S03.E20: Gender Reveal

[fishcakes]

Quote

The store hosts a gender reveal party for Glenn and his wife Jerusha, just as Dina is freaking out at the realities of having to deliver a baby. Meanwhile, Amy receives some unsettling news.

[ClareWalks]

Lauren Ash (Dina) revealed on Conan that she wrote this episode! It's the first episode of Superstore (or any other US sitcom) she's written.

[EarlGreyTea]

Wow. I cannot believe they actually wrote in America's pregnancy. To say I'm cheesed off is a understatement. I HATE it when IRL pregnancies are written in when plenty of shows hide their actresses' pregnancies just fine. This totally derails Jonah and Amy for probably another season, and Amy's character growth in general. The shark has been jumped. I'm sorry, I'm just very disappointed. I hate baby storylines when they make absolutely no sense.  But I did like that abortion was a clear option. Hate it when shows don't act like that option exists.

A miscarriage is probably too dark for this show, but it's pretty much their only way out now, unless the second round of pregnancy tests she took were wrong, too. The entire point of this ill-timed pregnancy could be the final catalyst to kick Amy and Jonah into action.

Happy for Lauren Ash, though. The episode itself was funny, and it seems like a huge coup to get such a late season episode to write. Hopefully I can get over this massive letdown and be able to enjoy this episode one day. Also we didn't even find out the gender of the baby. Total letdown, part two.

I'm a shipper, so the Jonah/Amy kiss was awesome at the end.

Edited April 20, 2018 by EarlGreyTea

[Roaster]

5 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

Lauren Ash (Dina) revealed on Conan that she wrote this episode! It's the first episode of Superstore (or any other US sitcom) she's written.

I noticed it in the opening credits.  TV sitcoms are typically written by many people, but they might give the primary author a credit.  Actors often direct episodes, but I don't think they often write them.

2 minutes ago, EarlGreyTea said:

 A miscarriage is probably too dark for this show.

 

This episode was pretty dark for 8/7 Central.  Mentions of abortion, C-sections, gynecological details.  I am surprised they made Amy pregnant and I don't know how I like the idea of her as a mother to a baby next season.

[LadyintheLoop]

Quote

Lauren Ash (Dina) revealed on Conan that she wrote this episode!

Was she inspired by the first season of Cheers, where Carla explains why she's pregnant by her ex-husband? The scene seemed eerily familiar, right down to the Very Special Shirt.

[possibilities]

What is a melon baby?

I can't imagine a funny or satisfying outcome for Amy's pregnancy. I hope the writers know what they're doing. They usually do, but I'm for sure stumped.

[tomsmom]

I looove this show but that ending bummed me out. 

[Kip Hackman]

Wow. Did not see that coming. That reminded me of The Office' "Casino Night" - A pretty damn hilarious episode of tv, with a "What the hell just happened?" ending.

Kudos to Lauren Ash and the rest of the writing staff.  It will be interesting seeing how this all plays out. 

[Irlandesa]

With so few episodes left and the show successfully hiding America's pregnancy, I am pretty shocked that they decided to write it in.  And I almost wondered if the end was meant to suggest that Amy and Jonah had slept together in the past that we didn't see.  Tonight's episode seemed to be a bit of a time jump with how big Dina's baby bump was, Jeff's 'stache and apparently there was no mention of Jonah ditching Kelly. 

Didn't Amy also hook up with the pharmacist?

It was a funny episode.  I especially loved Jonah and Mateo trying to work Jeff but fundamentally not communicating because it was very easy to believe Mateo was being a decent boyfriend only to have it revealed that was an act too.

[belladonna77]

I'm so sad Amy is pregnant!  There's no way it could be Jonah's and the guy who plays Adam is on another TV show, so how is this going to work? I hope Amy is going to agree to co-parent the child with Adam rather than start their relationship again.  

Are Jonah and Kelly purposely not hanging out together so they don't have to admit they were just a rebound? Did they move in together or what? 

[EarlGreyTea]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

With so few episodes left and the show successfully hiding America's pregnancy, I am pretty shocked that they decided to write it in.  And I almost wondered if the end was meant to suggest that Amy and Jonah had slept together in the past that we didn't see.  Tonight's episode seemed to be a bit of a time jump with how big Dina's baby bump was, Jeff's 'stache and apparently there was no mention of Jonah ditching Kelly. 

