The 2 Words Elliot Stabler Said to Olivia Benson on ‘SVU’ Have Us Questioning Their Relationship – Again
It’s a “Law & Order” tale as old as time — what is going on with Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler?
The Season 27 premiere of “Law & Order: SVU” featured a scene with Mariska Hargitay and Chris Meloni’s characters that is seemingly open to interpretation when it comes to their current relationship status.
Meloni made a guest appearance at the beginning of the episode in honor of Benson and Stabler’s former captain, Donald Cragen (Dann Florek), who viewers learn in the opening moments has died.
After visiting with mourners inside a bar, Benson walks to her car and sees Stabler leaning against it.
“I don’t like funerals,” he says to her.
Benson agrees and says they’re entering their “all our friends are dying era.”
Stabler references their 12-plus years as partners under Cragen, who put up with a lot of their personal and professional antics as two of his detectives, saying, “Not that you can go back and not that I’d want to, but — we had a pretty good run there for a minute.”
“We still do,” Benson answers. “Just different.”
Then they hug beside Benson’s car. (This marks just their fifth hug in 27 seasons, but who’s counting?)
“Now, get off my car,” Benson jokes before she pulls away from Stabler.
Stabler Tells Benson He Loves Her in the ‘Law & Order: SVU’ Season 27 Premiere
He opens the car door for her, but before he closes it, he looks at her and says something that will send Benson and Stabler fans into a frenzy.
“Love you,” Stabler tells her. “Night.”
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Many fans have been hoping for years that the two work partners would become romantic partners.
Taking things past friendship was never really an option for Benson and Stabler when they worked under Cragen, as they were paired up at work and Stabler had a wife at home. Despite Stabler separating from, and nearly divorcing, his wife, nothing romantic ever happened between him and Benson back then.
Cragen was the one who broke the news to Benson in the show’s 13th season that Stabler resigned and wasn’t coming back. Ten years later, Stabler returned to Benson’s life, and his wife died. Since then, the two have shared a few close moments, including a near-kiss in Benson’s kitchen.
Now, “love you” is not something these two casually say to each other. In fact, the only other time Stabler said “I love you” to Benson was during a PTSD spiral on “Law & Order: Organized Crime” after his wife died from injuries sustained in a car bombing.
At the time, his children and Benson staged an intervention for Stabler amid his erratic behavior following Kathy’s death. Stabler pushed away their concerns, and Benson asked, “Elliot, tell us what you need.”
“I love you,” he said, while staring at Benson as his kids watched.
Benson looked shocked as his kids just stared. After a few seconds, he added, “I love all of you.”
In a later season of “Organized Crime,” Stabler drunkenly confessed to an old friend that there is a woman he is in love with. While he never shared her name, Benson really was the only person he could’ve been talking about, since he hasn’t seriously dated anyone since Kathy died. She also hasn’t dated anyone since Stabler returned to her life.
The closest Benson came to opening up about her feelings for Stabler was during a chat in Season 24 with friend Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish) after they relaxed with wine for some girl talk during a case.
Benson told Rollins she felt like Stabler was her “home,” but she couldn’t move past how he left her and that he was always somebody else’s husband.
“With her gone it’s like there’s nothing but possibility, which is paralyzing,” she said.
Benson’s response in this week’s episode after Stabler says “love you” is quite different from her reaction in that intervention scene. This time around, she seems calm, as if he says it to her on a regular basis.
Hargitay shared a message in a recent interview for fans of a Benson-Stabler romance: “You can never give up hope.”
“I think when people see two humans devoted and loyal and having each other’s back, it’s all any of us want — is that person that always has your back,” she said.
