Hostage Situation

Hostage Situation is the eighth episode of season 1.

Synopsis
This episode is composed of 3 segments, each depicting Martha in a different hostage situation. Timestamps are present in the bottom left corner of each segment, although it is not clear whether this choice was intentional or due to an act of negligence on the part of the editing crew.

Plot
The hostage situations Martha finds herself in over the course of the episode are as follows:

1) Martha is held hostage in the basement of Mrs. Demson's house, until she agrees to make an executive order ban television nationwide.

2) Martha is held hostage by founders of the alphabet soup factory, and is only given freedom once she agrees to sponsor them and appear in their commercials and advertisements for the rest of her life.

3) Martha is held hostage by Barksicov, the father of Skits, who wants her to take full custody of their child.

This episode received harsh criticism after being aired for its crude and uninhibited portrayal of psychological abuse. There were many complaints that the episode was "frighteningly realistic." Martha did not provide a comment to the press, but had been rumored to have begun therapy shortly after the episode was released. Viewers have also wondered why the episode name is "Hostage Situation" rather than "Hostage Situations," since three separate situations are depicted in the episode.