The millennial generation has a notable tendency to get overly-invested in television shows. I, personally, have cried harder over the death of a fictional character than I have at a real life funeral. But maybe that’s just me being a little twisted.

Nonetheless, as an audience, we cannot help but become attached to the characters in the shows we so religiously watch. When a favorite or long-term character decides to leave the show or God forbid gets “killed off,” an acceptance and recovery period is absolutely required. One particular character departure that certainly hit home for me, and for many others as well, was when Christopher Meloni decided to end his journey as Elliot Stabler, and left "Law & Order: SVU."

Needless to say, I was in legitimate mourning for about three weeks. Even though they didn’t kill the character off, there was a sense of finality about the manner in which he left. Should the show end altogether, perhaps Meloni may decide to see it off with a quick appearance - but that’s just a dream at the moment.

I have endless love for "SVU." I grew up watching it with my mother (when I was probably too young to be doing so), and developed a love for each and every one of the characters. Captain Cragen was delightful in all his bald-headed valor and Detective Munch was a personal favorite of mine, with his witty comments and constant snarky commentary. Ice-T and his tiny little braided ponytail will always hold a special place in my heart as Fin Tutuola. I wish B.D. Wong could’ve been my therapist. Every Assistant District Attorney on the show, from Alex to Raphael, was an attack dog that I found myself identifying with (maybe I should’ve been a lawyer…).

But a gigantic part of what made the show so enjoyable was the relationship between Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Stabler. No one could really figure it out. He loved his wife Kathy, but there was totally something more than strictly friendship between them; but neither one of them would ever jeopardize their friendship and the chemistry between them was simultaneously blissful and torturous.

Since Stabler left the show, the writers of "SVU" have been making big moves with Benson’s character. She’s a sergeant with command over the entire unit now, she’s a mommy to her little adopted boy Noah and is sleeping with the higher-ups. Doing big things, Olivia. Even after introducing two new central players to "SVU," Dominick Carisi (Peter Scanavino) and Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish), who have developed a sibling-like relationship, nothing has quite filled the void of where Stabler once was.

It’s obvious that Carisi and Rollins are aimed to be the new Benson-and-Stabler-esque relationship on the show, but it’s just not quite hitting the audience the way that they did. I feel that they haven’t developed those characters enough to have them have such a notable storyline - but Benson’s character simply cannot carry the show on its own.

The audience had manifested roots in the relationship between Benson and Stabler. Now that one half of the whole is gone, it is difficult to develop that same kind of investment in characters that we do not know as well.

Meloni left "SVU" and became a character on "True Blood" (another sick obsession of mine) and was promptly killed off. Since then, he has done little work. Maybe he regrets leaving "SVU?" Doubtful, since all he would have to do is think about returning and Dick Wolf will be on the phone offering him more money than God.

We love you Elliot, forever and ever and ever and…