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* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: in the end it's decided Beth will not get an abortion.
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* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: in In the end end, it's decided Beth will not get an abortion.
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* AdaptationalMundanity: the episode adapts out the wilder parts of the Robert Berchtold/Jan Broberg story [[note]]he chained her up in his RV and convinced her it was a FlyingSaucer[[/note]] because RealityIsUnrealistic.
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* {{Bookends}}: the episode begins and ends with happy Mother's Day-related bonding scenes between Benson and Noah.
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* {{Bookends}}: the The episode begins and ends with happy Mother's Day-related bonding scenes between Benson and Noah.
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* BystanderSyndrome: averted, Beth's brother's teacher listens to an offhand remark that he thinks his sister is not going to come home, takes it seriously, investigates and calls the police, kicking off the events of the episode. In contrast Beth's teachers took no notice of her disappearing from school for more than a week without explanation.
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* BystanderSyndrome: averted, Averted, Beth's brother's teacher listens to an offhand remark that he thinks his sister is not going to come home, takes it seriously, investigates and calls the police, kicking off the events of the episode. In contrast Beth's teachers took no notice of her disappearing from school for more than a week without explanation.
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* JusticeByOtherLegalMeans: the squad and Beth's family find it hard to get Nick out of her life, given how brainwashed she is, so her mother pretends to consent to her marriage in order to trick her into letting the hospital sample the DNA of her fetus so Nick can be arrested for statutory rape.
* LighterAndSofter: no one dies or is subjected to violence in this episode which ends happily, [[BreatherEpisode in contrast]] to the previous episode which was about a girl of the same age who had been raped, impregnated, and killed, and it [[{{Bookends}} opens and closes]] with happy bonding scenes between Benson and Noah.
* LighterAndSofter: no one dies or is subjected to violence in this episode which ends happily, [[BreatherEpisode in contrast]] to the previous episode which was about a girl of the same age who had been raped, impregnated, and killed, and it [[{{Bookends}} opens and closes]] with happy bonding scenes between Benson and Noah.
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* JusticeByOtherLegalMeans: the The squad and Beth's family find it hard to get Nick out of her life, given how brainwashed she is, so her mother pretends to consent to her marriage in order to trick her into letting the hospital sample the DNA of her fetus so Nick can be arrested for statutory rape.
* LighterAndSofter:no No one dies or is subjected to violence in this episode which ends happily, [[BreatherEpisode in contrast]] to [[Recap/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitS23E19TangledStrandsOfJustice the previous episode which was about a girl of almost the same age who had been raped, impregnated, and killed, killed,]] and it [[{{Bookends}} opens and closes]] with happy bonding scenes between Benson and Noah.
* LighterAndSofter:
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* RippedFromTheHeadlines: the episode repackages the real-life story of Robert Berchtold,[[note]] also told in ''Film/AbductedInPlainSight'' from Netflix and ''A Friend of the Family'' from Peacock[[/note]] who repeatedly kidnapped 12-year-old Jan Broberg with her cooperation and married her, having brainwashed her and seduced both her parents.
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* RippedFromTheHeadlines: the The episode repackages the real-life story of Robert Berchtold,[[note]] also told in ''Film/AbductedInPlainSight'' from Netflix and ''A Friend of the Family'' from Peacock[[/note]] who repeatedly kidnapped 12-year-old Jan Broberg with her cooperation and married her, having brainwashed her and seduced both her parents.
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* TheMainCharactersDoEverything: SVU detectives have the free time to get involved in a missing persons case, going well out of their jurisdiction to investigate even though even the supposed victim's own parents don't consider her missing.
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* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Nick gets to take extraoedinary liberties with children, and gets away with it for an uncomfortably long time even after being exposed, because everyone is convinced he's such a good guy.
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* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Nick gets to take extraoedinary extraordinary liberties with children, and gets away with it for an uncomfortably long time even after being exposed, because everyone is convinced he's such a good guy.
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* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Beth's family and the rest of their church are convinced that super-creepy Nick is a good guy even after he disappears with Beth.
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* FamilyRelationshipSwitcheroo: at the end of the episode Beth's parents say "We're going to raise the baby as our own" which may mean merely that they are going to welcome the baby into the family ... or it may mean they are going to pass Beth's daughter off as her sister.
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* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: in the end it's decided Beth will keep Nick's baby and the whole family will work on their issues.
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* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: in the end it's decided Beth will keep Nick's baby and the whole family will work on their issues.not get an abortion.
