Editor’s Note: The following article contains spoilers for the Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5, Episode 9 episode “Off the Books”
Law & Order: Organized Crime’s move to Peacock for its fifth season came with big swings. Within the first two episodes,Christopher Meloni’s Detective Elliot Stabler ended up being hit by the cab of a semi-truck and then slipped into a coma, only to be woken up to the sound ofhis brother Randall (Dean Norris) flirting with Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay). As the season has progressed, old enemies from Elliot’s time living and working in Italy have reared their heads, and his family drama continues. In between trying to recover from his accident, helping his son Eli (Nicky Torchia) adjust to fatherhood and his role as an NYPD cop, Elliot also wrestled with his brother, Joseph Stabler Jr. (Michael Trotter), in the wind, effectively a ghost haunting his family. In last week’s episode, “Off the Books,” Joe Jr. is back, but in one of Season 5’s biggest shocks, hedies by the end of the episode. Now, in an interview with TV Insider ahead of being honored at the North Fork TV Festival, Meloni is breaking down what it meant for the show to take that swing.
“I’m always legitimately sad when someone I know as a character dies.As a friend and actor, it’s someone who lost a job. At the same time, to play those emotions was very, it was distressing. Any time you can go into dark, messy, complicated emotional spaces, that’s why we signed up for the job underneath it all.The chance of, can you pull it off?Where are you going with it? How are you going to do it? What is it you’re doing to explore those emotions? That’s what makes it fun and challenging.”
Will Stabler Go Fully Rogue in ‘Law & Order: Organized Crime’ Finale?
Much to the concern of his family, it seems that Elliot Stabler will be going rogue come theLaw & Order: Organized Crimeseason finale, “He Was a Stabler,” which hits Peacock tomorrow morning. The logline for “He Was a Stabler” is as follows:
“With the help of an old academy buddy, Stabler goes rogue in the hunt for Emery; using OCCB allies when he can, Stabler must face the truth behind revenge, with one last assist from Joe.”
That “old academy buddy” is Tim McKenna, played byJason Patric. We met McKenna earlier this season. At the end of “Off the Books,” we saw Stabler seeking out McKenna’s help. By the process of elimination, fans have deduced that the scenes left from earlier promos, including Elliot pouring gasoline on someone and lighting a match, are left for “He Was a Stabler” if the scenes are kept. Elliot going fully rogue would be a turn for the character. While Stabler has been known for his more brazen behavior,crashing out against perps since hisSVUdays, not only has Elliot mellowed some in his older age, buthe’s also been in therapy. So much of his journey has also been about not becoming his father, Joseph Stabler Sr., who was a corrupt cop. Will Stabler go totally rogue? We’ll find out tomorrow.
You can watch past episodes ofLaw & Order: Organized Crimenow on Peacock. Stay with Collider for the latest updates.
Law & Order: Organized Crime
Source:TV Insider
