S22.E09: The Return Of The Prodigal Son (1)

[WendyCR72]

Airing on April 1, 2021:

Quote

The squad rallies around Det. Stabler to find the suspect behind a threat to his family. The crossover continues on Law & Order: Organized Crime S01E01 What Happens in Puglia (II).

[Xeliou66]

This episode is obviously being hyped up a lot, with the launch of the new show/Stabler’s return, it will be very interesting to see if it lives up to the hype, if it fails miserably, or somewhere in between. I am not looking forward to the return of Stabler’s family, I’ll admit that, I was hoping they wouldn’t be a part of the new show. I just hope that everyone is written in character and the episode doesn’t come off as a soapy, awful fanfic. 

[Spartan Girl]

Just when I thought I was out, the show pulls me back in!

[illdoc]

1 hour ago, Spartan Girl said:

Just when I thought I was out, the show pulls me back in!

Ditto! Not that the "non-watching" this season was quite by choice---there was always something else on (such as "The Chase") opposite it that I would rather watch. 8pm (central time) is not a good time-slot for SVU (at least for me).

[SunnyBeBe]

I don’t think that strobe lighting did much for either one of them.  
 

I can’t stand Stabler, but I prefer him over Benson.....so, we’ll see.  I may not last long. 

[Spartan Girl]

Godammit I knew it, I KNEW they were gonna pull this shit!!!!

[SunnyBeBe]

I’m hoping that Stabler and his crazy ass self can help get Olivia fired! Fingers crossed. 

[dttruman]

Not exactly glowing with great confidence here. Benson is put in charge of the case and lets Stabler question the suspect? Something is wrong somewhere!

[SunnyBeBe]

What are Kathy’s injuries?  She was in car explosion....right?  So, she doesn’t appear to be burned.  

[Spartan Girl]

Olivia making everything all about her, as usual. Yeah they were partners and he should have told her he was leaving, but you know what, it was his choice. You can at acknowledge that he was going through a lot and just needed to get away without seeking your approval.

[SunnyBeBe]

I had a feeling Kathy wasn’t doing so well.  

[scorpio1031]

5 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

Olivia making everything all about her, as usual

Why I stopped watching the show

2 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I had a feeling Kathy wasn’t doing so well.  

Did she....??

[WendyCR72]

16 minutes ago, scorpio1031 said:

Did she....??

No.

I did really like seeing Elliot with Finn, catching up.

Ahem, well, that turned quickly. But hardly a shock, all things considered.

[SunnyBeBe]

Elliot says that due to covid only one visitor allowed in the hospital room at a time. Yet hardly any masks....?  Odd.  
 

One thing that has always annoyed me is how random defense attorneys just pop up and barge into an interrogation or settlement conference.  Lol. That’s just bogus.  

Edited April 2, 2021 by SunnyBeBe

[Gigi43]

I don't want to have thoughts of "why not the kids too" on Holy Thursday but here  I am. I mean they're not real and annoyed me for years so its okay. 

 

Poor Garland having to read through  the Stabler files. Yikes.

Having Stabler off the grid/in Europe is the best way to get around William Lewis being in the news.

[dttruman]

Did anyone else expect Benson to walk up and be part of that group (or family) hug?

[WendyCR72]

1 minute ago, dttruman said:

Did anyone else expect Benson to walk up and be part of that group (or family) hug?

Yes. And I was annoyed. I realize Olivia and Elliot have a complicated history, but she hadn't seen these folks in eons. And suddenly she is all so shattered? No.

[Spartan Girl]

This was exactly why I didn’t want them to bring Stabler back. I didn’t want to do it just to torture him some more. I’m glad that he had some years of peace in Italy but geez. 

I know people don’t like the Stabler family but come on, Kathy didn’t deserve this. And that last scene with Eliot hugging his kids broke my heart.

1 minute ago, WendyCR72 said:

Yes. And I was annoyed. I realize Olivia and Elliot have a complicated history, but she hadn't seen these folks in eons. And suddenly she is all so shattered? No.

Thank you. And I was annoyed that she has to get all sensitive going on about feeling all betrayed that he was gone for so long. Excuse me, Liv, his wife is in the fucking hospital! 

On a shallow note, CM looks as fine as ever and him speaking Italian? Meow.