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* BystanderSyndrome: averted, Beth's brother's teacher listens to an offhand remark that he thinks his sister is not going to come home, takes it seriously, investigates and calls the police, kicking off the events of the episode.
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* BystanderSyndrome: averted, Beth's brother's teacher listens to an offhand remark that he thinks his sister is not going to come home, takes it seriously, investigates and calls the police, kicking off the events of the episode. In contrast Beth's teachers took no notice of her disappearing from school for more than a week without explanation.
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* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Nick gets to take extraoedinary liberties with children, and gets away with it for an uncomfortably long time even after being exposed, because everyone is convinced he's such a good guy.
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* RefugeInAudacity: Carisi goes in to the plea deal conference committed to settling for no less than a felony deal. Nick's counteroffer is ... he should plead to nothing at all and be allowed to marry the underage victim. Carisi, flummoxed, has to leave the conference empty-handed.
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* RefugeInAudacity: Carisi goes in to the plea deal conference committed to settling for no less than a felony deal. Nick's counteroffer is ... he should plead guilty to nothing at all and be allowed to marry the his underage victim. Carisi, flummoxed, has to leave the conference empty-handed.
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* ProperlyParanoid: Beth is right to believe Nick's claim that outsiders are going to disbelieve her interpretation of their relationship and try to tear it apart. The plot is finally resolved when Beth's mother runs a scam on her, pretending to consent to Beth marrying Nick in order to get him locked up.
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* {{Determinator}}: Nick just keeps coming after Beth: adopting a secret identity, joining her church and seducing both of her parents in order to get to her; continuing to insist on the legitimacy of their relationship after the cops catch them in their love nest together; using the plea negotiation conference to try blackmailing all parties into letting him marry Beth; and then; when none of that works, convincing Beth with scripture to run away and marry him anyway.
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* {{Determinator}}: Nick just keeps coming after Beth: adopting a secret identity, joining her church and seducing both of her parents in order to get to her; her, grooming her for three years before taking her away to his cabin; continuing to insist on the legitimacy of their relationship after the cops catch them in their love nest together; using the plea negotiation conference to try blackmailing all parties into letting him marry Beth; and then; when none of that works, convincing Beth with scripture to run away and marry him anyway.
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* DevilInPlainSight: Nick makes no secret of his interest in spending unsupervised time with kids, and the detectives are bemused that Beth's parents would hand their teenage daughter off for more than a week to a man they know only as a member of their church congregation, simply because he's so nice. Even after being arrested Nick makes no attempt to hide his evil intent and [[KarmaHoudini gets away with it for an uncomfortably long time]].
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* DevilInPlainSight: Nick makes no secret of his interest in spending unsupervised time with kids, and the detectives are bemused that Beth's parents would hand their teenage daughter off for more than a week to a man they know only as a member of their church congregation, congregation (or so the detectives think at the time), simply because he's so nice. Even after being arrested Nick makes no attempt to hide his evil intent and [[KarmaHoudini gets away with it for an uncomfortably long time]].
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* DevilInPlainSight: Nick makes no secret of his interest in spending unsupervised time with kids, and the detectives are bemused that Beth's parents would hand their teenage daughter off for more than a week to a man they know only as a member of their church congregation, simply because he's so nice. Even after being arrested Nick makes no attempt to hide his evil intent and [[KarmaHoudini gets away with it for an uncomfortably long time]].
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* RippedFromTheHeadlines: the episode repackages the real-life story of Robert Berchtold,[[note]] also told in ''Film/AbductedInPlainSight'' from Netflix and ''A Friend of the Family'' from Peacock[[/note]] who repeatedly kidnapped 12-year-old Jan Broberg with her cooperation and married her, having brainwashed her and seduced both her parents.
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* RippedFromTheHeadlines: the episode repackages the real-life story of Robert Berchtold,[[note]] also told in ''Film/AbductedInPlainSight'' from Netflix and ''A Friend of the Family'' from Peacock[[/note]] who repeatedly kidnapped 12-year-old Jan Broberg with her cooperation and married her, having brainwashed her and seduced both her parents.parents.
* WeakWilled: Beth and her parents are extremely susceptible to being taken advantage of and brainwashed, especially her mother who insists Nick could not have kidnapped her daughter because [[BitchInSheepsClothing he's so nice]] even after she has been rescued from his cabin. The detectives {{Lampshade}} this tendency in her parents when the latter are found to have consented to let a man take their teenage daughter away, just the two of them, for a trip of more than a week. The parents' compliance becomes a problem when it comes time to prosecute Nick since technically there was no kidnapping.
