Law & Order: Organized Crime promised a season-ending cliffhanger, and they did not disappoint.

If anything, they over-delivered.

Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 1 Episode 8 revealed that Morales was the mole, implied that Wheatley would continue to try to use Benson to get to Stabler, and left Angela's life hanging in the balance... all in the last five minutes!

Did anyone guess Morales was working for Wheatley?

I kept wondering what happened to the suggestion that there was a mole, but Morales was never on my radar.

Washburn seemed the best bet since Stabler was suspicious of him, but his involvement in Wheatley's arrest squashed that theory.

So Morales was the next logical choice, but he seemed so invested in taking Wheatley down that it never crossed my mind that it could be an act.

Well played, Law & Order: Organized Crime!

It all happened so fast that I'm not entirely sure what Morales's motivation was or what he was trying to do right before his death.

He rambled on about needing to help his sister and being sorry, only to try to turn the gun on Benson instead of himself.

I guess Wheatley planned to lure Benson to the hospital so that Morales could kill her, but he should have known that wouldn't have worked.

Benson is too smart a cop and too connected to Stabler to fall for false messages and fakeouts, and all that ended up happening is Stabler saved her life, anyway.

In a twisted way, it seems like Wheatley wants to push Benson and Stabler together.

Wheatley: Liv. Captain Olivia Benson. Now I understand, Elliot. She is a knockout.
Benson: Get him out of here.

• Permalink: Get him out of here.

He respects Stabler as an adversary and is such an egomaniac that he might have convinced himself that he did Stabler a favor by eliminating Kathy and making threats against Benson so that Stabler reunites with his one true love.

That's the only way his behavior makes sense. He couldn't have seriously thought that his threats and weak-for-him plans were really going to rattle Benson or cause her to harm, could he?

Of course, Wheatley thinks he's the smartest man in the world and that he can get away with anything, so maybe he did think his ridiculous plans would work.

He seemed to believe that his speech claiming his kids were being targeted because of their race would score points with the judge somehow.

Stabler: The strategy is you can't prosecute me because my kids are Black?
Bell: Historically, that hasn't worked too well.

• Permalink: Historically, that hasn't worked too well.

If his case ever comes to trial, he will undoubtedly create chaos in the court with some ridiculous defense that likely includes Stabler having a vendetta against him, baseless accusations about Stabler killing Rafiq, and other assorted nonsense.

Elsewhere, the Oz-like subplot about Richie and the gang leader brought up a ton of questions that will hopefully be answered next season.

Obviously, that guy ordered the hit on Wheatley Senior. He must have been impressed by Richie's wanting to get revenge for Wheatley killing Sinatra, though I think that Wheatley insisting Richie kill Gina was also part of it.

But I want to know who this guy is and who he's connected to.

The bigger question is whether Richie will turn on his father in other ways.

He was more than willing to arrange an attempt on Wheatley's life, but will he also testify against him to save himself?

Richie is more likely than Dana to flip. He's been utterly dependent on Wheatley's approval, and now Wheatley has more or less abandoned him (except for that stupid speech in court.) Plus, he has several scores to settle with him.

Of course, if he does flip, his days are numbered. Richie is no match for his father, who kills with impunity whenever anyone crosses him.

And Wheatley already had his own father and one of his sons killed, so why not Richie, too, if the mood strikes him?

Does anyone expect Wheatley to ever go to trial, though?

Bell and Stabler made a passionate appeal to Baldi to let them prosecute Wheatley for Kathy's death, but whether he follows through with it is anyone's guess.

Baldi: If Wheatley turns out to be a criminal, I will return every penny.
Stabler: He murdered my wife.
Baldi: I can assure you that I want the same thing you want. Justice. If Wheatley has info that can help us catch bigger players, I'm obliged to consider it.

• Permalink: I can assure you that I want the same thing you want. Justice. If Wheatley has info that can...

Baldi struck me as a slimy opportunist, so I doubt Bell and Stabler's words will hold weight if Wheatley can find the right carrot to dangle to get his way instead.

And there's always the possibility that Wheatley could escape to cause more havoc or continue his criminal enterprise from behind bars without the guards knowing or being able to prove anything.

Finally,  Angela's life hung in the balance as the credits rolled and the hospital was eerily empty.

That was all sorts of weird, though few people may know that Angela is even in the hospital.

But Benson trying to awaken her makes for some interesting drama. If Angela survives, she may owe her life in part to the woman she sees as her rival for Stabler's affections.

There is no doubt that Angela is smitten with Stabler. She even had her lawyer look into who Wheatley was claiming was Stabler's, true love.

And I'm not sure how far she would go, ordinarily, if she saw Benson as a rival. She was the one who ordered the hit on Kathy, and there's no guarantee she wouldn't use everything she's learned from Richard to put Benson out of commission.

But now she'll owe her life in part to Benson, and if anything counts with people like Richard and Angela, it's loyalty to those who have your back.

Stabler saved Richard, and Benson possibly saved Angela, so how will that affect their futures?

Your turn, Organized Crime fanatics!

What questions were answered for you during the season finale? What do you want to be addressed when Organized Crime returns?

Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and let us know!

Want to refresh your memory first? Just watch Law & Order: Organized Crime online right here on TV Fanatic.

Law & Order: Organized Crime airs on NBC on Thursdays at 10 PM EST/PST. It will return for its second season in the fall of 2021.

Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on X.