Why ‘SVU’ & ‘Organized Crime’ Shouldn’t Do the Obvious Benson-Stabler Romance
Opinion
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Law & Order: SVU Season 22 Episode 9 “Return of the Prodigal Son” and the Law & Order: Organized Crime series premiere “What Happens in Puglia.”]
Did SVU just reunite former partners Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) and tease that the Law & Order franchise might put them together romantically (something some fans have wanted for over 22 years) … in the span of two hours? It seems possible. And it would be the wrong move right now.
Elliot, still a detective, and Olivia, now the SVU captain, cross paths again when he and wife Kathy (Isabel Gillies) come to NYC for his work. They’re also in town to see his former partner — who played a significant role in both their lives (she helped deliver their fifth child) — get an award. But things quickly take a dark turn when the Stablers’ rental car is bombed and Kathy ends up in the hospital. She dies from her injuries (specifically a ruptured spleen), and yes, her husband and their kids grieve. But even before then and as she’s clearly dying in the hospital — we know going into the crossover that Stabler suffers a significant personal loss before his spinoff — the focus is entirely on Olivia and Elliot’s bond. (Let’s make one thing clear: We love seeing the two together again. Their relationship was a significant part of SVU‘s history.)
“It’s like the old days,” Kathy comments even as Elliot strokes her hair. “The two of you together, always so in sync. You really didn’t talk for 10 years?” It’s gotten to the point that she was just assuming her husband had lied about being in contact with Olivia all this time. And it’s shrugged away. Olivia’s “it’s true” even comes across a bit like her assuring Kathy before she dies that Elliot hadn’t lied to her because the writing is on the wall the moment his wife is loaded into the ambulance at the crime scene that she’s not going to survive the episode.
Elliot doesn’t spend much time with Kathy; Olivia probably spends more time telling him to be with his wife than he does in that hospital room. And yes, of course, SVU needs to have Benson and Stabler sharing the screen as much as possible after fans have waited a decade to see them together again. But the fact that it happens as Kathy is dying doesn’t come across that great, due to the nature of the case and her injuries. The franchise might as well be screaming that Kathy is in the past before she even is, which reads wrong especially on Organized Crime when we see a photo on Elliot’s phone of the couple happy together in Italy.
Virginia Sherwood/NBC
We don’t even see Elliot share loving scenes with his wife (other than from Olivia’s perspective as watches from a distance in the hospital hall). Instead, his most emotional scenes, other than grieving with his kids, come from his conversations with Olivia. If a romance is indeed coming between these two, how can we separate that from how easily Law & Order tossed aside his marriage?
“You were the single most important person in my life, and you just disappeared,” Olivia tells Elliot after he (finally) apologizes for not telling her he was quitting the NYPD when he left.
“If I heard your voice, I wouldn’t have been able to leave,” he admits.
Then, when we pick up on Organized Crime, barely any time has passed since Kathy’s death and Elliot’s already talking about how much Olivia would have loved where the Stablers had been living in Italy. “I can’t,” she tells him.
Virginia Sherwood/NBC
Then he gives her a letter he’d written her in lieu of a speech at her awards ceremony. The contents of that letter are significant enough that she turns up at his apartment building to talk about it late at night. (He’s too distracted to talk to her at the moment — by work, by finding a mobster’s body on a Ferris wheel and stealing his phone, you know how it goes when you’re working organized crime.)
So the problem isn’t if, after all these years and it not being a possibility due to things like his marriage when they were partners, Olivia and Elliot get together and end up each other’s “ones.” It’s that too little weight was put on his marriage to Kathy in the episode she died because 40 minutes needed to cover quite a bit: the partners’ reunion, him leaving like he did, Kathy dying, the case, and setting up his spinoff.
Now, this isn’t to say that putting Olivia and Elliot together in the future is a bad idea. But to start setting it up so soon is.
Law & Order: SVU, Thursdays, 9/8c, NBC
Law & Order: Organized Crime, Thursdays, 10/9c, NBC
Conversation17 Comments
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C
WHO ELSE NEEDS TO KNOW WHAT WAS IN THE LETTER?????? I know I do!
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P
I don't think anything "revealing" is in the letter as I got the impression Elliott was going to get up in front of all the guests at the party and read it since he admits he isn't a great speech maker. I think the letter simply emphasizes what a great friend and partner she was and how much this meant to him. Kathy was supposed to be at this party and he certainly would not have admitted anything in a letter to be read outloud that he had/has feelings for Olivia. Now why she wanted to talk to him after she read the letter I haven't figured out.
Now what I want to know if when Elliott was telling Olivia she would have liked where they lived in Italy, she interrupted him by saying, "I can't". What did she mean?
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R
I too want a real relationship between Liv and Elliot. However it would be too insensitive for it to happen this season. Elliot's grief is still to raw and he certainly will take his children's feelings into account. I think they will make up and get the friendship aspect back on solid ground but no romance yet. The April 22 SVU episode has Liv "attending a Stabler family event". Don't know what the event is. Maybe a birthday. SVU has two more years in its contract with NBC. I feel at that time Mariska will choose to "shut it down" therefore ending the show. Unless she chooses to do one more year, making it a more rounded number of 25 seasons. I read an interview with Mariska in People Magazine where she referred to Elliot as the love of Olivia's life. I therefore feel when the show ends Liv and Elliot will get together, retire from NYPD and ride off into the sunset to continue raising Noah together. Side note to Wolf Productions - PLEASE let them get together. I am 71 years old and I can die a happy camper (although no time soon I hope) if they end up together.
