Stabler Says He Loves Benson In A Pivotal Law & Order: SVU — 'EO' Fans, Watch And Discuss

By Kimberly Roots
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Warning: This post contains spoilers for Thursday's Law & Order: SVU Season 27 premiere. Proceed accordingly.

Another warning: If you absolutely detest the idea of SVU's Benson and Stabler pursuing a romantic relationship, this is really not the post for you.

SVU's Season 27 premiere was notable not only for what it put to rest (R.I.P., Capt. Donald Cragen) but also what it shocked back into life: the potential for romance between Capt. Olivia Benson and her former partner, Det. Elliot Stabler.

If you 'ship the couple, who are often referred to as 'EO,' then this next bit will be very familiar. But if you don't, here's a quick catch-up. During the 12 seasons that Benson and Stabler were sex-crimes detectives on SVU, they developed a very close, albeit platonic, relationship. After all, Stabler was married with 300 children, and a devout Catholic to boot. He quit the job without telling Benson at the end of Season 12, devastating her, though she continued at the precinct and rose through the ranks for the next 10 seasons.

Stabler returned to New York in Season 22 after living in Italy for a while; his wife, Kathy, was killed soon after. Now Stabler works with the New York Police Department's Organized Crime Control Bureau (on Law & Order: Organized Crime), and he and Benson have gingerly reestablished their relationship, which has gone from hurt feelings and recrimination to true affection — with a botched near-kiss somewhere in there — over the course of several seasons. The two have have had many stops and starts, some of which Meloni himself admitted were not ideal during a TVLine Spotlight conversation in April.

OK, back to the potentially game-changing moment in Thursday's episode. (And if all you want is a recap, you can find that here.) Benson and Stabler ran into each other outside Cragen's wake, where Stabler was dragging his heels about going inside and she was leaving to meet Capt. Curry on a call. Benson, emotionally tenderized by the old colleagues she'd run into inside the bar, remarked that "we're entering into our 'all my friends are dying' era." They chatted a little more, she pulled him into one of the best hugs we've ever gotten between those two, and then came the Big Honkin' Deal:

As Benson got in her car, Stabler put his hand on her door. She urged him to go inside. "Love you," he said (!!!), gently closing the door and bidding her goodnight. Watch it below:

This, my 'shipping friends, was HUGE, and I have a whole lotta thoughts:

* There was something so solid and unhesitating about the way Chris Meloni delivered the line; it made me wonder if maybe these two have progressed to casually dropping "I love yous" as they part, and we just haven't been privy to it. You'll notice that Mariska Hargitay didn't make Olivia have a huge reaction to the statement. Perhaps Capt. Benson has heard him say it before?

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* Along those lines: I don't think this was any sort of declaration of romantic love — though we're certainly closer to it than we ever have been before — and I also don't think this was a love-you-like-family type of thing. We're in a gray area here, folks, a gray area full of potential.

* Another thought: After Liv's freak-out in the kitchen when Stabler tried to kiss her in Season 24, I can imagine that ol' baldy might be a little wary of rushing his former partner into something for which she's still not ready. STILL. "I want to, but I can't" is one hell of a mixed message, and maybe he's letting her decide what's next? Hence the "love you" that, if needed, can be chalked up to an emotional night at a friend's funeral, and nothing more?

* It needs to be said: WOW is this different from the last time he blurted these words at her through a post-traumatic stress disordered haze, right?

* Finally, can we talk about that hug? It had the intensity of their embrace in Season 9's "Paternity" (without the just-relieved fear of a dead wife and/or infant) and the lingering of when he clung to her in the hospital hallway after Kathy died in Season 22's "Return of the Prodigal Son" (without the just-dawning desperation of grief). There was snuggling in! There was full-body contact! Highly satisfying, if you ask me.

I reveled in the scene so hard, I went online immediately after to see what my kindred spirits thought. Here are a few of my favorites:

svu edges maeshaunj/threads

Ending with my pal, GiveMeMyRemote's Marisa Roffman, who is one of the best:

OK! Now it's your turn to go to the comments and tell me every single thought you had about this week's SVU!

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