12 More of My Favourite EO Moments

Okay, it’s taken me a while to get to this and I want to give a shout-out to the shippers who nominated scenes. Some made the cut, come did not, but hey, we’ve got 12 years of URST to choose from here. Special thanks to @in-sunshine-and-in-rain for all the scene suggestions and shippy chats. If anyone missed the first 12 EO Moments, they are here. And here are the next 12…

1. That Time They Said “I Love You” With Promises of Internal Organs (“Choreographed”):

Seriously. Who says this to a work colleague? Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson, that’s who. But what’s more interesting about this telling little declaration is that it comes at the end of a case during which they have not been getting along and after a lengthy separation during which Olivia has been actively avoiding her partner while Elliot has been pissed, confused and lost without his. They are still dealing – or rather not dealing – with the fallout from “Fault”, which won’t be resolved until “Philadelphia”, if then. On top of this, they have been unravelling a tangled web of marriages and affairs that cannot help but reflect upon the emotional affair they have been carrying on for years. Yet, even with all of this happening, we get this quiet, humorous, intimate scene showing that despite the long separation, despite any misunderstanding and acrimony, there is still a deep and abiding love between these two. One that would prompt them to risk their own self and health for the other. That willingness even in the face of friction to save the other, to sacrifice for the other is the very essence of partnership. And it places their relationship in a category of love more extraordinary than the average affair or mundane marriage.

2. That Time Elliot Uttered (Some Version Of) The Phrase We’d All Waited Six Years To Hear (“Doubt”):

Okay, I admit, I didn’t actually wait six years to hear it. I started watching “SVU” in the last few years of the Great & Golden Elliot Stabler Era. Then I went back and binge-watched from the beginning. From what little I had already seen, Elliot was married and always had been. I had no idea that there had been a time when he was separated so this moment blindsided me as much as it did Olivia (only unlike her, I was punching the air at this interesting development). What I love about this moment is the lead-up, the unexpected reveal and then the wordless reaction we get from both of them once they’re alone in the hallway. Good God, it’s a juicy little sequence. First, we see Elliot and Olivia at odds, a situation that is exciting but rare for them. Sensing something amiss with her partner, Olivia pursues him verbally and physically while Elliot fidgets, avoids, retreats and justifies. As usual, all of this personal subtext is expressed though the facts of the case. Keeping the tension of this scene high is the way it is shot in one continuous movement that follows them round in circles and focuses in on their dueling profiles. It’s pure Chris and Mariska – no editing involved, just the two of them going at each other hard. Until they are interrupted and Elliot’s personal circumstances are thrust into the spotlight, making subtext suddenly text. True to form, his reaction is to get mad, clam up and get lost. Also true to form, Olivia is not intimidated by this in the least, pursuing him, pushing him to talk to her, which Elliot grudgingly does. The dialogue is sparse yet this scene’s brilliantly nuanced, even Chris’ turned back speaks volumes about Elliot’s feelings of rejection, shame and blame. There is so much happening here – confrontation and avoidance, shock and pride, anger and absolute panic. Losing their invisible third wheel has left them exposed, unbalanced, unnervingly alone together. So much so that Elliot must walk away and Olivia is left looking shattered, shocked and unwilling to broach the subject again. Later in the episode, after they have both processed their feelings through the case (giving a hint as to where Elliot’s emotional investments really lie) his partner will approach him in a quiet moment and ask about his marriage breakdown as a concerned friend. Elliot will give a rueful quip and Cragen will interrupt (grr). But the previous moment in the hallway when neither is prepared for the conversation and when all that broiling emotion blindsides them both is much more raw, much more volatile. And gives much more insight into why the Stabler’s marriage failed in the first place.

3. That Time That What They Saw Was Very Tempting (“Bombshell”):

Okay, so a little less nuance here. But hey, not every moment can be packed with emotional subtlety. This one isn’t. Just fun and awkwardness and piles of steaming sexual tension. From the moment they turn and smile at each other in the squadroom, they’re both just enjoying this a little too much. They both know how they are going to “play it” and they both know that Fin doesn’t have a hope in hell of posing as Olivia’s swinging husband. No, there are not many perks to Elliot Stabler’s job but that is definitely one of them. He gets to clutch her hand and gaze adoringly at her whenever she opens her mouth (see above) and pretend for a few hours like they have a wickedly adventurous sex-life together. It’s a tough life but some well-built Irish hunk has to brave the awkward moments in order to do it and he’s just the man for the job. The moment in which their hostess purrs that what they see in the sex club will be very tempting is particularly pointed and particularly awkward. The two of them avoid looking at each other, concentrating instead on their drinks. “See what I mean,” Suzette asks a moment later, “about temptation…?” Elliot and Olivia exchange a sidelong glance before quickly looking away again. Yeah, guys, she was talking about the other hotties you’re supposed to be lusting after. Not each other.

