Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 Episode 5 Review: ‘Lago D’Averno’

Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 Episode 5 ‘Lago D’Averno’ takes Detective Stabler, and viewers, on the type of intense emotional ride we’ve come to expect from this series. Organized Crime has always been at its best when it focuses on the ways the task force’s cases affect people on a personal level. (Far more often than not — and maybe a little too often, given that we actually do care quite a great deal about characters like Bell and Reyes — “people” refers to Elliot and confidential informants and/or victims he meets along the way.) This particular episode does exactly that. In fact, it gets personal on multiple levels while it draws some compelling comparisons between the Stabler family’s three-generation tradition of crime fighting and the Spezzanos’ generations of crime.

On the Stabler side, Eli’s in over his head. As is protocol (and as they absolutely should), IAB looks into the officer-involved shooting of Pietro Spezzano. Which, of course, means they’re looking into Eli’s actions at the end of Episode 4. Any father would worry about his son at a time like this, but Elliot has the added layers of stress over the whole ordeal on account of having been through all of this before himself. (Way, way too many times.) Oh, and the same guy at IAB who had it out for Detective Stabler last season…tries to pull a “gotcha” on Elliot because of Eli’s mistake. But wait! There’s more! While Eli himself is in the middle of his IAB interview, he ignores a bunch of phone calls from the family. Because — surprise! — Becky gives birth to their son. Six weeks early, no less.

Throw in Randall trying to find out, with the help of his bff “Kyle” (Vargas), if Joey has actually been calling Bernie, and Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 Episode 5 most definitely puts Elliot Stabler and his job at the center of some Stabler family mess. But the Stablers aren’t the only family experiencing some major drama here. Isabella Spezzano has a bloody face-off with her definitely-not-jailed brother Rocco and definitely-not-nun sister Lucia. This happens while Roman’s fighting for his life following the same shooting at the end of Episode 4 that has Eli tied up with IAB. And, lest we forget, the Spezzano case is also personal for Elliot.

Ouch. And speaking of pain: There’s a car bomb…but Elliot is (apparently) superhuman, so he appears to get away without a single scratch. So, at least there’s that!

MORE: At this point, we should probably keep El in a bubble. He did already start off this season with a major car wreck at the end of Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 premiere and experienced some pretty strong hallucinations because of this brain trauma in Episode 2, after all.

“Is he gonna be a cop like you? Or…a cop like your father.”

Moses Warren might be convinced Elliot Stabler is the worst cop to ever be in possession of a badge and gun, but viewers know better. Has he made plenty of terrible decisions? Absolutely. But he is not his father, who was by all accounts much worse. And that’s true no matter how much they may have in common — Combat Cross included. Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 Episode 5 circles back to Elliot’s struggle against becoming that Detective Stabler and adds the most recent generation to the mix. What improvements, if any, can we make from Joe, to Elliot, to Eli? Perhaps the worst moment for the youngest cop in the family can lead to him breaking the cycle.

At the very beginning of ‘Lago D’Averno,’ we see an absolutely terrified Eli prepare to go to his IAB meeting. His FTO, Sergeant Hunt, gives him shady advice about how nothing matters other than what he says — not the facts, apparently — and sends him on his way. Warren from IAB asks Eli if he’s talked to anyone about the investigation (no), including his father, and then asks if he knows anything about the “history” there. (Also no.) The entire time, it’s incredibly clear that Eli’s out of his element. He simply does not belong in this world. Period.

And the story Warren’s trying to tell, to get to Elliot through Eli, becomes crystal clear with each time Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 Episode 5 returns to that interview room. Pietro lowered his gun, Eli shot anyway, and Elliot broke protocol by trying to send Eli away from the scene to cover it all up. That’s Warren’s story, and he’s sticking to it — no matter how adamantly our seasoned detectives and baby officer stick to their stories. All of these IAB scenes deliver on some great performances, like Nicky Torchia with Eli’s fear, or Rick Gonzalez’s frustrated gesturing when Warren confronts Reyes, or even that defiant, smirking defense we get out of Christopher Meloni Elliot hears Hunt’s skewed version of events.

