn't even notice Amy's absence. Nia did a fine job of standing in as the voice of reason. Further proof that the show could've continued without America Ferrera. I think that one of the reasons the show is ending because of the logistics of filming such a large ensemble cast during Covid.  As disinterested as I am in a Cheyenne/Bo spinoff, they can obviously do it with a much smaller cast (and budget). 

More Cody, please. 

 

[AnimeMania]

Totally off topic, but at work, one guy said he didn't like "Salt & Vinegar" potato chips because they taste like "douche". Every guy that heard that, gave him the side eye, while thinking you should have kept that to yourself (TMI). Way to shut down a conversation!

[MaryHedwig]

4 hours ago, foxfreakinmulder said:

When I worked at Walmart they were locked up because they were a high thief item. Their were lots of high thief items locked up, video games, tools, headphones, even some toys. 

The 'Superstore' where I worked also had the Bibles locked up.

Edited January 16, 2021 by MaryHedwig

[MaryHedwig]

3 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

Totally off topic, but at work, one guy said he didn't like "Salt & Vinegar" potato chips because they taste like "douche". Every guy that heard that, gave him the side eye, while thinking you should have kept that to yourself (TMI). Way to shut down a conversation!

God, I  miss retail!

[possibilities]

Sandra saying she doesn't like to guess anymore because her mind is too dirty... I like that Sandra is getting more to do than just be the resident punching bag. She's much funner this way.

Edited January 16, 2021 by possibilities

[MisterGlass]

6 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I especially like the security guard, who I don't think we have seen a whole lot of his personality before.

The first time I remember him is when Jonah and Sandra faked Garrett into thinking that corporate was spying on him.  The security guard was in on it and was suddenly trying to be really friendly with Garrett.  I remember that the surveillance nickname for Garrett was "Uncle Phil."

[t7686]

On 1/16/2021 at 12:08 AM, memememe76 said:

Is locking up the black hair products actually a thing in real life?

I thought the episode was fun. As this is their last season (I actually think this season is better than at least the last couple), I will miss those scenes where the entire cast is just making stoopid comments. 

Yes, they still do it at the “superstore” in my town.
 

I liked this episode lot. In a subtle and fun way they demonstrated some good points - a racial inequality is pointed out, people over compensate and then instead of equal rights, extra rights or different rights are given (separate pizza party), everyone freaks out and focuses on that instead of the original problem and nothing gets done when all was wanted was to be treated equally. 
 

Clever stuff. Though I gotta say, I’m black and sour cream and onion is my favorite. Haha. 
 

 

[kelslamu]

I just want the show to be about the stupid things that happen when working in retail.  The customers doing stupid stuff in the background, the little cliques between the co-workers and the little oddities about each worker are usually enough for me.

 

Edited January 19, 2021 by kelslamu

[nasir jones]

The episode was hilarious.

"I thought you were Dominican!"

The funniest part about the Sour Cream & Onion chips was the white customer sweeping all of the bags into his cart.

[Maren]

Count me in as having loved this episode too. It was the first episode in a long time that I thought was funny! I've missed it. I thought they did a good job of being funny and still showing the seriousness of the subject. I loved Garrett in it! And thought all of the characters seemed true to character. Even Dina. Cause while she can be a stone cold biatch a lot of times, she's not a racist one. She just thinks everyone is beneath her, regardless of the color of your skin LOL.

And the whole "unlock ethnic hair care products" thing was hilarious, because yea, when the whole BLM movement ramped up last year, my company did that. We had never had them locked up in the few stores I had worked at so it was news to me, but they came out with this whole memo about how we had to unlock them. And it was just another example for me of looking at corporate decisions and thinking "how many people approved this and not one of them thought 'maybe locking them up in the first place isn't a good idea?'"