Law and Order: Organized Crime 2x09

Throughout the twenty-two years that Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler have existed in, the fans have been waiting for the definitive moment that confirms their potential relationship. Ironically it would take a new spinoff in the Law and Order universe to produce this moment. Law and Order: Organized Crime has been a surprising gift to the EO shippers, with most of the crossovers the show has with SVU containing at least one substantial moment between the two detectives. The season two episode The Christimas Episode holds up to this new tradition, with EO scenes aplenty.

Their interactions start with a tense search for Eli after Elliot receives a cryptic call from his son. Naturally he enforces Olivia on the trip to New Jersey to get his son back. It’s here that we witness a sweet moment between the two. Olivia tries to comfort Elliot by saying that at least Eli had the sense to call and that if he were in real trouble, the two of them would figure it out. What makes this scene so great is that throughout it, Olivia uses the word “we” in reference to solving the problem that Eli could be having. Not at any point does she expect Elliot to handle the issue on his own with her even going as far as grabbing his hand with her own. While the gesture seems small, for these two it’s huge. For the first twelve seasons we were given glances and a hug every four years. Not even halfway through the episode we have a comforting talk and a hand hold. It’s brand-new territory for these two characters and OC doesn’t seem to have any problem plunging right into foreign storytelling.

Speaking of foreign storytelling, we get to have more of an insight into the Stabler kids’ lives in OC. The Christmas Episode heavily features the youngest of Elliot’s kids, Eli. His story reminds me of Kathleen’s in the sense that they both seem to be the ones that struggle the most with their lives (which is probably why those two are considered main characters compared to the other three to be fair.) Since the passing of Kathy, it’s been clear that Eli isn’t handling it well and this episode seems to be the climax of this storyline. It’s during these forty minutes that he somehow gets to New Jersey, meets a girl (who is 19? Why wasn’t that a bigger deal? Isn’t he like 15?), gets high and drunk with her and proceeds to pass out. He wakes up late in the night to find her dead and panic calls his dad, resulting in the car ride with Elliot and Olivia.

Catching back up to his parents, who are now panic yelling in New Jersey streets trying to find him, it’s revealed that maybe he is in more danger than they were initially thinking. It turns out that the danger he is facing within himself and for a little while we were on the edge of our seats as Eli sat on the ledge of a cliff with a police officer trying to talk him down. After finally agreeing to come down from the ledge, the officer escorts Eli to the station where Elliot and Olivia eventually find him. Not before the same officer mistakes Olivia for Eli’s mother (we keep winning!) and we get an awkward moment for her but one that doesn’t seem to impact Elliot. The small moments where mistakes like this happen and he fails to have a “no” reaction are heartwarming and I believe are intentional in the writing. It’s what makes these scenes so impactful, they feel like real conversations. He isn’t quick to dismiss the idea of Olivia being a mother figure to his kids because at this point, she pretty much is.

Anyways, back to reality, Eli reveals that he spent the night with this random woman and that when he woke up, she was dead. Naturally both Elliot and Olivia are startled by this revelation and after asking the boy some additional questions, Olivia jumps into action and walks out of the door straight to the crime scene. Rules and regulations seem to fly out of the window when it comes to her family; something that EO have in common. It’s quickly realized that there is nothing Olivia can do, with none of the detectives on scene willing to give out information. A swift call back to Elliot pushes the responsibility back onto him and he brings all the news to Bell and Jet who are stunned. Jet is the first to jump on the chance to check out the hotel that Eli was at. Upon a quick search she discovers that the hotel manager has a history of using webcams in the rooms he rents out. Luckily for Eli, there happened to be a camera that was showing all the events that transpired in the bedroom. It’s revealed that the man who initially confirmed that Eli was present during the murder timeframe was the real killer. Not a surprising turn of events at surface level but when you hear him comment that someone in Rikers was the one who initiated the framing it takes a whole other turn. One of the Wheatleys (whether it be Richard or Angela) set up his son and we can only imagine what would have happened if the webcams weren’t place in that hotel room.

After breathing a sigh of relief over the idea that Eli didn’t kill someone, Olivia and Elliot make a trip down to the psych ward that their son is being held at. While waiting for the doctor to come by, for some reason, Elliot finds it appropriate to ask Olivia about her dating history over the last ten years. Naturally she is thrown by this since they were just worrying about Eli being a convicted murderer, but she bounces back quickly enough and dismisses all prior love interests besides Tucker. It’s an interesting scene because not only does Elliot not seem to recollect who this “Ed” is but also since it exists. Never before this episode did I expect to say that EO flirted while waiting in psych waiting room that they were only in because Eli potentially killed someone and almost jumped off of a cliff as a result. It’s wild, truly.

Much like with their car scene, the psych ward one was exhilarating. EO has never delt with the real potential of being together before Elliot’s return. While in some cases we as an audience would wish they would have just kissed, it was never a reality. With the unfortunate passing of Kathy, Elliot is single and emotionally available for the first time since the show began. Him asking Olivia how many people she saw while he was gone wasn’t just a flirty gesture but a step in now very real direction of a budding romance.

Taking a break from flirting, EO finally get to see Eli after the doctor tells them about his take on the situation. Apparently, Eli disclosed or hinted towards a lot of his fear being driven by his dad. He fears for the reaction that Elliot is going to have towards negative news. Not because Eli worries that he will hurt him but rather himself. Best boy is concerned that Elliot can’t take much more before he snaps completely. Elliot is shocked by this, and you can physically see the pain on his face once the weight of the news is set on him. A push by Olivia and a hug to his son is all that aids him in being able to push forward.

Going back a couple of scenes, we are now in the part of the episode where the hired hitman from Rikers admits to his crimes. It’s here that both Olivia and Elliot realize that Wheatley is most likely behind the entire ordeal. Much like before, the uncomfortable situation doesn’t stop Elliot from turning the conversation into a potentially romantic one and makes the leap by asking “his friend Olivia” and Noah to come to his family dinner. Olivia looks for a few seconds, in stunned silence at him not believing that he just asked that question. It’s a beautiful moment between the two “friends” as Olivia so lovingly calls it. One that is yet another stark reminder of how involved the OC writers are with their relationship compared to SVU. We can only hope that SVU eventually catches up with the joyful version of Olivia that is present in OC.

Bitterness aside, the next couple of minutes focus on Wheatley being released after the mistrial that happened in SVU. He tries to proposition Barba into working for him, but it doesn’t seem to work and that is their entire scene. The next to last scene finally reveals that Angela has been faking her sickness to gain sympathy from those around her and most likely take all the potential blame off her. I don’t know about you, reader, but to this viewer the fact that she really isn’t sick almost confirms that she is the main villain of this story; not Robert.

Back to the romcom that is EO, the episode ends off with the Stabler family celebrating at their Christmas party while Elliot is seemingly manic waiting for Olivia and Noah to show up. When one knock is sounded off, he makes his happy self to the door and happily attempts too great them. Only it’s not them but Sargent Bell who comes baring vague bad news and roll credits!

I can’t begin to tell you how many times I wanted to scream out in joy during this episode. I can see it becoming an instant classic for viewers in the future who will be able to fondly look back on it as a “new beginning” for Elliot and Olivia. What are your thoughts reader? Which of the three major moments had been your favorite? Let us know in the comments!