Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 3 Episode 22 Review: With Many Names

by techlowdown · 19 May 2023

Organized Crime isn’t over, but it certainly felt like it.

As Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 3 Episode 22 wrapped up the season, Whalen died, and Stabler said goodbye to Benson before disappearing on an extended assignment.

It was a near-perfect finale for a series that only got a 13-episode order and isn’t airing again until January 2024. Was I the only one who felt this would have worked perfectly as an end to the series?

That makes me nervous — back in 1995, when PIcket Fences’ Season 3 finale felt like a series finale, the show returned in the fall with new writers who turned it into something unrecognizable.

Hopefully, that won’t happen this time, but I am curious where Organized Crime will go from here once it finally returns.

In the meantime, at least Stabler and Benson got a happy-ish ending.

Unlike Whelan, Benson’s injuries after getting shot were minor. She was supposed to stay off her hip and not do any physical activity for two weeks, which meant sitting at her desk doing captain-y things instead of being out in the field.

That allowed her and Stabler to talk. For once, he told her he was going off the grid for a while. He also gave her a gift that made it clear he loved her.

That compass is supposed to lead Benson to happiness — is the only direction she can go now toward Stabler?

Rollins' Reluctant Witness - Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 3 Episode 22

We needed that sweet scene after the heavy events of the hour.

Whalen’s death was shocking and heartbreaking. It especially sucked that he wanted to die because a suicidal kid decided to take the whole world out with him.

Now Whalen felt the same kind of pain Kyle did — but Kyle lived, and Whalen didn’t.

What kind of justice is that?

A Preilous Task - Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 3 Episode 22

Whalen’s death occurred moments after his father visited. Whalen had asked Reyes to unplug his machines, which Reyes refused to do, but did Whalen Sr oblige him?

That’s the only logical explanation. His death is too big a coincidence otherwise.

But if the only reason he flatlined was that someone unplugged the machines, why couldn’t the emergency workers who came running reattach it in time? I”m sure there’s a medical explanation for that, but it’s not one I understand.

That loss hit me as hard as it did the unit members, and I was never a vast Whalen fan.

A Witness Refuses to Cooperate - Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 3 Episode 22

Since his introduction, Whalen has been a mini-Stabler who takes unnecessary risks and causes complications by ignoring direct orders.

I would have rather he grew into his role and allowed Stabler to come full circle by mentoring him.

His death broke my heart. Not only did he not get the chance to grow, but everyone’s reactions to it were so painful.

Jet’s was the worst. It slipped my mind that she had feelings for Whalen, but her devastation didn’t need words.

Bell Works With SVU - Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 3 Episode 22

She’s had a rough year. First, she fell hard for the guy she was trying to investigate, only for him to be killed in prison after his arrest.

And now Whalen.

That’s more than enough trauma for Jet. Please let her find some happiness, or at least some peace, in 2024.

It wouldn’t be realistic for her to get over any of this quickly, but I’d like her not to have any more heartbreaking deaths piled on to what she’s already dealing with.

Leading the Team - Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 3 Episode 22

The case itself felt like it belonged on Criminal Minds.

We had a seriously disturbed perp who wanted to take the whole world down before committing suicide and didn’t care about anything other than the malicious website he’d created.

Kyle didn’t set up Shadowerk because he particularly liked the idea of murder-for-hire. He thought he was proving that people are liars and hypocrites who will do awful things to one another if they’re allowed to disguise their identities so that they won’t get caught.

Woman: You have any friends, Kyle?
Kyle: You know what people are like in this town. They’re too normal.
Woman: You say that like it’s a bad thing.
Kyle: They’re all liars, and the sad thing is, no one will care when they die.

The only good thing anyone can say about him is that he didn’t hurt the ride-share driver that was kind to him. He freaked her out, but that was about it. He also didn’t allow his mom to take the fall for him.

But he didn’t care whether he went to jail or not. He’d have preferred the cops kill him, but since that didn’t work out, he was happy with life in prison.

His sentence was interesting in light of what happened on Law & Order Season 22 Episode 22.

On that show, which was not connected to this crossover, McCoy’s daughter argued that jail was the wrong punishment for a mentally ill shooter.

Kyle was also mentally ill, probably more severely so, but nobody seriously argued that he didn’t belong in jail. His attorney made a half-hearted attempt at an insanity defense but didn’t push too hard when Kyle wasn’t interested.