The Chain of Screaming
"The Chain of Screaming" is the 15th episode in the third season of the television series How I Met Your Mother and 59th overall. It originally aired on April 14, 2008.
| "The Chain of Screaming" | |
|---|---|
| How I Met Your Mother episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 15 |
| Directed by | Pamela Fryman |
| Written by | |
| Production code | 3ALH15 |
| Original air date | April 14, 2008 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
| |
Plot
Marshall fears being yelled at by his boss Arthur Hobbs, who is nicknamed "Artillery Arthur", after failing to turn in on time a report, about decertifying a class action due to lack of commonality and numerosity, which he nicknames "The Ninja Report" to make it sound more interesting. Robin, Lily and Ted each describe how they would deal with Hobbs' aggression, and Barney explains that Marshall should not deal with it – the way that the chain (or circle) of screaming works is that one person screams at someone "below" him, then that person screams at another person, and so on. Meanwhile, Ted has bought himself a new car, a blue Toyota Camry Hybrid, much to the derision of his friends, who think a nice car is totally unnecessary in New York City.
The next night, Ted receives a call from a panicked, jobless and binge-eating Marshall in the Camry, and goes there to meet him. Once in the car, Marshall tells him that he went to the diner to work on his report only for Barney to surprise him by trying to teach him how to cope with the chain of screaming. Barney intentionally messes up Marshall's order to allow him to redirect his anger at Arthur towards someone else and scream at the waiter, but Marshall cannot do it – the waiter screams at Marshall instead. In the alley, Barney encourages Marshall to yell at him to make himself feel better. Marshall, although reluctant, gives in and delivers a foul-mouthed rant to Barney. The next day, Marshall decides to break the chain of screaming and finally lets out his feelings towards Hobbs, quitting his job at Nicholson, Hewitt & West. Marshall is reluctant to tell Lily about this since she supported him through law school and he can no longer afford their apartment.
Throughout the story, Ted becomes increasingly annoyed when Barney and Robin show up and proceed to eat ice cream and smoke cigars inside the car, despite Ted's protests. When the story is finished, Lily shows up, scaring all of them. Ted orders everyone out of the car so Marshall can tell Lily what happened. Marshall vows to beg for his job back but Lily stops him, knowing how miserable he was in that job, and assures him they will figure it out. Ted sells the car and gives the proceeds to Marshall and Lily to help pay for their apartment, though he is quite annoyed that they had sex in the car.
Critical response
Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club rated the episode with a grade A.[1]
References
- Donna Bowman (2008-04-14). "How I Met Your Mother: The Chain Of Screaming". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- Michelle Zoromski (2008-04-15). "How I Met Your Mother: "The Chain of Screaming" Review. A ninja report, a new car, and lots of screaming". IGN. News Corporation. Retrieved 2010-04-20.