Entertainment

I Am Living For These Meryl Streep Screaming Memes From 'Big Little Lies'

Meryl Streep is an absolute gem and she deserves an Emmy for Big Little Lies — welcome to my Ted Talk. On Jun. 9, the HBO original series returned for its highly anticipated second season, diving deeper into the guilt and secrets held by the Monterey Five. However, it was the appearance of Meryl Streep's character, Mary Louise, that stole the show. Correction: Her horrifying — yet brilliant — scream stole the show. During the episode, viewers went wild when Mary Louise let out a bloodcurdling howl, a moment that inspired hundreds of Meryl Streep screaming memes from Big Little Lies to spread through every depth of the internet.

Within the first few moments of the Big Little Lies Season 2 premiere, titled "What Have They Done?", it's clear that Perry's (Alexander Skarsgård) mother poses a threat to the Monterey Five. Not only does Mary Louise not believe their story, she's also determined to unearth the truth behind her son's death. That said, Mary Louise is still working through her grief, which is shown when Streep's character sits down at the dinner table with Celeste (Nicole Kidman) and her two grandsons.

"The other day I was with some friends and their sons were not a patch on your dad," Mary Louise told her grandsons. "I felt so angry that their mediocre second-grade pudgy balding middle-management sons were still alive and my Perry...my Perry. I just wanted to scream. So you know what I did? I did scream. Wanna hear?"

And then she screamed. It was jarring. It was terrifying. It was phenomenal. Streep's screech filled the entire room, leaving Celeste, her sons, and the audience speechless — but not for long. When the shock wore off, Twitter users were quick to react to the gut-wrenching scream.

But then fans of Big Little Lies got a little more creative, creating hilariously relatable memes out of Mary Louise's shining moment.

Paired with a clip of Streep's screaming scene, one fan wrote, "When I wake up on Monday and realize I'm out of java."

Meanwhile, another fan edited the scream into another equally horrifying sound — Apple's default alarm.

But the genius memes didn't stop there. Some fans took it upon themselves to edit out Meryl's scream in place of their favorite songs, such as the Park and Recreation theme and Carly Rae Jepsen's "Run Away With Me."

And of course, the fans used this moment as an opportunity to demand Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for Streep's performance.

"This is one of the most incredible yet terrifying things I’ve ever heard. honestly, just give Meryl Streep an Emmy for this scream alone," one fan wrote.

Even if Streep doesn't end up winning big this awards season, this three-time Oscar-winning queen might have a shot at a Grammy. Because if her scream on Big Little Lies isn't the most-played track on your summer playlist, then are you really living? The answer is no.

Big Little Lies airs Sundays on HBO.