SVU: Unpopular Bensler Opinion Suggests Olivia Deserves Better
Fans' opinions differ on the most slow-burn on-screen romance ever.
Some fictional love stories are never meant to be, some are totally real, and then there is one that shippers had to wait for 24 years to happen.
A recent promo video for the upcoming SVU Episode 12 of Season 24 shows Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler seemingly sharing a kiss. Looks like dedicated Bensler fans' dreams may finally come true.
The long-time viewers of the show know that the relationship between the crime-fighting partners has been developing for many years starting from 1999 when Benson and Stabler first met. The connection between the colleagues was so deep that fans quickly paired them together by calling them Bensler or EO. But the love story didn't happen.
The pairing was 12 years in the making when Stabler left SVU, taking all fans' hopes with him. However, 10 years later in April 2021, Stabler returned for his own Law & Order spinoff Organized Crime. And his comeback was accompanied by the news that his long-time wife had died. Since then, Bensler romance arc has been hinted at in recent episodes of both SVU and OC.
Benson revealed her feelings for Stabler in a hotel room conversation with her friend, Detective Amanda Rollins, while Stabler had a drunken confession of his own to colleague Tia Leonetti. He told Leonetti that there was a woman he was in love with, which many fans took as a declaration of love to Olivia.
While the majority of diehard fans celebrate the romance that had no way of happening for ten long years and has finally become very real, there are those who think that Bensler has outgrown itself. The romance was so slow-built that it is no longer interesting, fans think.
"I don't really want EO endgame," one of Bensler opponents wrote on Reddit. "20 years of pining plus 13 years of Elliot emotionally cheating on his wife. I think Benson deserves better than that."
This unpopular yet valid opinion was supported by other fans who agreed that while Stabler was away for 10 years, Benson had a lot going on and greatly developed as a character. It has come to the point that Olivia seems much more evolved than Elliot and deserves a better option.
As one of the fans commented, "She has been involved with more "deserving" guys over the years."