Law & Order: Organized Crime Makes Us Fear That [Spoiler] Is A Goner, Then Hints At The Death Of A Different Stabler — Read Recap
If the Stablers don't already have a punch card at their local hospital, they should — because by this point, they'd surely be eligible for a free IV or something.
Elliot and his family spend a good chunk of this week's Law & Order: Organized Crime milling about the emergency room, waiting to hear whether Bernie is going to be OK. In case you haven't seen the episode, I'll set you at ease right now: Ellen Burstyn's character makes it through the hour in fine form. But with the repeated references to Bernie's age — I'm sure they've talked about how she's in her 90s before, but hearing that she's 92 struck me in this episode — and her reassurances to her family that she is at peace with the live she's lived... I'm not feeling great about her surviving to see a potential Season 6.
And then Stabler gets that end-of-episode call from Joe Jr., which also doesn't bode well for anybody. At least the show didn't dash my hopes for Det. Tanner in her second outing (though it came damn close). Read on for the highlights of "Fail Safe."
THE COLLECTIVE, COLLECTED | A.G., the psychopath at the head of The Collective, is dealt a major blow at the top of the hour: The hospital treating his comatose mother lets him know that it's time to take her off life support. After last week's episode, none of us should be surprised when an explosion at that same hospital later kills the mom's physician and others.
As Tanner and Stabler close in, A.G. gets desperate. He fakes a voicemail from Stabler, summoning Tanner to the explosion site in the middle of the night. By the time Vargas and Stabler realize what's happened, the young detective is tied to a chair by the waterfront, a Collective bomb ominously positioned underneath her seat.
Vargas furiously rushes to wrest remote control of the device from The Collective, which is only waiting until enough people are paying attention (via TV news report, social media and the like) to detonate. In the meanwhile, Stabler is incredibly rash and approaches Tanner with just a flak vest and a radio headset over his fancy suit and glorious dome.
I'd like to note that, by this point in the episode, a worried and distracted Stabler has slept roughly five minutes (if that) in the previous 48 hours. He's running on adrenaline, cortisol and bodega coffee: THIS is the man we want pawing at the bomb's complicated keypad as Vargas coaches him from the van?
Regardless, Vargas manages to beat A.G. and The Collective by using his code, which they co-opted, against them. By the time A.G. orders the explosion, the device is inactive, and Tanner is safe. She hugs Stabler in relief as he helps her stand, then she takes off — ostensibly to pee, given how she mentioned her full bladder a few scenes back.
With that crisis averted, the New York Police Department rolls in and arrests A.G. and the rest of his murderous Collective.
IS JOE JR. A DEAD MAN? | On to Bernie, whose story starts in a very scary way: Randall finds his elderly mother, on the floor and gasping for air, when he comes home from the store. The issue turns out to be a problem with her heart, and while she's in surgery for a cardiac ablation, the Stablers — including Kathleen — take turns keeping vigil in the waiting room.
Elliot uses the time to let Randall know how grateful he is for his help with their mom, and to tell his brother how much he's missed him. Kathleen uses the time to make sure her father knows his mother is not long for this world — even under the best of outcomes — and that he should probably make his peace with that fact sooner rather than later. (It should surprise no one that Elliot quite literally gives it to God during this conversation and keeps things moving.)
At one point, Randall is dozing next to his mother's bed when he wakes to see a bad bleach job in scrubs hightailing it out of the room. Yep, it's Joey, doing his Snuffleupagus act again; Randall chases him but the younger Stabler is too quick and slips away.
In the episode's final minutes, though, Stabler gets a call: It's Joe Jr., checking in on Bernie. "Listen: No matter what happens — and it's going to happen soon, Elliot — know that I love you," he says. "I made my own choices." Instantly concerned, Stabler promises that he can help his brother get out of whatever trouble he's in. "Just know that I love you," Joey repeats, hanging up just before he's picked up by a sleek black SUV somewhere in New York City.
Kathleen, who's overheard her father's side of the call, looks on with wide eyes: "Grandma was right!"
Now it's your turn. What did you think about the episode? Are the Stablers in for a world of hurt before the end of the season? Hit the comments, and let us know!