Mariska Hargitay’s recent comments on when the best time for Benson and Stabler to get together in Law & Order: SVU suggests a potentially disappointing scenario. Benson and Stabler’s Law & Order: SVU relationship has been popular since the series began in 1999. Although the pair’s relationship was initially platonic, their chemistry was so obvious that some audiences waited eagerly for them to fall in love.

Stabler remained a happily married man for his initial 12-year run. However, his wife’s death in Law & Order: Organized Crime season 1 offered the opportunity for Benson and Stabler to eventually fall in love.

While their arc seemed to be headed in that direction, Law & Order: SVU season 24 backed off the idea, and Hargitay’s recent suggestion contradicts the hope that this might change in Law & Order: SVU season 27.

Mariska Hargitay Says That Benson & Stabler Should Be Together At The End Of Law & Order

The Actress Suggested This Might Be The Best Time For The Pair To Unite Romantically

Mariska Hargitay has not kept it secret that she supports Benson and Stabler developing a romantic relationship. She knows these characters better than almost anyone, having played Olivia Benson for 25 years, and she sees the potential in this pairing. However, Hargitay’s latest comments suggest that she sees the ideal scenario as being further off than audiences would like.

Hargitay recently commented that the right time would be “Maybe on the last episode. I think that’s when they should get together… if it’s right. We’ll see when we get there.” Her open-ended comment focused on the pairing needing to be right for the story, but suggests that romance should be the end of Benson’s arc.

Why Saving Benson & Stabler’s Relationship Until The Very End Of Law & Order Is Such A Bad Idea

Benson/Stabler Shippers Deserve A Bigger Payoff After Waiting So Many Years

There is a certain logic to Hargitay’s idea. Olivia Benson has always been portrayed as a strong, independent woman whose first priority is helping survivors get the justice and healing that they deserve. Thus, if Stabler and Benson get together too early, it risks upending the procedural’s core premise in order to do this romantic arc justice.

Additionally, the pair is currently on two different shows. It’s unlikely audiences would be satisfied with an arrangement similar to the FBI franchise’s Nina and Scola, who are rarely seen together despite being romantic partners who cohabitate and are raising a child together. Thus, this logistical problem has to be solved first.

That said, Law & Order: SVU has been teasing Benson and Stabler’s romance since his return. The series came close to giving audiences what they wanted in Law & Order: SVU season 24, only to back away from the couple interacting at all in the next two seasons.

Waiting until the final episode would be disappointing for those viewers who are already impatient with the back-and-forth about this relationship

Thus, waiting until the final episode would be disappointing for those viewers who are already impatient with the back-and-forth about this relationship. It wouldn’t allow them to see what happens after the pair finally declares their love for each other.

When Law & Order Should Bring Benson & Stabler Together

Hargitay Is Right About The Timing Needing To Be Perfect

Hargitay’s comments indicate that she would support Benson and Stabler getting together in the final episode only if that was what was right for the story. She is right about the issue of ensuring that the pair gets together in a way that makes sense for these characters. However, it is important to eliminate the back-and-forth sooner rather than later.

Law & Order: SVU needs to make a commitment to Benson and Stabler as a couple if the series is going to put them together. The characters should start interacting more regularly during season 27 and get together when it seems natural to do so.