Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS ahead for Episode 13 of Law & Order: Organized Crime, called “Punch Drunk.”
Law & Order: Organized Crime has quickly proven that making the case against the man who killed Bell’s partner goes a lot farther than just tracking down one bad guy. As the plot thickened with Eamon Murphy, Jet started an undercover relationship that resulted in big strides in the investigation… and Bell having doubts about whether or not the younger detective could be objective. The cliffhanger means that Jet’s life is in very real danger, but there was a good thing that came out of the stressful episode: one of my longtime issues with Stabler was addressed.
What Happened To Jet
Jet went undercover to string Seamus O’Meara along into believing that they could be in a relationship, and Seamus got very invested very quickly. She proved that she has a talent for forming UC bonds and getting close to some very bad people, but her actions also made Bell concerned that she was falling for Seamus.
While Jet didn’t have a good explanation for why she was still wearing the necklace that he gave her and had an uphill battle in explaining why she kissed him, she put on a performance for Bell that was convincing enough. The sergeant – who hit her breaking point in the first half of the season – finally told Jet about losing her partner all those years ago.
By the end, Jet was still keeping her cover intact… until she had to flee the bar with Seamus, who was convinced that Eamon would kill them both after he didn’t murder a man to pay off a debt. While trying to hustle her into a car, Seamus accidentally knocked her wig off, which was enough to give him pause about who she really was.
Instead of just playing it off that she wore a wig because she wanted to have long hair or something equally innocent, Jet decided to pull her gun and reveal her identity. She had no backup, though, and didn’t get any farther than calling Bell before something distracted her. Seamus seized his moment, attacked Jet, and shoved her in the trunk of his car.
The situation is pretty dire for Jet, whose best chance may be that her call to Bell went through. It’s not clear if Bell actually heard anything helpful, but Seamus left the phone behind. The team can at least track where she was when she was taken, and Jet is resourceful when the odds are against her. Still, if Seamus has completely turned on her, she might have to hope for a rescue rather than just rely on her own escape abilities.
Basically, this was not a great episode for Jet, although actress Ainsley Seiger crushed the performance from start to finish and set up what could be a thrilling next installment. As it happens, Jet also dropped a line addressed my big Stabler issue.
How A Stabler Issue Was Finally Addressed
Bell pulled Jet from the case after surveillance caught photos of her kissing Seamus in his apartment, even though she insisted she could keep a clear head and hadn’t slept with him. Most importantly (to me, anyway), she also made the point that Stabler has done much worse than anything she’d done while undercover with Seamus, which… yes, he certainly has! The show started with his personal vendetta against Richard Wheatley, and even Benson from SVU has noted that he tends to lose himself undercover. Plus, unlike Jet, he actually did sleep with somebody while undercover!
While it can argued that everything that Stabler has done undercover was 100% necessary and for the sake of the case, I’d say that Jet deserves the benefit of the same doubt, even if she has less experience. Her calling out the double standard about Stabler going rogue undercover also came at the perfect time for me, because I was getting frustrated with Christopher Meloni’s character, even though Meloni himself has been great.
Ever since his return to New York and the launch of Organized Crime as an SVU spinoff, Stabler has been pretty much good at everything with his job. That wasn’t the case back in his SVU days. While I know that people can change a lot over ten years, him being able to do just about anything has started to grate on me. In this episode, Stabler managed to subdue Murphy’s massive dog and get close enough to handle the dog’s food without losing any of his fingers.
I’m not sure where this dog whispering talent came from unless it was for OC to make him look as cool as possible, but him being good at another thing out of the blue just pushed me to the point that I would have high-fived Jet through my TV screen if I could after she called out that he’d get away with what she was doing.
Stabler obviously is going to be very talented as the star of the show, but it was refreshing to just see him called out, even if nothing changes. It’s easier for me to remain a fan of the character, as I have been going all the way back to his SVU days, if his questionable behavior is acknowledged for what it is. Plus, it makes it easier for me to enjoy his dynamic (such as it is) with Olivia Benson!
See what happens in the aftermath of Jet’s kidnapping (and whether anybody else will get Stabler-esque leeway) with new episodes of Law & Order: Organized Crime on Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on NBC, following SVU at 9 p.m. and Law & Order at 8 p.m. You can catch up on any episodes you might have missed this season streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription, and find some more viewing options on our 2023 TV premiere schedule.
