What is the title of the episode where Elliot Stabler returns in season 22?

The episode where Elliot Stabler returns in season 22 is titled “Return of the Prodigal Son.” It is the ninth episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’s 22nd season and originally aired on NBC on April 1, 2021.

The episode marked Christopher Meloni’s return as Stabler after the character had been absent from SVU for roughly 10 years. Stabler had left the series after season 12, following the episode “Smoked.” When he reappears, he is living in Rome and working as an NYPD liaison focused on organized crime. He returns to New York for a ceremony honoring his former partner, Olivia Benson.

The reunion quickly turns tragic. Stabler’s wife, Kathy, is badly injured in a car bombing apparently intended for him and later dies from her injuries. Her death becomes the central event leading Stabler into the spin-off Law & Order: Organized Crime. The episode is therefore both a major SVU return and a crossover setup. Its story continues in the Organized Crime premiere “What Happens in Puglia.”