Hello. How are we all doing after the drama of last episode? Grab something to drink because we’re about to get into it again.
We can’t talk about this episode of OC without first talking about the SVU episode (“Trick-Rolled at the Moulin,” season 22, episode 13) that ties in.
SVU
Like before, I don’t want to spend a ton of time on SVU (except for where Stabler pops up) because we are here for OC. Here’s what you need to know – This episode’s plot is basically the movie Hustlers just with Olivia’s Brother Drama thrown in. Some sex workers are getting rich guys drunk, drugging them, and then robbing them blind. Unfortunately, the girls have started to use a knockoff of Richard Wheatley’s “name brand” street drug Purple Magic. The formula is too lethal and men are dying.
The fact that there is a “name brand” illegal street drug is very funny to me.
And since one of the guys died in the Hotel Moulin, which is where her brother died, Olivia automatically assumes that her brother got rolled, too. And what is she going to do? Exactly what she told Stabler to NOT do and get all involved and emotional while trying to solve the case.
Turns out Olivia is right, her brother did get rolled by the girls and now she has closure. Now let’s talk about what we’re all here for – the Elliot/Olivia scenes!! But first –
MELINDA!!! YAY!! I missed her. She tells Liv that she “wrote her condolences” to Stabler after she heard about his wife but he never wrote back. Liv says that he’s Going Through It and when she goes to the parking garage he’s waiting for her. And he’s wearing a vest. God bless Rome for making this man believe in tailored clothing and the power of THE VEST. I hope OC gets more American men on board with Dressing Well.
He tells Olivia the same thing he told her on the phone – Sasha Lenski knew it was Kathy getting into the car and he triggered the bomb anyway. Elliot wants Olivia to use her connections to see if she can find out what’s going on with Kathy’s case. She cannot. Everyone is telling her to stay away from Stabler and he’s like “THE FUCK???? Why would anyone tell you to stay away from me, the unstable man who walked away from you over a decade ago and left you emotionally shattered????”
Then Liv is all, “Hey, remember the intervention?” and he’s all “Oh, wow, look at the time! I’ve got dry cleaning to pick up and the car needs an oil change…” This man literally takes two steps back from her when she brings up the intervention, but Olivia is not standing for that shit! She closes the gap between them and tells him to take care of himself “for himself, for your kids…” That unsaid “and for me” hanging in the silence at the end of that sentence is DEAFENING.
Melinda brings the report on the drugs used in the murders to Olivia’s office and turns out it’s Purple Magic. Does Olivia know anyone working Organized Crime?
Olivia, Fin, and Elliot go to the hotel to do some more investigating and it is so good to see them all together doing Cop Things. Warms my tiny little rock of a heart. They realize that the guy who was driving the girls is their pimp/dealer, so they press one of the girls for details, which gives us Benson and Stabler Interrogating A Perp.
Guys. I am a simple woman. THIS IS ALL I WANT. I want Benson and Stabler solving crime and being so great together as partners and maybe kissing every now and then. This is it. This is the whole reason for why I came back to the Law & Order franchise – these characters, this chemistry, working together. And they are just…so good. It’s like he never left. They never skipped a beat, they’re just right back into doing the work and being the damn good team they always were.
The girl tells them where her dealer/boyfriend is and they decide to make him wear a wire. This does not go well because the guys make him immediately. He gets murdered, and in the chaos some guy fires directly into the car Benson and Stabler are in. They way they shot this scene? I do not understand how these characters are not dead. I’m glad they aren’t, but someone blew a hole in the windshield and these sitting ducks aren’t at least wounded??? Ok, sure.
OC
We begin in Internal Affairs. Wow, Stabler’s back and he and Olivia are right back in IAB sights? Literally no one is surprised. Olivia is pretty pissed at whatever Elliot told IAB. I’m not exactly sure why she’s so pissed – she knows how IAB tactics work. Maybe she just wants to believe the worst about Elliot so she can justify keeping him at arm’s length. She tells him that he’s not dismissed and he goes “I’m standin’ right here, Capitan.” and it’s…hot? Why does that sound so hot? Why does it sound like he’s into this rank thing?
Whatever happened, Olivia fixed the problem because that is what she does. I’m very excited I’m getting to this part of the show because I can start theorizing on things that haven’t happened yet. My theory on what happened in the closed door meeting between Ayanna, Olivia, and Garland? Olivia put her career on the line to keep Stabler on the task force.
Ayanna is like “Hey, kinda noticed that you and Benson make fuck eyes at each other all the time.” and Stabler is like ::fifteen second Face Journey:: “…uh…partners?” And then Ayanna tells him to find someone else to move on with. Ayanna! That is not the correct thing to say! I get the impression that Ayanna respects Olivia and she probably doesn’t think Stabler is good enough for her. Which…she’s not wrong. At least she’s not wrong right now.
And Stabler is bound and determined to just keep proving he’s a walking trash heap (and, apparently, a fuckboi) because he interprets “Find someone else” as “Go kiss ANGELA WHEATLEY.”
Elliot, I…
I’d understand if he went to her house that first time and made a mistake by opening up. Hopefully cooler heads would prevail and he’d understand that he’s gonna fuck up this entire case if he keeps doing what he’s doing. But no. He just doubles down on foolishness. At this point, these actions are most likely going to derail the entire case against Wheatley (wait until Angela’s lawyer finds out about this) and it’s going to be his fault. I’d say he completely deserves all the consequences that come along with blowing the case – except he’ll probably end up taking Ayanna and Olivia down with him. And they didn’t even do the dumb thing!
