'Law & Order: SVU' Without Detective Stabler?

As most of you know, after playing Detective Elliot Stabler for twelve seasons, Christopher Meloni won't be returning for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit's thirteenth season. I am sure that many fans here are grieving the fact that when they turn on their televisions for the latest episodes, they won't see Stabler getting emotional and beating on a perp. I say this because I, myself, am saddened by this fact.

The content of the new episodes (so far only two have aired here in the USA) have been well structured and, in a way, fresh. The drama has been suspenseful and well drawn out. Newest dectective Amanda Rollins (played by Kelli Giddish), one of two female detectives on the show, seems to be a pretty good detective and fits well within the show's case. Detective Amaro (played by Danny Pino) serves as a sort of replacement for Christopher Meloni's Detective Stabler. Surprisingly, Amaro isn't as bad as I thought he would be, though he's nothing like Stabler - maybe that' s a good thing, maybe it's a bad thing, who knows?

Returning for season thirteen is Captain Donald Cragen (Dan Florek), Detective John Munch (Richard Belzer), Detective Fin Tutuola (played by former rapper Ice-T), Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and ADA Alex Cabot (Stephanie March). ADA Casey Novak (played by Diane Neal) will also be briefly returning for a future episode in season thirteen.

The thirteenth season started off with two heartbreaking episodes. The first, Scorched Earth, airing on September 21, 2011, feautures Detective Benson attempting to contact Detective Stabler who she hasn't spoken to since an incident in which it seems he's shooting a young girl. Near the end of this episode, Olivia is told by Cragen (SVU's captain) that Detective Elliot Stable has turned in his resignation papers, causing Olivia to have a minor emotional breakdown over the news. This broke my heart to pieces!

In the second episode, Personal Fouls, which aired on September 28, 2011, Cragen tells Benson that she needs to start packing up Stabler's desk, mentioning that she can't keep it as a shrine to him anymore. When I saw this, I couldn't help bu think, couldn't someone else have done that? It broke my heart to see her so sad as she slowly packs up Detective Stabler's desk and then she stare longingly at a framed picture of Elliot.

If you're a strong fan of Detective Stabler and Benson's relationship, you should probably watch this season with a pint of ice cream and a box of tissue. I promise, you will cry.

And if you're just there for the show's crime drama, then this season will definitely be great for you. Don't let.

Don't let this review discourage you from watching because we need to have hope. Hope that one day Meloni might come back and give us what we all want.