Superstore review: Amy’s baby shower is a total bust

On this week’s episode of Superstore, Amy suffers through a cringe-worthy baby shower and Dinah stages a pregnancy shoot.

This week, Superstore gave us definitive proof that baby showers are the worst.

The weirdly-themed snacks. The eye-rolling party games. The terrible homemade gifts. Everything you hate about group get-togethers and surprise parties was on full display in the show’s “Baby Shower” episode.

To be fair, Amy wanted to avoid the nonsense and she had the perfect plan to do it: stock up on returned baby items so she could avoid creating a gift registry. A solid idea, but one that was quickly thrown out with the bath water after semen and or urine was found on a prospective high-chair.

Because no one wants their baby sitting in filth at the breakfast table, Jonah convinces Amy to create a registry, pretend to throw a shower, and then reap the rewards — a free gift box and maybe a few belated presents. Instead, the entire store discovers they haven’t been invited to Amy’s shower, Glenn decides to piggyback on the festivities, Cheyenne laments she was never thrown a party for her baby bump, and a storewide baby-themed bash is planned.

Cue the Caesarean salads, adult diaper-wrapping games, and expired baby-food testing challenge.

While Amy suffers through her own specific version of Hell, Dinah explores her unanswered calling as a heavily pregnant model for annual Christmas cards. After being forced to participate in Glenn and Jerusha’s own maternity announcement shoot, Dinah decides to stage her own — more to make her sister jealous than to celebrate the impending birth.

SUPERSTORE — “Baby Shower” Episode 402 — Pictured: America Ferrera as Amy — (Photo by: Eddy Chen/NBC)

After Sandra proves worthless behind the camera, Mateo steps in as the creative art director and suddenly, it’s Dinah’s time to shine. She’s giving us “Mary of Nazareth making her way in New York City,” she’s giving us “Arctic queen befriending a polar bear,” she’s giving us “Lumiere, the animated candlestick, but as a sexy tween,” she’s giving us “post-apocalyptic Cindy Lou-Who, fighting to overthrown the totalitarian regime of The Grinch,” she’s giving us … you get the picture.

The two bonding over sexy Santa costumes and Beyoncé-esque photo shoots provide the highest form of comedic relief in the episode. After season 4’s premiere, I was worried the focus might shift to Amy and Jonah’s blossoming relationship. Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of humor to mine there, but it would be a disservice to the rest of the talented cast if Jamy (is that their relationship name?) became the star of this show.

Lauren Ash cannot be praised enough for her portrayal of Dinah, a non-nonsense assistant manager with some strange quirks. Anyone who’s worked in retail has had a boss like her and the insane sketches she’s able to pull off in this show often give already-funny episodes their stand-out moments.

Likewise, Nico Santos is able to subvert that tired, “sassy gay sidekick” trope with his turn as Mateo. I mean, yes, Mateo is full of sass, and yes, he’s gay — the dud left Dinah hanging, literally, once a male stripper in a baby diaper arrived at the shower — but Mateo’s also been the vehicle the show has used to propel some heavy plot points, like immigration, political activism, and relationships in the workplace. The fact that Superstore can tackle sensitive topics like that while still bringing the laughs is not only a nod to the show’s fantastic writing team, but to Santos, who can deliver like no one else on this series.

Now that we’re done gushing about how funny this cast is, let’s theorize about the direction of this season.

Right now, the writers seem happy to extend these pregnancy plots right up to their expired shelf life. I get it. It’s a difficult transition, from theorized baby to actual, story-impacting baby. Once the kids are here, things change for everyone and navigating new dynamics that early into a season seems like more trouble than it might be worth. But I think once the babies arrive, we’ll finally get some movement with the Jonah/Amy relationship and with Dinah’s flirtation with Garrett. One couple will have to come to some kind of concrete decision about their status, the other might be freed-up to explore their own attraction.

I’m not rooting for this solely because I believe in true love. I want to see these pairs together because watching them navigate the tricky minefield of workplace romance has given the show some of its funniest moments so far. But sure, for now, I’ll settle for awkward baby showers and a pregnant Dinah on the back of Santa Clause’s motorcycle.

What did you think of this week’s episode of Superstore? Are you ready to see some babies? Let us know in the comments!