The next day Richard Wheatley stops by Gina’s apartment to test her. Will she bang him? No, no she will not. Look at that, Gina is way smarter than Elliot Stabler. Congratulations on not sucking, Gina. We love to see it. Wheatley drives her to work but on the way he stops and murders some dudes. You know, like you do. Coffee, dry cleaning, murder. Typical morning errands.
When Ayanna and Stabler get to the crime scene they realize the dead guys are part of the crew that killed the CI and shot at Stabler and Benson in the SVU episode. They also find a little girl – the daughter of one of the sex workers from the trick roll crew. And you know that whenever a kid is involved, it’s time to call in SVU.
(We all realize that Olivia could have sent any one of her detectives to talk to this kid, right? She did it herself. I wonder why…(WE ALL KNOW WHY))
Olivia questions the kid and it’s a great scene because we get to see just how good Olivia is at her job. Ayanna gets to see it, too! And Elliot gets to see it and remember exactly why he loves her so damn much.
The girls tells them that the people who killed the men were cops (which Gina confirms later.) But none of the guys where the ones who shot at Benson & Stabler – who was that guy? Benson & Stabler say, in unison, “Uncle K.” OMG JUST LET THEM BE PARTNERS AGAIN!! IT’S SO GOOD WHEN THEY WORK TOGETHER. Plus, look at them making heart eyes at each other:
Morales and The Mole Washburn catch Uncle K and bring him back to OC headquarters. Stabler and Ayanna question him and Ayanna is not. here. for. his. shit.
Turns out a lot of crews around town have been knocking off the name brand street narcotic (LOL) Purple Magic. And all of them have ended up dead.
Then Olivia comes in and asks Uncle K about the trick roll crew, with an aside about her brother. So, remember the episode when Stabler came back and Sonny Carisi was like “Stabler can’t be near this” because he’s family and everyone told him that? And then in the trick roll ep when Fin was like “uh, Liv, you can’t be involved because you’re family”? Now it’s apparently totally ok for Stabler to be neck deep in finding the person who killed his wife while it’s more than fine for Olivia to bust out the “he was my brother!” in interrogation? A lot has changed since SVU premiered 22 years ago, but one thing remains constant – Benson & Stabler are going to do whatever the hell they want and no one can stop them.
After the interrogation Elliot catches up to Olivia in what is the perfect hallway for this show’s aesthetic.
Elliot tells her that now that she has closure she can let her brother’s death go. She immediately asks about Kathy and the status of that case, and then tells him that he seems better. Whatever he’s doing, he should keep doing it. I choose to believe that he looks better because working with his old partner gave him a sense of stability, not because he was kissing Richard Wheatley’s ex (WHO IS 100% FUCKING WITH HIS HEAD.)
When Olivia goes to leave she grabs his hand and we get actual Hand Holding. Benson and Stabler! Holding hands! And they’re not undercover!
So, time for a THEORY – We know from behind the scenes photos that Olivia will eventually meet Richard Wheatley. My guess? Our dear friend The Mole Washburn got an eyeful of this interaction and reported it back to Wheatley. I would not be surprised if Wheatley goes after Olivia because (SPOILER) Elliot arrested Angela.
The Idiot Stabler decides that he just has to talk to Angela Wheatley and he’s all “I have emotions! We like each other! I’m confused!” and everyone is just like
Thank God Richard Wheatley shows up to be menacing about the bug he found in his office. YES. Threaten this man, Richard! Make him remember his actual purpose, which is to BRING YOU DOWN. This is what we are here for!!!!
The next morning Elliot walks in on a meeting Ayanna is having with several high up NYPD people, including Garland. Earlier in the episode Ayanna’s nephew was brutalized by two NYPD officers when he was coming out of a guitar shop. One cop crushed his hand and caused nerve damage, which is not good for someone who plays guitar. The NYPD brass is here to talk to Ayanna about the lawsuit the family will be filing against the NYPD…but I feel like someone screwed up the editing. We have this scene here where Ayanna obviously knows about the lawsuit, and then in the next episode her wife stops by to tell her they’re moving forward with a lawsuit and she didn’t want Ayanna to be surprised. Did these scenes get flipped?
Oh, and we also learn that if the task force doesn’t pan out Ayanna will lose her job.
Stabler gets some info about the pipe bomb that killed his wife – it has marks on it from a vice. Guess who owns a vice that matches? Izak Bekher. When they go to talk to him, Stabler pulls a Stabler and punches him right in the face…but Ayanna is cool with it. Stabler slams him against a chainlink fence and is yelling why did Richard Wheatley want to kill my wife and Izak goes “Richard didn’t give the order. It was ANGELA WHEATLEY!”
Stabler looks like he got the wind knocked out of him but all of us are like THAT IS WHAT YOU FUCKING GET, YOU MORON. Too bad the fact that you kissed her at all is gonna cause you a world of hurt.
Random Observations:
- In SVU, the first girl who gets pulled in for questioning immediately asks for a lawyer. YES! That characters aren’t doing this left and right is INSANE to me. Look, it’s 2021. We’re living through the True Crime boom and a national reckoning about policing in this country in general. If you get pulled in for questioning, even if you are so innocent Jesus himself would be like, “wow, you’re literally the most innocent person ever!” all you say is “I’d like a lawyer, please.” THAT’S IT! Mouth. Shut.
- Angela Wheatley totally slips Stabler the tongue – you can see it. I do not like her, but I understand.
Style Corner!
Last Ditch Effort 
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