Bensler Happening Will Rob SVU Fans Of a Healthy Male/Female Friendship
Yep, Bensler might finally be a thing, but not everyone is ecstatic about that.
If there is something truly rare on television, it's the depiction of healthy and friendly relationship between men and women. It's almost always guaranteed to escalate into romance or hate, but platonic friendship? Hardly.
It looks like the duo of Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler on Law and Order: SVU is about to be turned into something similar, with the promo for season 24 episode 12 explicitly hinting at the steamy development for the detective besties. And while many shippers are excited and can't wait, some people think that it is yet another loss to the team "let men and women be friends for once."
"I just wish that media could portray a healthy male/female friendship without the romance. I didn't mind Rollins/Carisi because the spark was always there. Elliot and Olivia being together is as bizarre and out of left field as putting her with Fin or Munch," Redditor SarahNink7 noted.
Despite many people adoring the idea of romantic tension between Olivia and Elliott, some fans strongly believe that the two should have stuck to their near familial dynamic.
"Olivia had some good romances written for her with Cassidy and Tucker, they should have had her settle down with somebody like that – a side character who the audience loves but who isn't such a big part of the show that it becomes a distraction," another Redditor argued.
The promo, however, leaves viewers with a "will they-won't they" tease rather than something definitive. So those who are strongly against Olivia and Elliot getting together still have a chance for the show to side with them and not make Bensler a thing — even though shippers beg to differ.
Episode 12, titled Blood Out, is set to premiere on NBC on January 26.