The war between Wheatley and Stabler heated up, leading to one of the best pre-hiatus cliffhangers yet.
On Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 2 Episode 12, Stabler took his hatred of Wheatley to a new level.
The two nearly killed each other before Wheatley claimed to be living in Stabler’s head. But is Stabler also living in Wheatley’s?
I’m not quite sure why Stabler insisted on driving Wheatley out of his mind with jealousy.
Maybe he wanted to get him off his game, but that wasn’t clear, and it seemed like Stabler had gotten sidetracked with this whole fake relationship with Angela plot.
It wasn’t like he was trying to get info out of Angela or lure Wheatley into a trap. This felt like he was getting revenge on his nemesis. No more, no less.
It led to an intense fight almost to the death in the elevator, but it ended with Bell ordering Stabler to leave Wheatley alone while Wheatley boasted that he lived in Stabler’s head. So what did that accomplish?
It didn’t stop Wheatley from messing with the stock market. It didn’t get him or McClane any closer to getting arrested.
It was entertaining as hell but ultimately unnecessary. Stabler shouldn’t waste time going after Wheatley for fun. He should only do it if it’s part of a larger plan.
Angela: What’s all this?
Stabler: I thought I’d pretend to be in love with you.
It just reinforced Wheatley’s claims that Stabler is obsessed with him.
1PP’s pressure on Bell to take Stabler off Wheatley’s case adds an exciting dimension to the story, though I again have to wonder what’s wrong with Garcia.
The governor lost his wife partially because he didn’t listen to Stabler’s warnings about the Albanian mob. So why the hell is he trusting Wheatley over Stabler now?
Anyway, this whole plot may backfire if that psychiatrist allows Stabler his two days to prove he’s not delusional or obsessed. Now THAT’s how you end an episode when the next one’s not coming for a month.
But what happened to Angela faking severe injuries?
Stabler has her number as far as that goes, but it felt as if the writers completely forgot that plot thread.
Nobody was surprised that Angela was acting like her old self. Not Stabler, not Bell, not Moldanado and Cho. It was as if everyone had been briefed on her deception while we weren’t looking.
Organized Crime is usually better than that. Why build up the fake injury story to have it fizzle out?
Anyway, Wheatley was acting so over-the-top violent that I wondered if he knew he was being watched.
He almost always is a step ahead of the cops. It doesn’t take a massive leap of imagination to assume that he was aware and was putting on a performance for their benefit.
His anger when he believed Angela had slept with Stabler was real, though. That was in his private quarters, away from prying eyes, and he screamed at McClane, too.
Still, though, I’d be surprised if Wheatley wasn’t aware that Angela’s apartment had been bugged and behaved accordingly. It’s logical for the cops to do, and Wheatley enjoys putting on a show for his enemies.
Angela is a bit of a wild card too. What exactly is her plan? Is she on Wheatley’s side or not?
She seems to want to work with him but stops short of anything physical and is trying to convince him it’s over between them. Could she be double-crossing the husband she seems to have double-crossed the cops to protect?
After all, Angela will do anything for her kids, and it’s impossible to tell whose side she’s on.
McClane is even more of an enigma. He was reluctant to work with Wheatley in the first place but appeared to be doing his bidding. Then he reached out to Stabler with alleged digital fingerprints tying Wheatley to the stock market scam.
Like Angela, McClane appears to be playing both sides. Or maybe he’s out for himself. He has no problem stabbing Wheatley in the back yet doesn’t want to go back to jail.
Stabler said Angela was playing a dangerous game, but McClane is playing a worse one. Betraying Wheatley is an excellent way to get killed, and not in any conventional manner, either. Wheatley is the man who drowned a former associate in an octopus tank, after all.
He could be plotting an ignominious death for McClane right now. He’s got to be aware that McClane isn’t as squarely on his side as he claims.
I’m also curious about what Wheatley’s plans for Bernadette are.
Messing with her pushes Stabler’s buttons, so is this Wheatley’s version of Stabler’s crazy plan, or does he have some larger goal in mind?
Stabler’s already suspicious of Miles, as he should be. The guy just moved into the neighborhood and is wooing Bernadette mere weeks after Wheatley tried to scare her.
Miles: Bernadette tells me you’re a police officer.
Stabler: True. So if you get fresh with her, I’ll arrest you.
Even before Wheatley and Miles met up, I thought anyone who came to the door could be trouble. And Stabler’s “joke” about how he’d arrest Miles if he got fresh with Bernadette was no joke at all.
That conversation felt like a quasi-interrogation, and chances are, that’s exactly what it was.
I hate this for Bernadette.
She’s suffered so much throughout her life and thinks she’s finally found happiness, only for the guy to be a first-class jerk who is messing with her on Wheatley’s orders.
Eli seems to be in the know about what’s going on with his grandmother’s social life, so maybe he’ll be the one to uncover the truth before Wheatley’s plan gets too far.
That reveal will break Bernadette’s heart, though, and that sucks.
Your turn, Organized Crime fanatics.
Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and let us know what you think. If anyone has any clue how messing with Angela fits into Stabler’s plans for Wheatley, let me know that too!
If you missed the episode, don’t worry. We’ve got you. Just watch Law & Order: Organized Crime online right here on TV Fanatic.
Law & Order: Organized Crime airs on NBC on Thursdays at 10 PM EST/PST. The next new episode airs on February 24, 2022.
Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on Twitter.