S04.E12: Blizzard

[mrsbagnet]

Quote

The Cloud 9 employees and customers get snowed in during a massive snowstorm, leading to escalating tensions and infighting.

Aired: 3/21/2019

Sandra!!! and Jerry, back together again! Let's hope Glenn doesn't find out sex has been had in his office.

[TheInstigation]

1 hour ago, mrsbagnet said:

Aired: 3/21/2019

Sandra!!! and Jerry, back together again! Let's hope Glenn doesn't find out sex has been had in his office.

I was like wtf! That was definitely a curveball 😂 

[LadyintheLoop]

Loved Brett and the jigsaw puzzles. That's just what I would have done.

Also the deflating air mattress -- "I just thought you were continuously farting all night."

Edited March 22, 2019 by LadyintheLoop

[EarlGreyTea]

Felt a little too close to season one's All-Nighter for my taste. Still, I like that Jonah and Amy once again presented as a team. And not being bored with someone after 24 hours straight with them is a real feat. Also they looked cute on the air mattress. Finally, the writers remembered that they're together. Someone needs to keep pulling America's hair back like it was this episode, because she looked great.

Dina's eyelids! Hilarious!

Cheyenne has rapidly become my least favorite character. I like the actress, but the character just GRATES. I hate that they keep pairing her with Mateo. To me, Mateo is funniest when playing off a straight-man character like Amy or Jonah.

Edited March 22, 2019 by EarlGreyTea

[TheInstigation]

Matteo is my least favorite character! He’s so annoying. The best thing that happened with him on the show was when Jonah sucker punched him!

[memememe76]

You cannot imagine how happy I was when Amy started going after Matteo. Amy and Jonah get ganged up way too often, it is such a thing with this show. And I was happy Jonah made fun of Cheyenne. 

Sandra and Jerry!!!

[Aulty]

Sandra is the MVP of the 2nd part of this season so far. Hilarious!

I agree with @EarlGreyTea  that this episode was something we've alreadyy seen before. There is very little progress for these people stuck in a boring job and I expect that this dullness is on purpose, but they have to give us something fresh soon.

[iMonrey]

I liked the camaraderie they all shared after the customer interrupted their infighting to make a crack about Amy chewing and they all came together to turn on him. I also cracked up when that same guy asked Glenn if he could use the land line to call his mistress and all Glenn could think to say was "Is she nice?"

Painting eyeballs on top of eyelids freaks me right the eff out.

[fishcakes]

That raccoon will never not be funny, but having a standoff with the hapless Justine was the best.

I also loved the quick cutaway of the customer in shorts and a t-shirt in the blizzard. There's always some fool like that out in the snow.

When Glen was pounding his fist into his palm to indicate sex, I was thinking it probably took them 20 takes to get that scene without the actors cracking up.

[krankydoodle]

This episode had a lot of good moments. I especially liked how the chirpy corporate rep weaseled out of an outright 'no' when Glen asked if the employees could leave early. And it was nice to see Jonah and Amy sticking up for one another, and enjoying one another's company.

[ae2]

1 hour ago, fishcakes said:

When Glen was pounding his fist into his palm to indicate sex, I was thinking it probably took them 20 takes to get that scene without the actors cracking up.

Didn't Sandra have an equally awkward sex gesture in a previous season? I can't remember what it was but I think Amy and Jonah corrected her.

[tennisgurl]

Raccoon vs. Justine! The epic struggle!

Not new ground for the show, but certainly better than the last few episodes. Jonah and Amy were actually really cute this week, its a pretty good look for a relationship when they can hang out for 24 hours straight without getting sick of each other. They never even got snippy with each other or started complaining about each other during the complain game. 

Mateo is always so catty towards people, it was great seeing Amy snarking on him and everyone laughing. And then when the customer started in on Amy, and everyone yelled at him to get out and started bonding over making fun of him!

Brett has got skills!

