His finest moment comes when he drops by in the morning to give her a lift to the precinct because he was “in the neighborhood.” While drinking orange juice, Benson points out that they live in different boroughs and says she wouldn’t do the same for him. But Stabler is the most concerned and becomes her de facto bodyguard.

When a perp becomes fixated on Benson, the entire squad is on edge. The relationship suddenly becomes the core of the show, whether it’s written that way or not. Įvery great TV ship has an “Oh, hello” episode, an installment early in the series in which the chemistry between the two characters is so undeniable that you can’t help but want to see them together. Law & Order: SVU is streaming on Peacock. In honor of the upcoming reunion, here are the defining episodes of Benson and Stabler’s partnership. Information is being kept tightly under wraps, but Stabler’s return to the NYPD is spurred on “after a devastating personal loss,” according to a series description from NBC. He is slated to appear in an episode of Law & Order: SVU that will cross over into the series premiere of Law & Order: Organized Crime in the second hour. Meloni will return as Stabler tonight in a two-hour event. As magic as they were together, the best thing about Benson and Stabler might just be that it never happened.Ī decade later, the reunion is finally happening. It’s worth noting that since Stabler’s retirement, Benson has been in multiple serious relationships, become a mother, and risen through the ranks to SVU captain. This was endearing for a few seasons but became perplexing as their years together began to morph into a lifetime without any actual commitment. Their worlds revolved around each other and didn’t leave room for much else, especially for Benson. Stabler’s complicated but enduring marriage to his wife, Kathy (Isabel Gillies), threw a wrench into things and left both him and Benson in a personal stasis for the duration of their partnership.

The two - known as Bensler - had the attraction factor of Mulder and Scully, Castle and Beckett, and Hayes and Addison but exist in a franchise that’s not built on romantic relationships.

Hargitay proved to be the beating heart of the show, which is still going strong in its 22nd season, but the what ifs and if onlys of Stabler’s sudden departure continue to haunt fans. Their chemistry and companionship was the stuff of legend and - despite never actually getting together - one of the most compelling will-they, won’t-they stories in the crime-procedural circuit.

For 12 years, the relationship between detectives Elliot Stabler (Meloni) and Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) had provided the backbone for some of the most unsettling crimes on prime-time television. When Christopher Meloni left Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in 2011, it was unclear how the show would fare without him.

Law and order svu season 6 epsiode 22