Written By Marilyn Osborn
Directed By Henry Bronchtein
Eighteen-year-old Megan Ramsey (Kelly Hutchinson) reports to SVU that she was molested by her father, Evan (Brian Kerwin) when she was a child, hoping that it would spare her two younger sisters Jodie (Blythe Auffarth) and Lily (Sarah Hyland) of going through the same trauma (especially her youngest sister, Lily).
At first, Megan's mother, Rebecca (Amy Irving) doesn't believe her, but when evidence is discovered against Evan in Lily's bedroom, he is arrested and the whole family turns against him, despite his claims of innocence.
When it's discovered that Megan planted evidence to frame Evan, the charges against him are dropped, but when Evan is found murdered in his office, the family becomes suspects. It is later revealed that Megan's allegations of childhood molestation were false memories planted by her therapist, Dr. Wharton (Shirley Knight).
Megan's sister, Jodie confesses to accidentally killing Evan. Although Jodie isn't charged with his death, Dr. Wharton ends up getting arrested for reckless endangerment.
Tropes
- Accidental Murder: Jodi claims the gun just went off and she never wanted to kill her father.
- Acquitted Too Late: Evan is ultimately cleared of being a molester only after he was accidentally killed.
- And Starring: "Special Guest Stars Amy Irving, Brian Kerwin, and Shirley Knight" plus "With Special Guest Appearances By Ron Leibman, B.D. Wong as Dr. George Huang, and George Hearn".
- Arc Words: "Ask My/Her Therapist", referring to Dr. Wharton. Turns out she's not what she seemed.
- Artistic License – Medicine: The first evidence that a rape never happened and the accusation was instead the result of false memories is a medical determination that Megan is a virgin, supposedly proved by her having an intact hymen. While the conclusion is proven correct as additional evidence that the memories were planted later comes to light, the initial conclusion is based on faulty science, as there's no actual medical indication that exists (including the status of the hymen) that can prove that a woman is a virgin.
- Disc-One Final Boss: Evan Ramsey is the initial Villain of the Week until it's revealed he was only framed and is Good All Along.
- Evil All Along: The psychiatrist appears to be a caring professional who is treating a young woman with a long history of sexual abuse by her own father. In the end, it turns out that the psychiatrist is a quack who inadvertently brainwashed the woman into believing she was molested by treating her with sodium amytal, a drug notorious for creating false memories in people who take it. Her careless and dangerous conduct results in the young woman's father getting killed and the whole family getting torn apart.
- Framing the Guilty Party: Megan believes she's doing this when she plants evidence to get Evan arrested. Unfortunately, the revelation of what she did resulted in the charges against her father getting dropped. What's more, it's revealed that Evan was actually innocent all along and that Megan was never molested by anyone.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Dr. Wharton is the real Villain of the Week, but The Reveal didn't happen until the last ten minutes or so.
- Mistaken for Pedophile: Evan didn't really rape Megan then, same for his youngest daughter Lily.
- My God, What Have I Done?: The mother expresses clear remorse for having a hand in the events that lead to her husband's death after learning he was innocent.
- Parental Incest: Subverted. Evan didn't rape any of his daughters, but he's already dead when it was proven.
- Sympathetic Murderer: Jodi was just trying to protect her sister from who she thought was Megan's abuser, and even at that she never intended to kill him, just to stop him from potentially hurting Megan.
- Truth Serums: Deconstructed. As Huang says, Sodium Amytal has a reputation as a truth serum, but is now better known to cause Fake Memories. Despite the overwhelming body of evidence for this, there are still diehard advocates who insist that it can uncover repressed memories. Megan's therapist is one of those advocates, and her use of the chemical ends in catastrophe.
- Unexpected Virgin: Zig-Zagged. What finally confirms that Evan is Good All Along is when the detectives got hold of Megan's old physical exam from her previous complain which showed she was a virgin that time. Since she mentioned having a boyfriend, it's unclear if she still is at present.