[gesundheit]

Mateo and Dina are my two favorite characters and they didn't get showcased that much in this episode, but I still had fun. (Nico Santo's sotto voce delivery of "I just kept crying" after his virginity story had me in stitches, though.)

Garrett just rolling right outta there with no coat on the second he could was great. And poor Jonah losing his mind trying to explain that a blizzard doesn't mean global warming isn't real was flippin' hilarious, because we've all been there.

Glenn was adorable in his pajamas. Did I miss an explanation as to why he just keeps them on hand? (Or were they Cloud 9 jammies?)

How were they concerned about food rations when half the store is food? I got a little confused on that point.

[possibilities]

I can't remember when/why Sandra and Jerry broke up in the first place. I hate to say it, but I kind of think he doesn't deserve her at this point.

[gesundheit]

15 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I can't remember when/why Sandra and Jerry broke up in the first place. I hate to say it, but I kind of think he doesn't deserve her at this point.

They broke up because Carol "won" him in a coin toss. Which Sandra accepted, and so did he. They're weirdos. He's also now cheated on Carol with Sandra twice, because Sandra was the one he always wanted anyway.

I love Sandra and all, but I don't think we can apply normal relationship standards to these bizarre people!

[fishcakes]

Quote

I love Sandra and all, but I don't think we can apply normal relationship standards to these bizarre people!

I sort of think Sandra and Jerry both deserve better, but they want each other so it's fine. Although they'll never have a chance unless they either get married right away or kill Carol.

Edited March 22, 2019 by fishcakes

[krankydoodle]

21 minutes ago, gesundheit said:

How were they concerned about food rations when half the store is food? I got a little confused on that point.

I think the customers really cleaned the place out in anticipation of the snow-paca-blizz. There was a brief scene showing a lot of the shelves and freezer cases empty.

Another funny moment: Garrett admitting that he didn't want to do a seance in case they were able to contact Sal.

[kelslamu]

I really liked this episode.  There were lots of little stories going on, but they all worked.  Go Sandra.  I get the idea Jerry would go with any woman that told him to though. lol  Dina's eyelids cracked me up.  I want to do it to freak out my kids.  

[mrsbagnet]

16 minutes ago, kelslamu said:

I really liked this episode.  There were lots of little stories going on, but they all worked.  Go Sandra.  I get the idea Jerry would go with any woman that told him to though. lol  Dina's eyelids cracked me up.  I want to do it to freak out my kids.  

Yeah, Jerry seems pretty weak, and the brain injury doesn't help. I'm trying to imagine the conversation that led to them sexing in Glenn's office.

When I heard the heavy breathing coming from Glenn's office as Dina approached, I was hoping it was Jerry and Sandra. That payoff was excellent.

[theatremouse]

I know I'm trying to apply too much reality when A: sitcom and B: retail, but it really bothered me after Glenn's weak-ass conversation with corporate when it got to the point Garrett was telling the store there had been a state of emergency declared. That means "do not be on the road unless you're an emergency vehicle cuz now you're in the way/creating more work by needing to be rescued". They needed to have been gone already. Usually before it gets that far, the state (via every news outlet available) will request people stay off the roads before declaring the actual emergency so corporate and Glenn should've known that by "appreciating them staying" they were guaranteeing they'd get stuck in the store. I'm sure this happens all the time in real life but it still super pisses me off.

[Trillium]

20 minutes ago, 17wheatthins said:

Oh, it happens all the time in real life! Where I work (NYS) the governor declared a state of emergency and many cities and townships declared driving bans, but my city and the city in which my employer is located did not, so all were expected to struggle and get ourselves into work come hell or high water or 12 feet of snow or blizzard conditions. However, corporate did say that our safety was "top priority" LOL

It does happen all the time. State of emergency but the freaking mall is still open, as well as movie theaters, Walmarts, bars, restaurants, car dealerships... They say “if you don’t feel safe to drive, don’t come in” but they will judge the hell out of you for doing so and you’ll have to take the time off as one of your vacation days or unpaid. This year was the first winter I recall any business closing due to weather, but plenty were still open. 

