One of the more popular characters of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Elliot Stabler is a character played by Christopher Meloni and was one of the main stars of the series. Appearing in the first 12 seasons of SVU, and showing in a total of 275 Law and Order episodes, he’s been a mainstay in the NBC show. But since his disappearance in the 12th season, people have been wondering what has happened in the 7 years he’s been gone, and whether he will ever return. Here, we’ll take a look at Elliot’s story and whether or not he’ll be back in the future.
What’s Happened to Elliot on SVU – 2018 Recent Updates
Unfortunately for fans of Elliot Stabler, there is zero chance of him returning past the first episode of the 13th season. Writers for the show, co-stars, and even the Stabler actor Meloni himself have mentioned that this was not in the realm of possibility, though Meloni has mentioned that if it were somehow able to happen he’d probably be interested in a cameo or short appearances within the show. The end of Elliot Stabler’s SVU career canonically came when he was required to commit his final and 6th killing, admittedly in self-defense. After shooting the would-be attacker, a teenaged girl who was trying to kill those who had killed her mother, Elliot was not quite the same. When given the chance to get his job back after an investigation including anger management and a full psych evaluation, Elliot turned it down, saying he would rather resign and did just that. Perhaps out of self-anger, perhaps out of shame, it’s the case that Elliot would effectively disappear from the lives of all the characters of SVU quite suddenly, though there is no indication that he is dead. Instead, he may just be living off a pension or now has a separate, less dangerous job in New York.
About Elliot on SVU
Elliot Stabler within the lore of Law and Order: SVU is quite the interesting character. An Irish Catholic NYPD detective with a 97% case closure rate, Elliot was known to take his cases very personally, which over time ground him down a bit and exposed his more angry side. Born to a family of a police officer who’d lost his pension and a bipolar mother, Elliot nearly died as a child as a result of his mother’s manic state. After leaving his family behind, he would join the Marines where he’d excel in Hand to Hand combat and lost a friend in the 9/11 terror attacks. He would attend Queen’s college to get a B.A. before entering the force. In season 6, his wife would leave him (though they would eventually reconcile and have a 5th child) and Elliot nearly snapped during the arrest of a serial killer, appears ready, willing and able to take a shot at the killer despite being under no duress, only being stopped at the last moment by his partner. For the next 6 seasons, Elliot would continue using sharp interrogation tactics and had no fear of violence, ultimately killing 6 in the line of duty. He would also open up to his partners about his past, and ultimately perhaps realized that within this role, his aggression, and those he was licensed to use it against, may prove too much to live a peaceful life.
Did off-camera drama cause the end of Elliot on SVU?
At this time, it would appear that off-screen drama between Christopher Meloni simply was not the cause of Elliot being written out of the series. Instead, it seems nearly everyone held each other in high regard, it was just simply time to transition SVU into a new direction. As for Meloni, he seems to be taking things in a less serious path, which has helped him enjoy life all the more. His previous costars also seem to be slowly transitioning out of SVU, making room for a new generation of Law and Order: SVU stars to carry the series.
