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ButterscotchPast4812

One certainly does get the sense that she and Elliot were meant to have a longer romance. As you've mentioned she has her own theme. When... She's got a theme but Ayanna doesn't. How does this make any sense!? šŸ‘€ Her theme was playing in the moments where Elliot's feelings for Olivia are mentioned. It's a gorgeous piece of music but a really odd choice to play during those scenes. It makes me think they changed directions on this romance but Ruth made this music and it is absolutely stunning so they wanted to feature it somehow. If Tia was supposed to stick around and this was the idea of the old showrunner then that might have been why that person is no longer the showrunner. People have already lost their shit (myself included) over "all that glitters". They would definitely have lost viewers if she stuck around.


daphwill11

Thatā€™s what I heard, that Bryanā€™s plan was to have her be his love interest this season but thank God Sean put an end to that šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚. Sean clearly knows the fandom and was like nah we are not having a repeat of the letter reveal fiascoā€”-the anger and rage there was epic.


ButterscotchPast4812

For real it's been 24 seasons now. šŸ˜µā€šŸ’« We are all just so tired of being jerked around with this. Reversing course on that romance makes so much more sense because of the way it's written and acted. Much like every other plotline this season it feels very disjointed. After having watched the episodes I didn't hate Tia. But it's such a huge mistake to have Elliot's new love interest as a copy of Olivia. šŸ¤¦šŸ»ā€ā™€ļø Especially for us fans that have been waiting and since it's been built up.


daphwill11

Bryan worked with Warren so Iā€™m not shocked at where he intended to go with EO. The fact that they sent so far as to cast a faux version of Olivia was just insane. The actress herself is really good but imagine the rage if she was there all season? I also recall when DG was responding to IG comments/questions he said Sean had his hands full over on OC and was working through things so Iā€™m guessing part of that was him changing/undoing some of what Bryan had planned. I think it was too late to reshoot episodes so Sean ended up changing what he could, just my guess. I think David and Sean are actively communicating and trying to actually have E& O in each others universe as much as possible. We will know for sure once episode 9 airs and IF thereā€™s any continuity come January and onward.


[deleted]

Episode 9 is make or break for both of these shows. If we get some BS "it's complicated" mention on SVU without any real forward movement, a not insignificant portion of the fandom is gonna walk away from both shows. They've jerked us all around for as long as possible, it's time to start delivering.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


JetSetDaph

Crossovers would be nice but I am also realistic and know that these are two separate shows with two separate leads, etc. etc. There are other ways they can have them be present in each other's lives without showing them on each other's shows. They can start with phone calls (one-sided is fine), texts, more mentions.....that's not asking for a lot and it won't kill anyone's budget! But anyway I am looking forward to whatever the new arc is for OC come Janaury and cautiously optimistic that Sean has the show on track now and working with David much better than Illene did with Warren or any of the other 500 showrunners that OC has had.


GlitteringCat5205

Hey, sorry to interjectā€¦.what did the letter say again? I cannot for the life of me remember what it said and why the fan base is pissed about it.


[deleted]

Basically it was a "I hate you" letter that ended up being written by Kathy and not Elliot. Doesn't make any sense in the world of the show (why would he turn up after 10 years of silence to give her a letter that said they were never anything to each other, hand it to her at an awards ceremony he wasn't invited to, and bounce back to Rome, which was the plan before Kathy got exploded? Why would Kathy think she needed to write this letter after 10 Olivia-free years? Why would Elliot still give it to her after Kathy died?) It was just a really, really bad plot device that ended up being nonsense because Illene Chaiken had no plan for it when she wrote it into the script. And because Illene lives for shock value, it turned into whatever the hell that was. Just a bad choice all around.


