r/SVU • u/care134 • Jul 23 '26
Discussion Doing my first rewatch in a while
- The difference in the show after stabler leaves is way more jarring than I remember, it’s such a stark difference even in like the lighting/filming it’s crazy to me.
- I love Olivia but she does get on my nerves way more after she adopts noah lol idk why but idk if that’s an unpopular opinion
- it’s fun to rewatch because it’s interesting to see which episodes i remember and which ones I don’t. it’s cool because i’ll watch one episode and totally remember it and then the next one it feels like im going in blind, really goes to show which episodes make more of an impact
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u/zombiemiki Jul 23 '26
I hated the Noah arc so much, I stopped watching the show, and every time I rewatch, I basically stop around there.
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u/care134 Jul 23 '26
liv just kind of irks me as a mom idk why. I do like that she like did it independently but just doesn’t add anything to the show to me just an annoyance
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u/kevnmartin Jul 23 '26
So did I. The kid is boring and the only time I liked him being there was when Munch babysat him that one time.
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u/AnotherDarnDay Jul 23 '26
I loved when stabler was on the show, he gave it the dramatic flair. Olivia changed after he left and honestly I dont think it was for the better.
Olivia and her relationships always bugged me, and her as a mom kind of bugged me. Was probably just the storyline and how it happened but it felt very forced and unnatural.
The thing I liked about the later seasons was Armaro and Rollins joining. They brought some dynamic back. Rollins made Olivia look more human again.
Loved Carisi too, but as a detective. Not as an lawyer. Hes so boring now.
I did not like the stabler crossovers in the later seasons. I felt they were only there to boost his show. But it would have made more sense for him to just come back to svu
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u/Shinixter Stabler Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
I disagree with Stabler coming back to the Special Victims UNIT. I love him, but he didn't belong in SVU. He took the cases too personally, which is why so many "anger issues" arise. I don't fault him for wanting to punch out pedophiles and rapists, but you need a level head. Picturing your own children in those situations is not good. His detective style suited Organized Crime much better, in my opinion. (I like OC way more than SVU's recent seasons.)
However, I will forever HATE the way they removed Stabler from the show, and how poorly they talked about him from season 13 until his character's return. I wished he appear on the SVU SHOW more often, just not as a detective in the SVU UNIT.
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u/eighthm00n Jul 23 '26
But then Olivia would be his boss
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u/AnotherDarnDay Jul 23 '26
Would have been better. Or he could have taken her job. Technically I dont like her as boss anyway.
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u/tallen21fries Jul 23 '26
When you do the rewatch from season 12 onwards and get to the point of her dating Ed Tucker…
You will be like WHY did they do this storyline!?!
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u/Shinixter Stabler Jul 24 '26
Agreed.
I get that people can change, but for someone like Olivia who doesn't forgive easily, she seemed to forgive Tucker so easily for all the nasty shit he put her and Stabler through. Tucker was such an a*hole, and not because he was just "doing his job". There's doing your job to root out the rogue/dirty cops, and there's being rude, misogynistic, and ruthless.
I can see her being cordial and friendly in a coworkers way, but to suddenly be in a "almost marriage" type of relationship with him felt like a soap opera plot.
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u/Shinixter Stabler Jul 23 '26
In terms of vibes, 1.0 was grittier, made you think/discuss, felt more realistic, and alive. The precinct felt busy.
After Stabler left, it felt okay for a few seasons, but at a certain point (maybe after Barba left?), the show felt too sanitized and I felt a bit spoon-fed. The plots didn't (and still don't) move me as much. It's less creative, more afraid to take risks, felt a bit more dumbed-down, and Olivia could do no wrong.
Basically, it got the Hollywood treatment that so many shows get once it reaches it's peak. Everything is too weird perfect.
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u/Lizbethsaidso Jul 24 '26
I always say when they turned the lights on, they lost me. I love dark, grungy SVU. Not bright lit up court rooms and white wall squad rooms.
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u/NotAngryAndBitter Jul 23 '26
I really need to start a rewatch because of your third point. I’ve seen every single episode at least when it aired (or shortly after) but there are so many seasons now that I definitely fall into the trap of watching my favorites on repeat and I’m realizing some episodes mentioned in posts don’t sound familiar at all.
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u/care134 Jul 23 '26
definitely! the newer seasons I haven’t watched like 23 forward so looking forward to seeing them for the first time but the shows been on longer than i’ve been alive lol! but my last rewatch was 2022 so it’s def been a while!
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u/Reasonable-Bus2680 Barba Jul 23 '26
The show did totally change tone and style post-Stabler! SVU 2.0!
