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The fourth season of Superstore ended on a major cliffhanger. The last time fans tuned into the show, Mateo was taken into custody for being an undocumented immigrant after an I.C.E. raid. While fans knew Mateo would appear in season 5 of Superstore, they did not know much about his story line.

The season premiere of Superstore answers lots of questions fans had about Mateo. Just like past seasons, Superstore uses Mateo’s undocumented immigrant story to relate to real-world issues. Warning, the article contains spoilers for the season premiere of Superstore.

Nico Santos Superstore Mateo
Nico Santos plays Mateo in ‘Superstore’ | Todd Williamson/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

The new season of ‘Superstore’ starts hours after the season 4 finale

The episode opens just a few hours after Mateo was taken from the store. The group holds a candlelight vigil for him, but the whole vigil is awkward because the group does not know how to feel about the situation. They find that one family has been holding a vigil for several months, making them realize how long Mateo might be gone. 

The episode then jumps to a few days later. Marcus, who previously lived in the store, is now living in Mateo’s apartment. Most of the Cloud 9 employees visited Mateo, but Cheyenne still has not visited.

In the season 5 premiere of ‘Superstore,’ Cheyenne is fearful about visiting Mateo 

In the Superstore premiere, a customer tries to pick up a bottle of hair treatment but Cheyenne stops her. Amy realizes that Cheyenne does not want anyone touching the display because Mateo is the one who made it. Amy tries to talk with Cheyenne about it, but Cheyenne still does not commit to visiting.

When the new store robot knocks into the display Mateo made, Cheyenne tackles the robot. With the help of Sandra, Amy eventually gets Cheyenne to visit Mateo. Before entering the detention center, Cheyenne expresses her fear of visiting Mateo.

When her mother was in prison, Cheyenne admits she always cried and her mom told her that her crying made it worse. Amy assures Cheyenne that Mateo wants to see her and it will be different.

The scene between Cheyenne and Mateo was heart-wrenching

When Cheyenne and Mateo meet, it is the audience’s first time seeing Mateo since he was taken by I.C.E. Mateo comes out in an orange jump suit and lights up when he sees Cheyenne.

At first, the two best friends make fun of the Cloud 9 employees’ outfits. The conversation then turns to Mateo’s condition in the detention center. Superstore often incorporates real-world issues into its story lines, and season 5 is no exception. 

Mateo admits he is not doing well. He says it’s cold and there aren’t enough blankets even though it’s one of the nicer facilities. He also tells Cheyenne the guards assume every undocumented immigrant is Latino and yell at him in Spanish. Because he is Filipino, he doesn’t understand what they are saying. 

“I just want to go home,” he says.

The final scene with Mateo made some ‘Superstore’ fans cry

After the episode aired, fans posted on social media about how sad it was to see Mateo.

“This detention scene. Mateo in orange. Cheyenne and him trying to have a normal conversation. Amy looking on. #Superstore hitting with the feels,” wrote a Twitter user.

“Yeah, that Mateo-Cheyenne scene has me tearing up and chuckling at the same time. #Superstore,” another wrote.

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