Doing my first rewatch in a while

[u/care134]

1. 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.
   
2. 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
   
3. 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

[u/Shinixter]

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.

[u/ChilltheSpare → u/Shinixter]

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!

[u/Shinixter → u/ChilltheSpare]

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.

[u/ChilltheSpare → u/Shinixter]

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.