4. That First Time El Got All Protective Of His Partner & Drank Her Juice (“Stalked”):

I couldn’t choose between these two scenes so I’ve included them both in the same “moment”. They are just so cute at this age, their flirting is so innocent and their regard for each other so uncomplicated. Yet the playfulness of their breakfast banter and the affectionate smiles exchanged in the dark proximity of the car also hint at a developing intimacy that could get real deep, real dangerous and real complicated real fast. These scenes also provide two little moments that, in my mind, became part of their day-to-day interaction. The first is the sharing of the orange juice and the second is El’s insistence on Olivia blinking her lights when she got inside her apartment. Both are intimate gestures – one has the air of a marriage, the other the air of a courtship. And both, in my EO Universe, are acts they repeated throughout their years together.

5. That Time Elliot Asked What Happened In The Basement And Olivia Lied (“Undercover”):

A scene that will just about break your heart with its dishonesty. It begins with a white lie, Elliot saying that he stuck around to avoid diaper duty when we all know he stuck around to have this conversation with her, to support her, check in on her. He can read her easily at this point, can tell something major happened to her in that basement. Which is perhaps why Olivia avoids his gaze throughout this scene. Perhaps it’s an effort not to be read or perhaps the tears are so close that looking at him for any real length of time will cause her to cave and crumble. She swipes at her eyes, pretending it’s just tiredness that afflicts them. She hides behind the fall of her hair and presses her lips together to stem her emotions. If the phone hadn’t rung, Elliot might have pushed a little harder and she might have surrendered to receiving his support. I like to think that, at some point, when she was feeling stronger, Olivia did share her experience in that basement with her partner. But, for now, in this scene, Elliot remains in the dark. Although the look on his face as he watches her leave suggests that he is not done reaching out to his partner, that he will try again to offer the support she so obviously needs and he so obviously wishes to give.

6. That Time El Came Over To Get Liv Into Bed (“Perverted”):

Idiots in love. Idiots with the banter. Tea-making and no food. Temperature checks and slankets. Holiday brochures and snooping. Pajamas and the grey hoodie of love. In a way, this scene is a continuation of the breakfast scene in “Stalked”, only this time instead of throwing himself between her and an obsessed predator, Elliot’s attempting to throw himself between his partner and the flu virus. The other big difference is that, so many years later, there is a slightly sad aftereffect to witnessing Elliot and Olivia’s overly comfortable brand of intimacy. Because it is very obvious from scenes like this that Elliot is all Olivia has. When she goes home, if she gets sick, there is no one there to take care of her. Elliot is not just her partner, not just her best friend. He’s her husband, her family. And despite all the energy Elliot already dedicates to family, he still has plenty left to take care of his partner. To make her tea and make sure she rests. After more than a decade together, the two of them have settled into a pattern of behaviour that is built on a precarious level of denial and impermanence. It may look comfortable from the outside but beneath it lies an ever-increasing tension between who they should be to each other and who they really are.

7. That Time Elliot Was Ready To Catch Olivia When She Fell (“Rescue”):

Olivia is so in this moment, so focused on the child being ripped from her protection, that she almost doesn’t register Elliot’s support for her, him holding her back, holding her up. Perhaps she’s come to expect it. Perhaps, at this point, he’s just an undeniable fact of her existence, the one person she can take for granted. As for Elliot, he has been waiting for this moment ever since Calvin was left in her charge. He could see her growing attached, knew her too well to think she wouldn’t fall in love with the abandoned little boy she gave a temporary home. He also knew she was going to be devastated when it didn’t work out. Which it wouldn’t. Couldn’t. So he’s been waiting, ready to catch her whenever she fell. That’s what that gentle clutch looks like to me. There is infinite tenderness in how he holds her, how he whispers in her ear, how all of his attention is focused on cushioning the blow as her heart inevitably breaks right in front of him. Whatever his failings as a man, whatever limitations were imposed on his relationship with his partner, it’s clear from moments like this that no one on earth has ever loved or supported Olivia Benson quite like Elliot Stabler did.

