It was a reunion 10 years in the making and fans finally got to see the tragic event that reunited Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) and Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) when Meloni’s new series Law & Order: Organized Crime premiered with a Law & Order: SVU crossover Thursday night. It all began with a car bombing. The victim is Stabler’s wife Kathy Stabler (Isabel Gillies). Benson is called to the scene and is shocked when she recognizes her former partner’s wife. Then Stabler calls out, “Liv,” and she’s just as surprised to see him, too, because they haven’t spoken in ten years. “They tried to kill her. They tried to kill Kathy,” he says, unsure of who the “they” is. It turns out that Stabler has been living in Italy for the last several years as the NYPD international liaison in Rome and he is in New York City to testify in a case. But the timing was perfect because it also meant that he and Kathy could attend an awards ceremony in Benson’s honor and surprise her after all these years. Stabler gets a phone call, so Kathy goes to get the car alone when the bomb explodes. The blast blows her away before the fire starts, so she initially survives and is rushed to Mercy Hospital. When she finally wakes, Kathy tells Benson that she didn’t see anything–and then she gets nostalgic. “It’s like the old days. The two of you together. Always in sync,” she says. Then she asks, “You really didn’t talk for 10 years?” And Benson assures her that was the case, adding, “I didn’t even know he was back on the job.” When Kathy falls asleep, Stabler and Benson finally get to have the reunion that everyone was waiting for, starting with his apology. “You want to do this now?” Benson asks, “You’re sorry for leaving or for not giving me the courtesy of telling me?” “I think I thought if I talked to you…” Stabler tries to explain. But Benson isn’t finished. “I had to find out from Cragen,” she continues. “You were the single most important person in my life and you just…disappeared.” Again, Stabler tries to explain, “I was afraid if I heard your voice, I wouldn’t have been able to leave.” Back at the precinct, Benson’s chief asks her to explain why Elliot left. There isn’t anything in his file that explains it to his satisfaction. Benson says she doesn’t know for sure, but she suspects it was his last shooting. “It was a 16-year-old girl who brought a gun into the station house and it is my guess he didn’t want to go through the hoops, an IA interview, counseling. We never spoke after he left,” she tells the chief. Then she defends Stabler, saying, “He got too rough back in the day. It wasn’t just testosterone, it was because he cared so much.” But things take a tragic turn at the hospital. Kathy’s spleen ruptures and, even though the doctors rush her into surgery, it’s too late. “I didn’t get to say goodbye,” Stabler says. “I don’t get it. We were happy.” Law & Order: Organized Crime airs Thursday nights at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. Next, check out the best Law & Order: SVU episodes ever.
