In all the years Stabler has been a fixture in the Law & Order universe, he never mentioned his brother.

After meeting Randall on Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 4 Episode 2, we know why.

Randall gave off seriously annoying vibes, seemed to be in a constant battle to one-up Elliot, and was ill-prepared to deal with Mama Stabler's dementia. After an hour with him, I'm ready for him to go back to wherever he came from!

I'm not any more sure why Stabler's mother felt she needed Randall than she seemed to be. So far, he's been nothing but obnoxious.

He also seems to look down on Stabler for being a cop, accusing him of never being around for his family. Meanwhile, Elliot has been the one who has been there dealing with their mother's dementia (even if he did have to disappear whenever he went undercover.)

Elliot Stabler shines in family-oriented stories and always has, but I'd rather Eli come home than any more of Randall gloating that he got to take his nephew fishing. Even his heartbreak at realizing how far gone their mother was didn't redeem him much.

Fortunately, Randall only took up a small portion of the hour, which was devoted to a juicy new case.

Whenever Hate Crimes officers show up, it reminds me that Dick Wolf once floated a Hate Crimes spinoff idea and wish it would happen. This division would make an interesting addition to the Law & Order universe.

Stabler: Why me?
Officer: Because you know the difference between following the rules and what's right.

• Permalink: Because you know the difference between following the rules and what's right.

The rivalry between Bell and Shah was interesting. Could they have been former lovers?

Bell was eager to kick Shah off the case, while Shah had hoped they could work together, and something told me that was about more than Shah saving face now that she'd lost control over the case.

Bell called her a frenemy, so something must have happened between them. I hope we learn more about it as Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 4 continues.

Shah also seemed wedded to the idea that Asher was the bomber. That seemed weird -- why would anyone kill him if he was the one behind the bombing?

Did she assume that he was anti-Muslim because he was Jewish? His tagging the mosque didn't help with that impression, but she still seemed too close-minded.

I could have done without the tired TV trope of the bad guy breaking into the hospital to kill a witness to the crime.

TV hospitals have notoriously bad security.

It's usually not as bad on primetime dramas as on soap operas, but this incident was ridiculous.

The 'cop' didn't have to sign in or do anything to prove he was who he said he was; he just had to show up in a cop uniform. The guy he was relieving had no idea what the new cop was supposed to look like and immediately fell for it.

The cop that got killed didn't find it at all suspicious that some stranger was insisting he help change a tire and gave him a tire iron while his back was turned to him. Aren't cops supposed to have self-preservation instincts?

And even if he got inside, why didn't any of Asher's monitors go off when he stopped breathing? It shouldn't have taken til morning for a nurse to discover he was unresponsive.

I don't enjoy these super unrealistic plot twists. I'd much rather Asher had survived an attempted murder. The guy could have gotten away even if he failed to kill Asher.

That would have been a more original story.

I also don't like it when criminals are so good at what they do that they can kill anyone who threatens their freedom without being detected. That massive problem with Richard Wheatley seems to be repeated here.

On the positive side, the AI tech proved more useful than Stabler thought. Without the software, the team wouldn't have found the warehouse where the bomb was planted.

Although things didn't work out as they'd hoped, that still got them closer to a solution.

But what happened to Bashir? Stabler covered. Bell during the blast, and they were both fine -- did Bashir leave before it all went down?

Stabler told him to go do his job, but I wasn't sure if he'd left yet, and it was weird that he wasn't mentioned at all after the blast.

I hope he was all right. He was an interesting character who deserves to keep working with Stabler on this investigation.

Jet tried to end things with Reyes elsewhere, but how long will that last?

If we hadn't been in DC for Jamie's memorial, this never would have happened. You are married and I care too much about you to ruin your life.

Jet

• Permalink: If we hadn't been in DC for Jamie's memorial, this never would have happened. You are married...

Reyes' attempt to talk about their clandestine relationship while they were at work was unprofessional, and Bell overheard Jet snap at him, so she knew something was up.

For now, Jet's aware that spending time alone with Reyes is a bad idea and that he's ruining his marriage because of their shared grief over Whelan's death. But that doesn't mean she won't give into temptation again later.

I wish Jet would find someone worthy of her. She broke up with her best boyfriend for no good reason, had two others die, and now is caught in this inappropriate, grief-related relationship with Reyes.

She may need to learn to be happily single if she's not getting a proper boyfriend. She's at her best when teasing Stabler about his age and assuming he knows nothing about technology.

What did you think, Law & Order: Organized Crime fanatics? Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and let us know.

Law & Order: Organized Crime airs on Thursdays at 10/9c. New episodes are available to stream on Peacock the day after they air.

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.