The Best Bensler Moment In Law And Order: SVU Season 11
The sprawling "Law & Order" franchise has been a staple for NBC since its debut in 1990. The spin-off series "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" remains one of the most popular installments in the crime procedural drama genre, surpassing 500 episodes and becoming the "longest running primetime live-action series in U.S. TV history" (via The A.V. Club).
The series follows the personal and professional lives of the detectives in the SVU as they investigate sexually-based crimes. One of the show's biggest draws has always been the will-they-won't-they relationship between former partners Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) and Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay). To this day, fans remain hooked on their relationship, often taking to social media to discuss the likelihood that they wind up together, after all.
With the dynamic duo finally reunited in the crossover episodes between Season 23 of "SVU" and Season 1 of "Law & Order: Organized Crime," fans have been revisiting the best Bensler moments since the show's premiere in 1999.
Here is their most touching moment from Season 11.
Elliot went behind Kathy's back to protect Olivia
Of all the sweet Bensler moments in "SVU" history, Elliot Stabler's drastic move in Season 11 Episode 9 proves how much he cares about Olivia Benson. The episode, titled "Perverted," follows the team's investigation into the murder of a biker from a notorious local gang. While this initially seems like a standard investigation, the team is stunned when Benson becomes the prime suspect.
Her colleagues know that she's being framed, but the mounting evidence against her makes this difficult to prove. Stabler goes above and beyond to prove her innocence, and this culminates in him going behind his wife Kathy's (Isabel Gillies) back to mortgage their home to post her $250,000 bail. He acts as though this is nothing because he believes she's not guilty, but it is shocking how ready he was to risk it all.
On the "SVU" subreddit, a thread by u/Successful_Candy_688 cited various scenes as "Proof that Elliot always loved Olivia." Naturally, this Season 11 scene was included, with the OP calling it "a jaw-dropper."
Other fans agreed, with u/IlaDC admitting, "If I were Kathy, I would have divorced him for that alone."
"Mortgaging the house behind Kathy's back was always the big sign to me. If I found out my spouse had done that, I totally would view it as a betrayal," wrote u/SeaPalpitation7. "He acted impulsively and definitively because of his feelings for Olivia. That would be very triggering for his wife."