I thought this was hilarious. Marcus walking around bottomless without shame, Justine and the raccoon. Too bad they already established this is set in St Louis, because they could have tied in Pawnee’s legendary raccoon infestation in...unless they are slowy making their way west. Definitely didn’t expect Jerry and Sandra to be banging it out in Glenn’s office but I’m happy about it. Carol never even liked him and she’s mean to him while they are doing it. Sandra and Jerry were just too beta to stand up to her. 

Edited March 22, 2019 by Trillium

[rhys]

Glenn is going to need to buy all the remaining gallons of purell for his office. Between the poop issue of a couple weeks ago & now the coupling of Sandra & Jerry, that office needs full on decontamination.

[EarlGreyTea]

1 minute ago, rhys said:

Glenn is going to need to buy all the remaining gallons of purell for his office. Between the poop issue of a couple weeks ago & now the coupling of Sandra & Jerry, that office needs full on decontamination.

Don't forget Dina and Garrett having sex in there last season!

[Lisa418722]

I worked in a now-defunct clothing store while I was in college.  One day our area had an ice storm (Tennessee is more likely to have ice than snow) and for a lot of people the electricity was off.  Thank goodness I wasn't supposed to work that day because I couldn't / wouldn't have gone into work. But those people who did call in ended up being fired by the manager because they were supposed to come into work.  How many people were going to go shopping for clothes during an ice storm? 

Then a few years after that I was working 2nd shift in another job (not retail) and another episode of ice/snow. At 7:30 one of the day managers called and asked why we were still there.  Ummm, the main manager never called to say it was OK to leave. They finally let us leave at 10:00 (2 hours early).  It took me 5 1/2 hours to drive what was normally at 15-minute drive.  The next day I called into my direct manager. HIs first words were "how long did it take you to get home?"  When I told him, he said "I"ll see you tomorrow."  

[VartanFan]

Agree that I loved the raccoon and ...GET IT, Sandra!  🙂     I though this was a good episode and am happy with Jonah/Amy in this episode.  No need for strife now that they're together.

[AnimeMania]

That raccoon was like "You better not lay a finger on my Butterfinger".

[wknt3]

On 3/22/2019 at 6:51 PM, 17wheatthins said:

Oh, it happens all the time in real life! Where I work (NYS) the governor declared a state of emergency and many cities and townships declared driving bans, but my city and the city in which my employer is located did not, so all were expected to struggle and get ourselves into work come hell or high water or 12 feet of snow or blizzard conditions. However, corporate did say that our safety was "top priority" LOL

Yeah this is another one of the episodes where you can tell who has never worked in chain retail because there the ones saying "nothing remotely similar could ever happen in real life" It's exaggerated for comic effect of course, but I definitely experienced some deja vu -  especially the conversation with corporate.
 

On 3/22/2019 at 5:18 PM, kelslamu said:

I really liked this episode.  There were lots of little stories going on, but they all worked.  Go Sandra.  I get the idea Jerry would go with any woman that told him to though. lol  Dina's eyelids cracked me up.  I want to do it to freak out my kids.  

I really liked this one too. This should have been the one they returned with after the hiatus as it's a great reminder of what the series can be at it's best and there was the whole winter storm theme too. As far as I can see there really wasn't any sort of continuity reason why it couldn't have aired first.

Edited March 25, 2019 by wknt3

[DearEvette]

I agree that we've seen this plot before.  But I liked this quite a bit because so much was going on, so many little side stories and some funny little throw aways.

Of course Glenn wants to see more diversity in TV but when Mateo suggest Empire he's just a little unsure about that much.  LOL.

Also the person who wrote this has to be a Janet Jackson fan who is still a little bitter over nipplegate.  First Mateo keeps dragging the Justin Timberlake 'Man in the Woods' album and then they play 'Nasty' by Janet Jackson. 

