Organized Crime has become sort of the "other" in the Law & Order franchise. It may have aired its season 5 premiere on NBC on April 17, but the rest of its season will be on Peacock, meaning it will no longer share a network of a primetime slot alongside Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU. This was a shame, especially since the other two shows staged a thrilling crossover event.
The crossover was sold as a two-parter between the two senior titles in the Law & Order franchise. The streaming arrangement, coupled with the fact that Organized Crime did not continue the story of the previous two shows, make us very confident in believing that it would not be part of the two-part event in any way. We're happy to report that we were wrong. Even if the Organized Crime storyline did not connect, some of the show's characters did.
Stabler came to Olivia Benson's aid on SVU
Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni), the protagonist of Organized Crime, dropped by for a memorable yet unexpected cameo during the second part of the Law & Order crossover. He was called by Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) after she noticed a man tried to talk to her son and get him into a car at his school. Anyone with even a dollup of Law & Order knowledge knows that Stabler does not play when it comes to Benson, so he springs into action without hesitation.
Stabler takes a break from his Organized Crime duties and tails the main into a public bathroom. He discovers that the man is actually a cop who is working with Detective Gomez (Reinaldo Faberlle), who is found guilty of multiple murders at the end of the crossover. Stabler tells the man to leave Benson and her son alone, and if he doesn't, Stabler will kill him. Nice and simple. One of the many reasons we love the character.
Benson returned the favor on Organized Crime
We're happy to see that Law & Order managed to find a way to incorporate Organized Crime into the crossover. And technically, if we wanted to include the second episode of Organized Crime season 5, which was released on Peacock the same exact night the crossover event aired, there was even more Stabler and Benson material.
Stabler is laid up after a serious car accident in the second episode, and a concerned Benson goes to the hospital to check on him. Their scenes are brief, and Stabler is unconscious for some of them, but their connection is still strong as ever, and fans who have been shipping these two for decades will be very pleased with Benson's comment about them being close "from the beginning."
In short, April 17 was a spectacular day for Stabler heads. Be sure to catch up with Organized Crime and the Law & Order crossover if you haven't already.