The relationship between Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler on Law & Order: SVU has been teased for 25 years, so why is it disappearing now?
Over the many years that Law & Order: SVU has been airing, there have been a few constants. Throughout the series, Captain Olivia Benson and the other members of the Special Victims Unit have routinely investigated heinous crimes, doing their best to help the victims of New York City’s criminal underbelly. However, while Olivia Benson has been the heart and soul of the show for over 10 seasons, fans have hoped for the return of its original protagonist — Detective Elliot Stabler — for quite some time.
So, when Law & Order: Organized Crime was announced and premiered in 2021, speculation and hopes shot up once again. Stabler was back in Manhattan. Not only were viewers ready for the reunion between the former partners, but the writers had a lot of storytelling to cover to explain away a decade of radio silence from Stabler. With his wife cruelly written out of the picture and a friendship (and romantic feelings) blossoming once more, the EO endgame was looking stronger than ever. But with only three episodes remaining this season for both SVU (in its landmark 25th year) and Organized Crime (the latter in danger of being a series finale), it’s been a dry, abandoned year for the potential couple.
A History Of Olivia Benson & Elliot Stabler
The undeniable chemistry between Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler (thanks to the genuine real-life friendship and chemistry of actors Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni) neatly secures the detectives a place as one of the most memorable duos in television history. Originally paired as detective partners in SVU, the two grew close and formed a tight friendship with greater feelings almost always lurking underneath. However, their story isn’t just a few years full of teases; there are literal decades of “will they/won’t they” storytelling to pull from.
From their introduction all the way back in 1999, Benson and Stabler had displayed an energy and banter that fed off of each other. Of course, there was always a natural roadblock to any burgeoning feelings: Stabler was long-married to his wife, Kathy, and a father of four (later five) children. Still, that didn’t stop the two from having a number of highly-charged moments over the years. Even in the very first season, hints were dropping about Benson and Stabler’s attraction for one another left and right. When Benson hooks up with Cassidy and the latter wants to keep things going, Stabler tells her he can’t blame Cassidy and that sometimes “things happen” between coworkers. It sets the tone for their work relationship and friendship, with a mountain of unspoken feelings that would dictate their dynamic for years to come.
One of Benson and Stabler’s most memorable moments comes in Season 7, Episode 19, “Fault,” when Stabler is overpowered and taken hostage by a kidnapper. First, Benson is wounded in pursuit of the criminal and Stabler chooses to rush to her aid over catching the guy, and the perp escapes. When Stabler is later overpowered by the violent criminal, Benson acts on her own, tracking him down. She finds Stabler tied to a chair with the perp pointing a gun at his head. Stabler begs Benson to take the shot, but she refuses, too scared that Stabler will get hurt in the process. Luckily, an outside sniper takes the perp down. Later on, both Olivia and Elliot acknowledge their feelings for the first time.
This revelation doesn’t stop Stabler from telling Benson in Season 8, Episode 11, “Burned” that he “can’t stay away” after being apart from her for just two weeks. When the two undergo an independent psychological investigation in Season 8, Episode 16, “Philadelphia,” the evaluator determines that the detectives are without a doubt “too close” but that splitting them up would inevitably lead to losing both of them from the force. Season 12 of Law & Order: SVU is the last year for the Benson-Stabler duo. When Christopher Meloni exited the series, it forever changed the show’s dynamic and left his relationship with Benson as unfinished business. However, before he left, Stabler managed to leave one more romantic breadcrumb, impulsively cutting short his own trip simply to comfort Benson after a colleague was murdered. It would be ten more years until they found each other again.
How Law & Order: Organized Crime Teased An Endgame
In the ensuing years after Stabler left her life, Benson’s character grew and evolved on her own. She adopted a son, Noah, rose through the ranks of the SVU squad, and made a name for herself in the precinct. However, questions about her bond with Elliot Stabler would continue to linger. That is, until Law & Order: Organized Crime premiered in 2021. Organized Crime brought Stabler back to New York and kept him there by unceremoniously killing his wife Kathy via a car bomb in the first episode. Stabler becomes obsessed with tracking down her killer, and before long, he starts to think about reuniting with Olivia. From this point, Benson and Stabler’s relationship looked like it was setting sail once more, especially considering the heartfelt letter that Stabler gives Olivia. In the closing of the note, Elliot wrote: “In a parallel universe, it will always be you and I.”
Following the delivery of the letter, Elliot blurts out: “I love you” to a clearly unprepared Olivia. When he realizes what he said and in the presence of his kids a minute later, he adds on a hurried, “I love all of you.” The first season of Organized Crime (and the 22nd season of SVU) even ended with the pair dancing together at a wedding. They toast to the two of them always being partners, and Stabler coyly remarks how almost everyone there who is in a relationship began as partners, too. In an SVU crossover event, Season 24, Episode 12, “Blood Out,” the pair finally almost kiss, with Olivia saying at the last moment she’s just not ready. Then things go quiet for a while until the Season 3 finale of Organized Crime, “With Many Names,” when Elliot gifts Olivia a compass necklace he says he hopes will “point her to happiness.”
Why Benson and Stabler Should Finally Happen
Though Olivia has been wearing Stabler’s necklace in every SVU episode this season, the Stabler-Benson trail has gone cold. In a year since that gift, there have been no crossover episodes, no mentions of each other, and no exploration of threads such as Stabler finally taking Benson and Noah to lunch. In fact, there has been no communication between the two of them at all in any new episodes
At this point, it feels like a crime in and of itself that all these decades of teasing and set-ups have gone nowhere. Benson and Stabler have been shipped for \over a quarter of a century, and yet there is still fan fervor for it to happen. If there isn’t an ultimate payoff for twenty-five-plus years of laying the groundwork unfinished, with story threads left dangling after countless years/
Further, Hargitay and Meloni’s continued friendship off-screen spells out amazing chemistry for their characters. Unsurprisingly, the two stars themselves have been pretty vocal about wanting their characters to get together. Mariska Hargitay even gave a very candid interview on the Drew Barrymore Show, saying Benson has “been in love with Stabler for many a year.” Benson’s been through so much trauma, that she deserves to end up with someone who knows her deeply.