[CSunshine76]

I love SVU (actually all L&O in general). I ignore the writing flaws and ridiculous stories because I just love the characters and always have. I was so happy to have Elliott back, and it broke my heart they went and killed Kathy immediately. The scene with El hugging the kids brought tears to my eyes.  Can’t say it was a good episode, but I’m happy to have Elliott Stabler back on my screen.

[WendyCR72]

Just in case anyone is not aware, L&O: Organized Crime has its own forum, too, for future reference.

[MrsRafaelBarba]

Well damn, they really only got Kathy up outta here.

My sister won the bet we had, I thought the entire family would get 

killed off.

[mtlchick]

1 hour ago, Spartan Girl said:

 

Thank you. And I was annoyed that she has to get all sensitive going on about feeling all betrayed that he was gone for so long. Excuse me, Liv, his wife is in the fucking hospital! 

 

What bugged was some comment Kathy made about her and Elliot about "always so in sync." Um, they haven't spoken in a decade and clearly don't Facebook stalk each other.  And oh yeah, you're dying in a hospital bed.  This is the time to bring that up?

 

I really do wonder what would have happened had COVID not occured and the intended story line of Kathy seeking out Liv had played out.

[dirtypop90]

Let me tell you something...My expectations were low...I'm shocked they managed to put an interesting block of tv together. Also, chemistry is just there or it isn't. Meloni felt more natural to this show than anyone else but Mariska and it's been a decade. He made the others, except Finn, of course feel like strangers. It's nuts. They really did Mariska no favors by not finding her a capable male lead (or female. Sorry Amanda fans). I guess they tried but none brought the energy Stabler does.

It's been a decade and this man slid back in like it was nothing! WOW

And Mariska actually decided to act this episode. But again your scene partner can pull it out of you.

[wknt3]

The Good:
Chris Meloni! Always good to seeing him on TV. He brings out the best in other actors and he still has presence and the ability to pull off questionable material. It's a tribute to how good he is that I find Mariska tolerable in his presence delivering the same material that drives me nuts with others.
The continuity. Nice balancing act of minimizing the crappy way Stabler was written off without completely ignoring it. Also it was nice to see him and Fin as old colleagues who respected each other without turning them into retroactive BFFs. Everything seemed pretty well thought out as who knew what about him. Heck we even got a nice meta Amaro reference!
Carisi. This was the way he should be written. A good mix of independence, compassion, and savviness. Hopefully this will continue for the few seasons we have left and he won't devolve into doing anything the squad wants no matter what the law is.

The Bad:
I hate crossover episodes that don't give us any sort of ending. I don't mind a cliffhanger, but give us some sort of ending and leave us wanting more.
The predictable soapy nonsense of killing Kathy off. So we get the soapy melodrama and catering to the shippers, but we still have the possibility of seeing his more annoying kids pop up? The worst of all possible worlds.
The whole scene of Garland talking about Stabler's record and how he doesn't tolerate that sort of thing. Really show? You want to start pulling on that thread. I mean FFS he's kept Benson on with her track record of bad command decisions involving use of force and tactics and I would think Rollins must have an entire file cabinet at IAB.

Overall as an episode this was meh. As a preview for the new series it did it's job by showing me that they were going for an older wiser Stabler rooted in the first half of the Baer years rather than the all rage later years. I would have thought they'd have tried more to convince lapsed viewers coming back for Stabler that it was worth it to stick around, but I guess that Dick Wolf and NBC are putting all their eggs in the OC basket.

[WendyCR72]

2 minutes ago, wknt3 said:

I guess that Dick Wolf and NBC are putting all their eggs in the OC basket.

To be fair, OC is new blood. Even with two more seasons (as this was renewed for three) to go, this show, while still having a devoted audience, is fast running out of gas. So focusing on the new kid seems actually like a wise move since Dick Wolf seems to want this franchise to live on in whatever form in perpetuity.

[dirtypop90]

4 minutes ago, WendyCR72 said:

To be fair, OC is new blood. Even with two more seasons (as this was renewed for three) to go, this show, while still having a devoted audience, is fast running out of gas. So focusing on the new kid seems actually like a wise move since Dick Wolf seems to want this franchise to live on in whatever form in perpetuity.

The cast sucks IMO. It's been forever and I still don't care about Amanda or Carisi. It's just not happening for them. They stuck Olivia with duds IMO. I care about Dylan and his two mob wives more than I care about anyone on SVU except Olivia. Love Finn but he and Mariska are coasting and the rest can't carry a show.

