Stabler doesn’t let anyone mess with Benson and get away with it.
There was no shortage of excitement during Law & Order: SVU‘s thrilling crossover with the OG Law & Order, but you can bet viewers were screaming and pointing at their TVs when the beloved Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) made a surprise appearance. And he came just in time to help his best friend, Captain Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay).
Fans relish any moment Benson catches up with her former partner, but Stabler’s latest return to SVU came under less-than-ideal circumstances. The Law & Order crossover explored the devastating murder of Maria Recinos, the little girl Benson saved in SVU‘s iconic “911” episode, who later grew up to become a detective just like her savior. As the two squads set out to find their perp, the detectives were led on a chaotic cat-and-mouse chase that led to several red herrings, murdered witnesses, and some gripping courtroom drama. In fact, it was so intense that Benson called Stabler for backup.
While it wasn’t technically a reunion among the SVU partners (Bensler doesn’t meet face to face), Stabler’s cameo served as a touching reminder of the hurdles he’ll navigate for his cherished pal.
Benson’s SVU teamed up with the 27th Precinct after a personal loss
After a cul-de-sac investigation and numerous dead witnesses surrounding Maria’s death, Benson deduced that their suspect was close to the case, maybe too close. It was Maria’s commanding officer, Lt. Paul Gomez, who leveraged his position within the NYPD to target and intimidate undocumented women into submission. Shortly after Benson and Brady visited Gomez to interrogate him about the case, he caught on to the detective’s game and made some calls.
Later, while picking up her son Noah from school, Benson learned he’d been approached by a mysterious man who tried getting Noah inside his car. Gomez had sent someone to hurt Benson’s son to make her ditch the case. Benson didn’t back down, only gaining more traction as she gathered enough evidence and testimony to drag an overly confident Gomez to court.
A man entered the courtroom who seemed to rattle the witness on stand. Benson recognized him as the same man who harassed Noah. Distressed by this man’s presence, the witness changed her story unexpectedly. A.D.A. Sonny Carisi (Peter Scanavino) smelled witness tampering from a mile away and promptly called a recess.
Meanwhile, Benson sent a few texts.
Stabler showed up to defend Benson with a brutal warning
