Anyone who has followed Law and Order: SVU knows that the characters Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler form a tension that the audience could cut with a butter knife. But, after 23 years of “will they or won’t they?”, we finally might be getting an answer.
Spoiler alert: it looks good for fans of Bensler.
In an interview with Today, Hargitay discussed their characters, saying, “Benson and Stabler love each other deeply. It’s so deep. […] The energy’s there. Olivia’s been in love with him for many a year,” she said. “I think that we are slowly finding our way back to it, but I want to give him the amount of time he needs to give [hist late wife] Kathy Stabler.”
Considering it’s been two decades, fans will be prepared for the slow burn to finally catch fire.
“I think both of us, it was such a long time coming, we just want to make sure and get right,” she shared. “The good news is we are so comfortable around each other, it was effortless and fun and we trust each other, it was beautiful that way. We just focused on the work.”
For those wondering what makes these two compelling enough to follow for so long, Hargitay think that—besides the obvious chemistry—the tone of the show helped to set their characters apart.
“I think the setup of the show with Olivia being the maternal figure and Elliot being the paternal figure … I think was sort of the perfect archetype in that victims could come forward and feel safe and seen and fought for,” Hargitay said.
Tune in to Law & Order: SVU to find out more.
Sources:
Mariska Hargitay Teases What’s Next For Benson And Stabler Using Hashtags (today.com)
Mariska Hargitay Dishes on Filming Romance Scene With Christopher Meloni (yahoo.com)
