If the Stabler family does not already have a punch card at their local hospital they really should. By this point, they would surely get a free IV or something. Elliot (Christopher Meloni) and his family spent a lot of time in a recent Law and Order: Organized Crime episode hanging around the emergency room. They were waiting to hear if Bernie (Ellen Burstyn) was going to be okay. For those who have not seen the episode, I can tell you right now that Ellen Burstyn’s character makes it through the hour. But with all the talk about Bernie’s age—I am sure they have mentioned her being in her 90s before, but hearing that she is 92 in this episode really hit me—and her telling her family she is at peace with her life, I am not feeling great about her surviving to see a potential Season 6.
Then Stabler gets that phone call at the end of the episode from Joe Jr., which also does not sound good for anyone. At least the show did not crush my hopes for Det. Tanner in her second appearance, though it came very close. The series continues to put its characters through the wringer, making every episode a tense watch. The emotional stakes are always high for the Stabler family, and this episode was no different.
The bad guy A.G., who leads The Collective, got a big blow at the start of the hour. The hospital treating his mother in a coma let him know it was time to take her off life support. After last week’s episode, no one should be surprised when an explosion at that same hospital later killed the mother’s doctor and other people. As Tanner and Stabler got closer, A.G. became desperate. He faked a voicemail from Stabler calling Tanner to the explosion site in the middle of the night. By the time Vargas and Stabler realized what happened, the young detective was tied to a chair by the waterfront. A Collective bomb was ominously placed under her seat.
The Stabler Family Confronts Bernie's Health Scare and Joe Jr.'s Troubling DisappearanceElliot Stabler Faces Hard Choices While Balancing Family Crisis With Dangerous Cases
Vargas quickly rushed to take remote control of the bomb from The Collective. They were just waiting until enough people were watching through Tv News or social media to set it off. Meanwhile Stabler was very reckless. He approached Tanner with just a flak vest and a radio headset over his nice suit. He looked worried and distracted and had barely slept in the past two days. He was running on adrenaline and coffee. Is this really the man we want messing with a bomb’s complicated keypad while Vargas coaches him from the van? I was definitely holding my breath.
Regardless Vargas managed to beat A.G. and The Collective. He used his code which they had stolen against them. By the time A.G. ordered the explosion the device was off and Tanner was safe. She hugged Stabler in relief as he helped her stand then she left. I assume she had to pee because she mentioned her full bladder earlier. With that crisis handled the New York Police Department arrived and arrested A.G. and the rest of his dangerous Collective. This storyline was intense and kept me on the edge of my seat, but the personal drama with the Stablers really pulled at my heartstrings.
Bernie’s 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 problem turns out to be with her heart. While she is having surgery for a cardiac ablation, the Stablers, including Kathleen, take turns waiting in the waiting room. Elliot uses this time to tell Randall how thankful he is for his help with their mom. He also tells his brother how much he has missed him. Kathleen uses the time to make sure her father knows his mother will not be around for much longer, even if she gets better. She tells him he should probably accept that sooner rather than later. It should not surprise anyone that Elliot literally gives it to God during this talk and moves on.
At one point Randall is dozing next to his mother’s bed when he wakes up. He sees someone with badly bleached hair in scrubs quickly leaving the room. Yep, it is Joey doing his sneaky act again. Randall chases him but the younger Stabler is too fast and gets away. In the final minutes of the episode, Stabler gets a call. It is 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.” Elliot is instantly worried. He promises he can help his brother get out of whatever trouble he is in. “Just know that I love you,” Joey repeats. He hangs up right before a sleek black SUV picks him up somewhere in New York City. Kathleen, who overheard her father’s side of the call, looks on with wide eyes. She says “Grandma was right!” This leaves a big question mark over Joe Jr.’s fate, and I am definitely worried about what is coming next.
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Behind the Scenes of Law and Order: Why Actors Keep Coming Back to Dick Wolf's Shows
Exploring the Unique Appeal of the Law and Order Franchise for Its Talented Cast Members
The Law and Order franchise truly stands alone. It started with Dick Wolf’s original series in 1990. Now it has six spin-offs, two of which are still making new episodes along with the original in the 2025 TV schedule. After nearly 40 years and thousands of episodes, mostly set in New York City, is it any surprise that actors have played multiple characters in the franchise? Or even returned to roles many years later? Not really. Former Law and Order: Criminal Intent actress Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio joined Organized Crime this year. She talked about what makes actors want to come back to Dick Wolf’s world.
Mastrantonio is not the only Organized Crime cast member to leave and then come back to the franchise. Christopher Meloni famously left the SVU part of the Law and Order world as Elliot Stabler. He came back for OC almost ten years later. Dean Norris, Rick Gonzalez, and Michael Trotter returned as new characters. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio appeared in Season 9 of Criminal Intent as Captain Zoe Callus in 2010. She then joined OC Season 5 as Isabella Spezzano. Isabella’s time on Organized Crime was unfortunately short, but she made a big impact in her few episodes.
When asked about coming back to the Law and Order franchise, Mastrantonio explained that her recent role was only a three-episode job. This made the commitment much more appealing than her previous longer role. She also praised Dick Wolf. “Dick Wolf runs—can I just say, he runs a really good franchise? Let’s not mince words. He pays well. He knows these things are difficult, and so he makes it worth your while. It makes it worthwhile to show up to work.” She clarified that this does not mean actors do a better or worse job, but it certainly helps with the decision to take a role.
Apparently, Dick Wolf also an executive producer on NBC’s One Chicago shows and CBS’ FBI shows knows how to run things well. He makes it easy for actors to return. When Mastrantonio did Criminal Intent, she knew it was only 14 episodes, not a full 23. She was also commuting from London at the time, where she lived and raised her children. She said they were very helpful. They would plan her days so she could do the end of one episode and the start of another. This meant she did not have to fly every week. This was very kind of them.
Mastrantonio also found another benefit to playing an NYPD captain instead of a beat cop or detective. That character was always in the office. This was great for an actress as she gets older. She said "As we gals get older and somehow less sex appealing, they stick us in an office where we are the matriarch. And that's good for an actress, because then you're on set. You don't have to be up in the morning and to these far away locations. It's good." Actors who play detectives are usually the ones running through New York City streets in all kinds of weather. Mastrantonio clearly enjoyed her office scenes on Criminal Intent. She even had more action in her three episodes of Organized Crime than all her episodes of Criminal Intent Season 9.
The television industry seems to be changing a bit. This might explain why Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio decided to return to the Law and Order franchise. Some of Wolf Entertainment’s shows have made cuts recently. For example, SVU is losing regular cast members Octavio Pisano and Juliana Martinez before Season 27. However, the show is also bringing Kelli Giddish back. Over in the One Chicago world, Chicago Fire is losing Jake Lockett and Daniel Kyri before Season 14. It was not explicitly confirmed if these cuts were for budget reasons. However, a CBS executive confirmed that money was behind the cancellations of FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International.
At the time of writing, most of the Wolf Entertainment shows that were not canceled are currently on summer break. However, you can still catch new episodes of Law and Order: Organized Crime on Thursdays. They stream exclusively on Peacock. The show keeps delivering the kind of intense stories and character moments that make it a must-watch for fans.