Christopher Meloni’s Sweet Reaction To Stabler’s Murdered Wife Appearing in New Organized Crime Episode
Isabel Gillies' Kathy Stabler made a surprise appearance on Law & Order: Organized Crime, and NBC Insider got Christopher Meloni's touching reaction to the scene.
The latest episode of Law & Order: Organized Crime featured a surprising yet sweet scene with a character who’s been long-dead.
Kathy Stabler (Isabel Gillies), the murdered wife of Det. Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni), briefly appeared onscreen in a flashback scene in Season 5, Episode 3, titled “Paranza Dei Bambini.”
The moment came about after Carlo Pescador, the leader of the Los Santos gang, was shot dead in a New York courtroom just after a case against him was dismissed. After a gunfire exchange between the shooter and Stabler, which the killer lost, Stabler pulled a prayer card out of the shooter's pocket that made him think back six years to something that happened in Naples, Italy.
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In the flashback, Stabler tried to coax Isabella Spezzano (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) — whose brother had her husband killed and whose family was active in the Camorra, an Italian criminal organization — to take a plea deal and give up her brother, a clan boss.
After Stabler’s initial meeting with Isabella, he got a call from his wife. Read on to learn more about Kathy Stabler’s surprise cameo and what Meloni told NBC Insider about getting to work with Gillies again.
Was Kathy Stabler in Season 5 of Law & Order: Organized Crime?
In an Organized Crime Season 5, Episode 3 flashback to Stabler’s time in Italy, the detective answered a video call from his wife Kathy, who asked if he was coming home for dinner. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Yeah, I lost track of time.” Kathy asked her husband of his chat with Isabella Spezzano, “Guessing the visit didn’t go great?” He responded, “She’s had a tough life. She insists on making it tougher."
Kathy said that Isabella is “probably starving” in jail, and hinted to her husband that he should bring her some food next time. She also told Stabler that she’d make him a dinner plate for later. In a touching moment before the call ended, Stabler then told Kathy, “I love you.” before blowing her a kiss. She did the same and said “I love you” back.
It was a moving flashback considering the fate Kathy met after the time that the scene was set.
What happened to Kathy Stabler?
Kathy — who as Stabler’s wife was featured on the 12 seasons of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit that Meloni starred on — was fatally wounded from a car bomb that was meant for the detective.
What did Christopher Meloni say about Isabel Gillies’ return?
Meloni may have been just as shocked as viewers to find out that Gillies would be back for another scene on Organized Crime. “It was... a nice surprise,” Meloni told NBC Insider of Gillies' Season 5, Episode 3 appearance.
“It's sweet,” he added of Gillies' return. “And I didn't play it sad, but... it was sad. Yeah, because I miss her and I like her as a human being. I like working with her.”
Season 5 of Law & Order: Organized Crime is now streaming on Peacock, with new episodes dropping weekly, each Thursday.
— Reporting by Stephanie Gomulka