[Xeliou66]

I have mixed feelings about this episode and the new organized crime show - I’ll post most of my thoughts on OC’s premiere over on that forum, and try to stick with the SVU hour here.

Overall’s Stabler’s return was okay, I’ve never been a fan of Stabler’s family so I was disappointed they returned and it was obvious one of them was getting killed off, I know people had mixed feelings about Kathy, mainly those who were invested in the romantic lives of the characters, I never cared one way or the other because I don’t watch the show for romance, but Kathy dying was sad and I did feel for Stabler and his family. I was glad there weren’t many scenes with Stabler’s kids.

The case was different because it wasn’t really an SVU case but it was interesting to see how the investigation progressed, though some parts were obvious, such as the guy at the beginning being a red herring and the real bomber getting killed in jail. I wish that they had put more emphasis on who killed the bomber in jail, only certain people would’ve had access to him and finding his killer would provide a lead on the case, but it seemed like they skimmed over that.

Fin was really good, I liked the scene of him and Stabler at the restaurant catching up, I liked that there was no beef between him and Stabler and seeing them catch up was nice. The rest of the squad were good as well, and I liked that they got in some legal stuff with Carisi as well, I laughed when the mobster in prison said of Carisi he thought he was a cop and Fin replied “he gets that a lot”.

Garland was also really good - I liked that he reprimanded Benson for allowing Stabler in the interrogation room, that was a terrible idea on Benson’s part, and I really like his style as chief. He was right to have concerns about Stabler and he was right to tell Benson that Stabler’s conduct had no place in the squad.

My main issue with the episode, other than the fact that I don’t care for “it’s personal” episodes in general, was Benson at times. We’ve all noted her overdramatic facial expressions and they were on full display tonight, and I was a bit annoyed at how Benson was acting all offended about Stabler leaving without saying a word 10 years ago given the fact that Stabler’s wife was in the hospital and they were tracking a bomber, and as I’ve said Benson should never have let Stabler in the interrogation room, she should’ve known he would blow up and she’s lucky she was able to restrain him.

Overall the SVU episode was decent and I liked it more than the OC part, which I will talk about on the OC forum, the squad was good and Stabler’s return was decent. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

2 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Godammit I knew it, I KNEW they were gonna pull this shit!!!!

FUCK!FUCK!FUCK!! Fuck all the writers producers or whoever said they weren’t going to kill Kathy! 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬 And I thought we could live without our spleens? So her dying of a ruptured spleen is STOOPID.

2 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Olivia making everything all about her, as usual. Yeah they were partners and he should have told her he was leaving, but you know what, it was his choice. You can at acknowledge that he was going through a lot and just needed to get away without seeking your approval.

Olivia can just take a giant dose of STFU. Ans Show? There was nothing more than friendship and a great partnership between Olivia and Elliott! Don’t try and retcon history and act as if he’d cheated with her and then left her to her own devices.🤬🤬🤬🤬

1 hour ago, WendyCR72 said:

Yes. And I was annoyed. I realize Olivia and Elliot have a complicated history, but she hadn't seen these folks in eons. And suddenly she is all so shattered? No.

I disagree. There was nothing complicated about their history or relationship. Elliott gave Olivia the family she never had. They never had an emotional or physical affair.

And I still can’t believe she made Captain-she broke as many rules as Elliott did and lied and fucked up. And her HAIR! Did she just roll out of bed?

[dirtypop90]

^I would say Olivia and Elliot were absolutely having an emotional affair, and it came to a head seasons 7 and 8. They didn't sleep together...that's it. Which is why he had to cut her off cold turkey. She was barely living life when he was around. She absolutely fell for Elliot. Now, a huge part of it was her daddy and abandonment issues. Her feelings were never healthy. He had a crap marriage he fell into too young and paired with a younger, hot, perpetually single partner who sometimes looked at him like he hung the moon. If they continued to be "friends" after they no longer worked together that would've increased the risk of them crossing THAT line. 

[txhorns79]

1 hour ago, wknt3 said:

I would think Rollins must have an entire file cabinet at IAB.

I presume there is a floor at IAB dedicated to Manhattan SVU.  I think there were four or five seasons where people were being shot in the station house every other episode.   

[bobalina]

3 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

What are Kathy’s injuries?  She was in car explosion....right?  So, she doesn’t appear to be burned.  

There was a throwaway line that  she was thrown  clear.

