Bell’s return in the season finale was too little, too late.
She started out the season strong, as always, standing up to an FBI agent who thought he could take over because he was a white male dealing with a Black woman.
However, the fact that the series sidelined her for three out of ten episodes after that is Law & Order: Organized Crime‘s worst sin.
Danielle Moné Truitt’s Ayanna Bell Used to Be a Complex, Interesting Character
In previous seasons, especially Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 1, Bell was a unique, dynamic character who had both personal and professional goals.
She was a tough leader, partially because she had to be — she was one of the few Black lesbians to be in a supervisory position in the NYPD, and she knew there were some people who would use any excuse to take that away because of who she was.
But she was never a stereotype. She was a living, breathing, three-dimensional character who tried to balance professional and family demands.
Bell also cared deeply about her team members. She took undercover agent Gina Cappelletti’s death hard and became determined not to let any of her other agents die — a promise she couldn’t keep.
What happened to that complex, interesting version of Bell?
Even before they sidelined her for three episodes, the series reduced Bell to a secondary character during Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5.
The focus was on Stabler and his family, despite the series mostly ignoring Joey’s disappearance until the penultimate episode of the short season, and that meant very limited time for Bell’s subplots.
Bell is at her best when she’s standing up to people who underestimate her, as she did at the beginning of the season.
But by the time she returned for Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 Episode 10, she barely had anything to say to an FBI agent who wanted to offer Emery a sweetheart deal that he didn’t deserve, and her final subplot was cut far too short.
She barely got through warning Reyes not to let Stabler drag him down when Stabler returned with intel about Emery, leading Bell to drop her opposition to his plans so she could help take Emery down.
Afterward, her conflict with Stabler over her decision not to let him shoot Emery could have been a meaty subplot, but it evaporated quickly so the series could wrap up that story.
Bell’s Absence for Three Episodes Was a Bigger Deal Because the Season Was so Short
Bell was missing for three episodes, during which Stabler ran the unit with the help of Vargas and Detective Tanner, who was on loan from the Narcotics division.
If the season had been longer, this might not have been such a big deal.
Cast rotation happens in almost every Dick Wolf show, and it always sucks because characters are missing in action when they’re needed most.
But it’s twice as bad when there are only ten episodes. Bell was absent for a full third of the season!
The tiny team that replaced her (and Reyes, whose absence was also ridiculous!) was so much less interesting, too.
Stabler did okay as a leader in Bell’s absence, though he really needs someone level-headed and strong to play off of.
Agree? Disagree? Have a theory?
Let us know in the comments, or share this article with someone who will want to argue about it with you. That’s what makes it fun.
He had that at home because Randall wouldn’t stop sticking his nose in Stabler’s business, but that wasn’t enough.
In any case, Stabler’s team in Bell’s absence consisted of the two most boring characters in Law & Order: Organized Crime history.
Vargas is a poor replacement for Jet. He has little personality, and his reaction to Stabler handing him that hard drive to work on in secret made me miss her twice as much.
Jet would have understood what to do with that hard drive, why it was important, and why Stabler was keeping it from Bell for the time being.
Bell already made it clear during Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 4 that she knows everything that goes on with her team members. It would have been compelling if we saw her confront Jet — it wasn’t when she caught Vargas with the drive.
Don’t get me started on Tanner, either.
She seemed like the type of cop who usually interfered with Organized Crime Bureau operations, and it never made any sense that she temporarily joined the team after arresting Vargas.
All the series accomplished by making me sit through three episodes of Stabler working with these two was turning me into a Bell stan.
She was sorely missed, and her replacements made that abundantly clear.
I don’t know why Bell was absent for three episodes, so I don’t want to speculate.
It could have been cast rotation, Danielle Moné Truitt having a scheduling conflict, or the show experimenting with what Stabler getting a command position would look like.
Regardless, the end result was that Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 did not work as well as it could have.
Whatever the reason for Bell’s exclusion, the series should have replaced her with characters that were worth spending time with, and unless it was unavoidable, she should not have been missing for a third of the season.
Plus, when she was there, she should have had the type of dynamic storylines that showcase her at her best, and Law & Order: Organized Crime failed to do that, for the most part.
Hopefully, There’s a Sixth Season That Rectifies This; In the Meantime, Let’s Have Your Thoughts
Let’s keep the conversation going — it’s the only way the good stuff survives.
Whether you also missed Bell or thought Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 was better when she wasn’t around, I want to hear from you. Hit the comments with your thoughts and share this article with a friend so they can join in.
Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 is over, but all five seasons are available to stream on Peacock.
Watch Law & Order: Organized Crime Online
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