Where Did the 'Law & Order: Organized Crime' Characters Leave Off?

Christopher Meloni in 'Law & Order: Organized Crime'

Elliott Stabler (Christopher Meloni) is returning to our television sets when Law & Order: Organized Crime returns for a fourth season on Jan. 18. The show is in its usual spot in the Thursday night lineup behind Law & Order: SVU, where we first met Stabler before the turn of the century.

Unlike its counterparts (Law & Order and SVU), Organized Crime was always slated to make a midseason premiere. The show was picked up for 13 episodes in April before the strike upended primetime television, with sources telling TVLine that the shorter season would help producers accomplish specific plans.

Which cast members are a part of said plans, and what exactly happened last we saw them? We did the detective work on the Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 4 cast, so you don't have to.

Related: All About 'Law & Order: Organized Crime' Season 4

Which cast members are returning for Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 4 and where did their characters leave off?

Christopher Meloni as Det. Elliott Stabler

Meloni will reprise his role as Stabler for the fourth season of Organized Crime. When we last saw our guy, he was saying goodbye to Captain Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) following the death of Det. Jamie Whelan (Brent Antonello) in a bombshell SVU crossover event. Although we don't know much about what's going to happen in Season 4 of Organized Crime, we know Stabler will throw himself into an undercover assignment involving a crime ring dealing illegal drugs as a way to cope. (“Every character handles the loss differently,” he told Parade in a recent interview.) Once his cover is blown, he returns and finds unwelcome changes within the task force.

But let's rewind a bit: Before Stabler leaves at the end of Season 3, he gives Benson a wow-worthy diamond compass necklace. The sweet ending is a lighter moment to the finale, which otherwise saw the two in hot water as they tried to shut down Shadowerk, a revenge-for-hire website run by Kenny Kyle (Michael Drayer). Kyle placed a hit on both members of the NYPD brass, but it's another member of the team who winds up fatally shot—Whelan. Stabler is on his way to the detective's funeral when he visits Benson one final time.

Does that mean Bensler is on? Not so fast. Stabler also dreamt of his deceased wife, Kathy (Isabel Gillies), in Season 3, and started wearing his wedding ring again. The Bensler slow-burn continues.

Season 3 also saw Stabler reconnecting with his mother, Bernie (Ellen Burstyn). Though she has lived with him for a time, Mama Bernie's Alzheimer's has progressed, and in a moment of humility and compassion, Stabler suggests the two look at retirement homes together. She's open to the idea.

Danielle Moné Truitt as Sargeant Ayanna Bell

Truitt is back as Stabler's new partner, and she's the steady, no-nonsense yin to Stabler's at times off-the-rails yang. But Bell's personal and professional life hasn't been without drama. In Season 3, we learn she's going through a divorce from her wife, Denise (Keren Dukes), with whom she shares a child. And on the work front, she's had to navigate a complicated relationship with Jet Slootmaekers (Ainsley Seiger), who starts to seemingly develop romantic feelings for criminal hacker Adam Mintock (Wesam Keesh). For once, it isn't Stabler causing the headaches.

At the end of Season 3, we see the ordinarily composed Bell devastated by the loss of Whelan. Whether that grief will play a role in Bell's development in Season 4 is TBD.

Ainsley Seiger as Jet Slootmaekers

With her monotone voice and an ability to pull up leads and evidence faster than high-speed Internet, Seiger's Jet Slootmaekers quickly became a contender for "coolest Law & Order" cast member ever (at least in this writer's opinion). But the reliably tech-savvy Jet didn't give us many glimpses into her personal life until Season 3.

In the third season, we learn she got married at 20, something she regrets, and that she remains estranged from her father because of it. Jet also starts to seemingly develop feelings for Mintock, a hacker, which raises concerns for Sergeant Bell, who doesn't want to risk losing a detective. The good news is, Jet isn't going anywhere—she gets promoted to second-grade detective.

Despite all the hubbub about her potential feelings for Mintock, Jet ultimately confesses to Whelan that she loves him (this is after he's in the hospital for his gunshot wound). It's unclear whether she meant that as a friend or more. Either way, don't expect that relationship to blossom in Season 4, because Whelan dies.

Rick Gonzalez as Det. Bobby Reyes

Det. Bobby Reyes, portrayed by Rick Gonzalez, entered the task force's precinct for the first time disguised as an electrician in episode 2 of the third season. He joins the team following stints with the Anti-Crime and Narcotics units. His first assignment? Going undercover as a construction worker and club employee to investigate the death of Henry Cole Jeorge Bennett Watson), who was upset about a casino being built on his property.

Soon after, Reyes goes undercover again, this time as a prison inmate, to get more information on the suspect in custody. He gets stabbed in the process, but he also gets the task force the intel it needed.

Later in the season, it's revealed Det. Reyes was in foster care, and three members of the gang Robinhood were once his foster brothers.

In the season finale, Det. Whelan begs Reyes to pull the plug after he is shot, but Reyes refuses. Like the rest of the task force, he'll likely have some grief to deal with in Season 4.

Related: Everything to Know About 'Law & Order: SVU' Season 25

What happened to Detective Jamie Whelan on Law & Order: Organized Crime?

Whelan's time on Organized Crime proved to be short-lived. After joining the task force in Season 3 as a hotheaded, seemingly younger version of Stabler, Whelan is shot in the finale. He winds up dying from his wounds. He won't be back for Season 4, but the impact of his death will likely reverberate. Jet admitted she loved him, Bell was visibly upset by his passing and Stabler was devastated in his own way as well.

Related: Christopher Meloni Shares Rare Photos of 'Twin' Son Dante in Honor of His 20th Birthday

What new cast members will Join Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 4?

We'll meet Stabler's two brothers in Season 4. Breaking Bad alum Dean Norris will play Stabler's older brother, Randall. Per Deadline, big bro Randall "left the family when he was young and now is a successful real estate developer, [and] has a long-standing tension with Elliot resulting from an event involving their father."

We'll also get to know Stabler's younger brother, Joe, Jr., played by The Right Stuff's Michael Trotter. So far, we know that Joe Jr. was dishonorably discharged from the military and now works for a British wine merchant. We also know he has a strained relationship with our Organized Crime protagonist. Should make for some interesting television!

Next, Christopher Meloni Shares His Thoughts on 'Bensler' and Stabler's Evolution