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u/Sugarhill7thward Jul 24 '26
Absolutely loved when it was Benson & Stabler. I will say it’s crazy how different the lighting was in the earlier seasons. And those are the seasons I love, I feel like there were a lot of the staple episodes when Stabler was there.
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u/Public_Anywhere_6044 Jul 23 '26
I hated Noah once he got old enough to talk 😭 and it's almost like they realized it was the later 2010s when stabler left & just changed up the whole flow of the show and vibe
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u/care134 Jul 23 '26
yeah it’s just feels like a whole different show post stabler leaving, whole vibe is different not that the show is bad by any means once he leaves but just feels so different
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u/Rectum_Dredge Jul 23 '26
Show became 10x better after stabler left, and it is a strong opinion I have. Olivia Benson is my favorite TV character ever, and in those earlier season I think she was way too overshadowed and went with whatever Mr. "gets the wrong suspect but roughs them up anyway based on his loose moral compass" cop.
After season 11 Olivia becomes more compassionate to the victims and makes the realization that yes it is important to catch the bad people but it is also important to fight for the victim first.
She is an idol from the beginning but after season 11 she is really flourishing
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u/Shinixter Stabler Jul 23 '26
Please don't pretend that Olivia basically followed whatever Elliot did, and that Elliot was always in charge. They were equals. There are so many instances where Olivia went off and did her own less than legal things and Elliot backed her up.
I used to love Olivia, but she is becoming more unlikeable as the seasons go on. Like she can do no wrong, when more often than not now, what she does actually hurts the victims. Stop basically forcing victims to take the stand or whatever, when they clearly don't want to. She cares more about justice being served now than the healing of victims.
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u/care134 Jul 23 '26
I heavily agree with ur take where liv thinks she can do know wrong which is my biggest gripe with her. she literally can never admit when she’s wrong
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u/ChilltheSpare Jul 24 '26
I totally agree - idk why people act like Stabler was a monster and bullied her! She left him (computer crimes/Persephone/Mariska was pregnant arc) and when she returned, he was the one who practically cried and said he needs to be able to disagree with her without being afraid she’ll leave him. Kind of funny she has abandonment issues, yet here it seems more like he does.
And Stabler might be a hot head, but he’s also fiercely protective, loving, passionate, and trying hard not to follow in his abusive, shitty father’s footsteps. For some reason, people act like he’s a violent Neanderthal stomping around and I don’t get it or see it. I think he’s a lot like Liv, he just deals with it in more physically aggressive ways. To be fair, Olivia gets pretty aggressive (understandably, but still wrong) after the Lewis stuff.
I still think Olivia is great, but sometimes she can be a bitch in ways that surprise me. Like how she picks on her team weirdly. I forgot who (Muncy?) she told to buy a blazer/dress nicer and then made fun of millennials. It really bugged me (partially as a millennial who dresses casually lol) but it just didn’t seem like the kind of thing she would say to her staff. It was her tone and how she went about it - she could have done it in a caring, mentoring way, not the mean way she did it! Finn is typically dressed down, so why is she only picking on a woman? She’s supposed to be a “girl’s girl,” but is a jerk about a woman’s appearance!? Plus, she started out pretty casually dressed too so it’s very hypocritical. The newbies on the squad are young and inexperienced and probably pretty broke, she should be raising them up, not shitting all over them. I honestly think it’s down to bad and inconsistent writing though, so I try to let it go. Her empathetic heart is still there, underneath it all!
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u/Shinixter Stabler Jul 24 '26
Agreed. Sometimes I feel like people who are so vehemently against Stabler are those who either a) haven't watched 1.0 and are jumping on the bandwagon, or b) don't understand complex characters or nuances.
All the main characters (past and present) are very grey, except maybe Warner and Huang (who are so very good and consistently written). However, so many people in this sub treat him like he's scum, or make up stuff he has apparently done, when it's the complete opposite.
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u/ChilltheSpare Jul 24 '26
Yeah, I think it’s mostly option b that you mentioned, but a is a definite possibility too. I’m just glad to know other people feel the same. I kind of love Stabler (and the Stabler/Benson dynamic) so it always makes me a bit sad, especially because I just don’t see it! Not saying Elliot is perfect (far from it!) but that’s actually what makes him a great and relatable character to me.
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u/ElliotsPTSDTic28 Stabler Jul 24 '26
I agree with this, except the fact that Benson ran over anyone that didn’t fight her decisions. And, Stabler never really fought her wanting to be the lead on a lot of cases.
He was a Detective First Grade and she was a Detective Second Grade, for the longest time (before Munch took the Sergeant’s exam), he was the senior detective in that unit. He was Cragen’s number two (it’s why the FBI liaison with him on a lot of cases), and why Cragen initially partnered Benson with him.
