The New Episode of ‘Superstore’ Shows the Labor Behind Curbside Pickup
Warning, this article contains spoilers for the newest episode of Superstore. The show often explores real-life labor issues in its episodes, and the newest episode keeps up the trend. In “Curbside Pickup,” Superstore finds a way to show the labor behind curbside pickup in a humorous way.
Amy tries to set her brother up with Mateo in ‘Superstore’
The episode starts with Amy telling the staff of Cloud 9 that her brother Eric moved back to the area. Since moving back, Eric has lived with Amy and Jonah. Amy tells the staff she will be busy for the day because she plans to give Eric a tour of Cloud 9.
During Eric’s tour in Superstore, he meets Mateo. Amy notices that Eric seemed flustered by Mateo. She mentions it to Mateo, but Mateo tells her he is not dating at the moment. When Mateo’s roommate, Marcus, reveals Mateo is dating, Amy decides to try and set Eric and Mateo up.
Through several desperate attempts, Amy tries to get Eric and Mateo to get together. After she fails, she leaves the two of them alone. Eric and Mateo bond over how hard Amy tried to get them to talk. They agree to go on a date and to not tell Amy about it.
Dina oversees the curbside pick-up as ‘Superstore’ makes a point about labor
While Amy tries to set up Mateo and Eric, Dina runs Cloud 9’s new initiative, curbside pickup. She selects a team of Cloud 9 employees and tells them they have 30 minutes to fill each order. In Superstore, Jonah and Cheyenne protest the idea of filling orders within 30 minutes, arguing the labor is too strenuous to employees.
Even though Glenn wants to help, Dina does not let him join the team. Jonah tells Dina that trying to fill the orders will drive the employees into the ground. Jonah and Cheyenne struggle to complete the orders in time and quickly fall behind.
Dina bets Jonah and Cheyenne she can complete the orders by herself
At one point, Cheyenne becomes so tired she unplugs the machine where customers submit orders. After Jonah plugs it back in, a stream of orders come flying in. Dina bets Jonah she can fill all the orders within 30 minutes. Jonah and Cheyenne watch Dina single-handedly fill the orders in a craze in the stockroom.
“Do you feel guilty about this?” Jonah asks.
“Nope,” Cheyenne says.
“Me neither,” Jonah replies.
Outside in the parking lot, Dina hurriedly chases after a customer that forgot an item. As she runs, she is hit by a car backing up in the parking lot. Later in the episode, Dina silently sits in the break room as she recovers from her injury.
Amy walks in and asks if the curbside pickup went well, and Dina lies that it did. To her dismay, Amy then tells her that corporate wants to promise a 20 minute waiting time on Black Friday. With this subtle scene, Superstore shows the exploitative expectations of corporations.
