This episode focuses on determining who impregnated a thirteen-year-old girl, a member of a religious family that does a lot of mission work and is the subject of a reality TV show. "Patrimonial Burden" is intriguing for several reasons even though the episode is focused mostly on law enforcement and investigation, as opposed to courtroom law.
Despite the lack of courtroom drama, there is plenty of scientific investigation, legal maneuvering, and speculation about the guilty culprit-who appears to be on the cusp of covering his crime as detectives converge. Because it operates like a small community or an extended family, the relatively closed and close (i.e, confidential) nature of the family and its crew limit the pool of suspects to a degree, but also create an unlikely pool and lead to some intense situations.
This episode deserves lots of credit for exposing the acute dangers of monsters who hide in plain sight. Especially when they are skilled manipulators, these are the most dangerous monsters of all because so many people believe they are too intelligent, sophisticated, wise... to be duped.
The story also deserves lots of credit for handling a particularly sensitive issue deftly, per norm for the series, and for showing multiple sides of the same coin. A quote by Carisi near the end of the episode, which isn't shared here because it might be a bit of a spoiler, really accentuates this strength.