Warning: spoilers ahead for Episode 21 of Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 3, called “Shadowërk,” and light spoilers for Episode 21 of SVU Season 24, called “Bad Things.”
Law & Order: Organized Crime and Law & Order: SVU are ending their respective seasons with an unprecedented crossover event that not only spans across both shows, but across two weeks. Although Christopher Meloni appeared in the last couple minutes of SVU‘s episode on May 11, it was the subsequent Organized Crime episode that really brought the two shows together to start the crossover with Mariska Hargitay in the mix. Given that Benson and Stabler hadn’t teamed up for a case since the three-show crossover back in the fall, hopes were high… and the crossover delivered some old school Benson/Stabler that has me hyped for the upcoming finales.
The two characters formed an iconic partnership over twelve years of SVU and were so close that some longtime fans have been rooting for romance since Season 1 back in 1999. Their dynamic of course hasn’t been the same since his return to launch the OC spinoff, however, due to the significant issue of him ghosting her for a decade, followed by the fiasco with The Letter. (I say that Benson still deserves a thorough apology for both!)
As somebody who is on the fence about romance but hoping on a weekly basis that SVU and/or OC acknowledge arguably the most important relationship in the history of the Law & Order franchise, seeing them interacting at the end of SVU’s “Bad Things” with its horrifying case of the week and then carrying over into “Shadowërk” (both available streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription) was exactly what I needed. They felt like the Benson/Stabler of original SVU again, combined with bits of extra baggage that they’ve accumulated over the past few years.
SVU‘s episode ended with Stabler calling Benson “partner,” and Benson… well, not looking uncomfortable or closed off, which is an improvement from certain episodes of the last few years! He confided in her about seeing Kathy (which fortunately did not turn into a troublesome ongoing storyline like I predicted) and called her out (in a nice way!) about her characteristic empathetic body language. Plus, Stabler confiding in Benson about seeing a vision of his wife meant Benson being dragged into Kathy drama through no fault of her own, and what is more classic SVU than that?
In all seriousness, we then saw Stabler meeting Oscar Papa and doing what Benson probably expected after she kept him out of the BX9 situation earlier this season, back when it seemed like SVU and OC were not on the same page. He went into Benson protective mode – which for past, present, and probably future Elliot Stabler means violent mode – and shoved Papa up against a shelf in prison, forcing Benson to step between them and stop him from crossing a line even more than he already had. Honestly, if not for the mention of Noah, that sequence could have been straight out of Seasons 1-12!
All of this while they were back in sync and investigating, and it felt like Organized Crime had finally found a combination of what made old school Benson and Stabler so great without overlooking their more recent baggage or ignoring what happened the last time they saw each other and Stabler made a move.
Sure, SVU‘s “Bad Things” saw her brushing that interaction aside as a “bad time” for her and claimed that she knew he was just trying to make her feel safe, but his noncommittal reaction (other than to keep smiling at her) struck me more as letting her get away with it for the time being rather than agreeing with her about why he made a move when he did. According to him, it just was “not the right moment,” and she didn’t contradict him. Benson and Stabler making progress in the same crossover that had me flashing back to their classic interactions? Of course I’m hyped for what comes next!
Of course, based on the promo, I should also be worried about what’s on the way for Benson in particular. Take a look:
It sure looks like Benson is getting shot when the Law & Order: SVU/Law & Order: Organized Crime crossover picks up, which will be the first time in 24 seasons of SVU, compared to Stabler seeming to get shot pretty regularly back in the old days. See what’s in store with the Season 24 finale of SVU leading into the Season 3 finale of OC on Thursday, May 18 starting at 9 p.m. ET, following the Season 22 finale of Law & Order, all on NBC.
