Christopher Meloni is finally addressing one of Law & Order: SVU‘s most talked-about moments—the charged kitchen scene between his character, Elliot Stabler, and Mariska Hargitay’s Olivia Benson that left fans breathless… and frustrated.
At a recent TVLine Spotlight event in New York, the 64-year-old actor opened up about the season 24 moment in “Blood Out” where Stabler nearly kissed Benson after decades of unresolved tension—only for her to pull away. “I’ll go into the kitchen thing,” Meloni teased. “Guys, we were attempting something. I don’t think it worked, but I’m not going to tell you why it didn’t work. Have your opinion.”
Meloni admitted he and Hargitay filmed multiple versions of the scene, unsure which would make the final cut. “We don’t have that power,” he said, emphasizing their commitment to authenticity. “We’re doing the best we can to make it honest, not make it baited. If we do bait, at least for me, I always do it with a wink.”
The moment—where Stabler leaned in, foreheads touching, before Benson whispered, “I want to, but I can’t… What if it doesn’t work out?”—left fans divided. Some swooned over the tension; others groaned at yet another almost-moment.
Hargitay, 61, previously revealed to Variety that she and Meloni had a different vision for the scene than SVU creator Dick Wolf. “Chris and I thought it should go one way, and the powers that be didn’t,” she said, noting Wolf vetoed a full kiss. Still, she stands by their chemistry: “It’s undeniable. It’s just the way it is.”
The duo has leaned into the “will they/won’t they” hype off-screen too, famously parodying it with a mock near-kiss at the 2022 Emmys. But as Meloni quipped at the panel, “You give us too much credit for the power we might have.”
For now, Organized Crime’s upcoming fifth season keeps the door open for more Benson-Stabler sparks—whether Wolf approves a kiss or not.
