Tie Tuck! Eliot Stabler

[Spartan Girl]

I know he's long gone, but I thought I'd restart the Stabler thread.

 

Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but I always liked Stabler.  Sure he was a hot head and sometimes hard to live with, but at the same time, I completely understood where he was coming from.  Can you really blame him for fantasizing about killing pedophiles and rapists?  One of my favorite moments with him was in "Justice" when it was uncovered that this judge impregnated his stepdaughter, and when somebody gave the "he's a respected judge" spiel, Eliot said, "Which doesn't mean squat to me if he raped that little girl." 

 

And for all his family problems, I never doubted that he loved them (I was one of the few that liked Kathy and was glad that she and him worked things out).  And his problems were pretty tame compared to Amaro's.

 

True, it was obvious that the job was getting to him.  Having to shoot that girl was definitely the straw that broke the camel's back.  I don't know what the situation is with the SVU producers and Christopher Meloni, but I really wish we'd get some closure on Eliot -- at least let us know if he's okay or still alive.

[Princess Sparkle]

I loved Elliot, I just hate how they started writing for him around season 10ish.  I mean, I know we all try and block the episode Wildlife from our memories (though, Cragen and the monkey-in-the-basketball are clearly the best pairing this show ever had) but he went undercover and didn't even tell Kathy?  C'mon, that's just assholish behavior and I really don't believe that however strained their marriage was, that he wouldn't tell his wife and kids that he wouldn't be home for awhile.

 

I fell off on SVU for a little bit, what was the deal with his departure?  Because his final episode was pretty abrupt, and we barely ever get a mention of him.  Was his departure that acrimonious?  

 

I'm going to dip in the shallow for a second - while Danny Pino is, IMO, the most attractive man to appear in any incarnation of L&O, Christopher Meloni is a very, very close second.  The man just oozes charisma, and is the king of giving a withering smirk before going off on someone.

[WendyCR72]

I miss the ragey, likely-PTSD-riddled bastard. When he left, so did most of any real interest from me as a regular watcher.

 

As for CM's exit, well, just based on his demeanor in print (when promoting Surviving Jack) when SVU was brought up, he seems to have firmly put it behind him. To me only, it doesn't sound like he's anxious to return at all.

Edited June 18, 2014 by WendyR72

[FairyDusted]

A Stabler thread! How I love thee. And Tuesdays when I can watched him alllll damn day. The show is just not the same without him. Especially, since we've lost Munch and almost every other guy I like.  

[Zoe]

Seems like Christopher Meloni is actively participating in this "No More" campaign on USA (and looking pretty good). I wonder if this is a good sign for the show to acknowledge Stabler again?

[FairyDusted]

I noticed that as well ZOE! I do wonder if they are a re run marathon. Damn I just can't get over him.   

[AntiBeeSpray]

Yea I miss the old SOB sometimes... :P He was good. There were times when I wanted to slap him, but who doesn't want to slap a tv character when they're being an a-hole?

[FormerMod-a1]

For some reason, my search of pictures of Chris Noth/Mike Logan came up with this gem of Chris Meloni.  Enjoy!

 

[WendyCR72]

Ooooh, niiiiice!  :-)

 

@aquarian1 , Queen of the Awesome Pictures, strikes again!

[munchfan]

I loved Elliot as well. I wish he would come back even tho I am sure he wont after all the stories I have read.

[AntiBeeSpray]

For some reason, my search of pictures of Chris Noth/Mike Logan came up with this gem of Chris Meloni.  Enjoy!

 

Damn.

 

*faints in thread*

[TD3000]

I'm watching the episode "Debt" right now. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I felt like Eliot had a connection with Li Ma (sp?). He was in one of his bigger Unstabler moods throughout the episode, about ready to put Tommy and Roger Baker literally through a wall on separate occasions. He was also very moody with a couple others. Then at the end, Eliot kicks down the door and shoots the guy holding Ping hostage. Once again, I might be reading too much into it, but I got these vibes like they were playing up the white guy/Asian girl stereotype.

[Spartan Girl]

I caught another rerun of "Justice" the other day (the one where the judge molested his stepdaughter and the wife murdered her), and I noticed that when Liv and Elliot go to confront the judge's wife at the end, and she gives the whole "she seduced him" bullshit" Elliot's face tightens and he goes to the other side of the room...he was barely able to hide his fury and disgust at this woman.  It was like he had to get more distance in order to prevent himself from physically attacking her...not that I would have blamed him.

[TD3000]

In the Benson thread, someone mentioned the episode "Fat", where Anthony Anderson's character was even more of a screwup than Elliot. It seemed like periodically SVU had to pair Stabler with another cop who was more moody and/or hot-headed to prove that hey, Elliot's not so bad after all!

 

"Redmeption": This guy Hawk was a cowboy cop who put the wrong man in jail for multiple rapes. When Elliot is calling you out on being a loose cannon, that's a bad sign.

 

"Pandora": This is the one where Elliot went to the Czech Republic. Now, Elliot had his rage moments in this one, but the homicide detective he was working really flew off the handle towards the end.

 

"Baggage": Delroy Lindo's character was someone who worked alone and did not play well with others. He was paired with Stabler as well.

 

Of course, there were also a number of episodes where Olivia was the more volatile one of the duo.

Edited September 4, 2014 by TD3000

[VioletMarx]

For some reason, my search of pictures of Chris Noth/Mike Logan came up with this gem of Chris Meloni. Enjoy!

That's a Photoshop.

Edited November 9, 2014 by VioletMarx

[Donny Ketchum]

I saw "Smoked" again this weekend and I'm still scratching my head as to how shooting Jenna really could've traumatized him enough to retire.  He's had to shoot other perps before, so how or why was she any different?

