10 Things Law & Order Fans Want from a Benson & Stabler Reunion

From its very first episode, one of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’s most notable qualities has been the chemistry between partners Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) and Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay). For the first 12 seasons of the show, their partnership — and the will-they-won’t-they of their relationship — set the tone for the show and brought in most of the show’s fans. When Christopher Meloni left the show at the end of Season 12, many fans were devastated to lose what their partnership brought to television every week. For the next ten seasons, SVU focused on Olivia Benson and her journey from detective to captain, the way her personal life changed, and the new detectives she worked with.

Viewers continued to love the show because of who Olivia Benson was and the types of stories that were being told, so when it was announced that Christopher Meloni would be returning to NBC and the Law & Order franchise, it felt like a bonus. Since Meloni’s return in SVU‘s Season 22, Episode 9, “Return of the Prodigal Son,” and the debut of his spinoff, Law & Order: Organized Crime, fans of both shows have been thrilled every time Benson and Stabler have been together again. Though Organized Crime is making the move to Peacock for Season 5, viewers are hopeful that the upcoming seasons of both shows will feature plenty of opportunities for Benson and Stabler to be on-screen together.

10  Benson and Stabler Shine When Solving Crime

Crossover Episodes Since Organized Crime Began Airing

Since the very first episode of SVU, Benson and Stabler have been at their best when they’re investigating a crime together. Whether they’re tracking down a rapist, finding a missing child, or trying to stop a dirty cop, their longtime partnership has always been the most successful aspect of their relationship. Even after a decade apart, they quickly returned to a partnership that fed off one another with ease.

Now that Elliot Stabler is part of an Organized Crime Control Bureau (OCCB) task force, he is often working on cases that won’t ever cross the desk of Captain Olivia Benson over in the Special Victims Unit. However, there have been several episodes of both shows since 2021 that have allowed for partnership, mostly with Benson and her squad helping out OCCB. The best crossover was at the end of Organized Crime‘s third season — and SVU‘s 24th — which had Benson and Stabler and their teams solving a cyber crime together for four episodes. The episodes remain some of the highest rated for both shows in recent years, and highlight just how great it is when Benson and Stabler work together. Fans love seeing Benson and Stabler solve crimes together and hope to see more in the coming seasons.

9  Olivia and Elliot Could Use a Fresh Undercover Opp

Benson and Stabler Undercover Episodes

During the first 12 seasons of SVU, Benson and Stabler had several opportunities to go undercover, and they was always great at it. Though they sometimes went undercover by themselves or even with Fin Tutuola (Ice-T) or John Munch (Richard Belzer), some of their best undercover moments happened together. They portrayed husband and wife several times, but the most notable undercover opp was in Season 10, Episode 7, “Wildlife,” when Olivia showed up at Elliot’s undercover apartment because they couldn’t get in touch with him and ends up pretending to be a sex worker that he’d called. “Are you ready for me, Daddy?” is certainly one of Olivia Benson’s most iconic lines.

Now that they’re older and have more experience in their jobs, it would be a whole new experience for viewers to see them undercover together. Stabler has gone undercover multiple times on Organized Crime, and while some fans feel like his time undercover should be over, others wonder how it might look for Olivia to join him undercover. Since Stabler’s wife’s death in SVU‘s Season 22, Episode 9, “Return of the Prodigal Son,” Elliot has put himself in danger while undercover, and there’s a lot of potential for Olivia to bring him back down to earth were she to be there with him. Plus, they’re so good at pretending to be husband and wife!

8  When Benson and Stabler Call Each Other Partner

While Benson and Stabler are each other’s longest partners, they’ve each had others that have had an impact on them as well.

• Prior to becoming an SVU detective, Olivia Benson worked patrol. Her first partner was her training officer, Sergeant Karen Smythe (Khandi Alexander), who made an appearance in Season 2, Episode 14, “Paranoia,” followed by Detective Patrick Griffin (Anthony Edwards), who made an appearance in Season 18, Episode 5, “Rape Interrupted.” After Stabler left, Olivia partnered briefly with Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish) and then spent several seasons with Nick Amaro (Danny Pino) as her partner before he departed the show in Season 16, Episode 23, “Surrendering Noah.” Once she became a Sergeant, Benson didn’t have a partner.
• Elliot Stabler had several partners prior to the arrival of Olivia Benson, including “Old Fatso” Alfonse, Dave Rosetti, Pete Breslin (Noah Emmerich), who made an appearance in Season 7, Episode 4, “Ripped,” and Jo Marlow (Sharon Stone), who appeared as the SVU ADA in the final four episodes of Season 11. When Benson temporarily tranfers to the Computer Crimes division, Stabler is partnered with Lucius Blaine (Anthony Anderson), and when Benson goes undercover in Oregon for several episodes — while Mariska Hargitay was out on maternity leave — Stabler is partnered with Dani Beck (Connie Nielsen). Since Stabler’s return to the Law & Order universe, he has been partnered with Ayanna Bell (Danielle Moné Truitt).

