By Adam Barnard
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has a few loose ends still out in the larger Law & Order universe, and one of the major pathways in the life of Christopher Meloni's Elliot Stabler is the status of his younger brother, Joe Jr. (Michael Trotter). Joe Jr.'s story took an unexpected and shocking turn during the season 4 finale, linking arms with a drug lord and strapped to a chemical weapon on his way to Cuba.
In Law & Order: Organized Crime season 5, episode 7, Joe makes his shocking return to the show, appearing with his ailing mother, Bernadette (Ellen Burstyn). With the reintroduction of the youngest Stabler brother, the show takes another turn back into unfinished business. Sadly, it seems as though it will likely end in devastation for the harrowed Stabler family.
We Haven't Seen Joe Jr. Since The End Of Last Season
Joe Jr. Got Himself Wrapped Up In Some Wild Business
During the , Joe was seen on a private plane on the way to Cuba with Redcoat boss Julian Emery (Tom Payne), handcuffed to a briefcase with chemical weapons. It was a momentary capstone for him, putting a temporary pin in a story that saw him delve farther into the criminal underworld than he may have wanted to go, seemingly wholly involuntarily.
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Both Elliot and Randall Stabler (Dean Norris) have been working through their shock and their concern for Joe Jr. and his potential whereabouts, both through their relationship and with the help of the Organized Crime Control Bureau. The return of Joe in Law & Order: Organized Crime season 5 now provides an opportunity to answer some questions they both have about his activities. It will also hopefully enable them to figure out how to get him out of the underworld he's wrapped up in before he meets an undoubtedly tragic end, one that's become far too common for the Stabler family.
What Joe Jr.'s Return Will Mean For Elliot & Randall Stabler
Randall's Been Keeping A Secret From Elliot Until Episode 7
Throughout thus far, Randall Stabler has been working with Kyle Vargas (Tate Ellington) to track down the whereabouts of Joe, using Vargas' sophisticated tracking equipment to see what he's been doing after Bernadette's phone receives repeated mysterious calls. Elliot inadvertently discovers their partnership, only to find out that they've located Joe in some rather unsavory parts of the crime world.
Elliot and Randall have a strained but fragile relationship, having come closer since the big family secret was revealed about their father in season 4, episode 4, and through the near-fatal accident Elliot had in season 5, episodes 1 and 2. The brothers have worked together to try to help Joe through his drug addiction, and it's likely they will once again reunite to try to help the wayward Stabler in any way they can. Depending on what Joe reveals to them, though, his return could upend the still fragile peace that his older brothers have established between them.
Law & Order: Organized Crime Seems To Be Setting Joe Up For A Tragic End
You Don't Usually Walk Away From The Kind Of Crime Joe Jr.'s Involved In
Joe's involvement with the criminal underworld seems much more tangled and intertwined than he wanted Elliot or Randall to know about. His uncomfortable expression at the end of season 4's finale, as he flew away on the jet, showed just how deep he really was and how he clearly wasn't happy with it. Unfortunately for those in the Law & Order universe, characters don't always find redemption and generally end up on the wrong side of the equation when penance comes due.
Joe appears to be searching for salvation before something awful happens, and it feels like he's heading directly towards a tragic end to his story.
With his brief reunion with Bernadette, Joe appears to be searching for salvation before something awful happens, and it feels like he's heading directly towards a tragic end to his story. Elliot and Randall will do what they can to intervene and help save their baby brother in the final season of Law & Order: Organized Crime, but it may be too late for Joe Jr. to work his way out of the jam he finds himself in.
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Law and Order: Organized Crime
TV-14
Crime Drama60 9.7/10
- Release Date
- April 1, 2021
- Network
- NBC, Peacock
- Directors
- John Polson, Jean de Segonzac, Jon Cassar, Stephen Surjik, Sharon Lewis, Simón Brand, Bethany Rooney, Jonathan Brown, Milena Govich, Ken Girotti, Gonzalo Amat, Tess Malone, Alex Hall, Anna Dokoza, Brenna Malloy, Monica Raymund, Sarah Boyd, Nelson McCormick, Leslie Hope, Rob J. Greenlea, Oz Scott, Michael Slovis, Alex Zakrzewski, Kate Woods
- Writers
- Amy Berg, John Shiban, Liz Sagal, Nichole Beattie, Will Pascoe, Emmy Higgins, Candice Sanchez McFarlane, Katrina Cabrera Ortega, Bridget Tyler, Davon Briggs, Alec Wells, Michael Konyves, Josh Fagin, Sean Jablonski, Gwen Sigan, David Graziano, Daniel Beaty, Katie Letien, Rick Eid, Nick Culbertson, Jean Kyoung Frazier, Christina Piña
Cast
-
Christopher Meloni
Det. Elliot Stabler
-
Danielle Moné Truitt
Sgt. Ayanna Bell
- Creator(s)
- Dick Wolf, Matt Olmstead, Ilene Chaiken