[Evangeline]

2 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

FUCK!FUCK!FUCK!! Fuck all the writers producers or whoever said they weren’t going to kill Kathy! 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬 And I thought we could live without our spleens? So her dying of a ruptured spleen is STOOPID.

My understanding is that it’s the rupture that can kill, not the absence of a spleen. Similar to the appendix - having your appendix removed for appendicitis is routine, but having an appendix that ruptures before they can remove it is a dangerous situation. 

[DangerousMinds]

5 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

FUCK!FUCK!FUCK!! Fuck all the writers producers or whoever said they weren’t going to kill Kathy! 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬 And I thought we could live without our spleens? So her dying of a ruptured spleen is STOOPID.

Olivia can just take a giant dose of STFU. Ans Show? There was nothing more than friendship and a great partnership between Olivia and Elliott! Don’t try and retcon history and act as if he’d cheated with her and then left her to her own devices.🤬🤬🤬🤬

I disagree. There was nothing complicated about their history or relationship. Elliott gave Olivia the family she never had. They never had an emotional or physical affair.

And I still can’t believe she made Captain-she broke as many rules as Elliott did and lied and fucked up. And her HAIR! Did she just roll out of bed?

We can live without appendixes too, but if one ruptures it can cause death.

[nittany cougar]

It was good to see Chris Meloni.  I can't believe that it's been 10 years. 

Kathy gets no respect.  The woman is back on the show after 10 years and has to do a scene about the special love between her husband and Olivia. 

It doesn't make sense that Elliott and Olivia would go 10 years without keeping up with each other, yet we are to believe that they have this amazing special connection.

The attempts at "chemistry" between Liv and El were over the top.  I'm thinking of the scene in the office where he was talking one inch away from her face and the part where she grabbed him.  It seemed like it was forced tension for the sake of showing that they haven't lost the spark.

I thought that this episode really emphasized how much better Meloni is in comparison to Hargitay.   I have gotten to the point where I can't stand her weird faces and dramatic low-toned whisper talk.  Why does she always look like she's about the cry or she smelled something?  

Edited April 2, 2021 by nittany cougar

[Pj3422]

I did like Finn’s throwaway line, “You’ll have to ask Liv” about the one stable relationship she had after Stabler left. (“Hey, Elliott, remember that jerk from the IAB? You’ll never guess...”)

[jabRI]

What I found most ridiculous is how Benson was incredulous that the case was 'taken away from them' at the end.  Excuse me, you are sex crimes. this was a car bombing aimed at police vehicles.  What don't you understand? Not sure why they were involved from the beginning, other than Stabler was in the in the squad 10 YEARS AGO.  As others said, best scene was Stabler and Fin catching up in the restaurant.  Only scene where people looked natural.

[Chaos Theory]

Well it has been awhile since I watched this show.  Wanted to check it out because I was interested in the new one.  Although I liked  OG and CI I was never a huge fan of SVU mainly because the sex crime stuff got too icky for me.   I did however watch for awhile mainly the Stabler/Benson years and I know who both Finn and Rollins are.  The rest....I couldn’t pick out of a line up if my life depended on it.

As for the episode I think the show itself did a decent job critiquing Eliot  Stabler at least in tv terms.  This is not a college term paper so it had to be done in a couple of two minute scenes.   He’s an old world cop the kind who as the saying goes would rather be  “judged by twelve then carried by six” knowing cops don’t go to jail.  Honestly it would have been more interesting if the bomber had been the protester and the episode had folded into the terrorist plot later but this is about the kind of world weary cop Stabler is despite the hate Mariska and Benson gets especially on this site she did deserve better from at least him.  He walked away from their partnership without even saying goodbye and when she tried to give him the benefit of the doubt by letting him in the interview room he almost immediately went old world Stabler and attacked the suspect which I guess was the point to discuss whether Stabler could even fit in with what season are we even in SVU?  

Edited April 2, 2021 by Chaos Theory

[Cristofle]

I agree that Meloni slid back into the role like it was nothing. I'm torn between appreciating they acknowledged the Stabler crossed the line several times in a way that shouldn't work now and thinking they hit that angle too hard too many times to try and make a point. 

I do think Olivia and Elliott had an emotional affair, particularly when he was separated from Kathy, and I also felt like later Meloni played it like he fell back into old habits with Kathy rather than really wanted to stay married to her. I can see why he'd feel the need to separate from Olivia if he really wanted to make a go of his marriage, but I personally would have found it more believable if he and Kathy had separated years ago rather than needing to kill her and make her his perfect wife martyr in order to remove her from his life. I'm disappointed they killed her; those two hadn't struck me as having such a stable marriage that they wouldn't have gotten divorced (since indeed once they came extremely close). They didn't need to kill this woman who has five children to keep her off the show and keep Elliott single or whatever. 