The one thing I loved, loved, loved from the somewhat similar Tornado episode was the scene of Sandra coldly closing the door on Carole, keeping her out o the sheltered room.  I wish something like that had happened here too.  I just can't stand Carole.

I call foul on Game of Thrones or Friends Season 9 being the only DVDs left.  Whenever I try to find cheap stocking stuffers for my student workers in the $5 or under bin there always seem to be a lot of Angry Bird movie, 27 Dresses or Die  Hard 3's left over.

[festivus]

On 3/22/2019 at 10:45 AM, fishcakes said:

I also loved the quick cutaway of the customer in shorts and a t-shirt in the blizzard. There's always some fool like that out in the snow.

That's me! I'm that fool. Lol.

Finally, a funny episode. I was beginning to wonder. I got lots of laughs from this one but I've realized that I absolutely cannot stand Glenn. It actually made me angry when he was questioning Amy and Jonah about sleeping on the same mattress and then with the pillow. No. You do not get to put you morals on other people. I hate his character and I always have but now it's making me not want to watch the show.

[meatball77]

Glenn seems pretty real to me, he's a bible belt character.  He's a generally good guy who has lived a sheltered life and is very faithful to his church and does everything his pastor tells him but doesn't know how to reconcile that with the people he cares about who don't follow his churches teachings.

[festivus]

Yeah I live in the bible belt. So I can't stand characters like Glenn. Not funny at all to me.

[proserpina65]

That was by far the funniest episode of this season, if not the funniest episode of the whole damned show.

Having worked for a company where we had to beg for permission from a regional manager to close during a blizzard - despite the governor having issued a state of emergency - I absolutely related to Glenn's difficulties in trying. 

(In my case, the staff had to stay until we were making less than $100 per hour, and couldn't leave before 8pm on an extremely bad night.  I spun out on I-95 on the way home even though I was barely doing 40, and was lucky enough to slide off the road in one of the few spots where there wasn't a guard rail.  A Delaware state trooper had to help me get back on the road, and I crept the rest of the way home at 25 with my blinkers on.  After that, I informed the GM that I was never again staying when it was snowing heavily; I didn't care if they fired me.)

On ‎03‎/‎22‎/‎2019 at 11:45 AM, fishcakes said:

That raccoon will never not be funny, but having a standoff with the hapless Justine was the best.

That was my favorite moment.

[proserpina65]

On ‎03‎/‎22‎/‎2019 at 6:36 PM, theatremouse said:

I know I'm trying to apply too much reality when A: sitcom and B: retail, but it really bothered me after Glenn's weak-ass conversation with corporate when it got to the point Garrett was telling the store there had been a state of emergency declared. That means "do not be on the road unless you're an emergency vehicle cuz now you're in the way/creating more work by needing to be rescued". They needed to have been gone already. Usually before it gets that far, the state (via every news outlet available) will request people stay off the roads before declaring the actual emergency so corporate and Glenn should've known that by "appreciating them staying" they were guaranteeing they'd get stuck in the store. I'm sure this happens all the time in real life but it still super pisses me off.

Have you ever worked retail?  I worked for Borders Books for 11 years, and we rarely got to close early for weather emergencies.  (See my previous post about sliding off I-95 in a blizzard AFTER Gov. Minner had declared a state of emergency in the state where I worked.)  So this rang absolutely true to me.

And every news outlet in the area could be saying to stay off the roads, but there are always customers in the store on days like that, often with their kids.  People are stupid.

Edited March 25, 2019 by proserpina65

[proserpina65]

17 hours ago, DearEvette said:

I call foul on Game of Thrones or Friends Season 9 being the only DVDs left.  Whenever I try to find cheap stocking stuffers for my student workers in the $5 or under bin there always seem to be a lot of Angry Bird movie, 27 Dresses or Die  Hard 3's left over.

People really were that desperate, lol.  Although I'd question anything being left.

[mrsbagnet]

22 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

On ‎3‎/‎22‎/‎2019 at 11:45 AM, fishcakes said:

That raccoon will never not be funny, but having a standoff with the hapless Justine was the best.