8. That Time That Cragen Thought Maybe They Were Too Close & They Responded With This Look (“Philadelphia”):

Yeah. That’ll show him. Your boss tells you that your relationship is inappropriate and you react by standing inches apart, checking out each other’s eyes and lips and looking like you’re about to make-out right there in the middle of the squadroom. Well played, detectives. No one will suspect a thing. What I actually like about this moment (and by “this moment” I mean the entire episode but I had to pick just one bit of it) is the little scene before Cragen comes in. I like how they are huddled at Olivia’s desk in the darkness and lamplight. I like how they are whispering in low, conspiratorial tones. I like how Elliot is determined to back her play, protect her even if he isn’t sure that what she is doing is in her own best interests. I like that he gets how important this is to her, understands how the idea of actual living family makes her dangerously vulnerable. I like all the intense looks pinging back and forth. I like Olivia’s “screw you” because, you know, double meaning and I wish she would. And I like how Elliot grabs her arm out of frame to stop her from getting too pissed with him. I like how every little thing about their interaction in this scene, and in every scene that precedes it, screams of intimacy, of loyalty, of absolute and unswerving dependency. Yet when Cragen actually broaches the topic with them, they have the nerve to look affronted! It’s actually kind of funny. The expressions on their faces when they realise that Dad is finally onto them. Also funny/ironic is the fact they already know from the events of “Fault” that this deeply personal aspect of their partnership exists and can interfere with their work. They have admitted that, if not dealt with it. In fact, this episode is kind of like a sequel to “Fault” only instead of it being all about the two of them realising they have placed each other before the job, it’s about their boss realising they might. Apparently, it’s cool for them to know how inappropriate their feelings for each other are, but no one else. Because apparently Elliot and Olivia actually believe they’re fooling someone. Not Cragen, this esteemed veteran of the police force. No, he spends the episode consulting every shrink he can find about what the hell is going on with Benson and Stabler and finally he gets his answer. Of course, all he ever needed to do was look at them to see the truth. They’re in love and always have been.

9. That Time El Told Liv How Great She Turned Out (& That Her Kids Would Too) (“Quarry”):

I have a special weakness for EO scenes like this one that fall in an episode that has been mostly Elliot or Olivia. They seem like an acknowledgment by the writers, by the show in general that these two are the heart of “SVU” and that nothing is properly resolved until they resolve it together. In this instance, Olivia has been working a case without her partner that has brought up issues about passing on what she sees as her questionable genes. She deliberately opens this topic with him but then undermines its importance by continuing to discuss it as she heads out the door. She can’t fool El though – he knows, can see, hear and sense how important this is to her. His voice – low and sure and affectionate – halts her departure. His words of assurance are delivered to her back but the audience sees them land, sees the impact they have. This isn’t the first time these two have uttered phrases of value and meaning while refusing to look each other in the eye and it certainly won’t be the last (the first scene on this list comes to mind). Even when she turns, she can barely make eye-contact with him because her exposure and his implication are just too much. He’s not just saying that she turned out great, despite her genes, but that her kids, whenever they eventuate, will too. Which is why, incidentally, I will never buy into the argument propounded by some on and off the show that Elliot limited and manipulated Olivia’s life choices. Here, she’s halfway out the door with tears in her eyes. A moment later, after a few words from him, her eyes are dry, her lips smiling and her heart relieved. Now try telling me this man was bad for her.

10. That Time Liv Told El How Cute He Was As A Carrot (“Swing”):

This is pretty flirty. More flirty than she usually is with him. Maybe that’s why she just tosses this enigmatic little clue out there then flees the scene, leaving her partner looking stumped. This look could be interpreted many ways. Elliot may make the connection between her carrot comment, the photograph of him as a little boy and his mother. If so, then he may feel slightly uneasy about two such important female figures in his life holding a clandestine meeting. On the other hand, he may simply be affronted by the insinuation that he would ever impersonate a root vegetable. It really is the reader’s choice, but this moment of inscrutability is perfectly fine by me because this episode reveals so much about Elliot Stabler. About why he is the way he is, why he thinks the way he thinks and why he lives a double life simply because he boinked someone else before meeting the love of his life. I love the mounting difficulty of the scene with him and Bernie and I love the quiet affection in the scene with Bernie and Olivia. And I love the implication that sometimes the nuttiest among us are actually the sanest. I so wish he’d listen when his mum encourages him to take a deep breath and start living his own life. Even more than I wish Olivia would quit saving his family from imploding. It’s an above-and-beyond act, an acutely selfless act. But an act that only consolidates her and Elliot’s unending separation.

