Bell wasn’t kidding about Whalen being Stabler 2.0!
Whalen and Stabler butted heads all through the hour after Stabler took over Whalen’s undercover op, and each of them had an angle towards the opposite.
Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 3 Episode 11 wrapped up the road gang case, however did Whalen and Stabler make any progress towards with the ability to work collectively?
I had an issue with Stabler going undercover, but it surely wasn’t the identical one Whalen had.
In the three years he is labored with Organized Crime, Stabler has gone undercover twice and has made headlines busting mob bosses. So in what universe may he get away with pretending to be a drug vendor?
Maybe gang members are too busy inflicting bother to maintain up with the information since nobody acknowledged Stabler. Still, all they wanted to do was a reverse picture search on the images Mendez took, and that might be that.
The operation to get Duran was solely a secondary concern, although. The actual story was Whalen and Stabler’s battle.
You obtained us in; now I’ll end the job. Just gotta homicide you first.
Stabler
Whalen had motive to be offended, although he blew all of it out of proportion and did not act anyplace near professionally after he was faraway from the operation.
I do not know why he took his wire off, however ditching Reyes and utilizing that to attempt to rating a gathering with Duran was a strong technique.
Reyes’s pointless intrusion ruined what little belief Whalen had constructed with Mendez and Christobal; is it any surprise that Whalen resented Stabler taking up the operation after that?
Still, Whalen did not must sulk and brood the best way he did. He obtained the information he wanted to interrupt Mendez whereas enjoying the cops that Stabler made him babysit. That’s what gained this case.
Whalen must be glad about that as a substitute of offended that he was requested to spend time with these two.
Were these detectives employed to intentionally tank the case?
It appeared that approach. Their raid led to Christobel’s loss of life and Duran’s escape, and Thurmond smugly terminated the case.
But why would Thurmond or the Miami detectives sabotage the case? Was this political, or is one thing extra nefarious occurring?
Thurmond’s motive may need to do with conserving Bell in line. He warned her that if Stabler’s dangerous plan did not work, it could damage her profession. Moments later, the Miami detectives ruined the operation, and Duran disappeared.
That timing is very suspicious.
I’ve identified because the starting that one thing fishy was occurring with Thurmond. He confirmed up out of nowhere to take the job Bell turned down, and it appeared he was as much as no good.
Bell’s fruitless Internet search suggests there’s extra to Thurmond than meets the attention. He’s lied about a part of his previous; is any of it true? And whose aspect is he actually on?
Considering Lillian’s anger when Bell selected to not disband the unit, I can not assist considering Thurmond is there to destroy Bell’s profession from the within. But may he even be related to mob or gang exercise?
The Miami detectives he invited to “help” with the case did nothing however make issues more durable, and Thurmond tried to assert Duran had gone again to Florida when he was nonetheless in New York.
Corruption or involvement in criminality look like higher motives for sabotaging this mission than politics, particularly contemplating that Thurmond is mendacity about his previous.
Thurmond seemingly sanctioned the Miami detectives’ raid, and as a bonus, Stabler assumed Whalen had instructed them about Duran’s bar, growing tensions between Stabler and Whalen.
At least Whalen obtained some issues off his chest throughout that argument, although his insistence on taking every thing Stabler did to additional this case personally was irritating.
As Stabler mentioned, this wasn’t about egos. It was about working as a crew to place severe criminals away.
Stabler’s not one to speak about ego, although. Half his drawback with Whalen is that Whalen is as cussed and rebellious as Stabler is. Stabler usually goes lone wolf, ignoring orders he would not assume ought to apply to him, but was exhausting on Whalen for doing the identical factor.
It’s not obscure why Whalen resented Stabler’s angle and chalked it as much as Stabler needing all the time to be the one to shut the case. It’s not totally truthful, but it surely is smart.
Stabler: How did he discover out Duran had a daughter?
Bell: While Miami was enjoying him, he was enjoying them.
Whalen redeemed himself in Stabler’s eyes by getting the information he wanted to flip Mendez. But he would not let Stabler pay him a praise and virtually ruined issues for himself by having an angle.
Unnecessary hostility is not going to get him far on this profession. Whalen must mood it, but when he did, he would not be Stabler 2.0.
It’s a disgrace Duran is useless. He was certainly one of Organized Crime’s extra compelling villains.
The greatest villains are three-dimensional individuals who have a relatable aspect, and Duran match that invoice.
In his interactions with Stabler, Duran confirmed some humanity. He was chilly and calculating and would not hesitate to shoot anybody who betrayed him. But he additionally was an previous man who had survived the Communist revolution in Cuba, cherished turtles, and tried to go his tradition onto his younger grandson.
That scene the place the little boy noticed his grandfather mendacity useless on the ground broke my coronary heart. The youngster did not appear to pay attention to the violent life his grandfather led; what a method to shatter his innocence!
What’d you assume, Organized Crime fanatics? Are you glad with the wrap-up of this case, or would you have got most popular Duran lived to wreak havoc once more one other day? Are you Team Whalen or Team Stabler? And what do you assume is up with Thurmond?
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Law & Order: Organized Crime airs on NBC on Thursdays at 10 PM EST / PST. The subsequent new episode airs on January 26, 2023.
Jack Ori is a senior employees author for TV Fanatic. His debut younger grownup novel, Reinventing Hannah, is on the market on Amazon. Follow him on Twitter.
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