Law & Order: SVU's Chris Meloni Says Healing of Elliot and Olivia's Relationship Will "Be a Process"

Tonight is the night Law & Order fans have been waiting for, as Chris Meloni's Elliot Stabler and Mariska Hargitay's Olivia Benson will finally reunite on Law & Order: SVU. The reunion has been on the wishlists of fans ever since Meloni's character abruptly left the squad back in season 12, and for a while, it seemed like it wasn't ever going to happen, but here we are. Ahead of the big crossover Meloni spoke to TV Line about the reunion, and as the preview clips have shown, Stabler coming back after all these years is going to bring up complicated feelings from both characters, and the healing might take a while.

"Well, this is what I think about that: No one's going to be satisfied. [Laughs] I mean, it's such a long time," Meloni said. "It is so many unanswered questions. I think there's such a great sense of abandonment and betrayal and a what-the-f–k-ed-ness of it all, that, you know, that wound is, you know, not going to… get its dressings all, you know, squared away. You know, it's going to be a process, right?"

There will be more Stabler Benson scenes later in SVU's season, and odds are they will also interact a bit on Meloni's new spinoff series Organized Crime. It's been quite a while since Meloni stepped into Stabler's shoes, but getting back into character was a pretty seamless affair for him.

"That was actually the most surprising aspect to the whole proceeding. You know, you're presented with the idea. You mull it over, and you negotiate your terms, and you're off and running. And then, along the way, you're like, "What have I done?" [Laughs] …You get into all these crazy, but needed, thought processes," Meloni said.

"And then, all of a sudden, the day is there, and you go, 'OK, well, what the hell? Let's jump in.' And it was seamless, and I was shocked. I was shocked," Meloni said. "Didn't think about it. It was funny. I mean, the most arduous journey for me was to push away all the hoopla, the buildup, anticipation and expectations. I finally had a nice chat with myself saying, 'Please don't do that. Just focus on the work, and everything will be fine.' Sure enough, I did do that. I listened to myself."

Stabler's return kicks off on Law & Order: SVU, which airs on NBC at 8 PM CST. That will be followed by the premiere of Law & Order: Organized Crime, which airs at 9 PM CST.

Are you excited for Stabler's return? Let us know in the comments or feel free to talk all things Law & Order SVU and Organized Crime with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!