Some Law & Order: Organized Crime Fans Are Beyond Frustrated With This Plot Point
Contains spoilers for "Law & Order: Organized Crime" Season 2, Episode 14
The spin-off series "Law & Order: Organized Crime" has been on the air for 2 seasons and, thus far, a significant chunk of its overarching narrative has been dedicated to one particular storyline: that of Detective Elliot Stabler's (Christopher Meloni) tireless pursuit of nefarious mob-connected businessman Richard Wheatley (Dylan McDermott). From its onset, the series made no bones about coming in hot and melodramatic (Stabler's wife was, after all, murdered via car comb in the very first episode). But on the other side of Season 2, Episode 14 (titled "...Wheatley is to Stabler"), many fans are frustrated with how the series concluded — or rather, didn't conclude — Wheatley's ongoing arc.
For those not in the know, "...Wheatley is to Stabler" sees Wheatley nearly escape capture once again with his reluctant accomplice and ex-wife Angela (Tamara Taylor). However, when it becomes clear that Stabler's on the cusp of apprehending the pair, Angela drives their car off a cliff, presumably ensuring both her and Wheatley's deaths. Shortly thereafter, however, the audience learns that Wheatley's body was never found, which, in TV language, translates roughly to "this character will make a reappearance at some point down the road."
This non-ending is just part of the reason fans are unhappy with the storyline. And they have been making their frustrations known on Reddit.
Fans thought Wheatley's finale was too over the top
In a Reddit post aptly titled "You have got to be joking...," u/Successful_Map46603 expressed their frustration with both the storyline's unsatisfactory closure and its shark-jumping lack of realism. They noted that Dylan McDermott's character is "written like some DC comics villain," and complained, "after two seasons of Richard tormenting Stabler they finally get him for the billionth time and instead of a satisfying arrest ... Wheatley survives a 100% fatal crash."
Other users were equally as frustrated with the turn of events. Replying to u/Successful_Map46603's thread, u/Iloverescuepups said, "Agree. Just sloppy writing. We still don't know why Angela is sticking by Wheatley ... Wheatley was somewhat believable on [season] 1 but became a hot mess. Such a waste of good actors." Meanwhile, u/astolenheart87 theorized, "They are just winging it with no thought of the end game," while u/Schiffy94 compared it to a "cookie-cutter Lifetime movie."
In another thread that was aimed at defending the storyline, u/ogicfiend60 said they felt "the writing was horrible," and compared the narrative negatively to the relatively grounded stories found in other "Law & Order" installments. As far as they see it, "a cartoonishly evil guy going after Stabler for no reason taking the entire city's power grid hostage and making Stabler confess to a whole bunch of things in front of news cameras? All semblance of reality was lost at that point."
While that thread — started by u/NYR23LGR, who argued that the storyline was "entertaining" — included at least a few fans coming to the defense of the Wheatley storyline, there appear to be many in the audience who'd have just as soon seen the series drop the increasingly unfathomable Wheatley plot.