One of the best guest stars ever made her appearance in Law & Order: Organized Crime made her season debut tonight. Ellen Burstyn, who plays Elliott Stabler’s mother, is featured in the second episode of the season. Things aren’t going well for the matriarch of the Stabler family.
Bernadette Stabler was at the park when a little boy fed some bread to the ducks in Central Park. After telling the boy not to do that, she appears to disassociate and thinks the boy is a young Elliott. She strikes him for not listening to her. Soon, the cops are called and she finds herself arrested.
After being let out of jail, she is reunited with Elliott and apologizes for the incident. She blames it on forgetting her meds. Unfortunately, it appears that she is suffering from dementia and mental health issues. Soon, Stabler and his two children are visiting her at her home. The two kids offer to let their grandmother stay with them.
Once he briefly considers it, he says, “That a good idea,” and assures his mother he wants her to stay with him. Get the tissues y’all.
Ellen Burstyn has always brought a wonderful performance whenever she has appeared on Law & Order. So, her wonderful performance on Law & Order: Organized Crime is no surprise. All the emotions, all the family love, it’s just a beautiful moment. All the while, Stabler is undercover with the Albanians.
Seriously, my man has a lot on his plate. Being undercover, running into the SVU unit and Olivia Benson, and working with the FBI, on top of taking care of his mother…that is a lot of pressure.
‘Law & Order: Organized Crime’ Hyped Burstyn Appearance
Ahead of the episode debuting tonight, executive producer Ilene Chaiken spoke with TVLine about the Burstyn appearance. The Stabler family is not in a great place. Of course, Elliott’s wife has passed, he is undercover meaning his kids are at a higher risk of danger, and his poor mother is ill. Chaiken broke it all down.
“Stabler is a somewhat absent father sincerely doing his best to be there for all of his kids, but especially his teenage son who just lost his mother. This will present problems and issues that will develop.”
If fans think that this is a lot of pressure for Stabler to take on, that’s the point.
“She’s having some issues,” Chaiken said referring to Bernadette’s condition in the episode, “Her son is called on to help with those issues, which is like piling on for Stabler. It’s like, how much can he take on?”
As Stabler deals with his mother and other family issues, it will be interesting to see if his undercover role will come to haunt him. If the Albanians figure out he is undercover, who knows what could happen to his family. We can’t wait for the rest of this season of Law & Order: Organized Crime
