All the Stabler Family Secrets Revealed on 'Organized Crime' So Far
Christopher Meloni and Ellen Burstyn in 'Law & Order: Organized Crime'
Being a Stabler is almost as much work as being a detective in the NYPD. This season of Law & Order: Organized Crime has jumped headfirst into the past and present of Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) and his big, loud, traumatized family. While his wife's murder was what created the Organized Crime task force, Elliot's family history has continued to pop up in unexpected ways, especially with regards to his late NYPD cop father. Now, as his younger brother's heroin addiction sends Elliot into one of his most dangerous undercover ops yet, this family's secrets are at the forefront once more. It's time to come to terms with everything we've learned in Season 4 so far, with a few spoilers from this wee's "Semper Fi."
Related: Everything to Know About 'Law & Order: Organized Crime' Season 4
Everything to know about Stabler's family on Organized Crime
Randall got Joe Sr. suspended from the NYPD
During a tense family dinner, Randall (Dean Norris) revealed that he had called Internal Affairs to tell on his dad for all the "nastiness he was into." He did it because Joe had been abusing their mother, Bernie, on a nightly basis.
Elliot was furious because Joe's suspension only made things worse at home, but we all know Joe deserved to be kicked off the force. He was mixed up with dirty cops and even won a Combat Cross medal for a heroic shooting that was actually staged.
Randall also tried to help Bernie escape
He sent her bus tickets that she never used, but she never forgot about them.
Joe Stabler Sr. died by suicide
In the appropriately titled episode "Sins of Our Fathers," Elliot learned that his dad had killed himself by locking himself in the garage with the engine running. Elliot had just gotten his own badge back after a brief suspension and investigation, and then found out that his father was so destroyed by his suspension that he ended his own life.
Joe Jr. was dishonorably discharged from the Army
Elliot had to learn long after the fact that Joe Jr. was back in New York after a dishonorable discharge that Jr. claimed was because he stole some artifacts during a raid. He also revealed he had only joined the Army so he could be cool, like Elliot, but it didn't actually appeal to him. Now, he's happy selling wine, or so he says.
Related: Has 'Law & Order: Organized Crime' Been Canceled? Everything We Know About Season 5
Joe Jr. is a heroin addict
Elliot discovered a foil with heroin residue in his bathroom after the family dinner, and it wasn't just any old heroin. It was hardcore Afghani heroin, clearly connected to veterans importing it from the Middle East. This revelation in the episode "Semper Fi" sent Elliot to a veteran-run honey farm that was clearly not just selling honey.
The vets on the farm are not messing around, with curfews instituted for all the live-in employees. Jet (Ainsley Seiger) and Reyes (Rick Gonzalez) tried to get Elliot out when this particular organized crime turned out to be even more organized than they first thought, but he refused to quit. He then accidentally got another guy killed in a fight over Elliot leaving the property, and now he's in a little too deep.
Meanwhile, Sam (Abubakr Ali) is missing after following his own lead on the heroin, and Joe Jr. is on the run. He tried to steal money from Bernie, and ended up just taking a collectible signed baseball to sell. Bernie thinks it's all Randall's fault, and none of them know Elliot's on a truck with a dead body, headed who knows where.
It's good to have this show back after a two-week break, but a little less anxiety would be great!
Next, In the Sweet Spot! Christopher Meloni Shares His Thoughts on 'Bensler' and Stabler's Evolution