While it was undoubtedly disappointing for Benson/Stabler fans,Law & Order: SVUprevented a serious problem by writing Stabler out after season 12. During the early years of the procedural, Stabler was a big part of the show. He was an experienced detective who helped guide Benson while trying to balance work and family issues.
Many of thebest episodes ofLaw & Order: SVUrevolved around Stabler and Benson’s partnership or issues he had at home. It was difficult to imagine during those first 12 seasons that the procedural would be able to survive without him. However,Christopher Meloni decided to leaveLaw & Order: SVUat the end of the 12th season.
His Style Was Similar To Hank Voight’s
Stabler was more experienced at SVU cases than Benson when the series began. However, he was far from a model cop, and he often demonstrated a tendency toward hotheaded behavior that would not be acceptable today. Stabler’s anger was reserved for pedophiles and other sexual predators, which made him sympathetic.
Stabler straddled the line between what was then acceptable behavior and violating suspects' rights. He often intimidated detainees, attempting to get a confession by getting loud or standing too close to them. Stabler also almost lost his job at the end of season 1 after admitting to a psychiatrist that he had fantasies of killing pedophiles.
Stabler had not changed these habits by 2021 when he returnedinLaw & Order: Organized Crime. During the backdoor pilot episode, Benson had to stop him from engaging in this type of behavior in her interrogation room.
Keeping Stabler In The Age Of The Movement Against Police Brutality Would Have Given SVU A Big Problem
Today’s audiences are much more aware of police brutality, especially against marginalized groups, and are less accepting of it in media. After the death of George Floyd,there was a movement for TV to be more responsible about depicting police violence.
Law & Order: SVUdealt with this issue by having an arc in which a Black man sued the NYPD, including Benson, after alleging racial bias was the cause of his arrest. If Stabler had still been part of the show, it would have been even more difficult to address the issue fairly.
Law & Order: SVUwould have had only two choices if Stabler were still working in the Special Victims Unit.
Stabler, like Hank Voight in Chicago PD, was well known for his use of excessive force in the name of justice. Thus, Law & Order: SVUwould have had only two choices if Stabler were still working in the Special Victims Unit. The procedural could have mellowed his character to fit social disapproval of his previous behavior.
However, that decision would have been risky, asaudiences might have felt that his new behavior was out of character or written to fulfill an agenda.Alternatively,Law & Order: SVUcould have kept Stabler the way he originally was but allow him to face serious consequences for his behavior.
This type of arc would have distracted from the show’s core mission of supporting survivors. For this reason, it might not have been any more satisfying than changing Stabler’s personality would have been.
Organized Crime Continues To Explore Stabler’s Violent Tendencies (But He Can’t Do It In SVU)
Stabler Still Struggles With His Temper Nowadays
A decade after Meloni leftLaw & Order: SVU,he agreed to return to the franchise forLaw & Order: Organized Crime.Stabler’s temper was still a problem, but it was much easier to deal with in his new series.
He had been off-screen for 10 years, so audiences weren’t as familiar with the way he used to be, making it easier to soften him somewhat. That said,Stabler still exhibits some of the same problematic behaviors in his new series from time to time.
While some of those IAB meetings have been run by officers who are biased against him, the fact still remains that Stabler is held more accountable now.
However, most of the time, Bell calls him out on it, and he has faced multiple IAB investigations because of his decisions in the field. While some of those IAB meetings have been run by officers who are biased against him, the fact still remains that Stabler is held more accountable now.
This is an appropriate compromise, asStabler’s temper is now a source of tension that earns him disapproval and threatens his career.Law & Order: Organized Crimehas also explored the possibility of Stabler having PTSD. He has struggled with the idea of opening up in therapy, making for a more engaging storyline that also explains his bad temper.
Law & Order: Organized Crimealso once had an arc where Stabler had to rein in a civilian whose temper was even worse than his, which was an effective mirror for him.
Furthermore, inLaw & Order: Organized Crimeseason 5, Stabler reserves his temper for a potentially corrupt cop who is guiding his son in the wrong direction, which is far more acceptable than taking his frustrations out on civilians.
Law & Order: SVUwouldn’t have been able to explore Stabler’s temper in as much depth had he remained in that series. Audiences were already familiar with Stabler’s temper by season 12, so any change would feel like a rewrite. However,when Stabler was spun off into his own show, it was an opportunity to reintroduce him while addressing his temper issues differently.
Additionally, Benson has been in charge of the unit since season 15, which changes the dynamic between her and Stabler. It would be strange for the former partner Stabler helped train inLaw & Order: SVUto reprimand him for his hotheadedness, so it is far better for Stabler to remain in his own series.
