Law & Order: SVU Boss On The State Of Benson And Stabler's Relationship After The Emotionally Charged 600th Episode

Warning: This post contains spoilers from the 600th episode of "Law & Order: SVU," which aired Thursday. Please proceed accordingly.

Big "Law & Order: SVU" milestone, even bigger emotions stirred up between two former partners. 

Thursday's episode of the NBC procedural found Det. Elliot Stabler (Chris Meloni) returning to the precinct to work with his longtime colleague Capt. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) on a case they got wrong the first time around, nearly 30 years before. 

As the pair reinvestigated the murder of a young nun, they inadvertently opened the Pandora's Box that started to fill the moment they were paired up back in the day. Translation: They had some really tough conversations about who they are now (and who they were then), a process showrunner Michele Fazekas tells TVLine was "cathartic" and indicative of the depth of the long-standing relationship between the characters.   

Read on for lots more of what Fazekas had to say, including whether or not we should expect to see Stabler again in Season 28.

TVLINE | Personally, I love Stabler and Benson together. It was surprising to me that they haven't spoken since Cragen's wake. Talk to me about the decision to have them not have really any kind of interaction between then and now.
MICHELE FAZEKAS | Well, I wanted to locate Stabler emotionally — it's where he is right now. I also wanted to have something really easily accessible for people who didn't watch "Law & Order: Organized Crime." So if you never watched "Organized Crime," that's fine. All you need to know is: His brother got killed, his mother has dementia, and he's kind of messed up right now. And I really liked bookending it with "We haven't spoken in 18 months" and he's been sort of not working to "You want to go to Arizona?"

TVLINE | I will say: the biggest of red flags. Like, no one needs to be with this man right now. This man needs to sort himself out.
By the way, you've sort of exactly tagged what I feel, which is: He does need to sort himself out. He also knows what her answer is going to be to that question. He asks it, and the question in and of itself is what he wanted out there. He's not expecting her to say yes, but he wants her to know that he wants that.

And listen, I've said this before: I do think they love each other, and I think their love transcends a sexual relationship. That they deeply care about each other. And he's not ready. That's what I also wanted to show in this episode, because as much as I wanted to do a classic Benson-Stabler episode, our lead is Capt. Benson. And her story here is, she has really evolved from what she was 28, 29 years ago. And Stabler still has some work to do, and he knows that.

TVLINE | It almost felt — and you can tell me if I'm way off base — that the kitchen scene felt like he knew what he wanted and she was in a place where she couldn't do that. And the end of this episode felt like Benson knowing who she is and what she wants, and he was not in a place that matched that.
Yes. Yeah.

TVLINE | That said, do you think those conditions could change again eventually?
Oh, it certainly could. I'm not saying we'll see that. I honestly don't know. I have to really try and follow where the characters take us rather than try and jam them into where we want them to go. So, right now, Benson's going through a bit of a dark time where she's somewhat disillusioned, and feels like "I've been doing this for almost 30 years and it doesn't matter. Nothing's changed." So [a relationship with Stabler] is not even on her Top 5 list of priorities right now. She's got other stuff to worry about and other stuff to figure out for herself. But yeah, I don't ever say "Oh, they're never going to be together" or "They definitely will be together."

I mean, I love them, too! I loved writing for them [when] I was on the show from Seasons 3 through 7. I loved writing for them, and that was never about will-they-or-won't-they back then, and that's good. I find will-they-or-won't-they somewhat boring. I want to explore their relationship. And I really wanted to in this episode.

Early on, I was like, "We're doing Episode 600, let's see if [Christopher] Meloni is even available," which was not a guarantee. Once it was possible, the second idea I had is: "I want to put them in a car. And have them driving long distances, and then staying in a motel and hashing out their s***." And I didn't even know what that was, but I was like, "I like the feeling of that, and I'll just figure out what the story and what the case is." [Laughs]

TVLINE | When they're talking in the motel and she has that line about how she's been "letting it go for 30 years," when does that crystallize for her, in your mind? Is that something she's come to earlier and is just now voicing?
No, I think it's in that moment. It started in the very beginning of the episode, when Gwen Sharpe (J. Smith-Cameron) was like, "Oh, did you always not do interviews together?" It's this real, like, "I was not involved in that like they were," and Benson, you can see she's still p***ed about that.

I wanted to illustrate how she is no longer that person, she's no longer that new detective who's trying to impress her partner, her boss, whatever. She has come into her own and has come into an understanding of who she is, and is solid in that.

... The fact that he says to her in the beginning of the episode "We're not friends" — which is such a s***ty thing to say.

TVLINE | Such a s***ty thing to say!
Here's why it works: When you love somebody, you know somebody really well, you know exactly how to hurt them. You know exactly what to say, and you say things to that person that you would never say to someone who's an acquaintance or just a regular friend. So to me, as mean as it is, it shows the depth of their relationship.

TVLINE | The last time we saw them together, it was a much warmer interaction. It felt like another step on a path or in a certain direction for them. Clearly that's not the case at the moment, given everything we've just talked about. But what do you say to the fans that really did feel like Stabler and Benson were on a trajectory and now maybe are not?
I wouldn't say no, maybe we are not. I actually think this was a cathartic episode for them and that they got to say things that have been lingering that, had they not said it, it wouldn't have been real. It wouldn't have been authentic. I love when two people who obviously love each other can hash out their issues like that. It has to happen.

Because I do think they end in a lovely place. But listen: I find, when you're writing anything, people getting along the whole time is fine. But it's not drama. And it's not real.

TVLINE | Are there any plans to have Chris back this season?
No, not this season... We've told that story. [Stabler] has got his assignment, which is to go work on some stuff. And I think he will.