[WendyCR72]

I saw "Smoked" again this weekend and I'm still scratching my head as to how shooting Jenna really could've traumatized him enough to retire.  He's had to shoot other perps before, so how or why was she any different?

 

Because this time, CM wanted out, so Stabler got plot-point traumatitis!

[Donny Ketchum]

Because this time, CM wanted out, so Stabler got plot-point traumatitis!

They still could've found something more organic or befitting of his character than that.

[Malbec]

I could actually accept that he'd retire after shooting that girl.  Stabler was always close to snapping for the previous.... 8 or so seasons leading up to that point, so I read it as a "straw that broke the camel's back" moment rather than being uniquely more traumatic than anything else he's dealt with.  I wasn't a fan of the way it was handled, but with CM's departure I get that their options were limited. 

 

True confession: I'm actually glad Stabler left.  Don't get me wrong - I love the character and I love Chris Meloni.  But Stabler's issues were always my least favorite part of the show (and that's even with some stiff competition from other things that pissed me off, like monkey-basketball writing).  I'm so bummed that the writers seem to be going back to the same well with Amaro.

[GraceAnne]

True confession: I'm actually glad Stabler left.  Don't get me wrong - I love the character and I love Chris Meloni.  But Stabler's issues were always my least favorite part of the show (and that's even with some stiff competition from other things that pissed me off, like monkey-basketball writing).  I'm so bummed that the writers seem to be going back to the same well with Amaro.

 

I agree, while I loved Stabler it started to become the same old shtick every episode..... and it's not just Amaro the writers seem to be doing it to this season. Well, I mean he definetly is becoming Stabler 2.0 but all the actors seemed to have been shoehorned into their particular character description.  Every episode- Amaro is ANGRY, Liv is STRUGGLEING with being a mom and captain, Rollins is Spiralling out of control, Carisi is annoying everyone, and Finn is just cool throwing in a couple of good one liners.  The repetitiveness and lack of chreativity with the character's personality is just boring at this point.

Edited February 4, 2015 by GraceAnne

[Spartan Girl]

I think shooting Jenna was the straw that broke the camel's back because he shot a girl -- arguably a victim of her mother's murder -- to save the guy that killed her mother.  And considering how scummy that guy was, that would be something that would make Elliot so sick that he just couldn't deal anymore.

[Donny Ketchum]

I think shooting Jenna was the straw that broke the camel's back because he shot a girl -- arguably a victim of her mother's murder -- to save the guy that killed her mother.  And considering how scummy that guy was, that would be something that would make Elliot so sick that he just couldn't deal anymore.

Even then, the guy died, anyway, so Elliot basically killed one and saved no one.

 

I'm actually surprised to read that people still loved him.  Any good feelings I had for him went away with how he treated Lena Olin's character in "Confidential."  Only got worse from there.

[Redskinsfan]

On 2/3/2015 at 3:25 PM, Donny Ketchum said:

I saw "Smoked" again this weekend and I'm still scratching my head as to how shooting Jenna really could've traumatized him enough to retire.  He's had to shoot other perps before, so how or why was she any different?

Maybe having to shoot a 16 year old  girl who had just lost her mother got to him. and maybe he didn't want to fight for his job after that.

[Spartan Girl]

Not to mention he shot her to save the scumbag that murdered her mother. And for someone that despised perps with a passion, that would probably be the straw that broke the camel's back.

[angel1008]

Well, she did also shoot Sister Peg, who had been recurring for a few years.  Who knows who else would have been shot.

[Redskinsfan]

11 hours ago, angel1008 said:

Well, she did also shoot Sister Peg, who had been recurring for a few years.  Who knows who else would have been shot.

Yes, Jenna did also kill Sister Peg and another guy who who was in the station and Elliot did what he needed to do.The thing is that Jenna wasn't a harden criminal she was a grief stricken girl who had seen her mother get killed in front of her and snapped.

Edited May 29, 2017 by Redskinsfan

[WendyCR72]

Agreed that the girl snapped. Unfortunately, if someone shoots as she did, police training requires she be stopped and, unfortunately, with deadly force. So, as was said, Stabler did as he was trained to do. But just because that was his training, the extenuating circumstances as far as Jenna was concerned probably haunted Elliot thereafter, and he just couldn't cope. So, of all the WTF things that have occurred on this show, I think that was actually a logical sort of impetus to usher Elliot out since Chris Meloni later decided to leave.

[Spartan Girl]

7 hours ago, Redskinsfan said:

Yes, Jenna did kill Sister Peg and another guy who who was in the station and Elliot did what he needed to. The thing is that Jenna wasn't a harden criminal she was a grief stricken girl who had seen her mother get killed in front of her and snapped.

Yeah, and Sister Peg and that other guy were accidents, and you could tell by Jenna's horrified reaction. She was clearly about to comply with Liv and Elliot and put the gun down...until the scumbag killer taunted her again and she raised it to finish it off.

Elliot had no choice, but that doesn't make it any less sad.

[Ambrosefolly]

I might be in the minority, but I often miss Stabler. Intellectually, I understand that Stabler/Benson couldn't keep going on. Both of them needed to advance in their careers or move on, Benson couldn't keep being junior dective. However between him and Benson, I always figured he would crack first and leave SVU before she did. 

Edited June 5, 2017 by Ambrosefolly

[Redskinsfan]

I know this is an unpopular opinion but I miss Elliott.

Edited July 16, 2017 by Redskinsfan

[SuzieQ]

Stabler added a lot to the show and was a great character for a long time.   They kind of ruined him with the writing, but overall I would welcome him back! Chris Meloni is a very talented actor.