S02.E17: Mateo's Last Day

[fishcakes]

Mateo's store transfer gets derailed when his undocumented status comes into play. Also, Glenn battles an online troll with Amy's help, plus Jonah and Cheyenne attempt to give legal counsel to Mateo. America Ferrera directed the episode.

[Corgi-ears]

Personally, I would have opted for "Co-Porkers" over "Other."

[ClareWalks]

I enjoyed all the plots running in this episode. The online troll was great, and Garrett/Dina is always gold. Heaven help me, I laughed when Jonah FINALLY socked Mateo in the face at the end.

[topanga]

4 minutes ago, ClareWalks said:

I enjoyed all the plots running in this episode. The online troll was great, and Garrett/Dina is always gold. Heaven help me, I laughed when Jonah FINALLY socked Mateo in the face at the end.

I laughed throughout the entire scene near the loading docks with Jonah (and later, Cheyenne) trying get up the nerve to punch Mateo.

Glenn was a little annoying, but I liked Amy's visit with the internet troll. He called her out online for not eating his mother's 'cookies'--the dominoes. LOL 

Is Ben Feldman always so pale? He looked positively anemic in this episode. Especially when standing next to Mateo

[Suzysite]

I find Mateo to be insufferable, and not just in this episode.   I was really hoping he'd move away never to be seen again.  

[vibeology]

Thank goodness Jonah punched Mateo because I was tearing up and I think I would have gone full cry if I hadn't started laughing. Everything about Mateo's plot was both heartbreaking and hilarious. The idea that because of his status he was afraid to open up to Jeff just shows how deep those fears go and that he gave up a relationship that made him really happy was so hard to watch. Still, everything about Jonah trying to fight Mateo was gold and when Cheyenne got in on the action it was even better. Plus I loved how upset Jonah was that Mateo wouldn't marry him.

So Garrett and Dina caught feelings, right? Having to work to solve that problem made them spend time together in a friend way and they've caught feelings? It was a change from something physical and from work and that's made enough difference that their dynamic has to shift now. I'm cautiously interested. The show has written some really great relationships so far but I do like the idea of two people who are disinterested hooking up. I think the "other" box was a no-brainer.

[tennisgurl]

I loved how as soon as Amy said the guy on Yelp was a Troll, she knew she had to immediately explain to Glenn that an internet Troll wasn't an actual, mythological creature!

[iMonrey]

And that the troll said Glenn had a "muppet voice." So true.

[Tiger]

I loved Garrett & Dina trying to define their relationship, but the troll plot was awful, and I just rolled my eyes at Mateo.  He is in this country illegally and is apparantly using a stolen ss number, though not card, to work at that location.  And that doesnt get near his awful behavior.  Jeff can do a lot better.  Easily.

[joanne3482]

38 minutes ago, Tiger said:

I just rolled my eyes at Mateo.  He is in this country illegally and is apparantly using a stolen ss number, though not card, to work at that location.  And that doesnt get near his awful behavior.  Jeff can do a lot better.

Up until a few episodes ago, Mateo didn't know he was there illegally. He thought everything that was supposed to have been done for him had actually been done by his family when he was still a kid. I like that Mateo represents some of the gray areas of illegal immigration. He was brought here as a kid. It isn't his fault that a - his family never did it correctly and b - he didn't even know this.  Although I do wonder what he was using for a social security card when he was actually hired to begin with since they require either a social security card or a passport on the I9 form. 

[topanga]

18 minutes ago, joanne3482 said:

Although I do wonder what he was using for a social security card when he was actually hired to begin with since they require either a social security card or a passport on the I9 form. 

I'm thinking that Mateo just used the fake SSN he has memorized. I can see him getting around showing the actual card to Glenn--if he keeps telling him he forgot it. But Dina: no way. Although she might not have been involved in that aspect of the hiring process. 

[iMonrey]

Quote

 Although I do wonder what he was using for a social security card when he was actually hired to begin with since they require either a social security card or a passport on the I9 form. 

He must have just given them a SS number. Like I did when I was hired. I don't think I even have an official social security card.  If I do, it's ancient and illegible. I can't ever remember being required to show it anywhere; generally when your SSN is asked for you only have to write it on a form.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

The whole "getting punched to gain citizenship" plot annoyed me, since it's a ridiculous interpretation of the actual rules.

[Tiger]

3 hours ago, joanne3482 said:

Up until a few episodes ago, Mateo didn't know he was there illegally. He thought everything that was supposed to have been done for him had actually been done by his family when he was still a kid. I like that Mateo represents some of the gray areas of illegal immigration. He was brought here as a kid. It isn't his fault that a - his family never did it correctly and b - he didn't even know this.  Although I do wonder what he was using for a social security card when he was actually hired to begin with since they require either a social security card or a passport on the I9 form. 

