Spoilers ahead for Law & Order: Organized Crime’s eighth episode of Season 5, called “Fail Safe” and available streaming now with a Peacock subscription.
Believe it or not, the first season of Law & Order: Organized Crime as a violent, F-bomb-filled streaming original is nearly over with only two episodes left after “Fail Safe.” The past two episodes kicked off a new storyline, and I now have my doubts that Jet will be back after her exit in any way, shape, or form before the end of Season 5 in the 2025 TV schedule. This new storyline was missing some of the show’s usual major players, partnered Stabler up with a never-before-seen detective, and seemingly came close to killing off Bernie.
Basically, the episode almost felt like it was part of a different show, or perhaps a backdoor pilot for Detective Frances Tanner (Olivia Thirlby) and Tate Ellington (Season 4 newcomer Tate Ellington). Despite changing the recipe for Organized Crime, I thought these last two episodes really worked.
What Happened In “Fail Safe”
As expected after the previous episode, A.G. wasn’t done with his technological killing spree after he took out Skye before she could give information to Tanner, Stabler, and the rest of the NYPD. His list of targets eventually grew to include Tanner, who he captured after using AI to duplicate Stabler’s voice and lure her into his clutches.
That element of the storyline actually reminded me of a case that got under Remy’s skin on FBI: Most Wanted before its “proper goodbye” earlier this spring elsewhere in the expansive Dick Wolf TV universe, but I was much more nervous for Tanner as a new character than I was for that storyline on Most Wanted.
A.G. and The Collective captured Tanner, tied her to a chair with a bomb attached, and waited for the opportune moment to trigger the explosion. Fortunately, that wait was long enough for Vargas to work his tech magic, and the bomb was defused before it could blow up Tanner.
The storyline of “Fail Safe” that was somehow more stressful involved the Stabler family. Bernie was so shaken up by Joe Jr.’s return at the end of the previous episode that she collapsed with a cardiac emergency, with Randall luckily returning early enough to get her to the hospital. Kathleen arrived, and the assembled Stablers went through their particular stages of grief, which seemed to be switching between denial, insistence that everything would be okay, and voicing their fears of the worst happening.
As a big fan of The Exorcist icon Ellen Burstyn as Bernie Stabler going back to her first appearance on Law & Order: SVU, I was on the edge of my seat whenever the episode switched back to the hospital. The Stabler matriarch did ultimately survive, and was quickly proved to be right about Joe Jr. when he called Elliot.
Joe dropped a pretty concerning comment about what’s “going to happen soon.” Given that this was not long after Elliot gave Randall the rundown of how their youngest brother wanted to be a criminal informant in Season 4, this seems like a setup for a tricky final two episodes for the Stabler family.
Why “Fail Safe” Felt Like A Different Show
Danielle Moné Truitt and Rick Gonzalez were once again absent from the action in “Fail Safe,” presumably still in Italy after Truitt’s voice cameo in the previous episode established as much. I found myself missing Bell and Reyes less this week than I did last week, with Tate Ellington really stepping up as Vargas and Olivia Thirlby winning me over at Det. Tanner.
They weren’t exactly replacing Bell and Reyes, but they didn’t leave me spending the entire episode checking my watching and waiting for the usual Organized Crime investigators to show up. If you’d told me this was designed as a backdoor pilot, I would have believed it and probably been on board for a spinoff attempt
On the non-case part of “Fail Safe,” a lot of the episode really did focus on the Stabler family storyline. Normally, I’d be celebrating Organized Crime showing its heavier emphasis on character compared to SVU and Law & Order, but all the time devoted to the hospital plot had me fairly convinced that Bernie was going to die before the end. She even got a big speech to her sons and granddaughter that seemed like a possible ending before she coded.
Luckily, I haven’t lost one of my favorite OC side characters yet, although Randall and Elliot may want to keep any news of Joe Jr. away from her unless everything works out with him.
Why The Shift From OC’s Usual Stories Worked
A story involving technology and AI pretty much had to happen if Organized Crime was going to write out Bell and Reyes while putting Vargas in the spotlight for a couple of episodes, and I honestly think “Fail Safe” wouldn’t have worked nearly as well if Danielle Monê Truitt and Rick Gonzalez were on board. Vargas rose to occupy the spotlight, and Det. Tanner is officially my favorite new cop since Sam Bashir in Season 4. (Fingers crossed that her time on OC doesn’t take a twist like Sam’s did!)
Plus, I’m guessing that this was the last Organized Crime episode of Season 5 with a crime that’s not in any way connected to a main character. Even though it has taken the drama eight episodes to fully pick up on the Season 4 finale cliffhanger when it comes to Joe Jr., I suspect that it’s going to make up for that delay with a powerful plot. The first time that Joe spoke to Stabler since their last interaction in Season 4, Elliot’s baby brother said over the phone:
Listen. No matter what happens – and it’s going to happen soon, Elliot – know that I love you. I made my own choices… Just know that I love you.
As somebody with brothers, I have to say that getting an “I love you” out of the blue can seem more like a sign that something is very wrong than just a nice thing to say to a sibling. The phone call on top of Joe repeatedly checking in with Bernie does strike me as a sign that bleached hair and months on the run haven’t jaded him completely, and I hope that we’re going to see Michael Trotter in both of the last two episodes of Season 5.
I’m certainly also hoping that news breaks sooner rather than later about a renewal for Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 6. I’ve been enjoying the show since its move to Peacock, but after two Dick Wolf shows were cancelled over on CBS this spring, I can’t help but worry about OC.
And you know what? While I'm naming hopes for the future of the crime drama, my fingers are also crossed for more of Olivia Thirlby as Det. Tanner. For now, fans can just keep checking out new episodes of Organized Crime releasing on Peacock on Thursdays.
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