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Season 2 of the Hulu true-crime series Betrayal, which is titled Betrayal: A Father's Secret, has hit the streaming service on Tuesday. Spanning across 3 episodes, this installment of the docuseries explores the case of a woman who discovers her husband's shocking secret that tears apart her family.
The tragic reality of Utah-based mother Ashley Lytton that she experiences when she learns how her husband, Jason Lytton, harbored a dark and nefarious secret is explored in Betrayal: A Father's Secret. The series delves into how Ashley came to terms with her discovery and the steps that she took to ensure the safety of her family and herself in the face of a threat.
Betrayal: A Father’s Secret makes for a compelling case of how betrayal comes from a loved one
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Betrayal: A Father’s Secret is a 3-part docuseries that examines in detail the horror and trauma of a Utah resident and mother, Ashley Lytton, when she finds disturbing and illegal pictures on her husband Jason Lytton’s iCloud account.
When Ashley married Jason, little did she know of his dark secret and the threat that would pose to her children. With Betrayal: A Father's Secret, Hulu takes us back to the harrowing day when Ashely found compromising pictures of young underage children on her husband's device and what followed as she mobilized resources to have steps taken against him.
The series explores Jason’s arrest, which soon followed, and brings to viewers detailed descriptions of the events leading up to it through in-depth interviews with Ashley herself, her oldest daughter Avaya, her sisters and stepmother, as well as the law enforcement. The interviews are coupled with reenactments of events from the day, which brings viewers a more detailed picture of the string of incidents that followed Ashley's shocking discovery.
A fairy tale romance turned into a nightmare
Betrayal: A Father's Secret opens with a narrative of how Ashley and Jason started dating and the role he played as the father to Ashely's two children before the couple had a child of their own. Ashley and Jason tied the knot in 2011. But soon after, Jason became withdrawn from the family, and Ashley was contemplating separation. However, the pandemic came as a blessing to their union, enforcing their togetherness and reigniting Jason's fatherly instincts.
Little did Ashley know of the impending doom that awaited her. In 2021, after being handed an electrician’s business by the retiring owner, Jason had called Ashley to set up a business Venmo account. While doing that, Ashley logged into Jason’s iCloud account and, to her horror, found a hidden folder full of child s**ual abuse material and compromising pictures of underaged children.
Out of sorts after making the discovery, Ashely called her sister Anna, who advised her to go to their stepmother, who worked in the local corrections department. Ashley also contacted Jason’s brother, who is a police officer, but he dismissed Ashley’s concerns.
In the meantime, she went through a panic attack so severe that she had to be hospitalized. It was then that she decided to report Jason to the police. When investigations began, the detective called her into the station and told her some shocking news—there was also content in the files involving someone they both knew.
Betrayal: A Father's Secret spans across three 45-minute episodes, giving viewers a full view of Jason’s crimes through Ashley's and others' experiences. The picture-perfect romance that the series builds up in the beginning is shattered when Jason's initial facade falls through and his abuse towards one of Ashley’s daughters is revealed.
Is Betrayal: A Father's Secret worth the watch?
As a true-crime docuseries, Betrayal: A Father’s Secret does a great job. It is an informative and thoroughly explorative series that is exhaustive in investigating the crimes of Jason Lytton and the family's ordeal. It brings to us the realities of CSAM, s**ual abuse, and the flawed legal system that makes navigation more difficult for victims.
With graphic descriptions of pictures and situations, the series requires parental guidance for underaged viewers and comes with a trigger warning. Not only the crimes but also the emotions attached to the whole event, like the sense of betrayal and the heaviness of abuse and s**ual assault, also weigh on viewers.
Betrayal: A Father's Secret is not just an investigative docuseries that true-crime documentaries tend to be. It is uncomfortably touching upon emotions and experiences that make the show hard to watch. But if you are a fan of the true-crime genre, then Hulu's Betrayal: A Father's Secret is a must-watch owing to its compelling narrative and realistic portrayal of the events.
The Hulu series is now available for streaming.