Ok, then he has had two years to fix it and hasnt done anything.  

And it isnt gray at all; he is in the country illegally.  He is a criminal.  

[VartanFan]

I was not expecting the punch out of nowhere at the end, so I loved it.  

Quote

The whole "getting punched to gain citizenship" plot annoyed me, since it's a ridiculous interpretation of the actual rules.

To me it was a ridiculous interpretation but didn't surprise me in the least that that group of merry idiots would interpret it that way and think they could scam the system.  

[Irlandesa]

7 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

The whole "getting punched to gain citizenship" plot annoyed me, since it's a ridiculous interpretation of the actual rules.

Well so was Jonah's offer to be the Andie MacDowell to Mateo's Gerard Depardieu with his marriage suggestion.  They are many things but immigration experts they are not. 

*sigh* I know it's silly for a silly comedy but darn I'm super bummed at Jeff and Mateo's breakup.  Mateo can be a bit annoying and I know Jeff is a superior but there's just something about the way the actor plays Jeff and the way they were together that worked for me.  I got a legit ache when Mateo had to lie about his feelings. If only Hallmark Hall of Fame movies could do it this well.  

I wasn't laughing too hard during the attempt to fight outside but it was so worth it for the punch at the end.  Dina and Garrett's negotiation was great too but I was surprised they didn't land on "co-workers with benefits."

Other than Amy specifying that she didn't literally mean a troll and the "Muppet voice" insult, the troll story fell flat for me.  Loser living at home with his mother is vicious man behind the curtain is kind of the only place these stories ever go and it's kind of old.

[ae2]

6 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

*sigh* I know it's silly for a silly comedy but darn I'm super bummed at Jeff and Mateo's breakup.  Mateo can be a bit annoying and I know Jeff is a superior but there's just something about the way the actor plays Jeff and the way they were together that worked for me.  I got a legit ache when Mateo had to lie about his feelings. If only Hallmark Hall of Fame movies could do it this well.  

I'm not too fond of Mateo - he's okay as a background character but I rarely like his stories. But I'm 100% with you about Jeff. The actor really nailed that role. I'll be disappointed if we don't see him again.

(I could see him becoming a sort of spiteful bad guy making life difficult for the store.)

Put me down for co-jerker. I mean, as my preferred name for the Dina-Garrett situation.

[neuromom]

My first thought about the "punch to gain citizenship" plot was how silly it was. I don't know the rules myself, but IF this was even legit, it would take Mateo being a victim if a violent crime where there was a police report. This little "school yard fight" would have gotten them nowhere.

The Dina/Garret plot was the best for me.

And now I have Scott Bakula in my head....

[DearEvette]

22 hours ago, neuromom said:

The Dina/Garret plot was the best for me.

My favorite too.  I love how they managed to get all the different people for HR to Legal, the guy on the cruise boat all to agree they needed a fourth box. 

But Jonah doing the the 'girl-fight windmill' got the biggest laugh from me.

[topanga]

On 3/24/2017 at 4:50 PM, Tiger said:

Ok, then he has had two years to fix it and hasnt done anything.  

And it isnt gray at all; he is in the country illegally.  He is a criminal.  

He didn't know his status until Election Day in November. And since then, he's been afraid of being deported even though he's lived in the US for years. 

[CofCinci]

I watch sitcoms to escape current events.  Did they really have to give Matteo the illegal/undocumented storyline? Ugh. 

Loving the Dina/Garret scenes. 

[Skyfall]

On 3/24/2017 at 4:50 PM, Tiger said:

Ok, then he has had two years to fix it and hasnt done anything.  

And it isnt gray at all; he is in the country illegally.  He is a criminal.  

Where do you get two years? He JUST found out show time like maybe a month ago.

[wknt3]

On 3/24/2017 at 2:38 PM, ItCouldBeWorse said:

The whole "getting punched to gain citizenship" plot annoyed me, since it's a ridiculous interpretation of the actual rules.

 

On 3/24/2017 at 9:19 PM, VartanFan said:

I was not expecting the punch out of nowhere at the end, so I loved it.  

To me it was a ridiculous interpretation but didn't surprise me in the least that that group of merry idiots would interpret it that way and think they could scam the system.  

Yeah really not understanding this criticism since it's not exactly the first time they've done something like this. One of the central themes of the show is that they are part of a system that at their level is so arbitrary and Kafkaesque that it warps the perception of what is workable and reasonable. Which causes problems when they try it in other areas. If it had actually worked that would be a bridge too far but as something Cheyanne and Mateo come up with? Totally fine. Yes it wasn't as brilliant as Dina and Garret, but very little is. That was gold.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

4 minutes ago, wknt3 said:

On 3/24/2017 at 2:38 PM, ItCouldBeWorse said:

The whole "getting punched to gain citizenship" plot annoyed me, since it's a ridiculous interpretation of the actual rules.