 

This crossed my mind too, but it's not really a desirable outcome for me. It means jumping from the awkwardly funny dating stage (hiding it from the coworkers, etc) straight to a baby. I dunno. Part of the fun of watching a fictional relationship happen after so long is to enjoy seeing it finally unfold. And it makes both Jonah and Amy look awful. Poor Kelly, indeed.

But if they DID have sex, it was probably right after the events of the last episode, and the lack of fallout and awkwardness between Jonah and Amy could be explained away by the fact that it had happened weeks prior to this episode.

I dunno. Again, there are no good options here for me besides the pregnancy being a non-pregnancy. But if I had to choose, I'd go with Amy's baby being Jonah's over Adam's.

And now that I think about it and have cooled down, the kid being Jonah's is probably what it's going to turn out to be. Next episode will probably include a flashback.

Edited April 20, 2018 by EarlGreyTea

[Claudia Kishi]

If the baby was Jonahs, I don’t think we would’ve seen Amy trying to leave Adam a voicemail telling him that his baby was inside her. 

[EarlGreyTea]

Just now, Claudia Kishi said:

If the baby was Jonahs, I don’t think we would’ve seen Amy trying to leave Adam a voicemail telling him that his baby was inside her. 

Yeah, right after I hit Submit on the post I thought of that. Dammit. I could argue it was to throw people off the scent, but no one else was around to hear her. But the actor playing him IS on another show, so I'm hoping the show has some trick up their sleeve. Adam grated even before he knocked Amy up again. I don't really want to see him again as spoiler to Jonah and Amy. And yet I don't want to watch Jonah and Amy awkwardly explain why they're dating, but the kid isn't his.

[possibilities]

30 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

Didn't Amy also hook up with the pharmacist?

His name is Tate, I think, which means they almost did, but he left after falling down and getting embarrassed, so it never actually happened.

[Irlandesa]

30 minutes ago, Claudia Kishi said:

If the baby was Jonahs, I don’t think we would’ve seen Amy trying to leave Adam a voicemail telling him that his baby was inside her. 

I thought about that too.  But I can't help but feel that the kiss and pregnancy reveal was so just bizarre if he's completely out of the daddy equation.

[theatremouse]

I read it more like she'd been stressing all day about it. Then had this moment with Jonah because they seem to be "momenting" up the joint lately. So they kissed because of their own pent-up whatevers. And she feels comfortable enough around him to be truthful so she just let it out, A: because she spent the better part of the day trying to tell Adam and couldn't find the right way, so just...saying it...was probably a relief to her, even though it wasn't to the most productive person to say it to and B: she's didn't want to be misleading, especially if she feels like they have no relationship potential currently, not only because he's seeing someone but because she's pregnant. So it was a sort of...clarification? Like, yes I just kissed you but not I was not really intending to start something. Plus or minus making it plain that she's not in a clear headspace.

I guess I felt like Ferrera played a lot of nuance into that one sentence.

[nilyank]

If they were going to write in the pregnancy anyway, they should have had Amy and not Dina being Glenn's surrogate.

Did like that Amy to take the leap and do what she wanted to do, which was Jonah. 

[AnimeMania]

I liked the gag of people signing up on the white board to sleep with Amy.

[ApathyMonger]

4 hours ago, nilyank said:

If they were going to write in the pregnancy anyway, they should have had Amy and not Dina being Glenn's surrogate.

America didn't announce her pregnancy until New Year's, so the Dina storyline was too far gone.

[ally862]

I definitely don't think it's Jonah's.  He cherished that kiss way too much to have already slept with her. That was a holy crap I can't believe this is happening kiss. I think that was just Amy's reaction to Dina telling her there's always a reason not to do something. She was finally doing one of the things she wanted to do now that she thought her life was on the track she wanted.

[ally862]

A couple other things, I also love the sign up sheet to have sex with Amy and I really do like how Dena has become Amy best friend. I'm really enjoying their relationship this season.

