7 unanswered questions after The Law & Order: Organized Crime season 5 finale

Season five of The Law & Order: Organized Crime came to a close on June 12, 2025. The seventh series in the Law & Order franchise, The Law & Order: Organized Crime has found many takers thanks to its exciting character development and clever plot progressions. Originally aired on NBC, the much-talked-about series moved to Peacock after being renewed for a fifth season.

In many ways, the move to the streaming platform has been advantageous for The Law & Order: Organized Crime as it allowed creators to explore grittier plots, which has received appreciation from long-term fans of the series. Keeping true to the theme of the show, The Law & Order: Organized Crime season five featured riveting plots involving familiar faces and several new intimidating antagonists.

Even though the finale of The Law & Order: Organized Crime season five delivered in terms of shock and awe, it did leave a lot of open questions, mentioned on this list, that fans still haven't gotten answers to.

Disclaimer: This list contains information from various sources.

7 things The Law & Order: Organized Crime season five finale didn't answer for fans

1) Will the Stabler-Benson ship ever sail?

Fans of the show will love to see Elliot and Olivia take their relationship to the step (Image via NBC/Peacock)

Christopher Meloni's Elliot Stabler and Mariska Hargitay's Olivia Benson have known each other for the longest time and it is easy to see that there is something brewing beneath the surface. In fact, he even admits that he has feelings for her in the first season when Olivia staged an intervention for him.

Even though Hargitay's character was missing in season four of The Law & Order: Organized Crime, whenever she made an appearance in the other seasons, it is evident that she does have an effect on Stabler.

Like the other titles in the franchise, The Law & Order: Organized Crime doesn't put too much emphasis on pursuing romantic entanglements, but fans would certainly be elated if the writers were to explore this angle in an upcoming season to add another tantalizing layer to the narrative.

2) Will Randall Stabler be featured more prominently in the next season?

Norris delivers a memorable performance in the series (Image via NBC/Peacock)

Elliot's older brother, Randall Stabler, portrayed by Dean Norris, first appeared in season four of The Law & Order: Organized Crime. Even though his relationship with Elliot is far from perfect, they still manage to work together as a team, especially when it comes to taking care of their mother, Bernadette, portrayed by Ellen Burstyn. He even assisted in the hunt for Michael Totter's Joseph Stabler Jr.

Given that the narrative of The Law & Order: Organized Crime routinely delves into Elliot's life outside of work, there is scope for the writers to use Randall's character to enrich that aspect of the storytelling in upcoming seasons.

Norris is no stranger to TV shows, playing more than 40 law enforcement roles over the years, and so fans of the series are certain that he will be able to take charge of the Stabler family, as Randall, if and when the need arises.

3) How will Elliot handle the aftermath of Bunny's death?

Elliot has to deal with risky and dangerous situations on a daily basis (Image via NBC/Peacock)

Fans of The Law & Order: Organized Crime are well aware that Elliot is always getting involved in risky situations because of his job. He has seen things on the field that are likely to haunt him for life. But there are some instances that hit harder than others and Bunny's death is certainly going to be one of them.

Elliot first met Bunny, a young teen, when he was on an undercover mission to get details about a human trafficking operation. He tries to save her but one of the men from the trafficking ring crashes into his car. Even though Elliot ends up in the hospital, he manages to survive. Unfortunately for Bunny, she succumbs to her injuries.

There is a scene, soon after, wherein Elliot sees Bunny's ghost in The Law & Order: Organized Crime season five which indicates that he is greatly troubled by her passing. It will be interesting to see if writers will use this incident to bring about changes in Elliot's approach to victims in future seasons.

4) Will Bernadette's condition worsen?

Despite their strained relationship, Elliot looks out for Bernadette (Image via NBC/Peacock)

The Stabler family matriarch, Bernadette, features heavily in The Law & Order: Organized Crime season 5. Because of her bipolar disorder, she hasn't always been there for her six children. In the past, Elliot even broke an arm as a result of one of her manic episodes.

Despite all of this, the Stabler siblings, including Elliot, have tried their best to look for Bernadette's best interests. But given that her conditions aren't getting any better, it is safe to assume that Bernadette will become even more volatile with age. In addition to that, Joseph's unfortunate death will also weigh heavy on her.

Irrespective of how far the writers are willing to explore this angle in the coming seasons, fans are hoping that the Stabler family members will continue to support each other through the tough times, as they have done in the past.

5) Will the Camorra return without Roman Spezzano?

The team work hard to get ahead of menacing criminals (Image via Peacock)

It would be dull watching The Law & Order: Organized Crime if it didn't boast powerful villains who deserve to be put behind bars for life. Elliot and his team have come across many such characters throughout the seasons and successfully foiled many dangerous plans. However, one menacing organization that is still at large is the Camorra.

The boss in charge, Roman Spezzano (Alberto Frezza), is the one who orchestrated the turf war in New York City. Spezzano got shot during the brewery raid but The Law & Order: Organized Crime makes it clear that he is not completely out of the picture yet.

As the Camorra are a very powerful organization, it would be foolish to assume that they would simply abandon their activities after one setback. But fans aren't certain if Spezzano will resume his duties right away, after such a close call. They will only know for certain if The Law & Order: Organized Crime is renewed for another season.

6) Will Eli Stabler's first police shooting impact his career?

Eli wasn't very expressive about how the shooting impacted him in front of his brothers (Image via NBC/Peacock)

Episode after episode, The Law & Order: Organized Crime has depicted how stand-offs can be dangerous and chaotic. Nicky Torchia's Eli witnessed this first-hand in season five of The Law & Order: Organized Crime. During a shootout, Luca Rickman's Pietro Spezzano pointed his gun toward a uniformed officer. Shortly after, Eli arrived on the scene and shot Pietro in the chest.

As expected, an IAB investigation gets underway. During this time, Eli is placed on leave. Even though Eli and Becky (Kiaya Scott) welcome a new baby, he seems detached. Becky further reveals to Elliot that Eli has been crying at nights which means that the shooting is taking more of a toll on him than he admits in front of others.

Since The Law & Order: Organized Crime finale didn't confirm the results of the investigation, fans are unsure what impact it will have on Eli's career and whether he will still be able to wear the uniform in the future.

7) Will Tim McKenna continue to work with Elliot?

Elliot needs capable partners who can support him on the field (Image via Peacock)

After facing so many tragedies in season five of The Law & Order: Organized Crime, it was not surprising to see Elliot edging towards vigilantism. He was determined to find Julian Emery (Tom Payne) at all costs, after Joe's murder. It was possible that he would have acted outside the law if not for Jason Patric's Tim McKenna.

McKenna has worked with the Stabler sibling before when they were part of Anti-Crime Task Force. This interesting new character, introduced in season five of The Law & Order: Organized Crime isn't exactly a stickler of the rules. But he was the one who helped Elliot see reason when he was blinded by the need for vengeance.

There is no doubt that Tim and Elliot have a great working dynamic and it would be fun for fans to see them work more cases together if the writers decide to keep Tim around for the following seasons.

Although it is still uncertain whether there will be a The Law & Order: Organized Crime season six, fans are hoping that the series will be renewed so that they can get some much-needed answers.

Edited by Meeta Borah