That was my favorite moment.

This reminds me: It was funny to see everyone's choice of sleepwear. It seemed appropriate for Justine and Sandra to be wearing the full-length floral flannel gowns.

[topanga]

1 hour ago, proserpina65 said:

Have you ever worked retail?  I worked for Borders Books for 11 years, and we rarely got to close early for weather emergencies.  (See my previous post about sliding off I-95 in a blizzard AFTER Gov. Minner had declared a state of emergency in the state where I worked.)  So this rang absolutely true to me.

And every news outlet in the area could be saying to stay off the roads, but there are always customers in the store on days like that, often with their kids.  People are stupid.

Hey, neighbor! And RIP, Borders. Barnes and Noble just isn't the same. 

How does this store manage to turn a profit? Or does it?  I imagine that all of the employees picked whatever pajamas they wanted right off the racks, they ate store food, used store bedding--and a tent! I doubt they paid for anything. On previous episodes, they took Halloween costumes off the racks at will, and when Dina and Garret set up their impromptu day care center, they used baby gates and supplies from the store. 

I don't stress over it because it's a funny sitcom. But I do wonder what that location's loss totals look like every year. Maybe that's why other stores consider them losers. 

[rhys]

It would be better to be locked in an Ikea cuz Swedish meatballs, anyone? Plus maybe those room ideas actually have beds in them. Not sure about any pajamas & toothbrushes tho.

[kirkola]

4 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

That was by far the funniest episode of this season, if not the funniest episode of the whole damned show.

Having worked for a company where we had to beg for permission from a regional manager to close during a blizzard - despite the governor having issued a state of emergency - I absolutely related to Glenn's difficulties in trying. 

(In my case, the staff had to stay until we were making less than $100 per hour, and couldn't leave before 8pm on an extremely bad night.  I spun out on I-95 on the way home even though I was barely doing 40, and was lucky enough to slide off the road in one of the few spots where there wasn't a guard rail.  A Delaware state trooper had to help me get back on the road, and I crept the rest of the way home at 25 with my blinkers on.  After that, I informed the GM that I was never again staying when it was snowing heavily; I didn't care if they fired me.)

That was my favorite moment.

I think it depends on the type of retail store & the local management team.  I've had it happen both ways.  I live in an area that is prone to hurricanes.  Whether we were open or closed seemed to be dependent on how safe management felt.  One bookstore I worked at, the GM wasn't willing to come in--so store closed.  He didn't care what corporate did....which, apparently is nothing.  Another time, a bunch of people got fired for not showing up (same chain, different city).  My friends that have worked at the Walmart/Target type stores have all said they had to be there or risk getting fired.  Management was not willing to defend their desire to close.

In all honesty, the one facing the weather condition has a better understanding of whether the store should be open or closed, not some corporate bigwig in their ivory tower far from the danger. 

I've been spared the blizzard, but I have had the rain storms where you couldn't see a foot in front of you and both sides of the road had already flooded to the point where the road was pretty close to washing out.  That was bad enough without it being a blizzard too.

[Maren]

I loved Amy and Jonah sticking up for each other so much!! And her trying to comfort him in his frustration over the ignorance of climate change lol. It was great seeing them as a couple. I wasn't a big fan if Dina acting as if it was going to be rape-a-palooza or something because they were snowed in. That just seemed kind of stupid. 

I'm not a big fan of the Sandra, Carol, and Jerry story in this episode. Because I had really liked Sandra and Jerry and that whole coin flip was sooooo stupid and was just more "beat on Sandra" stuff that I'm beyond tired of. Not funny to me.  But wasn't it a huge recon that Sandra was a virgin? Because I'm like 95% positive Sandra said in an earlier season she and Sal were having sex. It was after she'd said he was harassing her and Dina didn't want to hear it. I just can't remember which episode it was...

Anyway, the raccoon is real!!! My second favorite part of the episode lol! Third was Garrett taking off after the customer came in. He didn't even wait to alert the rest of the store. He just booked it lol. 