[Trillium]

I really don’t know why they are throwing an Amy pregnancy with her ex in. It’s very unnecessary. I get America is pregnant but they seriously couldn’t hide it for two more episodes? And if they had to write it in why not have it be beverages guy’s or have had Jonah dump Kelly several weeks ago and have it be his. They obviously want Amy and him together, so why keep throwing obstacles in at this point? I hope somehow they make her not pregnant. I suppose they could always go the route that Jonah doesn’t care that it’s Adam’s and they get together anyway. 

Edited April 20, 2018 by Trillium

[topanga]

9 hours ago, theatremouse said:

I read it more like she'd been stressing all day about it. Then had this moment with Jonah because they seem to be "momenting" up the joint lately. So they kissed because of their own pent-up whatevers. And she feels comfortable enough around him to be truthful so she just let it out, A: because she spent the better part of the day trying to tell Adam and couldn't find the right way, so just...saying it...was probably a relief to her, even though it wasn't to the most productive person to say it to and B: she's didn't want to be misleading, especially if she feels like they have no relationship potential currently, not only because he's seeing someone but because she's pregnant. So it was a sort of...clarification? Like, yes I just kissed you but not I was not really intending to start something. Plus or minus making it plain that she's not in a clear headspace.

I guess I felt like Ferrera played a lot of nuance into that one sentence.

Yes. Great scene and great performances. And Jonah didn’t even hesitate befor kissing her back. 

 

11 hours ago, belladonna77 said:

Are Jonah and Kelly purposely not hanging out together so they don't have to admit they were just a rebound? Did they move in together or what? 

Not sure if they’ve moved in together yet. But at the end of the scene when Jonah and Amy were joking around doing accents, he said, “I gotta go find Kelly.” So maybe they’re still dating? But they didn’t sit together at the staff meeting. And what about him standing her up last episode?

[HeySandyStrange]

Well, that happened. I was sort of hoping, if Any had to be pregnant, it would be the pharmacist's baby, because how hilarious would that be? But somehow it had to be Adam's. 

I'm meh at best about Amy/Jonah but since the show has clearly stated from the beginning they that they are soulmates, I wish the show would just make them official. Are Kelly and Jonah broken up? Or was Amy just in a fuck it moment when she kissed Jonah? Doesn't make them look great if the latter is true, I hope if he hasn't already Jonah talks to Kelly and they break up. I just want this love triangle business over.

[Gurkel]

12 hours ago, LadyintheLoop said:

Was she inspired by the first season of Cheers, where Carla explains why she's pregnant by her ex-husband? The scene seemed eerily familiar, right down to the Very Special Shirt.

I don’t remember that episode, but it fits. Amd wasn’t Carla always pregnant though?

I agree with other posters that Amy's pregnancy bummed me out a little, but it was also very realistic. Unexpected things happen that can derail you from your plans and the direction your life was heading. Still, I was all ready to board the Jonah-Amy ship, and now this slows things way down, if not halts them altogether. And wasn't Amy in college? Was that plotline dropped completely?

But I like that Dina encouraged Amy not to let the baby derail her from living life. And she was simply there for Amy and took her away from the store to clear her head. Who knew that she’d programmed Siri to lead them to an abortion clinic? I know abortion isn't funny, but Dina managed to make it a humorous discussion. Well-written episode, Lauren Ash. 

I thought Garrett was joking about losing the gender reveal envelope, but I guess not. When he called the OB clinic, that was him imitating Glenn, right? If so, it was spot on. I originally thought he was lip-syncing.

And I liked seeing Dina afraid about giving birth. We rarely see Dina vulnerable, let alone afraid, about anything (I'm pretending her cringe-worthy crush on Jonah never happened), so this was hilarious and refreshing.  "They cut me from hole to hole." --Dina kept ruminating on that line. 

 

Other funny quotes: 

--when Amy said she was turned on by Adam partly because he was wearing an Obama T-shirt. And Cheyenne gave the classic line: "Thanks, Obama."

--The "Sex w/ Amy" board was hilarious. And the fact that Cheyenne and Dina thought they needed a white board in the first place to figure out who Amy's baby daddy was. 

--the man trying out the breast pump. I'm sure he's not the first guy to think about it. 

