October 06, 2021

Law & Order: SVU Alum Pens Letter Asking Kathy Stabler Haters To Be Kind - Screen Rant

Warning: Spoilers for Law & Order: Organized Crime season 2.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit alum Isabel Gillies pens a letter, asking fans to be kinder when expressing their hate for Kathy Stabler. Gillies plays Kathy, wife of Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni), in the Law & Order spinoff. All told, Kathy has appeared in over 30 episodes since the series premiered in 1999. She’s also the driving force behind Law & Order: Organized Crime, which sees Stabler return to the franchise as he attempts to solve the mystery of Kathy’s murder.

But the character’s influence has continued even after death. After teasing a letter, which would reveal Elliot’s romantic feelings for his longtime partner Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), Organized Crime season 2 has dropped the bombshell that it was actually Kathy who’d written the letter while she was still alive. In words ghostwritten by Kathy, the letter goes on to explain why the feelings that Elliot has for Olivia are not real. This twist sparked outrage among fans who have long rooted for Elliot and Olivia to become a couple.

According to TV Line, in the wake of the recent Law & Order revelations, Gillies has written a Substack post to address fans of the franchise. In it, the SVU alum implores Kathy Stabler’s detractors to “take it down a notch.” Recounting some of the insults that her character has recently received, she also said that, regardless of how passionate a commentator might be on any given subject, it’s important to be more considerate and thoughtful before posting messages hateful messages on social media.

It’s worth noting that the messages that Gillies mentions seem to be directed at Kathy, rather than Gillies herself. Still, given that some of those messages include negative comments on Kathy’s physical appearance, it’s easy to understand why the actress felt hurt. She also notes, more broadly, that she’s grown attached to the character after being a part of the Law & Order franchise for so many years. In any case, it may prove useful for fans of Benson and Stabler to keep Gillies’ advice in mind. That’s particularly true since Law & Order creator Dick Wolf recently explained that he wouldn’t expect the two characters to end up together anytime soon.

Wolf noted that, in his view, there’s more storytelling value in keeping Benson and Stabler as they have been: Interacting, and sharing scenes together, and keeping the possibility alive, without necessarily going through it. He’s not alone in that belief, as some of the most memorable television pairings never enter into a romantic relationship for very long while the show is on the air. It’s only at the show’s ending, sometimes even in the finale, that a happy conclusion is reached. But it’s evident that some fans of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit aren’t particularly keen to go down that route. They’ll continue to express their disagreement, but Gillies hopes they’ll do so in a less vitriolic way.

More: Law & Order Hints At Stabler’s Real Feelings For Benson In SVU

Source: TV Line, Isabel Gillies

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Abdullah Al-Ghamdi (868 Articles Published)

Abdullah Al-Ghamdi joined Screen Rant in August 2019, focusing on movie and television news. In January of the same year, he wrote a 3500+ word piece on why Primo Colón is underrated. He considers it his finest work. When he’s not arguing for the merits of his favorite wrestler, he can be reached at: [email protected].