Marge in Chains

Marge in Chains is the twenty-first episode of Season 4.
==Synopsis==
While shopping for her family in the midst of an Asian flu epidemic, Marge gets arrested for shoplifting, which the town initially celebrates...until they realize that her marshmallow squares for the bake sale are sorely missed.
== Full Story ==
After many of Springfield's residents purchase a 'Juice Loosener', which are shipped from Japan, the dreaded Osaka Flu hits the town. Many of the residents are affected by the illness. Due to tiredness from having to look after the rest of her ill family, Marge accidentally forgets to pay for Grampa's bottle of Bourbon when shopping at the Kwik-E-Mart. 
Despite it clearly being an honest mistake (made all the more apparent given her obvious exhaustion) Apu hits the silent alarm. Marge is almost immediately surrounded by an unusually high number of armed police (despite the fact that she didn't actually have a weapon on her) and then arrested for shoplifting. The town, of course, overreacts to this, with Marge being treated like a pariah and regarded as a hardened criminal.
Naturally, the family hires Lionel Hutz to defend Marge at her trial, and as usual, he loses the case. In all fairness though, his defence is not helped by Helen Lovejoy spreading false rumors about Marge, which the town readily accepted. Helen implied that Marge was an alcoholic, and Professor Frink even presented a conspiracy theory that Marge was involved in the assassination of JFK.
Marge is sentenced to 30 days imprisonment at Springfield Women's Prison. Apu, who like everyone else now believes that Marge is a hardened criminal, believes that having her being behind bars will end all further problems for him. What he doesn't know is that Snake is stealing the entire Kwik-E-Mart as he speaks, and his truck is now bound for Mexico.
At the Springfield Women's Prison, Marge makes friends with some of the inmates such as her cellmate, Phillips and Tattoo Annie.
Meanwhile, Marge's absence is felt at home as Homer struggles to cope without her, and the family home is in a dreadful state. The citizens of Springfield soon also feel the repercussions of Marge's absence. 
The park bake sale, run by Helen Lovejoy and Maude Flanders suffers badly as a result of Marge not being there to cook any of her famous marshmallow squares. When Maude bluntly points this out, everyone attending the bake sale leaves in disappointment, and the Springfield Park Commission fails to raise enough money to pay for a statue of Abraham Lincoln (being $15 dollars short).
They are forced to purchase one of Jimmy Carter instead, which completely disgusts the townspeople. The citizens immediately start to riot; at one point using the statue as a battering ram. Come nightfall, the town is a complete mess. In contrast to Marge's arrest, the police prove to be no help at all, as Chief Wiggum's mistreatment of the police dogs prompts them to attack him instead of the rioters. Seeing all of this unfold, a repentant Maude laments sadly that none of this would have happened if Marge had been there (since they would have been able to purchase the Lincoln statue, or Marge would have been able to do something to set the potential rioters straight). 
Lead by Homer and Maude, the townspeople demand the release of Marge as soon as possible.
To save his career, Mayor Quimby releases Marge from jail (to win over the female voters), and the people of Springfield cheerfully welcome her back. They even unveil a statue for Marge, which is actually the statue of President Carter with Marge's hairstyle on top of it. Later on, Homer and the kids rush to clean the house in preparation for Marge's return, and all is forgiven.
== Production ==
9F20_Script.jpg
== Citations ==
de:Marge wird verhaftet
fr:Marge à l'ombre
pl:Marge in Chains
pt:Marge vai para a cadeia
Category:Crime-themed Episodes
Category:Marge episodes
Category:Mayor Quimby episodes
Category:Chief Wiggum episodes
Category:Lionel Hutz episodes
Category:Apu episodes
Category:Episodes named after a character
Category:Episodes featuring guest stars
Category:Simpson Family Are Pariahs episodes
Category:Milestones
Category:Episodes on DVD
Category:Agnes Skinner episodes
Category:Episodes in which Homer almost loses Marge
Category:Medical-Themed Episodes
Category:Episodes featuring musical guest stars
Category:Written by Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein
Category:Directed by Jim Reardon
Category:Episodes in which a Character Swears Censored or Uncensored
Category:Maude Flanders Episodes
Category:Episodes named after Marge
Category:Sad episodes
Category:Dramatic episodes