Spoilers ahead for the fall finale of Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 2.
Law & Order: Organized Crime decided to end the year with a fall finale called “The Christmas Episode,” but the episode wasn’t all merry and bright for the Stabler family. Eli, still struggling with pretty much everything in life, skipped the reading of the verdict in Richard Wheatley's trial only to hook up with a young woman, go back to her place, and pass out after sharing tequila and pills. He woke up to find her dead, and nearly the entire episode seemed disconnected from the larger crossover plot other than that Stabler and Benson were both part of the investigation. But the hour ended with the apparent reveal of a new OC villain, and I’m so excited about the identity: Angela Wheatley.
I knew she had it in her! After learning that a man was paid to frame Eli following an exchange of information in RIkers, Stabler connected the dots that seemingly led right to Richard Wheatley using his signature cryptocurrency. Wheatley of course denied it, and truly seemed shocked when Stabler confronted him with the fact that his cryptocurrency had been used to pay the killer. He is of course a great liar, but he seemed very genuine, and confirmed to Stabler that only one other person had access: daughter Dana Wheatley.
At this point in the episode, it seemed that Dana was the new big bad of Organized Crime for the second arc of Season 2, but the story didn’t stop there. Stabler and Bell dropped by Angela’s place to try and get some information on Dana, but didn’t really get anywhere as Angela continued to struggle with her physical and cognitive limitations. They seemed to fully trust that what they saw with Angela was what they got, because of how the poison at the end of the first season had affected her and continued to affect her. Her cognitive and motor skills seem to be starkly different from what they were before, and they didn’t seem to expect much from her about finding Dana.
But they should not have underestimated Angela Wheatley! As soon as they left (after she got Stabler to say that he’d try to come visit her), Angela stopped limping, abandoned her cane, and strode right over to the counter to open a bottle of wine and pour herself a glass while waiting for her daughter, who showed up quickly. Looking and sounding as sharp as ever, Angela told her daughter that she’d need to go away for a while.
At this point, I fully thought that Angela had fooled absolutely everybody, and Richard Wheatley was as in the dark about her actions as everybody else, but she dropped an interesting comment after telling Dana to disappear for a time:
Your father should be able to arrange something.
Does this mean that Angela and Wheatley are working together, as the new villain teaming up with the previous villain? Or is Angela in control and just knows that her ex-husband would never abandon their daughter to the authorities if he could help her avoid the heat? Or is Wheatley still in charge, and Angela is his #2 because he needed her as his person on the outside? And if they're working together, why on Earth would she do that?
Whatever Angela’s deception means and how far it goes, I couldn’t be more excited to see Tamara Taylor show off a more devious side to the character. It’s a twist that came as a particularly big surprise after Angela’s seemingly frazzled testimony at her ex’s trial, and it is possible that her feelings for Stabler are genuine. But I definitely hope that she stays a couple steps ahead of the task force for at least a little bit of time, because this was such a fun twist.
Of course, I’ll change my tune if she actually goes after any of the major characters, and it’s not clear at this point whether she’d be bothered by Stabler getting closer to Benson again, which is clearly one of his goals. And the reveal that the authorities are dropping the charges against Wheatley and he’s a free man could change a lot for Angela. Unfortunately, fans are in for a wait to find out what happens next, as the show is headed into its winter hiatus. Find out when Law & Order: Organized Crime returns to NBC (along with Law & Order: SVU after shaking up a relationship) in the new year with our 2022 winter and spring premiere schedule!