* WeakWilled: Beth and her parents are extremely susceptible to being taken advantage of and brainwashed, especially her mother who insists Nick could not have kidnapped her daughter because [[BitchInSheepsClothing he's so nice]] even after she has been rescued from his cabin. The detectives {{Lampshade}} this tendency in her parents when the latter are found to have consented to let a man take their teenage daughter away, just the two of them, for a trip of more than a week. The parents' compliance becomes a problem when it comes time to prosecute Nick since technically there was no kidnapping.
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* RefugeInAudacity: Carisi goes in to the plea deal conference committed to settling for no less than a felony deal. Nick's counteroffer is ... he should plead to nothing at all and be allowed to marry the underage victim. Carisi, flummoxed, has to leave the conference empty-handed.
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* AgeGapRomance: Nick seduces 14-year-old Beth, impregnates her, and tries to marry her, all with her enthusiastic approval.
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* AdaptationalMundanity: the episode adapts out the wilder parts of the Robert Berchtold/Jan Broberg story [[note]]he chained her up in his RV and convinced her it was a FlyingSaucer[[/note]] because RealityIsUnrealistic.
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Directed By: Creator/PratibhaParmar
When an alert teacher reports 14-year-old Beth Lee missing her parents are oddly secretive about her whereabouts. It turns out she's been kidnapped by a pedophile (real name Nick) who has brainwashed and seduced both of them, and brainwashed her into believing that he is the Messiah, that his baby (which she is carrying) is God's baby, and that they are destined to found God's church together. The detectives find Beth and return her to her parents with relative ease, but Nick just keeps coming, trying to coerce her parents into letting him marry her and eventually convincing her to run away for the same purpose. Finally a strategy is found to get Nick out of Beth's life for good ...
!!Tropes
* AgeGapRomance: Nick seduces 14-year-old Beth, impregnates her, and tries to marry her, all with her enthusiastic approval.
* AndNowYouMustMarryMe: Nick offers to spare Beth's family further hardship if she marries him.
* {{Blackmail}}: Nick and his AmoralAttorney threaten to expose all their victim's secrets, including his sexual relationship with each of her parents, which will play poorly in their religious community.
* {{Bookends}}: the episode begins and ends with happy Mother's Day-related bonding scenes between Benson and Noah.
* {{Brainwashing}}: Nick convinces Beth that he is the Messiah, that they are destined to found God's church together, and that she is carrying "God's baby" (actually, his).
* BystanderSyndrome: averted, Beth's brother's teacher listens to an offhand remark that he thinks his sister is not going to come home, takes it seriously, investigates and calls the police, kicking off the events of the episode.
* DepravedBisexual: Nick seduces both of Beth's parents in order to get to her.
* {{Determinator}}: Nick just keeps coming after Beth: adopting a secret identity, joining her church and seducing both of her parents in order to get to her; continuing to insist on the legitimacy of their relationship after the cops catch them in their love nest together; using the plea negotiation conference to try blackmailing all parties into letting him marry Beth; and then; when none of that works, convincing Beth with scripture to run away and marry him anyway.
* FauxAffablyEvil: In the plea negotiation conference Nick insists "We're all on the same side here. Don't we all want what's best for Beth?" and then proposes his preferred resolution: [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe that he be allowed to marry his 14-year old victim]] to make the whole situation go away, else his AmoralAttorney will smear her family on the witness stand and [[{{Blackmail}} reveal all their personal secrets]]. Nick's claimed desire to "protect her for the rest of her life" is thrown into doubt by the fact that he previously seduced a 12-year-old girl and her mother and then abruptly discarded them both when it became clear he was not going to be able to take the 12-year-old to the cabin he takes Beth to.
* GoodCopBadCop: Rollins has offended the very mature Beth by treating her as a child, so Benson reprimands her, explaining by way of apology that Rollins isn't used to dealing with such a mature young woman since her kids are younger. Beth assumes Benson has kids in college, and not contradicted in this assumption, opens up to her on the basis that Benson is going to treat her like one of them.
* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: in the end it's decided Beth will keep Nick's baby and the whole family will work on their issues.
* HidingBehindReligion: Nick joins Beth's church in order to seduce and brainwash her.
* JusticeByOtherLegalMeans: the squad and Beth's family find it hard to get Nick out of her life, given how brainwashed she is, so her mother pretends to consent to her marriage in order to trick her into letting the hospital sample the DNA of her fetus so Nick can be arrested for statutory rape.
