What a mess!

Benson may be determined to be there for every rape victim, but even she couldn't do anything about a mob-connected rapist.

Law & Order: SVU Season 23 Episode 3 put Benson and Stabler at cross purposes and set her up to distrust him -- or at least the man he's become. What does this mean for the future?

The will-they-won't-they debate over Benson and Stabler has polarized fans, with some viewers passionately shipping this pairing while others are convinced that a romance between the former partners would ruin the series.

While the actors involved have teased a potential hookup, this was a setback!

Stabler: Liv, I give you my word. I've got your back on this. Trust me.
Benson: I guess I"ll have to.

• Permalink: I guess I"ll have to.

Benson was left wondering if she could trust Stabler or not, especially since Rollins reminded her that she doesn't know him anymore and he's no longer SVU.

She wanted to believe he was the man who had her back during 12 years of heartwrenching cases, but her team thinks he screwed them over, and she had to admit he didn't bother to meet the rape victim.

And Stabler only made a quick phone call to assure her he didn't know that Navarro was going into Witness Protection before going off the grid again.

Given those circumstances, it's going to be a long time, if ever, before Benson fully trusts her old friend, never mind consider anything more with Stabler.

And now she has a rape survivor who can't get justice, possibly because of Stabler.

This isn't the first time that Benson has lost out on the chance to bring a rapist to justice, of course. Unfortunately, whenever the feds get involved, this tends to happen.

But it felt more personal, partially because of the Stabler connection and because this was one of the few times Benson couldn't do anything for the survivor. She couldn't nail the rapist, and she couldn't offer comfort, either.

Benson: This was not my call to make. But I want you to know, Tara, that I am not giving up and this is not over.
Tara: He raped me. He tried to kill me. I have to figure out how I'm going to walk again, never mind sing and dance. And you can't help me with any of that, can you?

• Permalink: He raped me. He tried to kill me. I have to figure out how I'm going to walk again, never...

Tara had every right to be angry. She knew from the beginning that Navarro had connections, but Benson had promised she wouldn't let that get in the way of justice.  Not to mention that Tara had lost everything and was willing to risk her life to testify against her mob-connected assailant,  only for her case to evaporate.

Besides, what could Benson really do to help her?

She'd already proven that SVU couldn't hold onto Navarro for long enough to put him on trial, and there didn't seem to be any other legal recourse.

Benson might have good intentions and might not want to give up, but there was nothing else that could be done, not really.

The case was decided by people who weren't part of SVU and didn't think SVU's priorities were important. It sucked,  but that's how it was.

It was awesome how strong Benson was throughout the whole thing.

I wouldn't expect any less of her, but still.

She wasn't taking any BS. She insisted SVU be involved every step of the way, and for the most part, she got her way.

Stabler backed her up to get her in the interrogation room, but even he couldn't get one over on her -- she refused to let him kick her out of the room so he could talk to Navarro alone.

I don't know if he meant to beat the guy up or just to share a secret plan, but either way, Benson wasn't having it.

Nor was she willing to be cut out of the raid. On the contrary, she was determined to do everything in her power to make sure Navarro didn't slip away, and she didn't care who she had to stand up to.

That made it even more heartbreaking that in the end, Navarro got away anyway, courtesy of the US Marshalls.

The biggest question to come out of this case is what this whole mess will do to Benson's relationship with her team as well as with Organized Crime.

Rollins thinks Benson doesn't see Stabler clearly because of her past relationship with him, and Carisi believes Stabler played them. Benson's loyalty to Stabler, if she still has any, is going to put a huge wedge between her and her team now.

And Benson and Bell are at odds now too. Benson feels Bell screwed over SVU for the sake of her own case, and that's going to impact their relationship.

Sadly, this case has hurt their friendship, but with Bell being Stabler's superior, this could also hinder Benson's ability to work with Stabler or Organized Crime on future cases.

And while the rest of SVU might feel that Stabler is untrustworthy, the fact is there are times when the two units are going to have to work together, and Benson's relationships with Stabler and Bell are the best way to make that happen.

Finally, was anyone else disappointed that a random FBI agent was involved and not one from Dick Wolf's other series?

I know that the FBI franchise is on CBS rather than NBC, but with Wolf producing both shows, this felt like a natural opportunity for a multi-series crossover.

Of course, this FBI agent was smug and condescending in a way that I can't imagine anyone from the FBI series being, so there's that.

Your turn, SVU fanatics!

What did you think about Benson's conflict with Organized Crime and what it might mean for her relationships with Stabler and Bell?

Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and let us know!

Miss the episode? No problem. Just watch Law & Order: SVU online, and then come back to share your thoughts.

Law & Order: SVU continues its historic 23rd season on NBC on Thursdays at 9 PM EST/PST.

Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on X.