It’s not unheard of for people to have pet names for each other, whether they’re in a romantic relationship or just friends, and Olivia and Elliot are no exception. Their only nickname for one another, though, is “partner,” a word that began as a reference to their professional status and has since developed additional meaning. Benson and Stabler often used it when introducing each other to a victim, suspect, or fellow officer while they were working together and have even used it in recent seasons when their teams come together for a case. While both Benson and Stabler use the term as a descriptor — “This is my partner, Elliot Stabler.” — they have also begun to use the word in a very different way.

Since Elliot Stabler’s return to New York City and the Law & Order universe, both he and Benson have occasionally called one another “partner,” as in, “Hey, partner,” or “Are you with me, partner?” Utilizing the word this way has turned it into a term of endearment, one that Stabler especially seems to favor. His return came after a 10-year absence not just from New York and the NYPD, but from Olivia Benson’s life, and it’s clear he uses the word as a way to remind her that he is still there for her, even after all their time apart. Fans love hearing Olivia and Elliot refer to each other as “partner,” whether they’re introducing one another or using it as a term of endearment, and always hope they’ll use the term during a crossover.

7  The Stabler Family Drama

• Elliot’s siblings include two sisters who live in Florida, Dee and Sharon, an older brother, Randall Stabler (Dean Norris), and a younger brother, Joseph Stabler, Jr. (Michael Trotter). According to SVU ‘s Season 5, Episode 13, “Hate,” Elliot also has a third brother, though he has not been mentioned in Organized Crime .

When Elliot’s brothers joined the cast of Organized Crime in Season 4, fans were thrilled to get to know more about the Stabler family. Elliot’s mother, Bernie (Ellen Burstyn), first made an appearance in SVU‘s Season 10, Episode 3, “Swing,” when Elliot’s daughter, Kathleen (Allison Siko), began exhibiting symptoms of bipolar disorder, which Bernie also deals with. Bernie has been a consistent presence on Organized Crime. Bringing in Elliot’s brothers gave fans more insight into who Elliot Stabler is as a cop and as a person and brought some really excellent storylines to Season 4 of Organized Crime.

Though Olivia Benson has met Elliot’s mother, as well as his five children — Maureen, Kathleen, Richard or “Dickie,” Elizabeth or “Lizzie,” and Elliot, Jr. or “Eli” — she has not yet become acquainted with his brothers, nor do fans know how much she knows about what Elliot has been through with his brothers in the last year. Joe Jr. is heavily involved in one of Elliot’s most recent cases with OCCB, and Randall has relocated to New York to help care for their mother. Since their arrival, Elliot has learned new information about why Randall originally left New York, has tried to help Joe Jr. get clean, and has learned new information about his father’s death. Sitting down to talk about what he has learned with Olivia would help Elliot process what has happened. Fans also hope to see Elliot discuss his children with Olivia, particularly when his youngest, Eli (Nicky Torchia), is following in his footsteps. At the end of Season 4 of Organized Crime, Eli had not only returned from college with a pregnant girlfriend; he had announced that he was going to join the NYPD. Olivia, who was present for Eli’s birth in SVU‘s Season 9, Episode 9, “Paternity,” and also knows what Elliot went through as a young father himself, would certainly have an opinion on Eli’s life were she asked.

6  Benson and Stabler Need to Discuss Her Kidnapping and Assault

• In SVU ‘s Season 14, Episode 24, “Her Negotiation,” the Special Victims Unit was investigating William Lewis (Pablo Schrieber) , first for public lewdness and later for the rape and torture of a woman in her 60s. After a mistrial is declared, Benson arrives home to find Lewis in her apartment. In Season 15, Episode 1, “Surrender Benson,” Lewis tortures and humiliates Benson in her apartment and then kidnaps her for several days before she is able to break free. In Season 15, Episode 10, “Psycho/Therapist,” Lewis is on trial for the kidnapping and assault of Benson, among other related crimes. The jury finds him guilty of the kidnapping and assault of a police officer, and he is sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, but later he manages to escape. In Season 15, Episode 20, “Beast’s Obsession,” Lewis kidnaps the 12-year-old daughter of his prison doctor in order to lure Benson to his side where, after a harrowing game of Russian Roulette, he finally kills himself.