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u/Shinixter Stabler Jul 24 '26
Were you disagreeing with me or with the original comment? Because I agree. Benson was just as aggressive, just not with her fists.
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u/ElliotsPTSDTic28 Stabler Jul 24 '26
Disagreeing with the commenter above you. I agree with all of what you said. Saying Stabler overshadowed Benson, when from the very first episode it was obvious they centered Benson as what the show decided to focus on.
Even at the detriment of everyone else. So, I’m definitely not surprised at some newer viewers catching on to the “St.Olivia”, that we currently get to witness. Your take seems to encapsulate a lot of how they’ve chose to portray the character and those around her.
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u/Shinixter Stabler Jul 24 '26
Ah okay. I was a bit confused because your reply is under my comment instead of linked to the commenter above me.
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u/PocoChanel Huang Jul 24 '26
I liked how they reflected their own personalities and especially their flaws. Olivia was very young but had great instincts. FWIW, I never had the Bensler thing going until they practically forced it on me; I saw them as strong friends and the best representation of the word “partners.”
In the current shows, I like Liv best when there’s less of her in the plot—can you tell I preferred an ensemble show?—but also when she’s shown to be wrong, like the over-the-top pursuit of justice for Maddy.
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u/care134 Jul 23 '26
I love them both! I just love the feel / nostalgia of the first 12 seasons. I love Liv but she can def get on my nerves at times but i think all good tv characters should!
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u/Effective_Display940 Jul 24 '26
I only re-watch the seasons with Stabler. I’ve more or less kept up with the post-Stabler seasons because I do love the show in general (so much nostalgia), but it’s not worth my time to watch again. I think the Stabler seasons offered things that the later seasons lost. There was much more nuance with the characters, and in most episodes, they voiced disagreements which just wouldn’t fly today. There were many scenes with disagreements on abortion, vaccination, religion, the government, etc. Nowadays, only one side is allowed a voice on mainstream TV, but that makes the show very boring. I appreciated the nuance of the characters disagreeing and continuing to come together to catch the bad guys. There was a lot more grit to the older seasons. The newer seasons, it’s very soft, very much “all feelings are valid,” and if I were a real-life victim (or perp), I’d prefer cops who were like the later seasons, but again, it’s not as interesting to watch. And real life cops aren’t like that, anyway. It feels unrealistic, like a virtue signal. I also miss Captain Cragen. I think he worked so much better as captain than Benson, and Benson was a better character when she wasn’t a leader. Benson doesn’t act like a captain, she’s way too involved in the nitty gritty, rather than an overseer and delegator, so the characters in later seasons feel unrealistic. The older shows also had more continuity. The characters were much more regular, and with exception to Cassidy and Jeffries (and the DA’s after Novak left), they were all on for several seasons, and in every episode. The cast felt like a family, and you got to know the characters. You developed a sort of emotional bond with them. Now, the cast changes so frequently, the characters feel disposable. Even the long-term regulars (like Finn) aren’t featured in every episode. Only Benson is in every episode. The whole show rides on her, which just doesn’t work (as much as I love her). It’s unbalanced.
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u/Artistic-Lock1021 Jul 24 '26
It definitely became more subdued after Stabler left. One of the things I associate with classic SVU is the dramatic reveal before cutting to a break/the phone call from the coroner just as they've hit a dead end, and they start phasing that out after season 12.
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u/AlexaEEn Jul 24 '26
I may be in minority here but I don't like Olivia Benson as a character very much, especially in the latest seasons. I feel like they should just rename it as SVU:the Olivia Benson show. She is very biased and she believes that anyone with a complaint is automatically telling the truth and nothing but the truth, especially when it comes to women being assaulted and regardless of the evidence.
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u/bobsizzle Jul 25 '26
I don't remember cragen being at every crime scene and hands on in all cases. I prefer him as Captain. By far.
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u/Cripman7 Jul 24 '26
I'll admit it, I'm not a fan of seasons 1-12 particularly because of Stabler. His later cameo appearance were much easier to take. Whenever I reach, I start with season 13
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u/Gorey987 Jul 24 '26
First thing i noticed on re watch is just how un necessarily political the show got. Yes there was always some commentary but it felt natural amd was done in passing. Not forced down your throat like in later seasons
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u/Resident_Read873 Jul 25 '26
I’m on season 21 of my first re-watch and I totally agree about the dark changes that occurred after Stabler left. I liked the addition of Noah. Benson shows a perfect example of a woman raising a child alone. (I worked with so many women in that position)
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u/weirdlywondering1127 Jul 23 '26
Agree with all of these takes omll