--Marcus trying on a retainer that wasn't his.

--the vanilla cake. "You're having a white baby." 

[tominboston]

Wow. I know that America is pregnant IRL, but I wish they hadn't decided to incorporate it into the show... to me it just messes things up with respect to Amy/Jonah and Amy's life in general, a dynamic that I though the show was developing nicely. Now it gets dark. But I suspect that America wants to make the point that unplanned pregnancies can be a life-altering experience for low-paid retail workers.

Having said that, I'll add myself to the folks who are complementing Lauren Ash on a great writing job. I noticed that there was something a little different in the general tone this episode, pregnancy reveal aside. The various mothers describing the pregnancy experience and Dina's reaction were especially funny, plus the quick sight gag of guys signing up on the "sex w/Amy" whiteboard. I hope they let Lauren write some more next season.

[AnnieHeights]

I am confused, last week they showed Kelly basically being stood up by Jonah because he was with Amy.......I kind of get the time jump with Jeff's mustache but no explanation?

Count me in as not being happy about Amy's pregnancy.  I really do like Amy and Jonah together, they have a very believable chemistry together. 

I cracked up over Dina talking about having a strangers penis inside of her and Justine saying it sounded like her typical Saturday night (paraphrasing here).   

[Lovecat]

I haven’t been able to find an announced due date for America’s baby, but I wonder if Amy’s name tag of the week, “June,” was a sly little hint.  She announced her pregnancy at New Years, which would have been the end of the first trimester for a June arrival...

[EarlGreyTea]

7 minutes ago, Lovecat said:

I haven’t been able to find an announced due date for America’s baby, but I wonder if Amy’s name tag of the week, “June,” was a sly little hint.  She announced her pregnancy at New Years, which would have been the end of the first trimester for a June arrival...

Actually I was on Lauren Ash’s Twitter feed and the name June is for Lauren’s grandmother who passed. 

[Gossipgirl03]

This is the first episode of Superstore that has left me bummed. I had to come and search for a forum to read others opinions. 

Does anyone else think maybe there is a possibility that the Adam scenario is true but maybe it might be Jonah’s baby too? The way they kissed and she told him she was pregnant made me think that.

[Accidental Martyr]

Amy said, “Emma is almost out of the house.” How old is she? It seems like she was about 12 not long ago.

[topanga]

6 minutes ago, Accidental Martyr said:

Amy said, “Emma is almost out of the house.” How old is she? It seems like she was about 12 not long ago.

Yes. She can’t be older than 14-15. Maybe Amy was thinking about a few years from now. Or maybe she’s going to send her to boarding school. Because as Cheyenne said, ‘Emma’s a dud.’

[ally862]

I love Amy and Jonah and I'd really love to see this turn into next episode he's conflicted/breaks up with Kelly and the season ending with him saying he wants to be with her even if it isn't his kid.  If they really do use this to derail them I'll be pissed.

[topanga]

12 minutes ago, ally862 said:

I love Amy and Jonah and I'd really love to see this turn into next episode he's conflicted/breaks up with Kelly and the season ending with him saying he wants to be with her even if it isn't his kid.  If they really do use this to derail them I'll be pissed.

That was the plot of a movie with Geena Davis and Stephen Rea. Great movie, but Spoiler Alert, it didn’t well. 

But I’m holding out hope for Jonah and Amy. 

[WednesdayAddams]

I can totally see Jonah wanting to raise this baby. I'm not liking this story line either, but that's the only outcome I could think of that would make me not completely bummed. I just don't want to deal with her ex.

Even though a miscarriage story line is serious business, it has been done before in comedies. But I can't see them doing that here.

[tennisgurl]

Damn, pregnancy attack! I thought that Americas pregnancy was going to just be hidden, but I guess its being written in. I dont like this. I rarely enjoy pregnancy hijinks, and I cant imagine enjoying watching Amy having to take care of a baby. I dont want it to cut into the Jonah/Amy plot, now that it finally seems to be moving in the right direction. I mean, they finally kissed, so I assumed that it meant that Jonah would be calling things off with poor Kelly soon, but who knows now? I do think Jonah would help her raise the baby though. He might want to more than Amy would. 