* LighterAndSofter: no one dies or is subjected to violence in this episode which ends happily, [[BreatherEpisode in contrast]] to the previous episode which was about a girl of the same age who had been raped, impregnated, and killed, and it [[{{Bookends}} opens and closes]] with happy bonding scenes between Benson and Noah.
* RippedFromTheHeadlines: the episode repackages the real-life story of Robert Berchtold,[[note]] also told in ''Film/AbductedInPlainSight'' from Netflix and ''A Friend of the Family'' from Peacock[[/note]] who repeatedly kidnapped 12-year-old Jan Broberg with her cooperation and married her, having brainwashed her and seduced both her parents.
When an alert teacher reports 14-year-old Beth Lee missing her parents are oddly secretive about her whereabouts. It turns out she's been kidnapped by a pedophile (real name Nick) who has brainwashed and seduced both of them, and brainwashed her into believing that he is the Messiah, that his baby (which she is carrying) is God's baby, and that they are destined to found God's church together. The detectives find Beth and return her to her parents with relative ease, but Nick just keeps coming, trying to coerce her parents into letting him marry her and eventually convincing her to run away for the same purpose. Finally a strategy is found to get Nick out of Beth's life for good ...
!!Tropes
* AgeGapRomance: Nick seduces 14-year-old Beth, impregnates her, and tries to marry her, all with her enthusiastic approval.
* AndNowYouMustMarryMe: Nick offers to spare Beth's family further hardship if she marries him.
* {{Blackmail}}: Nick and his AmoralAttorney threaten to expose all their victim's secrets, including his sexual relationship with each of her parents, which will play poorly in their religious community.
* {{Bookends}}: the episode begins and ends with happy Mother's Day-related bonding scenes between Benson and Noah.
* {{Brainwashing}}: Nick convinces Beth that he is the Messiah, that they are destined to found God's church together, and that she is carrying "God's baby" (actually, his).
* BystanderSyndrome: averted, Beth's brother's teacher listens to an offhand remark that he thinks his sister is not going to come home, takes it seriously, investigates and calls the police, kicking off the events of the episode.
* DepravedBisexual: Nick seduces both of Beth's parents in order to get to her.
* {{Determinator}}: Nick just keeps coming after Beth: adopting a secret identity, joining her church and seducing both of her parents in order to get to her; continuing to insist on the legitimacy of their relationship after the cops catch them in their love nest together; using the plea negotiation conference to try blackmailing all parties into letting him marry Beth; and then; when none of that works, convincing Beth with scripture to run away and marry him anyway.
* FauxAffablyEvil: In the plea negotiation conference Nick insists "We're all on the same side here. Don't we all want what's best for Beth?" and then proposes his preferred resolution: [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe that he be allowed to marry his 14-year old victim]] to make the whole situation go away, else his AmoralAttorney will smear her family on the witness stand and [[{{Blackmail}} reveal all their personal secrets]]. Nick's claimed desire to "protect her for the rest of her life" is thrown into doubt by the fact that he previously seduced a 12-year-old girl and her mother and then abruptly discarded them both when it became clear he was not going to be able to take the 12-year-old to the cabin he takes Beth to.
* GoodCopBadCop: Rollins has offended the very mature Beth by treating her as a child, so Benson reprimands her, explaining by way of apology that Rollins isn't used to dealing with such a mature young woman since her kids are younger. Beth assumes Benson has kids in college, and not contradicted in this assumption, opens up to her on the basis that Benson is going to treat her like one of them.
* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: in the end it's decided Beth will keep Nick's baby and the whole family will work on their issues.
* HidingBehindReligion: Nick joins Beth's church in order to seduce and brainwash her.
* JusticeByOtherLegalMeans: the squad and Beth's family find it hard to get Nick out of her life, given how brainwashed she is, so her mother pretends to consent to her marriage in order to trick her into letting the hospital sample the DNA of her fetus so Nick can be arrested for statutory rape.
* LighterAndSofter: no one dies or is subjected to violence in this episode which ends happily, [[BreatherEpisode in contrast]] to the previous episode which was about a girl of the same age who had been raped, impregnated, and killed, and it [[{{Bookends}} opens and closes]] with happy bonding scenes between Benson and Noah.
* RippedFromTheHeadlines: the episode repackages the real-life story of Robert Berchtold,[[note]] also told in ''Film/AbductedInPlainSight'' from Netflix and ''A Friend of the Family'' from Peacock[[/note]] who repeatedly kidnapped 12-year-old Jan Broberg with her cooperation and married her, having brainwashed her and seduced both her parents.
