TV

We Gotta Appreciate Bensler Shippers' Resilience, Whatever Happens on SVU Next

We Gotta Appreciate Bensler Shippers' Resilience, Whatever Happens on SVU Next
Image credit: NBC

We ship it. You ship it. The whole families ship it at this point. It's really been too long.

Imagine rooting for your favorite characters to get together; watching them do this 'will they, won't they' dance for years; hearing "let it go, it's never gonna happen" or "let it go, this character isn't even on the show anymore." Imagine getting baited, getting your hopes up, getting 'em crashed, getting baited again. Sounds like a nightmare. Or, you know, regular Tuesday for Olivia Benson & Elliot Spencer shippers on Law & Order: SVU.

Newest SVU promo for 12th episode of Season 24 sent fans into frenzy almost immediately, revealing a seemingly intimate moment shared by Olivia and Elliot. In the video they're shown standing really close, leaning into each other, sharing what can be seen as a hug – or a kiss.

Bensler fans are more than ready to settle for just an intimate moment of truth, though (pretty much nobody at this point believes in the possibility of a random steamy making out session with the two). What's more important for the Olivia and Elliot relationship is them finally acknowledging that they have feelings for each other - acknowledging it to each other, not their colleagues or people they happen to drink with. For them to actually admit it and work towards being together would be more than enough for the Bensler fanbase.

Law & Order: SVU season 24 episode 12 Blood Out release is set for January 26. The wait is going to be excruciating, given that some fans have been hoping for Bensler to happen not just for years – for decades now. Some didn't lose hope even after Christopher Meloni seemingly left the show for good at the end of Season 12 – and that hope paid off when Stabler eventually returned to SVU in season 22.

Again, imagine holding on to that hope for years. And now, finally, being so close to that dream of your favorite characters getting together coming true. After being burned so many times before, after developing massive trust issues, and realizing you're basically traumatized by all the baiting. And yet, some Bensler fans still have it in them. Hoping for the best against all odds once again.

You know what this is, folks? This is loyalty, and this is true love. And it's high time the show reciprocates it.