“Lost Highway” – LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME, Pictured: Christopher Meloni as Det. Elliot Stabler. Photo: Virginia Sherwood/PEACOCK ©2024 PEACOCK. All Rights Reserved
Season 5 picks up months after the season 4 finale, and though much has changed in the life of Elliot Stabler and those around him, much has remained the same. Character dynamics have shifted and grown, but Stabler feels more, well, more stable than ever before.
Youngest Stabler child Eli is starting his field training, brother Randall has stuck around, matriarch Bernie is keeping the family together, trying, at least, and Elliot is doing what he’s always done, what he does best – putting everyone’s needs ahead of his own.
The Organized Crime task force’s newest case is undoubtedly one of the most interesting thus far, and that’s saying a lot for a show that constantly knocks it out of the park. Ayanna has asked Stabler to go undercover yet again, this time as a big rig driver to bring down an international smuggling ring. It’s not long before he’s charmed the powers that be and is hired to haul illegal weapons and explosives. While working, he uncovers more disturbing information to assist his team, including the uncanny disappearance of some “lot lizards”, that is, the women who frequent the truck yard.
“Lost Highway” – LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME, Pictured: Ainsley Seiger as Jet. Photo: Virginia Sherwood/PEACOCK ©2024 PEACOCK. All Rights Reserved
As if Ayanna isn’t already on edge about forcing Stabler to go undercover, she rightly senses that she has not been given the full picture by Special Agent Bruce Sheppard, the liaison with the FBI’s Northern Border Smuggling Initiative. He downplays the biker gangs as “slippery”, omitting that a previous encounter with the gangs left his criminal informant dead.
“Lost Highway” – LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME, Pictured: (l-r) Dean Norris as Randall Stabler, Ellen Burstyn as Bernadette Stabler. Photo: Ralph Bavaro/PEACOCK ©2024 PEACOCK. All Rights Reserved
The episode gets heavy quickly, but it’s not without its bright moments. Ayanna meets up with Elliot to show him pictures of Eli in his police uniform (seemingly from his academy graduation) and shares that she received the photos from Randall, prompting Elliot to ask, “My brother Randall? Since when are you two BFFs?”. As Elliot cannot be in attendance for Eli’s celebration, he sends him a heartfelt voicemail telling his son, “It’s been an honor to watch you grow up to be the man that you are today. It’s an honor to be your dad. I love you.”
“Lost Highway” – LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME, Pictured: (l-r) Nicky Torchia as Eli Stabler, Kiaya Scott as Becky. Photo: Ralph Bavaro/PEACOCK ©2024 PEACOCK. All Rights Reserved
Stabler befriends the daughter of one of the working girls, Bunny, and it is his inquiry into her sudden departure that forces him to confront his boss in true Stabler style. After he valiantly rescues Bunny, stowing her away in a truck he borrows from the truck yard, he is suddenly T-boned by the boss’ brother, Vic.
This episode was, as expected, fast-paced and lively, and with the first two episodes of the season premiering on April 17, fans were led right into episode 2, Dante’s Inferno. A highly anticipated episode with a highly anticipated special guest star, Mariska Hargitay. We hadn’t seen Olivia Benson since Season 3, when Elliot gifted her a compass necklace to guide her healing journey and serve as a reminder that he was still with her even when out on an undercover assignment.
If we had to give this premiere a rating, it would be a solid 10/10. I’m eager to hear your thoughts on the episode and what you look forward to most this season. Let me know in the comments!
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