Law And Order: Organized Crime Delivered A Sad Exit, But Stabler Has Finally Learned A Valuable Lesson From Leaving SVU

Spoilers ahead for Episode 3 of Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5, called “Paranza Dei Bambini” and available streaming now with a Peacock subscription.

Changes were inevitable when Law & Order: Organized Crime officially debuted as a streaming original rather than rejoining Law & Order: SVU in NBC’s 2025 TV schedule primetime lineup, and those changes can’t all be as much fun as unsexy pickup lines and Reyes now having the option for F-bombs. Episode 3 said a big goodbye to a member of the team, and while it makes for a sad way to start Season 5, Stabler’s reaction at least tells me that he learned a valuable lesson from the fallout of his Special Victims Unit exit.

Jet Decides To Leave

Jet had decided to take a break from the OCCB after her close call undercover in the Season 5 premiere two-parter, and the character needing to step away certainly tracks with what one star described as Organized Crime’s “more realistic” approach on Peacock. It also wouldn’t have been the first time that a detective took a break from active duty only to return within a few episodes, so that decision didn’t seem to indicate that fans were 100% about to lose Ainsley Seiger’s character.

Well, the opening credits of the next episode might answer a lot of questions about whether Seiger really is finished as a series regular, but Jet certainly seems to be out from the OCCB. Not only did she end her off-screen relationship with Reyes, but she used her time “off” to use Vargas’ AI software to run down the identities of the murdered women from the first two episodes.

Bell learned the truth when she paid the young detective a surprise visit, and Jet confessed that the FBI – no, presumably not THAT version of FBI – had offered her a job, but she didn’t want to abandon to task force. The sergeant gently told Jet that she’d already given the team four more years than she was obligated to, and she should take bigger and better opportunities if she wants them.

So, Jet decided to leave, but not before one final one-on-one scene with Stabler. She turned up at the office after everybody else other than Christopher Meloni’s character had already left to attend her night of goodbye drinks, wanting to gather her things alone. Stabler teasingly blamed her for leaving him with Vargas, but when she sincerely explained that she hates goodbyes, Stabler responded by saying that he doesn’t care and gave her a big hug.

It was a sweet moment, but the longtime Law & Order: SVU fan in me also saw the moment as Stabler finally learning an overdue lesson.

Stabler Doesn’t Approve Of Irish Goodbyes (Anymore)

If we look back to 2021 and Christopher Meloni’s much-hyped return, the Law & Order had a big problem to overcome in launching his new show: how Stabler left. I’d been speculating about it for weeks before the “Prodigal Son” premiere finally reunited Stabler with Mariska Hargitay’s Olivia Benson, and oh boy, was it ever messy when their reunion overlapped with Kathy’s violent death!

I’m surely not the only franchise fan who was happy to have Christopher Meloni back while not being entirely ready to forgive his character, because Stabler leaving Special Victims – and his longtime partner – without so much as a voicemail was harsh back in 2011, and fans had had ten years of watching Benson struggle and grow beyond that loss. He just… left after all that time together, and then Olivia had no choice but to show him some grace in his return due to Kathy’s death.

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And just like how I can appreciate the drama of The Letter while still begrudging Stabler for how he handled it, I’ve been able to watch and enjoy Organized Crime without actively hating on Stabler for how he left all those years ago. (Plus, it likely would have happened differently if not for the real-life reasons why Christopher Meloni exited SVU.)

That doesn’t mean I can’t see Elliot Stabler admitting that he hates Irish goodbyes – a.k.a. leaving an event without saying a goodbye – as growth from how he left his previous NYPD job without a word. I like to think that 2025 Stabler would never have left Benson without so much as a word like 2011 Stabler did.

It’s a silver lining to the loss of Ainsley Seiger as Jet, although her remaining invested in the serial killer case combined with the OCCB’s history of joining forces with the feds leads me to believe – or at least hope – we could see her again as a guest to close out this case. I'll certainly pay attention to the opening credits of the next episode to see if Seiger is still included!

For now, see what the task force is like without Jet with new episodes of Law & Order: Organized Crime streaming on Peacock on Thursdays. You can also find the SVU episodes surrounding Stabler’s exit on the streamer if you want to power through those! New episodes of SVU as well as Law & Order continue airing on Thursday nights on NBC as well.