Stabler didn’t really think it would be that easy, did he?
On Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 2 Episode 11, he made arrangements to have McClane arrested and sent back to prison, only for Wheatley to be one step ahead of him.
Now McClane’s lost his appetite for surrender, and God only knows what he’s going to do while Wheatley is calling the shots. The Organized Crime team should have known better than thinking this was near over!
Of course, the Organized Crime team doesn’t know that they’re only three hours into an eight-episode arc, but still.
McClane’s willingness to surrender was too good to be true. And since Stabler already suspected Wheatley was up to no good with these cyberattacks, he should have expected foul play.
Bell said it was the Feds’ case now, but since when does Stabler accept that?
At the very least, he should have strong-armed Bell into having backup units at the arrest site just in case.
Too late now. Wheatley and McClane’s escape was obnoxiously glorious.
That final shot of the helicopter leaving the premises was perfect. Wheatley always chooses to go big, and this was no exception.
Gloating on the phone wasn’t enough for him. He had to talk McClane into joining him for a ride on the most giant helicopter New York City has ever seen.
Did anyone else expect a citywide blackout, though? Cutting the power at the warehouse was a nice touch, but imagine the visuals if that helicopter had risen above a dark, dead city full of buildings that had no lights.
Wheatley’s off his game just a little bit. He missed that one detail!
Anyway. McClane will be a challenge for Wheatley and may lead to his next downfall.
Unlike Wheatley, McClane has a conscience. He never meant to kill anyone, and until he got mixed up with Richard and Angela, he had no interest in anything other than making amends to the Jones family.
He would have been happy to spend the rest of his life in prison as long as he knew he’d provided for Kesha.
Wheatley’s out of his element here. He doesn’t know what to do with a criminal who isn’t coldhearted or focused on causing mayhem for its own sake. McClane wants to be a modern-day Robin Hood who commits crimes in the name of social justice, making him Wheatley’s polar opposite.
Usually, Wheatley can read people well and speak their language as needed. Still, it remains to be seen whether he can continue to manipulate McClane rather than constantly have to kidnap him to keep him on his payroll.
It should be fascinating!
Wheatley may be more right than wrong about Stabler, though. He knows all of Stabler’s weak spots, and he’s tuned into how obsessed Stabler is with catching him.
Stabler may be Ahab to Wheatley’s white whale, but he has one advantage: he’s reeled Wheatley in once before. If he can stop himself from going off half-cocked, he can figure out how to press Wheatley’s buttons, too, and how to lead him right into another trap.
Wheatley’s manipulative powers never cease to amaze me, though. He’s not much different from the Albanian mobsters who ordered the hit on Garcia and his wife, yet Garcia quickly falls for Wheatley’s act.
To Wheatley, this is all a game. Stabler is the only person who has ever come close to cornering him and lived to tell the tale, so he views Stabler — and by extension, Garcia, McClane, and anyone else involved with this mess — as an exciting challenge.
To a lesser extent, the Albanians were the same way. Albi seemed to have a grudging respect for Stabler because the man managed to pull one over on him. Is this a quirk of mob culture, or is it just that Stabler is dealing with psychopaths who are willing to acknowledge a worthy adversary while they play sick games?
Elsewhere, I was thrilled that Jett once again had a prominent role to play in the attempt to catch McClane.
It’s logical she would since she’s a computer expert. I wish she could get rid of Adam.
Adam’s constant attempts to flirt with her are annoying, and he adds comparatively little. He’s too busy fanboying over McClane.
It seems like Jett needs him to help her out right now, but hopefully, that will change as the case progresses.
Jett’s reaction to a payphone ringing was priceless, though.
Is that a pay phone? Vintage.
Jett
Payphones are such a rare sight nowadays that McClane must have found the only one in town. And Jett’s response was typical of someone who didn’t grow up needing to take quarters everywhere in case she had to make a phone call.
Those things are relics these days. Thanks for the reminder, Jett!
Finally, Wheatley’s attack on Bernadette was a lot of nothing, which is exactly how he meant it to be.
He was putting Stabler on notice and pushing his buttons at the same time.
Stabler: I’m ending it.
Bernadette: But in the meantime, what happens to you? I look at you, Elliot, and you don’t have any light. You’re hardly ever home and when you are here you’re so unreachable. Don’t let him do that, honey. Don’t let him live inside you .
Stabler would be wise to heed his mother’s advice, but is he capable of it? Wheatley isn’t far off the mark about Stabler being Ahab chasing the white whale when it comes to him.
Your turn, Organized Crime fanatics.
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Law & Order: Organized Crime airs on NBC on Thursdays at 10 PM EST/PST.
Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on Twitter.