The sex with Amy board made me laugh pretty hard. As did Garrots increasing panic to find the envelop with the gender of the baby, and the him trying to make a statement about gender issues to cover his ass. "Your babies white!" 

I also always like Mateo and Jonah plots, so them trying to support/inspire Jeff, while suffering some pretty serious communication issues, was pretty hilarious. "He`s kind of making that hat work". 

Edited April 20, 2018 by tennisgurl

[Irlandesa]

3 hours ago, topanga said:

Not sure if they’ve moved in together yet. But at the end of the scene when Jonah and Amy were joking around doing accents, he said, “I gotta go find Kelly.” So maybe they’re still dating? But they didn’t sit together at the staff meeting. And what about him standing her up last episode?

I think they're still dating.  In addition to Jonah saying he needed to find Kelly, Mateo, in his play acting 'defense' of Jeff, said he was going to go after Jonah's girlfriend.  He then snarked on Kelly.

So he still has a girlfriend. As does Adam, I believe.

[Suzysite]

25 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

As does Adam, I believe.

No, Amy said they had broken up a couple of months ago.

[Roaster]

2 hours ago, Accidental Martyr said:

Amy said, “Emma is almost out of the house.” How old is she? It seems like she was about 12 not long ago.

Yes, exactly.  The show seems to want Emma to no longer exist.  When we started Amy was a mother to a daughter who was not a little kid, but also still had a good deal of growing up to do..  After the divorce I thought they would do stuff with Amy being a single mom to a teen.  Now they want to make her a mom to a newborn which vastly changes the plot elements they can employ.

So many sitcoms introduce babies after a few seasons and suffer for it.

[iMonrey]

Wow, this was an especially good episode, and I did not see Lauren Ash's name in the opening credits so I did not know she wrote it. If this is what she's capable of I want her to write all the episodes. 

Garrett's impersonation of Glenn was so hysterical, and so spot-on, I couldn't tell if that was actually Colton Dunn imitating Mark McKinney or if they simply had Mark McKinney dub the voice in.

There were so many great gags in this one like Marcus trying to fit the garbage retainer in his mouth and the guy trying the breast pump. All the women piling on Dina with their birth horror stories and then Amy trying to pretend she wished she was pregnant. "Because Emma is such a dud?" LOL.

I honestly don't know what to make of Amy's pregnancy but I have zero investment in Amy and Jonah so I'm not the least bothered by it.

Quote

Amy said, “Emma is almost out of the house.” How old is she? It seems like she was about 12 not long ago.

I caught that too. But to Amy 12 is closer to "off to college" than a baby would be.

[ApathyMonger]

39 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Garrett's impersonation of Glenn was so hysterical, and so spot-on, I couldn't tell if that was actually Colton Dunn imitating Mark McKinney or if they simply had Mark McKinney dub the voice in.

That was brilliant, especially with his incredulity when it didn't work at all.

According to the Superstore Wiki, Emma is probably around 15 now, as she's in Grade 9. http://superstore-nbc.wikia.com/wiki/Emma_Dubanowski So I wouldn't say it's that strange that Amy is thinking of her being gone in a few years.

[ally862]

Also have to give props to Ben.  I love the way his faced changes as he went from joking around to realizing she was going to kiss him.

[theatremouse]

7 hours ago, topanga said:

Yes. She can’t be older than 14-15. Maybe Amy was thinking about a few years from now. Or maybe she’s going to send her to boarding school. Because as Cheyenne said, ‘Emma’s a dud.’

My friends with 15-16 year olds refer to those kids as "almost out of the house". I'm used to hearing that, so I don't think the show meant to imply either an age-jump or boarding school plot with that comment. Basically, if you're in high school, you're "almost out of the house" especially compared to an infant.

[janie jones]

I thought it was going to turn out that Amy was so convinced that she was pregnant that they didn't actually look at the pregnancy tests, which would turn out to be negative.

Although it would be tidier to have the baby be Jonah's (assuming they hooked up after golfing and there is enough of a time jump), on the other hand, you have the whole "if he cheated with you, he'll cheat on you" business.