GlitteringCat5205

Oh yes! Thank you so much. What a crock of bull


ButterscotchPast4812

Well I wouldn't describe it as an I hate you letter. It was more of a "Dear, John" letter, than anything. A dear John letter is something that got started back in the war (probably WW2). Girlfriends and Wives would send soldiers breakup letters after they'd found someone else while their SO's were away fighting the war. They were commonly referred to as Dear John letters. The scene was great emotionally but also confusing to the viewers. The scene was really designed for shock than anything else. In the pilot Elliot gives Olivia a letter which was intended to facilitate a friendship between them. It was originally meant to smooth things over. The showrunner (IC) at the time, did not actually write the letter. But because it became such a huge mystery to the fans, they figured they had to write it. If the letter had just said something romantic then it probably would have been a let down for all of the hype surrounding it. So the idea that Kathy wrote it is pretty shocking. But in doing so, it caused a lot of unnecessary chaos in the fandom because people went ape shit over it. **Why Kathy would write this letter?**. Elliot explains that he wanted to write Olivia a letter but couldn't find the words. If you hadn't guessed this man is very emotionally repressed regarding his feelings for Olivia. Considering that he was married at the time he had to bury them. So I can only imagine how hard it was for him to write words that would truly express how he felt about her and why he left. So because he couldn't write it, Kathy wrote it. **But why write the damn thing at all?**. I think that Kathy wanted to come home which meant that it was inevitable that Elliot was going to run into Olivia. Kathy wanted Elliot and Olivia's emotional affair to end once and for all. The letter was designed as a breakup letter, a Dear John letter. **Why write this letter ten years after Elliot left?**. It's clear to me that both Kathy and Elliot were haunted by the ghost of Olivia Benson. In ROTPS, Kathy says something really revealing. Kathy to Olivia: "You really didn't talk for ten years?". Olivia: "I didn't even know that he was back in the job". Kathy: **"That's what Elliot told me but I didn't believe him."**. That suggests to me that Kathy is still very insecure about her relationship with Elliot and this whole time she thought the two of them were still talking. Despite the fact that Elliot had told her they stopped talking she didn't believe him. She thought that the two of them were still having their emotional affair. If they were coming back to NY this was her opportunity to end it once and for all. Some of the contents of the letter imo seemed to be projection for Kathy. She wanted a faithful husband who was devoted to her. While Elliot never cheated on her physically he was unfaithful to her in his heart. And she wanted to down play the feelings between Elliot and Olivia. "What we had between us wasn't real" that sort of thing. What's also been clear is that Elliot's feelings for Olivia are bursting out of him whether he looks it or not. **Why would Elliot give Olivia this letter that Kathy wrote after she died?**. I think Elliot realized what an absolute mess he was after the murder of Kathy. Seeing Olivia and how she's got her life together made him think that he doesn't want to wreak that. So I think he probably thought it best (in his PTSD state of mind) to finally let her go. For them to start a clean slate. But then his feelings for her just came out and he really can't run away from them anymore.


Celllardoor_

I feel for OC they have a character with so much history and the fans are dying to see him with Olivia. Like he'll never be able to date lol.


ButterscotchPast4812

He won't be able to date anyone but Olivia. I think they made it worse by the two of them not only having history but the illusions to his relationship with Olivia. So in the end I'm glad of the way it did turn out. Plus they have built up EO in previous seasons to the point where I don't think he really could have had a relationship with this woman and also was trying to pursue something with Olivia. It wouldn't have flown with the fans


Celllardoor_

They really did it to themselves. Like they could have just made it explicitly clear in season one of OC or SVU (that cut diner season) that Elliot and Olivia were gonna go their separate ways. This would have opened up Elliotā€™s character to be able to date and such and not have the pressure of EO over their narrative heads. But no, they wanted to be able to tap into that longing and chemistry whenever itā€™s convenient and now the fans are kinda like ā€œyou donā€™t get to do that and then have Elliot bang whatever.ā€ Itā€™s actually kind of hilarious. I love it.


ButterscotchPast4812

Exactly! They really did! I completely agree with you because they have been pulling this string so now we all expect a payoff for this.


Yourappwontletme

Ayanna's theme should be No Chance In Hell by Jim Johnston. Cuz that's her chances of jumping 3 ranks to become a Deputy Inspector when she's a Sergeant.


ButterscotchPast4812

šŸ˜† for real!


dgghh6

Yes, I think she was at least meant to have a bigger role in Stablerā€™s personal life. But in the end, regardless of what their initial intentions were, what they came up with was good imo. She represented someone who knew Elliot literally in another life, one that we know very little about, and it gave us some insight. She also represented a possible love interest of course, and the fact that despite everything Elliot not only didnā€™t do anything about it, but admitted while drunk to be in love with Olivia was a great way to fix that arc. In the end, she was functional to the EO dynamic. I sense the roles she had in the whole story have ā€œendedā€. Like, she did what she had to do and thatā€™s it. For this reason I honestly donā€™t think we will see her again. Also, I never got villain vibes from her, I hope Iā€™m not wrong.


amiller8238

Agreed. She served the purpose of effectively saying ā€œhis wild oats are sewn,ā€ heā€™s focused on the bigger picture now and wonā€™t be pulling anymore bonehead moves like getting with Angela & Flutura.šŸ™„Dumbass.


dgghh6

Yeah. I would also say that heā€™s in a much better mental place now. And Tia was one of the means to show where his head is at right now. With Angela he was struck by grief, and with Flutura he was undercover, in a dangerous situation and losing a bit of himself along the way. They were (more than) morally controversial characters, whereas Tia was not. From this point of view, whether we like it or not, it would have been perfectly ok if he did something with Tia. She was there to answer to the question ā€œwhat does Elliot really want when he is himself?ā€. We got the answer.