[questionfear]

On 3/22/2019 at 6:36 PM, theatremouse said:

I know I'm trying to apply too much reality when A: sitcom and B: retail, but it really bothered me after Glenn's weak-ass conversation with corporate when it got to the point Garrett was telling the store there had been a state of emergency declared. That means "do not be on the road unless you're an emergency vehicle cuz now you're in the way/creating more work by needing to be rescued". They needed to have been gone already. Usually before it gets that far, the state (via every news outlet available) will request people stay off the roads before declaring the actual emergency so corporate and Glenn should've known that by "appreciating them staying" they were guaranteeing they'd get stuck in the store. I'm sure this happens all the time in real life but it still super pisses me off.

Yea when I worked for Borders they wouldn't let our standalone store close early unless we did less than $200 an hour for several hours AND there was a state of emergency. Basically it had to be too expensive to leave us open.

When I ran a Borders in a mall, we had to close once because the mall closed-I was on the phone with my district manager explaining I sent everyone home while the security guard waited to escort me out because we were literally the last people in the mall, and my district manager asked why i couldn't have had people stay and alphabetize. 

We also were not allowed to ask people to leave even after closing. Mall Borders was next door to a Cheesecake Factory, so people would wander in and browse rather than hang out in the mall hallway or in the waiting area of Cheesecake. One Christmas Eve we had people "browsing" for over an hour after we had officially closed. My coworker finally went over and told them point blank if they weren't buying anything they had to leave, and the husband fucking screamed at us about it. They did finally leave, but seriously...people are the worst. 

[ljenkins782]

On 3/23/2019 at 12:00 PM, Lisa418722 said:

I worked in a now-defunct clothing store while I was in college.  One day our area had an ice storm (Tennessee is more likely to have ice than snow) and for a lot of people the electricity was off.  Thank goodness I wasn't supposed to work that day because I couldn't / wouldn't have gone into work. But those people who did call in ended up being fired by the manager because they were supposed to come into work.  How many people were going to go shopping for clothes during an ice storm? 

Then a few years after that I was working 2nd shift in another job (not retail) and another episode of ice/snow. At 7:30 one of the day managers called and asked why we were still there.  Ummm, the main manager never called to say it was OK to leave. They finally let us leave at 10:00 (2 hours early).  It took me 5 1/2 hours to drive what was normally at 15-minute drive.  The next day I called into my direct manager. HIs first words were "how long did it take you to get home?"  When I told him, he said "I"ll see you tomorrow."  

Ugh, that's so typical. When the people in charge of making the decisions can do so from afar and THEY won't be battling the elements to get home, they just forget or decide it's not too bad. My bf's boss was in Florida while we were having a big snowstorm here in the Northeast and she kept responding to their requests to close (a non-emergency medical place where all the patients had already cancelled their appointments) with "No, I've heard from my friend that it's not that bad up there, so you can't leave."

There's also the factor of them waiting until it actually gets bad to close, when the better time to leave would be before it gets bad. Getting an early release straight into the thick of a storm isn't exactly "putting employee safety first" but so many places don't want to take a chance on closing early and then the weather doesn't get as bad as predicted, so they wait until it's an obvious hazard.

Quote

And every news outlet in the area could be saying to stay off the roads, but there are always customers in the store on days like that, often with their kids.  People are stupid.

Yep, you're at the mercy of all the dummies who apparently can't bear to stay home. I waitressed in college and I can remember having to drag myself into work to a MOSTLY, but not completely empty restaurant and every single one of the morons that drove through a blizzard to eat at a crappy chain restaurant felt the need to comment on how empty the place was and/or "how about this weather?" Right assholes, it IS empty because only idiots like you would drive in this and BECAUSE of idiots like you, I also have to risk my safety so you can eat chicken fingers. It's infuriating.

All that being said, it actually seemed fun to get snowed in a store like that! They sell everything you'd need and if you actually like your co-workers, it could be a good time.