There is only one person to blame for Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Stabler (Christopher Meloni) not being together in the Law & Order franchise. Benson and Stabler are one of the franchise’s most popular potential pairings. While Law & Order: SVU season 26 has not allowed the two to interact much, the couple has a long history going back to the series’ beginnings almost three decades ago. Originally, Stabler was married and faithful to his wife, but everything changed when his wife was killed in the pilot episode of Law & Order: Organized Crime.

It initially seemed as if Benson and Stabler’s relationship timeline in the Law & Order franchise would finally include the couple getting together romantically. Stabler dropped several hints about his interest in Benson in Law & Order: Organized Crime season 1, and arch-villain Richard Wheatley (Dylan McDermott) picked up on their chemistry almost immediately. This culminated in a near kiss in Law & Order: SVU season 24, but the relationship evaporated shortly afterward, and Benson and Stabler have rarely shared scenes since.

Mariska Hargitay & Chris Meloni Tried Fast-Tracking Benson & Stabler’s Romance (But Dick Wolf Was Against It)

Wolf Ultimately Vetoed The Pair Kissing

Both Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay were on board with Benson and Stabler becoming a couple when they filmed the infamous kissing scene in Law & Order: SVU season 24. During the scene, they almost locks lips, but Benson pulls back at the last minute, offering reasons why this is a bad idea that are logical for her character, such as her pre-teen son being asleep in the next room and wanting her focus to be on him, not on romance. Hargitay stated (via Variety) that “Chris [Meloni] and I thought it should go one way and the powers that be didn’t, so it got changed at the last minute.”

Hargitay’s comments directly reference Dick Wolf as the source of the decision not to let Benson and Stabler become a romantic couple. While Meloni has never publicly confirmed this, he has never denied believing that he thought the couple should become romantic. Meloni later helped write Law & Order: Organized Crime season 5, episode 2, which revolved around Benson visiting Stabler in the hospital after a serious accident and used dream sequences blended with the reality of Stabler’s condition to demonstrate

Why Dick Wolf Likely Wants To Continue Benson & Stabler’s Will-They/Won’t-They-Dynamic

There Are Two Possible Reasons

Although Law & Order: SVU has more personal storylines than Law & Order, the long-running series is still a police procedural. Thus, the focus is usually on the case of the week, with romantic or family storylines being subplots that get only a few scenes in any given episode. This may be part of the reason that Dick Wolf doesn’t want to commit to a Benson/Stabler romance. Doing so would take the focus off the cases, since that story would take up a lot of screen time.

Continuing to drag out this storyline helps build audience anticipation, which gets people excited to watch each new episode.

That said, it’s equally possible that Wolf likes the will-they/won’t-they dynamic between Benson and Stabler. Audiences tune in when there is movement in this storyline, hoping that this will finally be the moment in which the couple decides to give up their resistance and officially become a romantic item. Thus, continuing to drag out this storyline helps build audience anticipation, which gets people excited to watch each new episode.

Wolf Needs To Make A Decision Between Stabler & Benson Sooner Rather Than Later

This Storyline Has Worn Out Its Welcome

Audiences generally put up with some back-and-forth on the way to their favorite characters becoming a couple. However, Law & Order: SVU has dragged this story out to the point where it’s become annoying. Wolf broke audiences’ trust when he built up the romance at the end of Law & Order: SVU season 24, only for the relationship to evaporate altogether in the following season. Law & Order: SVU season 25 contained no interactions between Benson and Stabler except for a phone call in which Stabler approved of Benson lending the necklace he gave her to Maddie Flynn’s mother.

The Law & Order franchise needs to make a decision one way or the other before audiences get impatient or annoyed enough to turn off their television sets.

The lack of movement in Benson and Stabler’s relationship can only inspire anger if it continues much longer. The Law & Order franchise needs to make a decision one way or the other before audiences get impatient or annoyed enough to turn off their television sets. If Wolf doesn’t want Benson and Stabler together, he needs to allow the two to have a conversation where they agree that they are better off as friends. Otherwise, the way the relationship is being handled will begin to feel like audience manipulation, causing people to stop watching altogether.