11. That Time That Elliot Admitted He Couldn’t Stay Away (“Loophole”):

He means from his Liv, not from his work. Let’s just clear that up right off the bat. When El mutters at the top of this scene that he “can’t stay away”, he means from his Livie-love, sitting at her desk in their shared grey hoodie (of lurve) with her hair up in a messy ponytail. Like I said, I am a sucker for random EO scenes that arise in episodes driven by one or the other character. I am also a sucker for scenes that take place in the darkened squadroom with just lamplight illuminating expressions that are meant only for each other. I am also a sucker for Liv’s season 8 hair, the GHOL and El in a leather jacket. So while there are still plenty more EO scenes that deserve a mention here, I have gone for this one. Because this squadroom is their home. I always get irrationally sad when they move locations because, for me, it’s the beginning of the end. The new squadroom is slick and modern and roomy. The old one is cluttered, rickety and cramped and I love it so much more. It feels real, it feels homey. It feels far more intimate, especially in scenes like this. Any scene with just the two of them at their desks I like, because if the squadroom is their home then those two desks pushed together to make a whole are like their bed – the place where, as a couple, they share, process and regroup. I love that, when wounded, Elliot’s instinct is to seek out this shared space, to connect with his partner. And that, when confused, he’s the one Olivia needs to talk to, process with. El’s unspoken motive in this scene is probably also just to check on her after hearing that she ended up in hospital. He needs to make sure she’s okay – physically, mentally and emotionally. And after this quiet moment with her partner, she is. Lastly, what I like about this scene is that it’s almost midnight, a time when they are free from the scrutiny of their colleagues and operating far outside of any professional context. As with the earlier scenes in “Stalked”, this one allows me to believe that there were many more like it. Many more midnight or early morning discussions that we weren’t privy to. Many other instances in which these two sought out each other’s company and sat in the silent squadroom, sharing a desktop and conversing by lamplight.

12. That Time That Elliot Said Goodbye To Olivia (“Double Strands”):

So this scene did happen but it didn’t happen…? It did happen in the sense that Liv ended up with the medallion but it didn’t happen in the sense that it never aired. In and of itself, it’s a lovely scene. Simple, beautifully acted and the Marine motto signed by Elliot both reflects on 13 years of loyalty and guarantees a continuing commitment in his absence. Had it been included in the episode, it would have provided some small sense of closure and compensation to Olivia as well as to the audience who had invested so much in the show’s principal relationship, shipper or no. Had they not had access to the actor who played such an important part in the show for so many years then this would have been a sensitive and meaningful way to end an era without his presence. Of course, neither of those things is true. This scene was cut from the episode. And, according to Christopher Meloni at least, they did and still do have access to, in my view, the finest actor to ever grace their troupe. With this in mind, it is hard not to see SVU 2.0 as dangling closure in front of faithful fans like a carrot in a calculated effort to keep them watching, keep them engaged. They do love to invoke Elliot’s ghost in the press, without (it seems to me) any intention of actually returning to or honouring him or his relationship with his partner. This little scene was the last time they did honour it, the last time they honoured the character of Elliot Stabler and his complex, imperfect, passionate, thwarted, unique relationship with Olivia Benson. That said – this scene should never have been needed in the first place. It should never have been written, shot or discarded. Because the truth is that Elliot Stabler would never leave Olivia Benson like this. The character in the 12 scenes above and the 12 covered previously spent over a decade of his life protecting, supporting and loving this woman. He did everything in his power to prevent her from being injured physically and/or emotionally so he would never wound her so deeply himself. Elliot also knew Olivia, knew her backstory and issues. He knew that, despite her air of strength and self-sufficiency, she was alone in the world. So he would never, not in a million and one years, desert her in such an abruptly cruel way. Clearly, the man has been taken hostage. He is in witness protection or deep undercover. Because the Elliot Stabler whose powerful presence pervades the first 12 years of “SVU” would never just walk out on Olivia Benson.

Never.

So when I say that his goodbye is one of my favourite scenes, what I actually mean is, I am still waiting for the day they write, shoot and air a scene that finally provides resolution to one of the longest and most fascinating onscreen partnerships in the history of television.

(Caps are borrowed from everywhere, a bunch of them from here.)