In fairness to Olivia in the hospital, she tried to stop him pretty much every time he circled around to how he left. He was the one who kept talking. But then, I'd rather they find this way out of that circle since the reason they never communicated again was due to BTS contract drama, heh. I otherwise find it unlikely they never would have spoken in 10 years. 

It was good that Fin and Stabler left any old beef behind them and played up the respect they had for each other. I tend to agree that Meloni/Stabler has an intensity that no one on the cast does today; even I enjoyed him starting to roll up his sleeves and the worst of his antics used to irritate me.

[GodsBeloved]

I stopped watching SVU before Eliot left the show and decided to check back in because I like police dramas and I am still an L & O original fan.

Yikes, I really hadn't missed anything good since quitting SVU. What is up with Olivia? I mean she sounds different and she was always draped in a coat. It probably doesn't help that I started my rewatch of SVU from the beginning on Peacock but Olivia felt weird to me. And Ice T is still a horrible actor (calling him an actor is being very generous lol).

I didn't know that people wanted Olivia and Eliot to be a couple until recently but how gross! I ff their scenes when they were being "intimate'. Again gross!

Even though Kathy was a very minor character, I always liked her and was glad that she and Eliot were still married and happy. I was excited to see the kids but lord I wish Dicky had shaved lol. I wanted to see the face of that little cutie pie I met in season 1.

Goodbye Kathy and SVU. Hello Organized Crime.

Edited April 2, 2021 by GodsBeloved

[dirtypop90]

19 minutes ago, Cristofle said:

I agree that Meloni slid back into the role like it was nothing. I'm torn between appreciating they acknowledged the Stabler crossed the line several times in a way that shouldn't work now and thinking they hit that angle too hard too many times to try and make a point. 

I do think Olivia and Elliott had an emotional affair, particularly when he was separated from Kathy, and I also felt like later Meloni played it like he fell back into old habits with Kathy rather than really wanted to stay married to her. I can see why he'd feel the need to separate from Olivia if he really wanted to make a go of his marriage, but I personally would have found it more believable if he and Kathy had separated years ago rather than needing to kill her and make her his perfect wife martyr in order to remove her from his life. I'm disappointed they killed her; those two hadn't struck me as having such a stable marriage that they wouldn't have gotten divorced (since indeed once they came extremely close). They didn't need to kill this woman who has five children to keep her off the show and keep Elliott single or whatever. 

I do like that on his new show he stuck up for himself and asserted he was a good cop to his new boss.

Elliot could never leave Kathy. Being a married man was always a part of his appeal, even to Olivia. It showed loyalty and commitment. He was a foil to the creepy pervs they caught each week and the ones Olivia dated.  If he was single when they met, Olivia probably wouldn't have even liked him. He was the protective and committed Dad/Husband who wouldn't hurt a woman or child that she wanted. Kathy would've had to be the one to file. But even though they never portrayed the Stablers as "in love,"  they no doubt loved each other; they had five kids and Kathy, to my memory, was a housewife; they started when they were teens. Where was she going? Good luck finding another man to protect and provide for you and your many kids and is actually committed to you (could keep it in his pants too) . She wasn't trying to go back on the dating market. 

[cloudy71]

After watching last night’s episode, I now remember why I had to take a break from this series.  I know this may sound so trivial, but Melissa H. and Kelli G. hairstyles (or lack of) drive me absolutely crazy.  They look like they just rolled out of bed!!!   I find it very distracting.

[TV Diva Queen]

1 hour ago, nittany cougar said:

It was good to see Chris Meloni.  I can't believe that it's been 10 years. 

Kathy gets no respect.  The woman is back on the show after 10 years and has to do a scene about the special love between her husband and Olivia. 

It doesn't make sense that Elliott and Olivia would go 10 years without keeping up with each other, yet we are to believe that they have this amazing special connection.

The attempts at "chemistry" between Liv and El were over the top.  I'm thinking of the scene in the office where he was talking one inch away from her face and the part where she grabbed him.  It seemed like it was forced tension for the sake of showing that they haven't lost the spark.

