Written By Dawn De Noon
Directed By Juan J Campanella
A death-row serial killer is interrogated due to him possibly holding crucial evidence in a hearing that pertains to the harassment of a woman (Sprague Grayden) and the past of the judge (Alan Dale).
This episode contains examples of:
- Accidental Truth: Judge Koehler calls Tyler "son" in the middle of the episode while trying to calm him down.
- Arc Words: "A tyrant will always find pretext for his tyranny."
- Canine Companion: Pam Galliano gets herself one in order to scare-off her violent ex-boyfriend.
- Contrived Coincidence: The only reason Judge Koehler gets involved in the case at all is because A. the judge Alex initially went to for a warrant was out of work for emergency gall bladder surgery, and B. Judge Koehler happened to be walking by while she was knocking on the door. And then, said case just so happens to have the judge's long-lost son as a defendant. Judge Koehler himself acknowledges the astronomical odds.
- Damsel out of Distress: The show opens with Pam Galliano calling the police, telling them she was raped, and then asking for an ambulance for the rapist because she beat him up. She later states that she takes self-defense classes.
- Deadpan Snarker:Tyler Brunsen: Look at this: bite marks! Huh? I should be in the hospital getting checked for rabies!Olivia Benson: I seriously doubt you gave the dog rabies.
- Decoy Protagonist: Pam Galliano appears to be the episode's Victim of the Week; it's actually Judge Joshua Koehler.
- Foreshadowing: Judge Koehler and Tyler Brunson's familial relationship is hinted at a few times in the episode.
- Immediately after Pam mentions that Tyler has always had abandonment issues, the scene cuts to Judge Koehler.
- Judge Koehler calling Tyler "son".
- Judge Koehler started treating Tyler differently after the latter blurted the Arc Words above.
- Freudian Excuse: Played completely straight. Tyler is given a much more sympathetic portrayal after it's revealed that he was kidnapped and abused as a child.
- Gunman with Three Names: Pedophile and serial killer Roy Lee Dotson.
- Halfway Plot Switch: Begins with a man ordering and arranging the rape of his ex-girlfriend. Suddenly turns to reveal that the man in question was kidnapped as a child.
- Hanging Judge: The judge has this reputation, which makes his soft attitude towards the rapist surprising.
- Heroic Dog: Pam Galliano's Canine Companion bites-off Tyler Brunson when she ran into him. The poor dog's ribs got broken for the troubles.
- Hot-Blooded: Tyler Brunson is easily riled up.
- Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: Stabler, unsurprisingly. This time, he cuts off the oxygen to Dotson's tank to make him give up information on Marshall Koehler.
- Long-Lost Relative: Turns out Tyler Brunson is Judge Koehler's missing son Marshall all along.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: The final scene has Judge Koehler reveal his identity to Tyler.
- Not Me This Time: When Stabler receives a direct call from Judge Koehler right after testifying in a case he's presiding over, he immediately assumes he's due for a reprimand. It turns out Judge Koehler actually wants to hire him to investigate the disappearance of his son.
- Papa Wolf: When the judge finds out who really kidnapped his son decades ago, he goes to the man's house and beats him half to death.
- Psycho Ex-Girlfriend: Gender-flipped, Tyler is this to his ex.
- Rape by Proxy: Tyler impersonates Pam on a rape fantasy website. A man falls for it and rapes her in her apartment, thinking that she consents.
- Rape Leads to Insanity: Tyler was sexually abused for years by the man he thought was his father, and became a possessive, abusive boyfriend to Pam.
- Running Gag: Alex and Horowitz simultaneously speaking in front of Judge Koehler.
- Serial Killer: Roy Lee Dotson, a pedophile who raped and murdered dozens of children.
- Stalker with a Crush: Tyler Brunson just can't let Pam Galliano go.
- Working the Same Case: Subverted, as the judge specifically asks Stabler to investigate his son's disappearance after believing he recognizes him in an arraignment.
