What a journey! Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has indeed been a giant when it comes to taking stories straight from the news, but “Patrimonial Burden” of Season 17 was one of the few that really disturbed the viewers.The very first scene of this episode is the one that unveils a tad not quite easy-going side to what seemed to be a perfect religious family. The fainting of a minor at the purity ball is the event that generates the commotion, thereby compelling not only the characters but also the audience to confront the aftermath of the combination of elements of faith, fame, and suppression.The episode that aired on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit on November 4, 2015, was immediately recognized by the viewers as something different from an ordinary crime story. Besides the procedural drama, there were already the imprints of a scandal that had been in the news that year and had been infamous.The episode was very realistic with a touch of discomfort, for it was real. “Patrimonial Burden” played with the border between the fate of the television and the viewer’s reality, in that it explored how moral perfection can sometimes be the best cover for a far more evil thing that is going on.The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit plot that shocked viewersLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 17 Episode 7 titled "Patrimonial Burden", takes the audience to a purity ball where the girls clad in white are praising their fathers with their hands and are taking the vow of no s*xual relations, which is a clear indicator of faith and family.Everything is calm till the moment when a 13-year-old girl, Lane Baker, passes out. Medical staff, after checking her at the hospital, made a shocking revelation: Lane has been pregnant for months already.Now, the detectives from the Special Victims Unit are called on. Benson, Carisi, and their colleagues start to unravel the layers of secrecy that surround the Bakers, a large and religious family that has already profited from their own reality TV show.The family’s very strict morality based on faith and their obsession with the perfect image on television are, in fact, the main obstacles in the way of the investigation. The mother and father cannot imagine that anything improper is happening in their home, while the producers of the show are literally terrified that the story may come out and thus, are taking the necessary measures for the family’s reputation.The real-life inspiration for “Patrimonial Burden”Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has always maintained its own fictional touch, but “Patrimonial Burden” was purely inspired by the 2015 Duggar family scandal. Plot-wise, as mentioned by USA Today and Entertainment Weekly, it draws upon Josh Duggar, the central character of the TLC show 19 Kids & Counting, unraveling the story of how he confessed to sexual abuse of minor girls during his teenage years.The scandal resulted in the reality series of the Duggar family being canceled, and at the same time, it stirred a debate all over the country about the issues of secrecy and abuse in the homes of conservative religion.Law & Order: Special Victims Unit had always covered crimes inspired by headlines to life, but this one was particularly hard to bear since it was broadcast just a few months after the Duggar scandal came into the open.Unmasking the truth: How the case unfoldsThe cops of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit do their thing, looking into all the people close to the Bakers first. They consider Pete Matthews, the cameraman who was shooting the family’s reality show, as their first suspect. However, he gets excluded quite fast when it turns out he had a vasectomy done ages ago.The spotlight then moves to the Bakers' eldest son, Graham Baker. The kid is a maniac and was previously around his sisters called for the wrong contact. The family shipped him off to Ecuador, where he would work as a missionary, for the purpose of removing suspicion, but the plan backfires; DNA tests declare him innocent.Pastor Gregory Eldon, the family’s spiritual adviser, is brought to light, though the truth is nothing but the shocking kind. He had been the one supervising the family’s mission trip to New York City. DNA proves Eldon is both the would-be child’s and one of the family’s kids’ father, hence, unsealing a long-time gone abuse case which had been hidden under the cover of religion.Apparently, Eldon runs away but is caught later on and pleads guilty to statutory r*pe.This exposure shatters the Bakers’ reputation. The parents’ fig-leaf of denial falls down, and the production team of the reality show has to endure public outrage due to their part played in the imposition of the family’s fake front.Themes that cut deep“Patrimonial Burden” deals with a few issues, which Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has been chewing over for years, yet in a sharper manner than ever.1. Abuse hidden behind faith:The show points out that the very nature of faith and the way it transforms the perception of authority create a situation where nothing but silence prevails in the case of abuse.Lane’s mistreatment is not only unobserved but probably also treated as nothing serious owing to people’s faith that he is a good and even a holy person.2. The illusion of perfection:By telling the tale through the prism of a family that is under constant public scrutiny, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit studies how society can be deceived and even enter into the trap of believing that they can always see the moral side of things from the TV picture.That very purity which is being portrayed in the story serves as a wall behind which abuse occurs.3. Institutional complicity:The church community of the family and TV producers try to hide the story, concerned with how it would impact their reputations rather than with justice. This has been an issue very much present in several Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episodes.4. The cost of silence:Ultimately, “Patrimonial Burden” grapples with the suffering caused by denial. In this instance, silence is not a form of protection; it is a way of being involved.Hence, "Patrimonial Burden" is not a pleasant experience, but that is exactly what it is meant to do. It is a narrative that compels the audience to face the uncomfortable reality of the issues of trust, celebrity, and responsibility; indeed, these realities are still resonating in society long after the show has ended.Also read: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 27 Episode 7 - Release date news, time, streaming details, cast, and more