But…it’s what all of this builds up to that matters most. Anything and everything involving Ellen Burstyn will always and forever be a highlight. So, anywhere you see her — in this episode or any other — insert gushing praise here. One particularly strong highlight for ‘Lago D’Averno’ is Bernie’s agitated insistence that the family’s hiding something from her. But when Elliot pulls her aside and tells her what’s going on with Eli, the quiet, yet gut-wrenching, pain Burstyn brings to Bernie stands out, even in an episode that’s packed with heavy emotion. And her question to Elliot about what kind of cop he thinks his son will be brings everything her son’s been fighting his whole career, and especially during Law & Order: Organized Crime, right back to the surface. We don’t need to assume that either — we know it because of how Meloni responds.

And then, Elliot goes to see Eli and Becky. After Becky makes an excuse to get the younger Stabler out of the room, she confesses to our detective that she hopes the NYPD kicks his son out. Her next admission absolutely hits Elliot in a place that would always be vulnerable but, after just hearing Bernie’s question about his father, is especially tender: “I feel like he does it for you…or some family thing that he feels like he has to do. He just really loves you. And he doesn’t want to disappoint you.”

Elliot doesn’t want this for his kid, never did. Nothing new there. But to see Bernie and Becky expose those never-healing wounds, each in their own way, and then watch how Elliot responds, it’s worth hoping that he can convince his youngest to explore just about any other path. Last time, that didn’t exactly work out. But now? After knowing what it feels like to kill a kid and experiencing the birth of his own son, maybe Eli will get it. If the parallel family story in Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 Episode 5 is any indication, though, things might have to get a lot worse before they get any better.

MORE: This is what was happening last time we saw Moses Warren of IAB.

“You already took Pietro. I will not give you Roman.”

Even if we consider the Joey of it all, the Stabler family’s level of dysfunction is nowhere near what learn about Isabella Spezzano’s siblings in Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 Episode 5. In the first place, no, Rocco isn’t in his cell. He’s…here. Not only is he here, in New York, but he’s got his (and Isabella’s) sister Lucia with him, posing as a nun at Father De Luca’s church. And Lucia is just as sadistic and dangerous as it gets. She takes pleasure in torturing and killing the priest, and when it’s time to go after her own sister, she’s just as happy to start removing fingers.

What an awful, tragic conclusion to this case…with a twist, of course. Father De Luca pays for rushing a dying Roman to his grandmother’s farm. Gia has to live through the trauma of her twin’s death by cop, her older brother being on the verge of death, and her having to defend the family home — what was supposed to be a safe place and a new beginning. Isabella was right all along. The Camorra is a cancer. Like a cancer, you can spend a few years thinking you’re safe from it, only for it to come back and invade every aspect of your life all over again. Can you beat it? Maybe, but not with out a lot of pain.

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is utterly brilliant throughout Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 Episode 5. Right from the start, she gives us an Isabella who is devastated, yet not broken. Mastrantonio smiles oh, so fondly when she looks at the dead body of her grandson Pietro, even as her eyes tell a story of unspeakable grief. Later, when Isabella is desperate for news of Roman, her expression blooms into one of relief, excitement, and genuine, genuine gratitude when Stabler tells her he has reason to believe Roman survived. (But, of course, he can’t discuss the case!)

And then there is that tough-as-nails, defiant to the very end, woman who is willing to protect her remaining grandchildren by any means necessary. Even if it means paying with her life. When Lucia starts removing fingers (seriously, WTF?!), Isabella’s pain is quite obviously unbearable. (Those screams!) But when Detective Stabler shows up to save the day, she lets her guard down enough to show a little bit more how bad it actually hurts — as if those agonized screams weren’t enough to let us know. But she only worries for Gia and Roman, in that barn that Rocco has stalked off to. So, she sits there, hissing at her sister with her rifle carefully propped back up on her wrapped, bloodied hand…and sends her only help off to protect them..