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B
I think I’m the only one in the universe that doesn’t want them to be together. I dunno the idea of all partners ending up together either married or in a relationship is just…idk I think it’s predictable. Every show I watched where people have worked together closely for years, they ended up together. Bones. Castle. Criminal Minds. The CSI franchise. It’s repetitive imho.
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G
I despise Elliott Stabler and if there was a romance with Benson I would quit watching SVU.
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G
I agree that it's too soon for an Elliot/ Olivia romance. Liv has matured and developed so much over the years, that I honestly can't see Stabler measuring up to her right now. She's a Captain and he's still a Detective. What happened in all those years we didn't see him? And that conversation with Fin is not enough. I feel like there are many missing pieces to this puzzle and so much time has lapsed between them that I need to be re-assured about Stabler before being all "gung ho" about a romance.
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I believe for the series to be successful, there has to be a relationship between Stabler and Benson. The fans have hung on for all these years, and I think we would be disappointed in both shows if their strong relationship was ignored. Plus, Organized Crime can feed off the success of the original SVU series - I am looking forward to many "Crossover Events".
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Sorry in advance for the long rant below! I’m a huge fan and just want Law & Order to succeed again like it deserves...
To the author, yes - if looking solely at this episode, Cathy’s death was brushed over. The family’s grief and his own, while heartfelt was very short-lived. Elliot’s romantic connection with Olivia seemed rushed, especially in proximity to the tragic (although anticipated) death of his wife.
But this episode can’t be viewed in isolation - it must be judged based on the entire history of SVU as a series, and the development of Eliot and Olivia’s relationship throughout. For many previous seasons, Kathy and Elliot’s relationship was given incredible weight, as was his commitment to his family above all else. Everything seemed to get in the way for Liv and Elliot, and for 20+ YEARS fans have hoped and waited.
The episode may have been rushed, but Elliot & Liv’s storyline throughout the series as a whole certainly was not. SVU’s best chance to revive its ratings is to play to its past fan base, by giving us what we’ve always wanted.
Bob Asher - I agree the plot line was weak and a bit of a let down. Was really hoping the thrilling plot lines from episodes past starring the classic Benson & Stabler duo would make a comeback. I’m hoping that there were just too many amends/reparations that needed to be covered in the episode to set the OC series up for success, so the plot line was shortened and simplified.
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C
If they have good tv writers and not what they have would came out a good thing.
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I don’t think they Relationship is ignore they have a Strong Relationship between them. And i think Organized Crime will let them be together. And I am a big fan of them. They have been Partners really long time.
Ivy snow
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Ivy snow
I think the letter would say that I have Feelings for Olivia and it would be nice to say I love you back . And then Stabler would have to say I would like to stay in SVU to be Partners with Olivia. Then they would be together to work on Cases. And also I would not to leave SVU. They are perfect together. And I love each other.
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I haven't even started Organized Crime yet, but I am truly dreading watching the SVU episode that sets it up. Olivia is by far the worst character in the show at this point, and I've quit watching because of her.
To make Stabler's storyline center around Olivia would be disrespectful to Stabler as a character. Not everything in L&O has to be about Olivia.
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For me I felt something was building Or happened in an revealed plot twist before his disappearance and perhaps that was his reason for disappearing choosing his family over benson regardless I think the episode was perfect he cried he grieved and as before had benson by his side
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I wanted Eliot and Olivia to be together romantically every sense they've started working together. They're relationship was more than just partners they were close friends and more. Getting those two together romantically will be the idea yet because Kathy's dead and now they can have a chance at romance between them now. I wanted to know what was in that letter as well we all do. And I don't want just closure between those two I want them together romantically. And be together just like old times again.
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To me, it sounded like he was trying to be very friendly with her, acting like he hadn't disappeared for ten years. Then of all things to say, "you would have loved where I ran off to" also seems kind of insensitive. She likely was just there for Kathy, not to catch up. I don't think they will end up together. I honestly don't see Organized Crime going past one season. Maybe Liv will just get closure and then there'll be opportunities for Meloni to guest star in future seasons without it being weird.
Side note, I hate Warren Leight. Why must he bring back people just to kill them off or ruin their characters (Tucker, Simon, Dana, probably forgetting a few others)?! If Munch ever gets teased for a return, I'm not watching cuz I know exactly what's gonna happen. I know this might have been beyond his control since it's a new show, but even the original idea he talked about last year didn't point to Kathy dying.
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G
nah. let them be together.
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The show Organized Crime episode was the biggest flop and disappoibtment ever from Dick Wolf. Absolute crap. Low quality COVID19 PPE and masks coming in from a so called crime syndicate based in Italy. The lamest ever plot. You knew from tbe start Kathy Stabler would die in an attempt at a tear jerker and the Olivia and Elliot together.
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