“Play with Fire Pt 2” – LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT, Pictured: (l-r) Mariska Hargitay as Capt. Olivia Benson, Maura Tierney as Lieutenant Jessica Brady. Peter Kramer/NBC ©2024 Network. All Rights Reserved
The last time we “saw” long-time friends Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler interact was during a phone call in the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit season 25 finale, where Benson confessed that she had temporarily loaned the compass necklace to the mother of a victim in hopes of it provding her with the same healing. The two shared a lengthy phone conversation where Benson could be seen smiling in her office, a rare occurrence for the SVU Captain.
Though Meloni did not guest-star in the previous season of SVU, the first time since he returned to the Law & Order franchise in 2021, we were assured that Benson and Stabler’s partnership was stronger than ever. In August 2021, he revealed “girlfriend’s coming on” when asked if Mariska Hargitay would appear on the new season of Law & Order: Organized Crime.
The second part of the Law & Order spinoff “Play with Fire Part 2” deals with the aftermath of Maria Recinos’ murder, a character fans will remember from “911” (Season 7, episode 3), where Benson rescues Maria, a victim of child pornography. The SVU Captain reconnected with Maria in season 25, and the two shared a close personal relationship, with Benson recommending that Maria be promoted to undercover.
It is revealed that Maria’s commanding officer, Lieutenant Paul Gomez, leveraged his position within the NYPD and intimidated undocumented women to stay silent about his rapes.
“Play with Fire Pt 2” – LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT, Pictured: Hugh Dancy as A.D.A. Nolan Price. Peter Kramer/NBC ©2024 Network. All Rights Reserved
When Benson goes to pick up her son Noah from school, she finds him being coerced to enter the vehicle of a man unknown to him. Before she can identify the man, he speeds off. When Benson recognises a man who tries to rattle the witness on the stand as the same man who approached Noah, she contacts Stabler in hopes of helping her with the case. Fans will remember the season 24 episode “Blood Out” where Benson asks Stabler to pick up her son and transport him back home, stating that she trusted him to bring her son home safely. This marked a turning point in their relationship as she not only displayed a newfound confidence in her former partner, but their almost-kiss prompted them to confront their underlying feelings, which had been brewing for over two decades.
In the bathroom with Mueller Hayes’ head smashed up against the cold tile, he utters, “If you ever go anywhere near my friend or her son again, I won’t take you down. I’ll take you apart.”
Before he leaves, he says to Hayes, “Tell Gomez to watch his back.”
Though we never see Benson and Stabler communicate during this episode, the knowledge that Elliot will drop everything and show up for Olivia and Noah speaks volumes about their relationship and how much it has grown and matured since he returned to New York. Also, while we don’t know what she texted him to confront Hayes, we know, as well as Benson, that Stabler is a man with a short fuse, especially when it comes to the people he loves. In previous years, Benson may have been apprehensive about approaching him for assistance for fear that his rage would cloud his judgment, but now, she trusts him implicitly.
That, or she begged and pleaded with him to be discreet in his handling.
“Play with Fire Pt 2” – LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT, Pictured: (l-r) Elizabeth Marvel as Counselor Calhoun, Reinaldo Faberlle as Sgt. Gomez. Peter Kramer/NBC ©2024 Network. All Rights Reserved
Lt. Gomez is found guilty, and though Benson and Lt. Brady were at odds during some parts of the investigation, partly because of Olivia’s reaction once her son was involved, the two reconcile their differences.
Overall, it was a captivating episode with the Law & Order characters’ appearances serving as a significant addition, and who doesn’t love a pop-in from Chris Meloni?
How did you like this week’s episode? How did you feel about Stabler’s appearance? Let me know in the comments!
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