[EarlGreyTea]

9 hours ago, Roaster said:

Yes, exactly.  The show seems to want Emma to no longer exist.  When we started Amy was a mother to a daughter who was not a little kid, but also still had a good deal of growing up to do..  After the divorce I thought they would do stuff with Amy being a single mom to a teen.  Now they want to make her a mom to a newborn which vastly changes the plot elements they can employ.

So many sitcoms introduce babies after a few seasons and suffer for it.

Add to this the fact that this show has done babies - a LOT. Cheyenne's pregnancy was a major plot point in the first season, and then Dina this season. So it's well-treaded ground, and frankly, not a whole lot more mileage can be gained from this, particularly since it's a workplace comedy, not a family one. We already have Amy as a mother, and Emma can at least carry a storyline and, you know, talk. A baby, not so much.

So I'm hoping they'll put the kibosh on this mess because this show has enough babies. I'm willing to accept any possibility to make this nonsense go away. I'm wondering if this is all a minor plot point that will be resolved this week, because I really think this show is too clever to go there with a pregnancy storyline for a third time.

We've also already seen Adam as spoiler to Jonah and Amy. No need to reheat that souffle. If they had to do a pregnancy storyline, at least rope in Tate or beverage guy who are at least part of the workplace.

Edited April 21, 2018 by EarlGreyTea

[possibilities]

RE "wasn't Amy in college?": I've been wondering about that too. It does look like they've totally dropped that story, even before the pregnancy. I guess if Amy was doing something to change her life, it would undermine the premise of the show, which is that everybody is stuck in a dead end unsatisfying job working at Cloud 9.

I don't particularly see a pregnancy as an obstacle for Jonah and Amy, I just think it's not funny and unlikely to be interesting.

I also can't accept that Kelly didn't break up with Jonah after he stood her up for their dinner reservation. There's being good natured and forgiving and there's being a doormat. I also can't really accept that Jonah has continued to stay with her when he clearly has zero interest in her whatsoever on any level. It was OK at first; they have fun, it's not serious, it was worth a try. But it's beyond obvious at this point that it's a completely empty exercise, and it bothers me that the show is just letting it continue. Again: not funny.

I did love a lot else about the episode, though. Superstore is one of my favorite shows these days.

[Teitr Styrr]

I loved this episode. I saw Amy kissing Jonah and telling him that she was pregnant, as sort of a two fold thing. Following Dina's advice to not let the baby stop her from doing what she wants is one. Also, I really have enjoyed Dina coming around to be a pretty good friend to Amy. I can tell it's hard for her, and I really don't like the character of Dina that much, but now she's growing on me. As for two, I think she kissed him and told him because he is the person she is most comfortable and attracted to, and needed to let him know. In my mind, this is the last possible chance she has with Jonah, so it's time to give it a shot. If he (understandably) declines for whatever reason he may have, oh well, she tried. I like tot think that he will want to be there for her and her baby. But I'm a hopeless romantic, who is also realistic. I'm sure hijinks will follow. Lauren Ash did a great job writing this one.

[possibilities]

To be honest, I'd like to see them write Amy having an abortion. She doesn't want this child. If they actually let her have the abortion, and not make it a tragedy, I'd give them a lot of credit.

[ClareWalks]

6 hours ago, possibilities said:

To be honest, I'd like to see them write Amy having an abortion. She doesn't want this child. If they actually let her have the abortion, and not make it a tragedy, I'd give them a lot of credit.

I was kind of surprised that they didn't even talk about that really. Dina gave the perfect opening but Amy was just like of course I'm going to keep it, which doesn't make total sense since she is not with the father and would be signing up for a total of over 30 consecutive years of childrearing. Not that every woman on Earth needs to consider abortion but I'd have liked to see a bit of wavering at least.

[festivus]

Since I care nothing about Jonah and Amy getting together I'll focus on what I did like about this episode. I loved Dina getting all freaked out after hearing birthing stories, I thought that was well done. Who hasn't heard some horror story about giving birth? I have a couple myself. ;) Also loved Garrett telling Glenn and Jerusha they were having a white baby and his impression of Glenn. Garrett was used much better in this episode. I liked the stuff between Mateo and Jeff too. Lauren Ash did a good job, I hope they have her write more.