 

On 3/24/2017 at 9:19 PM, VartanFan said:

I was not expecting the punch out of nowhere at the end, so I loved it.  

To me it was a ridiculous interpretation but didn't surprise me in the least that that group of merry idiots would interpret it that way and think they could scam the system.  

Yeah really not understanding this criticism since it's not exactly the first time they've done something like this. One of the central themes of the show is that they are part of a system that at their level is so arbitrary and Kafkaesque that it warps the perception of what is workable and reasonable. Which causes problems when they try it in other areas. If it had actually worked that would be a bridge too far but as something Cheyanne and Mateo come up with? Totally fine. Yes it wasn't as brilliant as Dina and Garret, but very little is. That was gold.

I guess my issue with this was that while Cheyenne and Mateo are not geniuses, Jonah is way to smart to believe that getting beaten up is a path to citizenship. At least I thought he was.  Amy would certainly have known better, which is why she had to be distracted elsewhere, I suppose.

[wknt3]

4 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

I guess my issue with this was that while Cheyenne and Mateo are not geniuses, Jonah is way to smart to believe that getting beaten up is a path to citizenship. At least I thought he was.  Amy would certainly have known better, which is why she had to be distracted elsewhere, I suppose.

I would agree with that but it wasn't like he was enthusiastic and believed them. It was more that he went along out of peer pressure and not wanting to give them bad news, which is in character. Plus a certain degree of "if you'd rather be physically assaulted than pretend you're married to me..." TBH I wasn't totally on board until the punch at the end. That was great and took me from 50/50 to 100% with them.

[EarlGreyTea]

On 3/25/2017 at 9:39 PM, DearEvette said:

My favorite too.  I love how they managed to get all the different people for HR to Legal, the guy on the cruise boat all to agree they needed a fourth box. 

But Jonah doing the the 'girl-fight windmill' got the biggest laugh from me.

And I love how weirdly invested all of those HR/legal people got!

Basically that whole subplot boiled down to Dina and Garrett doth protest too much. There is definitely something there, even if neither of them want to admit it. They seem to be the Dwight/Angela of this show, although Garrett has a tighter grasp on reality than those two ever did.

[Big Mother]

aWWW I felt so bad for poor mateo. Couldnt he just say he lost his social security card?

To be honest I never bought jeff and Mateo as a couple. I can't see Jeff falling for mateo. 

I did like the internet troll story. It's a real human interest story with heart.

Garrett and Dina is totally the Dwight/Angela story. It's hilarious.

Love this little show.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 4/2/2017 at 4:54 PM, Big Mother said:

aWWW I felt so bad for poor mateo. Couldnt he just say he lost his social security card?

Not if the store rules require him to provide it, and possibly have a photocopy made for the store records.

[Fostersmom]

That's not store rules, he would need an I-9 to be legally employed like anyone else in the US. You need one from column A (valid passport, green card) or one each from column B (license or state ID) and C (social security card, birth certificate). This is a federal mandate and as far as I know, states can't by pass it. Now, if he was potentially considered a subcontractor, working for himself and not a real company employee, then they wouldn't have had to get the info. I was a store manager for years, and that's the first thing new employees would do their first day, fill out the I-9. I'm an office manager now, I filled out an I-9, other employees have them, but we have subs working for us and they don't have one. Federal mandates also state I-9s are to be kept in a separate locked file cabinet (can be in the same cabinet with other files, but really shouldn't be in each individual employee file).

[scowl]

I had been letting the recordings of this season pile up because I found last season to be a bit too sweet and not especially funny. I've nearly caught up with this season and I've found this season is much funnier than the last. 

I think it's because the workplace is more dreary now, Cloud 9 is clearly a heartless corporation, and the coworkers really don't like each other. This kind of conflict tends to lead to humor that I can relate to.

[possibilities]

RE Jonah being too smart to realize marrying wouldn't fix the problem: I know a lot of people who think that's all it takes, some of them otherwise very well-informed. It really is not that simple, but I bought Jonah being that naive. He's kind of in a bubble of privilege.

The punch as a loophole was beyond ridiculous, but I agree that Cheyenne and Co. might cook it up, for all the reasons already outlined by others upthread.

[The Companion]

On 3/25/2017 at 9:39 PM, DearEvette said:

My favorite too.  I love how they managed to get all the different people for HR to Legal, the guy on the cruise boat all to agree they needed a fourth box. 

But Jonah doing the the 'girl-fight windmill' got the biggest laugh from me.

I am an attorney in house and I have been on both of those calls. When legal said no romance did make it more complicated, my spouse turned to me and said, well, that is you. 😆