The Daily Beast
Did ‘Law & Order’ just open the door for Benson and Stabler to finally connect?
This post contains spoilers for Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: Organized Crime.Reunited, and it looks so … well, not good, really. On Thursday night, Law & Order finally brought together NBC’s most beloved platonic couple: after a decade apart, Olivia Benson from Mariska Hargitay and Elliot Stabler from Christopher Meloni are back on the case. Unfortunately, it took the death of Stabler’s wife, Kathy, at the hands of a mysterious high-profile criminal to make this happen. Thursday marks the premiere of the new Meloni Law and Order spinoff, Organized Crime. Given the magnitude of the Benson and Stabler (Babe-ler?) Meeting, it shouldn’t be surprising that NBC turned the event into a crossover event with SVU – which started with Kathy Stabler being taken to an ambulance while a stunned Olivia watched. Apparently, despite the fact that the Stablers lived abroad, they have become a target for bombing here in the United States. Maybe it has something to do with Elliot’s new job? As Stabler explains, he went on a hike for a few years after he left the NYPD; he started working on private security and eventually ended up working as an international liaison to deal with terrorism, sex trafficking and organized crime. He came to New York to testify about a case, and Kathy accompanied him. Apparently, the police poster on his rental car warned the bomber. Kathy initially survived the attack, but later died in the hospital of a ruptured spleen. Benson and his team are able to track the terrorism suspect, but soon he is also found dead in his cell from an overdose. The explosive appears to have been an international project. Life after ‘SVU’: Christopher Meloni in ‘They Came Together’, Stabler and His Famous Behind Sadly for Kathy, his contact with death is primarily a device to unite Benson and Stabler (and, of course, launch the new independent TV show from Stabler). Benson offers to lead the bombing investigation and allows his former partner to accompany her during the first interrogation, where they question a devotee of QAnon. It quickly becomes clear, however, that the perpetrator, in this case, is someone much more sophisticated. A lot has changed since the last time Stabler appeared on the screen. In his last seasons, in particular, Meloni’s character has become known for his explosive temper and propensity to break the rules – qualities that have not aged well in the light of recent discussions about how police procedures have promoted harmful ideas about policing. So, when Stabler made his big comeback, viewers also had a good deal of anxiety about how “good” or “bad” police he could be now. “Don’t tell me, ‘We don’t do this anymore, please,'” Stabler told Benson at one point. “I have been living outside of New York, not under a rock.” Attesting his former colleague to a younger colleague, Finn insists: “At the end of the day, he is a good cop.” Eventually, Stabler loses his cool with the questions: “I’m sick of seeing people judging me for who I was 12. years ago,” he says. “I was a good cop at the time, I’m a good cop now.” As Ayanna Bell, the organized crime police officer charged with hunting down the criminal element responsible for his wife’s apparent killer, replies, “Guys who came up when you did it, you never thought you need to change your habits.” The first hour of this crossover event, of course, was to address the distance that infected between Stabler and Benson in their decade of difference. It’s been 10 years since Benson and Stabler worked together on a case. The last episode of Meloni, the end of the 12th season ended with Stabler shooting the daughter of a rape victim, who opened fire at the New York City police station with a gun she bought on the street. In subsequent episodes, Benson learned that his longtime partner had resigned. they have spoken since. “Do you regret leaving or walking – for not giving me the courtesy to tell me?” Benson asks. “You were the most important person in my life. hurt … disappeared. “” I know, “says Elliot. “I was scared. If I heard your voice, I wouldn’t have been able to leave.” Was the partnership between Stabler and Benson always, shall we say, intense? That fact surfaced on Thursday night too, with the younger members of the team, including Amanda Rollins, giving a hint about the ambiguous “thing” the pair notoriously shared in. Stabler seems curious when Finn mentions Olivia’s romantic relationships and tries to extract some information from his former colleague – only to hear that he will need to ask himself. At the risk of sounding rude about poor Kathy’s death, his tragic fate leads him to a rather rude question: Will we finally, after all these years, be going to see Stabler’s kiss and At the moment, however, Stabler obviously has bigger fish to fry. The case of Kathy’s murder is officially outside Benson’s jurisdiction, although that is no guarantee that she will withdraw. Stabler’s youngest son, Eli, is slayer I am saddened by the death of my mother and discouraged because the family is not going back to Rome. (Unfortunately, NBC apparently does not have the funds to give us Law & Order Takes Tuscany.) Stabler himself, however, has already started interrogating international criminals and chasing clues, continually referring to a contraband case he was working on. Apulia. It turns out that medical supplies became a lucrative source of money for organized crime gangs during the COVID era. At the root of all this, it seems, is Freddie (Dylan McDermott) – the son of a notorious mafia boss named Sinatra (yes, Sinatra), whose henchmen were also behind the EPP smuggling from Puglia. Freddie, who also goes by the name of Richard Wheatley, enjoys an upper class existence, painting himself as a legitimate businessman. Even Sinatra seemed ready to report his son to Stabler – but, unfortunately, Freddie picked him up first and executed him at the Magic Wheel on Coney Island. Now, the chase is underway. It seems likely that this case will consume a good part of Organized Crime’s debut season, or at least provide its initial narrative backbone. But once the fog clears and the hammer inevitably falls, there will be time for other, more lingering questions – including, if, after all these years, fans can finally see Benson and Stabler reconciling and eventually kissing. For now, however, we’ll have to wait and see. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Subscribe now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper into the stories that matter to you. To know more.