Written By Jonathan Greene
Directed By Constantine Makris
When DNA tests on the remains of a 16-year-old girl (Jenna Gavigan) show evidence of incest, members (Helen Slater and Spencer Treat Clark) of her surviving family become prime suspects in her murder. However, things are more complicated than they seem when the father (Tom Mason) of the girl's boyfriend (Patrick Flueger) and her own father are revealed to share some surprising connections.
This episode provides examples of:
- Accidental Murder: It's eventually revealed that this is what really happened to Shannon; she and her father were arguing near a staircase, and she accidentally fell down the steps shoving him away.
- And Starring: "Special Guest Star Helen Slater", plus the guest-stars lineup ending "With Tamara Tunie as Dr. Melinda Warner, Michael Boatman as Dave Seaver, and Jane Seymour (Actress) as Debra Connor".
- Asshole Victim: It's hard to feel bad for Jason since his actions destroyed his family.
- Batman Cold Open: Between the narration and opening theme, Olivia is chasing down a rape suspect between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West. After they arrest the perp, Canine Unit finds a body.
- Bling-Bling-BANG!: Jason Connor has a golden gun. His scorned first wife uses it to kill him.
- Brain Bleach: Aidan took the Surprise Incest reveal as one would expect — a slow, horrified look of realization followed by a Stress Vomit.
- …But He Sounds Handsome: Jason Connor says praising words for Barry Coyle to Elliot and Olivia. It's eventually revealed that they're the same person.
- Cooldown Hug: Elliot gives Aidan one after the latter's breakdown over the Surprise Incest reveal.
- Doesn't Like Guns: Debra tries to throw suspicion off herself by telling the court she doesn't like guns.
- Downer Ending: By the end of the episode, Shannon and Jason are dead, Debra is arrested for murdering Jason, and Susan is arrested for being an accessory to murder. This leaves Aidan and Brian as each other's sole family member not dead or in prison, and Aidan still has to deal with the fact that his girlfriend was really his half-sister, who he got pregnant shortly before she died. The only real bright spot is the implication that Aidan and Brian now have a chance to get to know each other.
- Family Theme Naming: The Coyle family, Susan, Shannon, Brian, and Jason. Jason also went with an alias Barry Coyle. There's also Jason's legal son Aidan Connor.
- Family Title: Well, duh. The episode revolves around two families unknowingly sharing the same patriarch.
- Foreshadowing:
- After Debra Connor states her belief that the Coyles thought themselves much better than them, Jason is quick to suggest that maybe the Coyles thought the Connors were too good for them.
- Jason apologizing to the detectives that his wife could be "a bit of a snob".
- When Capt. Cragen tells Debra Connor that they would find who killed her husband, she doesn't appear to be eager.
- When Debra Connor says she hasn't seen her late husband's gun, Aidan subtly flinches.
- Identical Stranger: Aidan Connor looks a lot like future Chicago P.D. regular Adam Ruzek.
- Interrogation Montage: The team questions different students in the cafeteria.
- Little "No": When Elliot reveals to Aidan that he and Shannon were related and that she was pregnant, this is how he reacts.
- Malicious Misnaming: In the cold open, while Benson was cuffing the perp, she asks his name. The latter responds with "Screw You". Benson then uses this as his name as she Mirandizes him.
- Mistaken for Murderer: Aidan Connor and Steve Abruzzo both became primary suspects for Shannon Coyle's murder.
- Mistaken for Pedophile: Subverted by Steve Abruzzo. The main characters dug a supposed past relationship with a former student in his previous work, and they assumed he had a relationship with Shannon Coyle. He and Shannon didn't, but he is having a sexual relationship with Shannon's best friend, Lisa Faber.
- No Name Given: Demosthenes Chrysan's character from the Cold Open is credited as "Man". When Olivia is asking for his name, Man says "Screw you". Olivia responds, "Well, Screw You, you're under arrest for attempted rape".
- Odd Name Out: The Coyle family.
- Zig-Zagged by Brian. His name doesn't start with the letter S like his mother and sister, but it ends with the letter N.
- Jason Connor is an odd case. When he uses the alias Barry Coyle, he fits the "males first name starts with B, females starts with S" theme but not the "last letter of the name ending with N" one. His real name inverts this.
- Offing the Offspring: Jason Connor accidentally kills Shannon (and his unborn grandchild) after pushing him away causes Shannon to trip down the stairs when he reveals what Aidan's true relationship to her was.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Shannon Coyle's Accidental Murder causes grief to her mother Susan. Shannon and her unborn child's deaths causes grief to her boyfriend/brother and her child's father/uncle Aidan Connor.
- Promotion to Parent: With their father and sister both dead and their respective mothers both in jail, Aidan is the only person left to look after his newly revealed half-brother Brian.
- Put on a Bus: This turns out to be Burt Trevor's final episode.
- Relative Error: When the main characters discover that Shannon Coyle was impregnated by a relative, her younger brother Brian seems to be the only viable suspect. It's her half-brother Aidan Connor, and neither were aware of their familial relationship until the events of the episode.
- Secret Other Family: The main conflict of the episode.
- Surprise Incest: Aidan finds out that he and girlfriend Shannon are half-siblings... after he got her pregnant and her subsequent death.
- Teacher/Student Romance: Steve Abruzzo and Lisa Faber are in a sexual relationship.
- Two Aliases, One Character: Jason Connor also being Barry Coyle is part of how he continued his affair and had a whole other family. Save for the mistress, no one on either side was any the wiser. It turns out that the real Barry Coyle lived outside St. Louis with a wife and two kids and Jason had stolen his name and profession from an engineering directory from the public library.
- Two First Names: The Connor family.
- Vomit Indiscretion Shot: Aidan after the Surprise Incest reveal. Huang points out that he couldn't have faked that kind of physical reaction, ruling him out as a suspect.
- We Used to Be Friends: Debra and Susan knew each other since their kids started kindergarten, but when Susan dodged the question about the two couples going out, Debra perceived Susan and her husband as believing they were too good for them.
- Woman Scorned: When she finds out that Jason Connor is about to leave her for Susan Coyle, Debra confronts her husband. After he admits and explains everything to her – including the fact that he had inadvertently allowed their son to commit incest unknowingly with his half-sister – she kills him in a fit of rage.