We don’t know Isabella’s actual fate until the very end of Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 Episode 5, when Elliot visits the morgue and Warner (!!!) reveals there aren’t many signs of torture on the body. Oh, and the dead woman’s hand is, uh, still a hand. Now, all that guilt and regret Detective Stabler experienced upon finding her chair toppled over, blood everywhere — and head now just gory, gaping hole — is replaced by a tiny, barely noticeable secret smile. Because maybe at least one person he tried to save is safe after all. And maybe, to tie this back to the other family saga in play in this episode, he can break the Stabler family cycle after all.

…but uh. Can we talk about how Rocco and Lucia are just pure, soulless evil here? A sister, her grandchildren, just obstacles to them. Pretty sure Lucia enjoyed getting to hurt Isabella more even than she relished trying to get information out of the priest. Then, Rocco was just smug as he sauntered into that stall, ready to end both of those kids. And the look in his eyes YIKES.

MORE: Read our Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 Episode 3 review for our initial thoughts on the Camorra case.

More on Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 Episode 5

• “Whatever the h—l happened is between you and your God. Nobody else.” Put that with the IAB a—holes comment, saying only guilty people get their union reps, and twisting Elliot’s words, and I just would like to say for the record that I really do not like Hunt. Also worth pointing out the deeply uncomfortable optics of it being two sketchy Black cops throwing the white rookie who made a mistake under the bus, just to “get” his old white daddy. Who are the cops usually doing the shootings, and what do their victims actually usually look like? Hm.
• “Because I find myself investigating yet another officer involved shooting involving yet another Stabler.” Me, a frustrated viewer.
• “The police might have shot him, but it was my brother who killed him. It was Rocco. He has brought the cancer here, and now he’s taken my Pietro.” I love the rational and just way Isabella looks at all of this. However. Does her never finding out it was Elliot’s own son who shot Pietro kinda rob us of some really interesting dynamics? Kinda think yes.
• “Looks kind of scrawny, huh?” “That’s what preemies look like.” “Yeah. Undercooked.” “What an a—.” Love them forever.
• When Bernie starts thinking she’s talking to Joe about that baby, her boys’ smiles immediately turn to grimaces. Wow.
• More greatness from Meloni: That entire father/son scene where Elliot tries to find the words to reassure Eli. Elliot (very) Senior starts and stops so many times, struggles to get any words out whatsoever, is so hesitant and unsure of himself in a way he normally doesn’t let others see, can’t even get comfortable in that chair, and is just…doesn’t even make eye contact for most of it.
• “So, no different than a relationship?” “I’m not gonna touch that one.” As he shouldn’t — if dude was any good at relationships, Eli wouldn’t exist. He also would’ve never crossed paths with Isabella Spezzano in Italy because he would’ve never F-ed off to Italy to begin with.
• “Oh, Lord, this boy got your ears.” OMG I LOVE THEM.
• “Oh! That’s good. He’s following protocol.” In which Bell is pleasantly surprised that at least one Elliot Stabler follows some rules.
• “My father gave the gun to my brother. He passed it on to Roman. It’s a tradition, an evil tradition.”
• MY GOD. Isabella’s sense of betrayal when Elliot asks if she’s heard from Roman, then follows up by asking how he can believe her.
• “How can I believe you?” “Because I’d rather have Roman judged by 12 than carried by 6.”
• Would love to have some real, genuine…stuff for Reyes and Bell this season, but at least the smaller moments still stand out. He is so happy after that deposition! The fist bump!
• …very different from El’s entering fist bump to Reyes.
• “Holy sh—. That’s not Rocco.” Could watch Ayanna Bell’s “welp. Here we go” face all day, every day.
• “I’m not a mind reader.”
• Some of these long reaction shots in Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 Episode 5 are art. See also: Reyes at the end of his IAB interview. That is some storytelling, right there.
• I feel like Bell had more of a reaction to that car bomb than Elliot, though? My dude, that’s how your plot device of a wife went kaboom. Traumatic!
• “Well, with Eli and Becky gone, and uh, you know, your car getting blown up, I thought I’d bring you some supper.” Brothers. <3
