Written By Warren Leight and Julie Martin
Directed By Martha Mitchell
The Bakers, a large Christian family famous for their reality TV show Baker's Dozen, discover during filming that their 13-year-old daughter Lane is pregnant. When it becomes apparent that she conceived whilst in New York on missionary work, the SVU has a case to pursue. Lane initially names a cameraman working on the show as the father of her child. It turns out he has had a vasectomy and couldn't be responsible; but he's charged over indecent footage he recorded of the Bakers' daughters. The detectives' next suspect is the family's oldest son Graham who, it emerges, has committed several sexual assaults which the Bakers covered up.
Rollins, stuck on desk duty and the only one in SVU familiar with the Bakers, binge watches the show for further investigation. Through the binge watching, she works out that the parents' youngest "son" is actually their grandson - his mother is their 15-year-old daughter Summer. The SVU quickly realize that the Bakers' pastor, Pastor Eldon, had taken both Summer and Lane away on missionary trips at the time they would have conceived. A DNA test confirms that Eldon, not Graham, is the father of Summer's baby. He is arrested just as he is about to marry Lane with her parents' consent. But Mr. and Mrs. Baker are horrified to learn about the DNA evidence. Eldon made them think Graham was the one who raped both girls; then planned to marry Lane in order to avoid statutory rape charges.
The Bakers resolve to testify against Eldon in court, and he pleads guilty to both counts of rape. Rollins, who had collapsed due to complications of her pregnancy, remains in the hospital but the baby is safe. Dodds agrees to stay with SVU but feels uneasy at getting a pastor convicted; Benson reminds him that predators will always flock to places where they'll be trusted.
Tropes
- Actor Allusion: Chris Elliott as Pete Matthews, the cameraman. His hair, make-up and wardrobe are identical to his outing as another boundary-less Director of Photography to set him up as a Red Herring.
- Always Identical Twins: The Bakers have a pair of identical twin daughters.
- Children Are Innocent: Lane. She truly believes the pastor loves her and was willing to lie about the father of her baby to be with him.
- Elephant in the Living Room: This was the Bakers' response to Graham. Rather than try to get help for his obvious problems, they just sent him away to a Christian "reform camp"; when confronted with the idea that he raped and impregnated not one but two of his own sisters, they again cover it up and send him far away on a mission trip to Ecuador.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: When Sinister Minister Eldon is confronted with the accusations of raping and impregnating the two teenage Baker daughters, he warns the Bakers that, should the case go forward, the negative publicity will ruin their show. In so doing, he is completely oblivious to the notion that, not only are the Bakers sincere in their beliefs, but they genuinely love their children, and, while the fame and money is nice, their children's welfare is more important.
- Everyone Has Standards: Judge Barnes was willing to cover up Graham's several misdemeanors, including sexual assault against his sisters, to protect the family's image and show. But when he learns that it was Pastor Eldon who raped both Lane and Summer while lying that their brother did it to save his own skin, Barnes is just as horrified and disgusted as the parents are.
- False Rape Accusation: Lane makes one against Pete Matthews, the show's cameraman. However, Matthews is revealed to nonetheless have some perversions going on, as he filmed the Baker girls when they were naked/dressing and saved the footage.
- Family Relationship Switcheroo: The Bakers' youngest "son" is actually their grandson, and Summer is his mother.
- Hollywood Law: The creepy pastor tries to marry Lane in order to save himself from statutory rape charges even though such a marriage would afford him no legal protection for acts that occurred before the marriage, let alone crimes he committed against the sister he wasn't trying to marry.
- Mama Bear: Mrs. Baker for Lane, especially after learning that Eldon is the one that got Lane pregnant. She angrily declares that she will testify against the pastor and is willing to throw away her family’s show for her children’s sake.
- Mother of a Thousand Young: The Baker's have ten children, although the youngest is actually their grandchild; they raised him as their own to cover up their teenage daughter Summer's unwed pregnancy.
- Old Man Marrying a Child: Eldon's plan, although this would be a mild example: he is only around his early 40s trying to marry thirteen-year-old Lane.
- The Peeping Tom: Pete Matthews. His job as cameraman for the house resulted in him with footage of the Baker girls undressing, which should've been immediately junked due to them being underage.
- Raised by Grandparents: Summer's son, who is being raised as another of her mom's many children.
- Red Herring: Pete Matthews. Both the viewers and the detectives figure he's guilty as soon as Lane makes the accusation, but he's quickly revealed to not be their target after telling SVU he had a vasectomy. He's no angel though.
- Ripped from the Headlines: Based on the sexual assault controversy which led to the Duggars losing their reality TV show. It's referenced by Rollins who says the Bakers won't want to risk the same fate, though Mrs. Baker is more than willing to throw the show away when she learns the truth about Pastor Eldon.
- Romanticized Abuse: Lane clearly believes Eldon loves her and that everything that's happened to her is "God's will."
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Doug Tramwell, the cop that pulls over Fin and Sonny, slips them some juvenile records on Graham. While the judge was reluctant to help them because of his close ties to the Bakers and Eldons, Doug didn’t care about any of that. Worth noting as well that he was there to help the SVU team stop Eldon from marrying Lane and arrest him for her and Summer's statutory rapes.
- Sibling Incest: The detectives initially suspect Graham of molesting his sisters, but this is averted with the revelation that Eldon is the father of both Baker girls' babies.
- Sinister Minister: Eldon.
- Virgin in a White Dress: Lane participates in a "purity pledge" ceremony in which she wears a white dress and vows to stay a virgin until marriage. Subverted when, very shortly afterwards, she passes out and is found to be pregnant.
- Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: Names of the Baker children include Tymber and Parky. And those are some of the older kids (Tymber in particular), so it can't even be excused as running out of ideas due to how many kids they have.
