Ten-Foot Chain (Toby's Imagined Restraint)

A verbally invoked "ten-foot chain"—defined in dialogue only by its length and restraining function. The chain never appears on screen; material and finish remain unspecified in the exchange. Toby's snarling fantasy paints the image of a long, heavy restraint looped or bolted to a desk, and other characters react to that imagined weight and confinement with alarm, compulsion, and hurried intervention.

2 appearances

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

2 moments

S1E21 · Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics

Leo Halts a Public Showdown

The ten-foot chain is an imagined restraint Toby names as a comedic-violent solution to stop Sam: metaphorical, not tangible. It dramatizes Toby's desire to forcibly tether Sam to duty and underscores the absurd lengths he'd take to keep the team intact.

Before: Nonexistent as a physical object; present only in Toby's rhetoric and imagination.

After: Remains imaginary; referenced again as part of Toby's escalation but never materializes.

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S1E21 · Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics

Toby Refuses Sam's Resignation

The ten-foot chain exists only as Toby's imagined restraint — a vocalized, hyperbolic prop used to convey his desire to control and immobilize Sam. It functions narratively to dramatize Toby's protective rage and refusal to accept resignation rather than as a physical implement.

Before: Nonexistent in physical terms; alive only in Toby's threatening language.

After: Remains imagined and symbolic; no material change occurs.

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