• “How’s the noggin? That kaboom trigger your TBI?” Thank you, Randall, for playing the “hey, can we please keep Elliot’s recent history consistent” audience member. (And if we change TBI to PTSD, he’s basically asking what I did up above. Wild.)
• EASY BAKE OVEN. RANDALL, BAD.
• “They came here a year ago. They wanted to kill you. I told them that I would only help them if they swore not to touch you. And now, Pietro is dead and it’s all my fault.” Her hard, calculating look when Roman tells her they want her dead, though.
• “Tending to the sick, Sister.” So, uh. Technically, he didn’t lie.
• “NO. IAB.” Bell has figured out how to get “Stabler, no” to actually work! Well-trained! (At least in some situations…)
• The scene where Reyes has tea with the nun (who we later learn is Lucia) is so good. You can spot the instant he starts to realize something’s up with her.
• …ok but all that blood.
• No, seriously. BLOOD. LOTS BLOOD.
• The cigarettes? Thank God Olivia Benson is not part of this investigation…
• Dorothy Lyman and Anthony Skordi are terrifying in these roles. Truly. That shot of Skordi right before the ad break, in particular…wow.
• Randall and Kyle? Besties?????
• “Oh, I’m so glad you reminded me.” Bernie being excited to go watch her cooking show is so, so relatable. Perfect distraction.
• “Upload her data to the cloud.” “To the what?” Interesting week for old men not knowing anything about technology on streaming shows. (See also: Agent “what the H— is CO. DEC.” Rossi on Criminal Minds: Evolution.)
• Vargas’ “oh, FFS. What did I get myself into” expression after Randall asks him not to say anything to Elliot, though.
• “If that’s what he thinks he heard, that’s on him.” It’s the way Meloni smirks and shakes his head for me.
• “But I’ll tell you this: Whether this were my son or not, it doesn’t matter. I didn’t believe — and I don’t believe! — that a rookie officer, three weeks out of the academy? Who was just engaged in his first firefight? Should be standing over the body of someone he may — or may not — have shot.” GET HIM ELLIOT. HE IS RIGHT. THAT KID HAD NO EFFING BUSINESS BEING THERE.
• LOVE the lighting in the scene where they find Father De Luca…who turned out not to suck in the end. Wild.
• Also love that effect of the blurred figures in the glass on that front door as Lucia and Rocco approach the house.
• This whole sequence at the horse farm, though. All of it. One thing the Law & Order franchise is going to do is have phenomenal guest starts, put in the most intense situations.
• Bell: Wait for backup. El: Sure, Jan.
• “She moves, shoot her.” LMAO AT ELLIOT SAYING THIS ABOUT SOMEONE DRESSED AS A NUN.
• …he’s right, though.
• So…we…can afford to show text messages on a screen? Wild if true! Maybe Benson’s phone just doesn’t work. Seems legit.
• “Oh, don’t you talk to me like I’m crazy!” Seriously will never be able to put into words how much I appreciate what this series is doing with Bernie. When people experiencing a decline like this have their moments of lucidity, and are aware that they don’t usually have one, and can’t get through to their families…it is absolutely and completely gutting for all involved. Ellen Burstyn is doing that dynamic justice.
• That closeup of Bernie’s barely held back tears when she makes the Joe/Eli connection.
• …and the closeup of Elliot experiencing so many emotions at the end of that scene. Oof. Someone hug him!
• “I am so. scared.”
• Elliot is trying so hard not to cry when he hears about how much his son loves him. Genuinely don’t believe he believed in himself as a father enough to know until Becky told him.
• Happy we got to actually see Elliot and Becky have a moment, but man…that poor girl. Premature delivery — without the baby’s father there because he was in an IAB meeting after killing someone. As if giving birth, especially to a preemie, wasn’t hard enough.
• “Geo what?” Never change, Uncle Randall. Ever.
• Joey, son, you’re going through it with that dye job.
• I’m just fascinated by how close and easy Elliot and Melinda’s dynamic is, just like last time we saw her. Let’s just have Tamara Tunie forever, ok?
• …what’s that? She’s kinda busy with a whole daytime soap? Ugh. Fine. But as often as possible, please and thank you!

Agree? Disagree? What did you think of Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 Episode 5 ‘Lago D’Averno’? Leave us a comment!

New episodes of Law & Order: Organized Crime stream Thursdays on Peacock.