The highly anticipated returns of Elliot Stabler to Law & Order: SVU and Lexie Grey to Grey’s Anatomy at the same time on April 1 was no joke. For one night, bringing both back after nearly 10 years revived the term “Must-See TV” for some viewers, a popular conventional network promotional strategy of the ’90s. It also set up an unheard of battle for the two shows.
Christopher Meloni’s Elliot Stabler was a dedicated Law & Order: SVU detective whose volatile nature often got him into trouble with both his partner, Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and his bosses. After 12 seasons, Meloni walked away from the character and the show following failed contract negotiations. His departure was problematic in that following a squad room shooting, rather than comply to have an ordered psychiatric evaluation, Stabler retires from the force without saying goodbye to anyone, even Liv. His return came in a two-part crossover to mark the premiere of Meloni’s new series Law & Order: Organized Crime.
The departure of Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh) on Grey’s Anatomy was considerably more tragic as she was crushed under the fuselage of a wrecked aircraft almost 10 years ago. With her on the plane were some of the show’s most prominent doctors including her half-sister Meredith and her on-again, off-again true love Dr. Mark Sloan. She died holding Mark’s hand but never got to say a proper goodbye to her sister. Viewers were shocked and outraged by the way Lexie died but understood it was Leigh’s decision to depart to spend more time with her family after five seasons. Audiences have been wanting closure for Lexie and her sister for years. Viewers feel the same about Stabler and Benson, setting up an impressive competition between Law & Order and Grey’s Anatomy.
Within the first minutes of the SVU episode, Benson is stunned to find the victim of the car bombing she’s called to is Kathy Stabler, Elliot’s wife. When Elliott calls Liv’s name from behind her, the partners see one another for the first time in 10 years. What follows is an intense reunion fraught with unresolved issues between them, but then again, that was the whole idea. Law & Order: SVU ripped the band-aid off old wounds fast, making it clear the show wasn’t aiming for a conclusion or closure between them. After all, it’s a new chapter, not an ending, that concluded with the gut-wrenching death of Elliot’s wife. While the two found a familiar rhythm, even after years of living in Rome, Meloni’s Stabler doesn’t appear to have changed. Frankly, the best moment, and probably the moment many viewers had been waiting for, was Olivia berating Elliot for leaving without talking to her and disappearing from her life. It was a stellar moment for Hargitay and the episode.
Grey’s Anatomy‘s reunion of Meredith and Lexie Grey was the opposite: warm and designed to bring closure to both them and Meredith’s beach visits. Grey’s also wasted no time in giving the viewers what they wanted, opening with Lexie and Meredith, then upping the surprise factor when Mark joined them. The sight of Lexie and Mark hand in hand and happy on the beach was the closure audiences wanted. Lexie told her sister, “If having a life and a body is not worthy of celebration, then what is the point of avoiding death?” as she and Mark scolded Meredith about the fragility of time. They convinced her to fight for her life because her sister can’t live hers.
With Law & Order: SVU’s reunion being dark and intense and Grey’s Anatomy‘s easily the more emotionally satisfying of the two, their contrast makes it virtually impossible to determine which reunion was better. Law & Order also delivered big ratings, showing that to compete with cable and the exploding streaming services, the conventional networks might want to consider permanently reviving the practice of “Must-See TV.”
