The team reinvestigates the accidental death of Max Chapin, a baby who reportedly died in a fire three years prior. Upon investigating, they realize this may not have actually been the case.
Tropes:
- Anti-Villain: The people who kidnapped Max did it with the good intentions of not only taking him off his druggie mom's hands, but also giving themselves the child they were thus far unable to have. It doesn't change that they essentially broke the law by abducting an infant from his caring mother.
- Believing Their Own Lies: Lois and her husband claim to the detectives they were saving Max from an Abusive Parent and giving him a better life. But Lilly points out they just told themselves that to justify kidnapping him from a loving parent who was trying her best. They even ignored how clean and well-made his nursery was when faking his death, insisting to Lily it was "tiny and dirty". This is evident in the flashback when Lois is holding Max after he's brought to their home and sees his handmade onesie from Priscilla that says "My Mommy Loves Me". It’s written all over her face that deep down, she knows that what she and her husband just did was wrong.
- Disappeared Dad: Ellis willingly decided not to be a part of Priscilla or Max's life, unimpressed with the idea of helping his girlfriend take care of a snot-covered baby.
- Good Parents: Priscilla, despite previously being a druggie, was a very good mother to Max while she still had him. From the moment she first helped him breathe, it gave her a sense of purpose like never before. The entirety of the flashbacks show Priscilla never taking the easy road, even when she was set upon on all sides by her druggie past.
- It's Personal: Lilly is willing to give all suspects the benefit of the doubt — except addict mothers, since she grew up severely neglected by one herself, which is why she shows no sympathy towards Priscilla until her innocence is proven.
- Law of Inverse Fertility: Lois had a miscarriage the day she met Priscilla and Max. She didn’t think it was fair that a former drug addict living in poverty was blessed with a baby whom she could very well abuse, while Lois, who was more than emotionally ready for motherhood and had a steady job, a good home, and a loving husband, was denied such a blessing.
- Nostalgia Filter: Inverted. When confronted by Lily about how they kidnapped Max from Priscilla, Lois and her husband insist that the boy's mother was clearly negligent. In the past, they clearly saw proof that Priscilla loved Max and went the extra mile to provide for him, from his well-kept nursery to the pantry filled with bottles of baby food, all the way down to Max's hand-made onesie reading "My Mommy Loves Me". In the present, to ease the blow that they kidnapped someone's child, Lois's husband insists otherwise.
- Struggling Single Mother: Priscilla was a former drug addict trying to stay clean and finding trouble holding onto a job. Despite this, she loved Max with all her heart and felt like he was the only thing motivating her to stay on the right track.
