‘Law & Order: SVU,’ ‘Organized Crime’ Crossover Uncovers Disturbing Links Behind Death of Benson’s Brother

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Organized Crime returned after a few weeks off with a crossover that revealed there was much more behind the death of Benson’s brother than previously thought. What was first called an accidental overdose was really a case of manslaughter tied to a drug with links to Richard Wheatley. This brought Stabler and Benson back together in an episode that brought back memories of the old days.

In “Trick-Rolled at the Moulin,” the SVU team investigated the case of a trio of women who robbed and drugged wealthy men. Two men overdosed and died, and a third almost overdosed. The drug used was found to be an even more dangerous version of “Purple Magic,” a designer drug in the Law & Order universe. This drug has ties to Wheatley (Dylan McDermott), the man Det. Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) and the Organized Crime Control Bureau (OCCB) are investigating. Stabler also suspects he killed his wife Kathy.

What did any of this have to do with the death of Simon (Michael Weston), the estranged brother of Capt. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay)? It turned out that Simon had the same dangerous “Purple Magic” in his system and that the first victim the SVU team found died at the same hotel Simon died at in October 2019. Before Simon died, he met with an old high school friend who thought setting Simon up with prostitutes would help life his spirits. Simon and his friend were both knocked out by the drug, but Simon died. Simon’s friend did help identify the three women, and one led them to the drug dealer, Felix (Michael Blas). He was just a delivery man who agreed to help Benson and Stabler. After Felix spoke with his boss, he was killed on the street.

In the Organized Crime half of the crossover, “An Inferior Product,” the person who killed Felix wound up dead in a Brooklyn apartment. During the search, the OCCB team found some Purple Magic, as well as an infant girl. She said the murderers were cops, but Gina Cappalletti (Charlotte Sullivan) later told Sgt. Ayanna Bell (Danielle Mone Truitt) that they were men disguised as officers. The little girl also helped the team track down another witness, her uncle, Kwan Chen (Smitty Chai).

Kwan revealed that he and his friends were “stepping on” the Purple Magic trade. There were other groups doing the same, passing off their own version of Purple Magic. Someone was trying to stop the groups. Benson later came in to get Kwan to spill all the details about the three women. She also held up a photo of Simon, making sure Kwan knew that the drugs he and his team made killed her brother. Outside the interrogation room, Benson told Stabler he looked better, but he was more confused. After all, he did kiss Wheatley’s ex-wife Angela (Tamara Taylor) earlier.

Stabler later met Angela after she finished teaching a class. He couldn’t really explain his behavior the night before. Angela thought he was feeling guilty. She also told him that she is “terrified” by him. But the conversation was interrupted when Wheatley stormed in with a crushed bug he found in his office. Wheatley told Stabler to stay away from his family… or else. (With the “or else” part implied.)

Later, the team discovered that the Brooklyn apartment murder had a connection to the death of Angela’s son. Pills found at that crime scene were Purple Magic. Stabler met with Angela and insisted their relationship cannot be anything close to romantic. She then “reintroduced” herself and asked him to dinner, but that dinner had to be delayed. They learned at Izak Bekher (Ibrahim Renno) built the pipe bomb that killed Kathy! Stabler pushed Bekher until he explained why Wheatley wanted Kathy dead. But Bekher said it wasn’t Wheatly who gave the order… it was Angela!

On that shocking note, the crossover episode ended. SVU airs on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET with Organized Crime following at 10 p.m. ET on NBC. Past episodes are available to stream on Hulu.

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