I thought that this episode really emphasized how much better Meloni is in comparison to Hargitay.   I have gotten to the point where I can't stand her weird faces and dramatic low-toned whisper talk.  Why does she always look like she's about the cry or she smelled something?  

I think I read somewhere that she graduated (with honors) from the Joey Tribbiani School of Acting.  

I just hate her low toned voice.  She needs Meloni to play off of, because she's just not that good of an actor.  

[GodsBeloved]

15 minutes ago, dirtypop90 said:

Elliot could never leave Kathy. Being a married man was always a part of his appeal, even to Olivia. It showed loyalty and commitment. He was a foil to the creepy pervs they caught each week and the ones Olivia dated.  If he was single when they met, Olivia probably wouldn't have even liked him. He was the protective and committed Dad/Husband who wouldn't hurt a woman or child that she wanted. Kathy would've had to be the one to file. But even though they never portrayed the Stablers as "in love,"  they no doubt loved each other; they had five kids and Kathy, to my memory, was a housewife; they started when they were teens. Where was she going? Good luck finding another man to protect and provide for you and your many kids and is actually committed to you (could keep it in his pants too) . She wasn't trying to go back on the dating market. 

This is what I liked about Eliot and why I was so very happy to see he and Kathy were still married. 

Even though they weren't on display, I do believe they were "in love" and their love is what I would call a mature love. We found out they knew each other since they were 13 and 14. They build a life together. Yes they had their problems but neither one quit and I like that and it's one of the reasons I think they were "in love".

[Cristofle]

I recall feeling like Elliott and Kathy had a strong and happy marriage in the earliest SVU seasons, but I remember not being that surprised when they separated and never getting the sense they got that old vibe back as happy as it had been when they got back together. I can't say I feel like they never would have divorced - they nearly did. She left him for years and even went to Olivia to get him to sign the divorce papers. I don't think keeping Elliott happily married in OC was an option, whether it's because the actress who plays Kathy appears to be retired now and seemingly came back this once as a favor to Hargitay and Meloni, or because that's just not how the show wants them, so the options were long divorced or dead to keep her totally offscreen. I would have preferred long divorced. 

And she went out talking about Olivia and Elliott were still so in sync, lol. They did her dirty.

[dttruman]

On 4/1/2021 at 10:21 PM, CSunshine76 said:

 I ignore the writing flaws and ridiculous stories

I still like SVU and I am always hoping that there be no writing flaws and ridicules stories too, but you have to be disappointed almost disgruntle with those many terrible episodes that have out numbered the good ones (few and far between) over the last last 10 or so seasons. Do you just like it because Benson was made the main character for a few years, but the ratings showed a very noticeable decline? Many Benson Fans stick with it, but won't admit how much the episodes suck those particular weeks.

Edited April 6, 2021 by dttruman

[Gigi43]

When they announced the show I figured either Elliot and Kathy would be divorced or she'd die. No way would they leave him married. The worst thing about Kathy dying is I'm sure on OC the kids will be angry with him sooner rather than later and the kids were worse than Kathy. It was so lame Kathy's last scene was worshipping the alter of Elliot and Liv, and basically will be her blessing if they get them together if they work it out in the crossover or when SVU ends.

 

There's a time and a place for things. Kathy being in the hospital was not the time for Liv to go on about how important Elliot was to her. 

 

I'm glad they went in the direction of a mob, even though the crime part was very backburner to the soap of Elliot and Liv. The first half was standard "SVU getting it's political plots from twitter" by how much they mentioned Antifa, boogaloo, Jan 6th. Sorry, I don't think they're good at the political stuff plus I hear enough of it during the day.

 

Stabler got snippy with Carisi once but I was expecting him to really shit on him considering everyone has been dumping on Carisi, so that was good it was kept to a bare minimum. Sometimes PS can go OTT but I like when he's quiet but authoritative like he was last night. 

 

Liv shouldn't have let Stabler near the investigation. Garland let her off easy. Reading Elliot's file isn't a reflect on her. They can give her all the awards they want, she's not good at her job.

[faithie]

Lots of staring deeply in the eyes between Benson and Stabler - as a previous commenter said, it seemed kind of forced at times.  And I always hated the Stabler family soap opera but didn't want anyone to get killed - I just wanted them to be ignored.

Anyway lots of LOL moments:

1.  Stabler's wife is on her deathbed but she is lucid enough to comment on Elliott and Olivia being in sync and can't believe they haven't spoken in a decade.  It was hard to tell if she was being sarcastic or sincere.