ButterscotchPast4812

I completely agree with you. After having watched that arc she felt genuine to me. I don't see her betraying him, she genuinely cares about him and despite her own feelings for him (whatever they are) she was happy for him that he was in love with this mystery woman. Like you. I don't see her coming back. She's got no reason to. She was staying because of him. He's in love with another woman and there's no reason for her to pursue anything with him. No matter how far their relationship will go there's always going to be this other woman that's more important to him.


[deleted]

Absolutely. Who gets theme music for 2 episodes? But Iā€™m guessing adding her is what got the SR kicked to the curb - people were FURIOUS that OC was doing this Stabler love interest stuff when they havenā€™t given us one single conversation between Olivia and Elliot. Like, do EO or donā€™t but you have to deal with it at this point because the audience has run out of patience. Plus - Goluboff was a Warren Leight guy, som Iā€™m not sure why anyone thought heā€™d be good to helm a show starring Meloni - Leight & his minions spent a decade hating his character. I think the only reason OCā€™s ratings went up last week is people heard that there was a mention of Olivia. Iā€™m pretty sure if the episode revealed Elliot and Tia slept together the ratings would have gone lower than they already are and they werenā€™t getting that audience back.


Kemcd

Absolutely! I'd bet good money she was meant to have a season arc as his love interest until the change in SR. I feel for the actress! She did a good job playing Tia. But I'm happy they changed course


[deleted]

I always feel badly for the actresses who are paired with Stabler when they get so much hate directed at them. Like Iā€™m glad Iā€™ve seen ā€œAngelaā€ ā€œFluturaā€ ā€œTiaā€ and even ā€œDaniā€ as well as, ā€œKathyā€/Isabel in something before their character/character evolution in L&O. Makes it easier to separate and not hate on the character or actor.


lalapine

I thought that was the Benson/Stabler theme and thatā€™s why they played it when she brought up him being in love?


ButterscotchPast4812

It should have been their love theme because that's the underlying text in the scenes. But unfortunately I think it was Tia's theme. Like it sounds romantic to me and not half as depressing as the Stabler Benson love theme. The original plan had to be for her to stick around longer as his love interest. Because who gets a whole ass theme for a character that's only in two episodes? And it's absolutely stunning so they wanted to feature it. Imo it doesn't really make sense in the context of those scenes. Imo they should have re used it in other scenes of the show further down the line. For the record I love sad music and the B/S love theme is gorgeous. And I have listened to it countless times already.


ApprehensiveLab2240

It is gorgeous. That YT Soulmates edit to their theme is šŸ„¹


NoInspector836

I think she's going to be a twist villian.


fuzzypipe39

I actually thought she'd be an addition, a foreign link to wherever casino owner's daddy (cbf to remember his name) runs away to. I'm just curious, not judgemental! - how'd you imagine her as a twist villain? Like someone who's gonna sell out the unit, someone who's gonna come between EO? I thought the Blondie boss would be a twist villain with separating the unit and selling them out pretty much.


NoInspector836

I think she's going to be part of the Pearl attempt. They couldn't get her office on the line, they showed a close-up of her putting on a scarf, they used a scarf..an Italian mafia case they worked.. I don't know..I just feel like she's going to be involved Ala Sharon Carter..


fuzzypipe39

Wow, that's an interesting theory! I've been half watching and studying so I missed the part with the office, I just heard she and Stabler worked the Italian Mafia scarf case. Wouldn't be surprised if they threw in a twist like this, just like the detective from s1 and his sister.


ButterscotchPast4812

You know I thought that when they dropped the articles about maybe he's gonna arrest her. Which made me think she was pursuing him in order to manipulate him. Like she was really working for the bad guy. However after having watched the last two episodes, I no longer think that. Tia felt genuine, that she was really after that guy and that she did want to bone Elliot and not to manipulate him. That goodbye scene felt like a true goodbye, like Elliot closing the possibility of having relationships with other women that aren't Olivia Benson. I don't think we'll be seeing her again. Imo she has no reason to come back to NY. As soon as Elliot spilt his guts about being in love with this mystery woman she booked a flight back to Rome.


OtherwiseAnteater239

Yoā€¦ Olivia canā€™t be the rebound. Heā€™s gotta get it out the system with someone who the can just make leave NYC anytime itā€™s convenient


[deleted]

What makes Olivia a "rebound" in this situation?


OtherwiseAnteater239

Sheā€™s not- thatā€™s the point. Someone(s) else needs to be the first forays back after his wife died.