One of the biggest events of Olivia Benson’s life happened just two years after Elliot Stabler’s departure from the NYPD. When William Lewis kidnaps her, holding her hostage for several days and physically and mentally torturing her, it is obvious that she hopes Elliot will either be there to save her or be waiting for her when she saves herself. When he is nowhere to be found, it is yet another letdown for Benson and a sign that their partnership is well and truly over. Though Benson doesn’t say as much, it is clear that his absence is a defining moment for her.

When Stabler returned to the NYPD, it was never made clear how much he knew about what happened to his former partner while he was gone. In SVU‘s Season 23, Episode 9, “People vs. Richard Wheatley,” Olivia and Elliot have a conversation where she says, “You have not asked me one question about what has happened to me since you left,” and though he asks about her love life in Organized Crime‘s Season 2, Episode 9, “The Christmas Episode,” they still have not truly had a conversation about all that Olivia went through after Elliot’s departure. Many fans want to see them have a conversation about William Lewis, both so that Olivia can show Elliot what she overcame and so that Elliot can answer for his absence. After all, many fans wonder — if he was still living in New York City at the time, wouldn’t he have known?

5  The Bonding of Elliot Stabler and Noah Porter-Benson

• Elliot Stabler is first seen meeting Noah Porter-Benson (Ryan Buggle) in SVU ‘s Season 23, Episode 20, “Did You Believe in Miracles?,” when he runs into them after a Mother’s Day breakfast.

After sending two members of the gang BX9 to jail in SVU‘s Season 24, Episode 2, “The One You Feed,” Olivia Benson is greenlit by the leader of BX9, Oscar Papa (Goya Robles), in SVU‘s Season 24, Episode 10, “Jumped In,” and is attacked outside her apartment building with her son, Noah, watching. Olivia sends Noah to stay with his half-brother for the week, only bringing him back once the case is over. While Fin Tutuola (Ice-T), her longtime right hand, is the one who drives Noah out to the suburbs, it is Elliot that she sends to bring him back, though Noah and Elliot’s car ride is not shown in the episode. A relationship between Elliot and Noah is one that fans have been hoping to see for a long time.

As her partner and friend, Elliot was aware that Olivia wanted a child and was present in SVU‘s Season 12, Episode 7, “Trophy,” when Vivian Arliss (Maria Bello) learns that she was conceived via rape and leaves her son, Calvin (Charlie Tahan), behind, signing over her parental rights to Olivia. He is also present in Season 12, Episode 10, “Rescue,” when Vivian takes Calvin back, giving parental rights to his paternal grandparents instead. Since then, fans have wanted to see Elliot interact with Olivia’s child like he interacted with Calvin when Olivia had custody. Fans hope that Elliot can become a father figure to Noah, even if Elliot and Olivia never end up in a romantic relationship.

4  It Is Time for Elliot Stabler to Really Apologize

• After shooting a teenage girl in SVU ‘s Season 12, Episode 24, “Smoked,” Elliot Stabler decides to leave the NYPD. The decision was made due to Christopher Meloni being unable to reach an agreement with NBC for Season 13 of SVU and parting ways with the show. In Season 13, Episode 1, “Scorched Earth,” Olivia learns about Elliot’s departure from their captain, Donald Cragen (Dann Florek).

Olivia and Elliot briefly talked about the way he left their partnership in SVU‘s Season 22, Episode 9, “Return of the Prodigal Son,” when he tells her that he needed to leave and didn’t think he would have been able to if he had heard her voice. While Elliot did offer a general apology, there are many fans who want to see more explanation and a better apology from Elliot. Before Cragen told Olivia that Elliot had officially left, Elliot screened her phone calls and refused to talk to her, leaving her concerned about him and unsure about their future. About a week after telling Olivia that Elliot had left the NYPD, Cragen made Olivia pack up Elliot’s desk, where he had left a number of his belongings.