2.  Probably the most startling moment was while the wife was on her deathbed, Olivia berates Elliott for leaving because he was the "single most important person in my life".  Pretty strong stuff to say to a married co-worker of the opposite sex.

3.  Rollins seemed really skeptical that Olivia and Elliott were "just" partners.  I suppose Rollins would be thinking that Olivia is a hypocrite since she always comes down so hard on Rollins for even the smallest infraction.

4.  At the burial, the only people in attendance were Elliott, his children,  some dude who appeared to be a son-in-law and . . . Olivia.  No extended family, no friends, no minister or anybody else close to the wife - but Olivia was there.  I was waiting for her to tell the children, "don't worry kids, your new step-mommy is here".

5.  Olivia tracks down Elliott at his hotel because she wants to talk about the note he had given her.  Then she appears crushed when he blows her off.  What was there to talk about?

[wknt3]

10 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

To be fair, OC is new blood. Even with two more seasons (as this was renewed for three) to go, this show, while still having a devoted audience, is fast running out of gas. So focusing on the new kid seems actually like a wise move since Dick Wolf seems to want this franchise to live on in whatever form in perpetuity.

I understand and agree that the focus has to be on getting the new show up and running if they want to keep the brand alive. I just figured that since they are airing as a block, meaning that it's ratings have some impact on OC, and there are solid business reasons for trying to see if they can't get a boost in viewers for SVU, that they would have tried to take advantage of the returning viewers and show them that show is actually worth watching these days. Especially since the back to basics approach they are taking is something that would appeal to viewers who left when Stabler did, or maybe in the years right after. I can understand minimizing Rollins, both on general principles and as she is associated with the worst of post-Stabler SVU, but Karisi and Kat are appealing characters that have obvious crossover potential (Kat as a UC investigating organized sex trafficking and Carisi being Brooklyn Italian and an ADA) who had some good moments, but could have been used more if they weren't wasting time on the Kathy fake out or Stabler's kids. It just seems a bit odd that they didn't really try at all to actually make it an SVU episode.

[dttruman]

23 hours ago, wknt3 said:

The whole scene of Garland talking about Stabler's record and how he doesn't tolerate that sort of thing. Really show? You want to start pulling on that thread. I mean FFS he's kept Benson on with her track record of bad command decisions involving use of force and tactics and I would think Rollins must have an entire file cabinet at IAB.

Well said, it looks like there won't be too many changes, Benson and Rollins get away with almost everything and Tamin will still be lectured many times.

22 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

I wish that they had put more emphasis on who killed the bomber in jail, only certain people would’ve had access to him and finding his killer would provide a lead on the case, but it seemed like they skimmed over that.

I think they skimped on the plot so they could include more emotional moments with Benson and Stabler. Do you think this should have been one of those episodes that should have been a two-parter (I.E. 8-10pm) and then let it fall into "L&O OC" at 10pm?

[TV Diva Queen]

18 minutes ago, faithie said:

Lots of staring deeply in the eyes between Benson and Stabler - as a previous commenter said, it seemed kind of forced at times.  And I always hated the Stabler family soap opera but didn't want anyone to get killed - I just wanted them to be ignored.

Anyway lots of LOL moments:

1.  Stabler's wife is on her deathbed but she is lucid enough to comment on Elliott and Olivia being in sync and can't believe they haven't spoken in a decade.  It was hard to tell if she was being sarcastic or sincere.

2.  Probably the most startling moment was while the wife was on her deathbed, Olivia berates Elliott for leaving because he was the "single most important person in my life".  Pretty strong stuff to say to a married co-worker of the opposite sex.

3.  Rollins seemed really skeptical that Olivia and Elliott were "just" partners.  I suppose Rollins would be thinking that Olivia is a hypocrite since she always comes down so hard on Rollins for even the smallest infraction.

4.  At the burial, the only people in attendance were Elliott, his children,  some dude who appeared to be a son-in-law and . . . Olivia.  No extended family, no friends, no minister or anybody else close to the wife - but Olivia was there.  I was waiting for her to tell the children, "don't worry kids, your new step-mommy is here".

5.  Olivia tracks down Elliott at his hotel because she wants to talk about the note he had given her.  Then she appears crushed when he blows her off.  What was there to talk about?

I took that scene as Olivia knowing that Elliot was going to do something bad and she couldn't stop him.  Like that he had info on Kathy's case and he's not supposed to be anywhere near it.