Written By Judith McCreary
Directed By Arthur W. Forney
When the son of Fin's ex-wife is put on trial for the rape and murder a mother and her child, secrets that the SVU detectives had tried to bury are brought out into the open by the defense counsel to discredit them. In addition, Chester Lake officially joins the SVU cast and Stabler and his wife reunite upon the revelation of Kathy's recent pregnancy.
This episode provides examples of:
- Back for the Finale: Chester Lake returns and is transferred from Brooklyn SVU into the Manhattan team. Olivia's half-brother, Simon Marsden, also return
- The Bad Guy Wins: Darius is ultimately acquitted for his crime.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Darius taunts Teresa on telling him who her rapist (and his father) is. When she does, Darius had a brief Villainous Breakdown.
- Bittersweet Ending: Darius is acquitted of his crimes, though he forever lost the cousin/nephew/brother who was always his only family, and Fin is now hot on him. Elliot is forced to allow his daughter Kathleen to be arrested, but he and Kathy are officially back together and expecting another child. The only one who seemed to be in a totally bad situation is Captain Cragen, who is called by his superiors for either suspension or something worse.
- Continuity Porn: Several, such as Elliot whitewashing Kathleen's DUI arrest in Season 6 and Olivia giving money to her fugitive paternal half-brother earlier in this very season. The episode itself is a Call-Back to Darius' crime in Season 7's "Venom".
- Go Mad from the Revelation: Teresa warned Darius that he wouldn't like to learn who his father is. She was right.
- Intrepid Reporter: There's a lot of buzz regarding Darius Parker's trial, and the main characters had to deal with them throughout the episode. One even acted as a Jerkass to Elliot at the beginning of the episode.
- Karma Houdini: Downplayed with Darius; while he beats the charges, the only person in his life who he actually cared about has disowned him and he has to live with the Awful Truth about his parentage, which seems to mess him up even more.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: The SVU unit's warranty expires in this episode. While they are protagonists that aggressively investigate sex crimes, most of them have done things throughout the show's run that are unethical at best, outright criminal at worst (Olivia sending money to her suspected rapist brother, Elliot abusing his power to get his daughter off scot-free for a DUI, Fin's suspicious activities while undercover, and Cragen running interference for all of the above, just to name a few). These incidents allow Darius Parker, who killed a woman and her baby, to discredit their testimonies and escape any punishment whatsoever for a crime he definitely committed. All of the SVU (save Munch) get punished after the trial's conclusion for their behavior.
- Parental Incest: Teresa was raped by her own father, and Darius was born from it.
- Pyrrhic Victory: Sure, Darius got acquitted for his crimes, but he's disowned by Ken, the only family he's ever had, and has to live with the knowledge the mother who despises him is also his half-sister.
- The Reveal: Teresa's rapist and Darius's father is finally revealed: It's Teresa's own father.
- Sad Battle Music: Mark Isham's "Sense of Touch"
is played towards the end during Darius's acquittal, Kathleen's arrest, Cragen facing his superiors, etc. - Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Teresa never wanted to testify against Darius and has to be forced by the entire main cast to comply.
- Season Finale: The show's eighth.
- Surprise Pregnancy: Kathy reveals to Elliot that she's pregnant. As they're in their forties, Elliot is understandably shocked.
- Tangled Family Tree: With The Reveal about his parentage, Darius learns that his maternal grandfather is also his father, his mother is also his sister, and his maternal half-brother is also his nephew.
- Villainous Breakdown: Darius after finding out his true parentage.