While Olivia and Elliot have done work to repair their relationship, most fans believe that to move forward — as colleagues, friends, or even romantic partners — they must have an in-depth conversation about how and why Elliot left. In “Return of the Prodigal Son,” Olivia tells Elliot that he was the single most important person in her life before he disappeared, and while that may not be completely true anymore, he remains important to her. Their relationship has all the potential in the world to return to a semblance of what it was, but Elliot must take the first step.

3  Benson and Stabler Should Hug It Out

• One of the most iconic hugs between Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler came as a surprise to Mariska Hargitay. The hug, not written into the script for Season 9, Episode 9, “Paternity,” was the brainchild of Christopher Meloni, who felt like it showed the gravity of the moment. He involved producers but didn’t tell Hargitay before working it into the scene, amplifying the surprise element for Olivia and viewers of the episode.

Over their time as partners and friends, Olivia and Elliot have hugged very few times. Their very first hug was in SVU‘s Season 9, Episode 9, “Paternity.” Olivia offers to take Elliot’s wife, Kathy (Isabel Gillies), to an OB-GYN appointment when they realize Elliot is the best one to chase down a suspect. When Olivia and Kathy are hit by a drunk driver, Olivia stays with her while the first responders pull her from the vehicle and then helps deliver the baby in the back of the ambulance on the way to the hospital. After Elliot arrives at the hospital and sees the baby — his youngest, Eli — he comes out of Kathy’s hospital room to talk to Olivia and ends up pulling her into a hug. Fans of the show consider the moment important to the relationship between Olivia and Elliot.

Though they hug again in Season 12, Episode 17, “Pursuit,” after Olivia deals with the death of the ADA while Elliot is out of town, Olivia and Elliot remain largely hands-off throughout their partnership. Many fans believe their lack of touching has to do with their feelings for each other and not wanting to cross a line they can’t come back from. After Kathy’s death in “Return of the Prodigal Son,” Olivia and Elliot hug again, for only their third time on screen. While their touches have increased since Elliot’s return, including some hand-holding and an almost kiss, another hug would be a huge hit with fans and would show that Olivia and Elliot are continuing to get closer and work through their issues.

2  Olivia and Elliot Need to Talk About Their Feelings

• Though fans had hoped to see more of Olivia and Elliot interacting in SVU ‘s Season 25 and Organized Crime ‘s Season 4, the shortened television season due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes prevented that from happening. In a recent conversation with Variety’s Emily Longeretta, however, Mariska Hargitay revealed that they’re already talking about how to bring the characters together in the coming seasons, even with Organized Crime ‘s move to Peacock for Season 5.

For the last 25 years, the feelings between Olivia and Elliot have been hinted at over and over again. From their longing glances in the early seasons of SVU to the “I love you” Elliot lobs at Olivia during an intervention staged by his children in Organized Crime‘s Season 1, Episode 4, “The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of,” Olivia and Elliot are the longest slow burn on television, much to the disappointment of fans. Though occasionally addressed in a subtle way throughout the first twelve seasons, their feelings have become a much more prominent topic since the premiere of Organized Crime, and it’s long past time for the partners to hash them out.

Since Elliot’s return, both Olivia and Elliot have mentioned to at least one person in their lives that they are unsure about what to do about their feelings. Olivia has talked about how she feels with Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish), and Elliot has mentioned how he feels in therapy. In Organized Crime‘s Season 3, Episode 22, “With Many Names,” Elliot gave Olivia a compass necklace, telling her that he hoped it would guide her to happiness. Fans hoped the necklace would lead her to him, and while that didn’t happen in the most recent seasons, it’s certainly not too late for Olivia and Elliot to sit down together and have a real conversation about how they feel.

1  A Detective and a Captain Sitting in a Tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G

If there is one thing fans want more than anything, it is to see Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler lock lips. Fans thought they would finally get their greatest desire when NBC aired the promo trailer for SVU‘s Season 24, Episode 12, “Blood Out,” back in January 2023, but alas, it was not meant to be. Though Olivia and Elliot came close, ultimately, Olivia wasn’t ready to cross that line. Later, in SVU‘s Season 24, Episode 21, “Bad Things,” both of them admitted that it wasn’t the right time for them then but that it might be one day, leaving the door open for a future kiss.

Recently, Mariska Hargitay revealed that while both she and Christopher Meloni thought things should go one way in “Blood Out,” the leadership at the show, including the franchise’s creator, Dick Wolf, disagreed. Fans are hopeful that things will change in future seasons, and Hargitay seems hopeful as well. After all, television’s longest-running primetime drama can’t end without a resolution to television’s longest-running slow burn romance. Right?