Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 4 Episode 13 Review: Stabler’s Lament

What fans might’ve thought would be the closure of the Stabler family saga is only just beginning. Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 4 Episode 13, “Stabler’s Lament,” builds on the tension that has been going on for a few episodes now and leaves fans with even more questions.

Unlike most season finales for this show, “Stabler’s Lament” does nothing to provide answers or closure. Sure, we get closure regarding Sam’s death, and we now know what exactly Emery is smuggling, but that’s where the answers stop.

To top it off, we now have more family drama for Elliot Stabler to contend with, alongside keeping Joe Jr. safe as a CI.

Eli Has Some Explaining to Do

Despite Eli’s rough streak, which ended on Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 2 Episode 9, “The Christmas Episode,” he’s been a distant fixture in the show’s overall arc. He’s around but never the cause of stress or worry.

Now, he decides he needs to drop not one but two bombs on his dad while Elliot is in the middle of a high-profile case. Based on his dedication to the job, Elliot is easily said to always be in the middle of a case.

However, Eli can see that something is going on that is distracting his dad more than ever. Instead of sticking to the “my girlfriend’s pregnant” announcement he also drops that he wants to join the Police Academy.

When his dad really doesn’t need the stress and has to keep Joe Jr. out of harm’s way, Eli should be reading the room a bit better. It’s the most inopportune time to tell the family he is going to also be a cop.

Eli might not know the full extent of Joe Jr.’s involvement in the case, but he should still be able to see — clear as day — that now is not the time to tell his father something that requires time, attention, and discussion. The writers probably felt it was the exact kind of explosion Law & Order: Organized Crime needs for the finale episode, but the timing is just all off.

How Much Does Emery Actually Know?

Ever since Joe Jr. came back into Elliot’s life, he’s been working for the highly elusive Emery. For many episodes now, the OCCB has been trying to get one over on the criminal mastermind.

Based on the trajectory of Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 4 Episode 12, “Goodnight,” viewers assumed the case would reach a satisfying conclusion by the finale’s end. What we didn’t expect was for Emery to pull another fast one and fly off into the sunset with Joe Jr. onboard.

This is where the lack of answers gets somewhat frustrating. While it’s nice having a bit of a cliffhanger for a finale, it’s frustrating knowing how close we came to not getting another season.

The writers set this episode up to need more time and attention, which we almost didn’t have. Now that we do, it’s still a frustrating finale because even with the all-exciting cliffhanger, we still feel completely in the dark.

There is withholding some answers in the name of having another episode devoted to the plot, and then there is withholding answers unnecessarily. It would’ve been nice to know if Emery trusts Joe Jr. anymore at all or if his cryptic language is just how he is.

As it stands, viewers feel like we don’t know where anything stands, which can be both exciting and frustrating. Emery is a master of knowledge, but it makes us side-eye the plot a bit going into next season that we don’t know for sure if he’s setting a trap or truly trusts Joe Jr.

Closure on Sam Bashir

For Season 4, the most devastating storyline wasn’t the aftermath of Whelan’s death like we assumed at the start, but the untimely murder of Det. Samir Bashir. So, for Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 4 Episode 13, “Stabler’s Lament” to beautifully close the book on his death is a win for the complicated episode. 

Bell getting to pull the trigger on Bashir’s killer is giving her the closure she needed. She’s always been a more emotional cop than her cohort, Stabler, but it’s been especially so since Bashir died. 

She even points out to Stabler that she’s not been the same since she got shot, and losing Sam didn’t help her at all. We also know Sam’s death has been haunting Stabler, as shown in the voiceover/flashback moments of the episode.

The two of them being present at the shootout that led to Tobias’s death is important for their characters moving forward. It’s the show’s way of saying these two decorated cops are going to be just fine.

Also, closing the book on Sam opens them up to a more focused investigation to finally bring Emery in. Only time will tell, but the signs look good.

Stray Thoughts

• I know Elliot is just stressed and reacting from a place of concern for Joe’s safety, but he doesn’t have a leg to stand on to prevent Eli joining the Academy
• I hope we get more Bernadette Stabler in the coming season; she’s always a treasure. Ellen Burstyn plays her so well.
• Trisha having the hots for Vargas was not on my bingo card, but you know what? I don’t hate it.

 

What did you think of this episode of Law & Order: Organized Crime? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Law & Order: Organized Crime returns in the fall on Peacock.

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