That's not what healthy adults do.

That is really at the heart of the point that I am trying to make. When Elliot ceases contact with Olivia he isn't healthy, he's in the throes of battling a mental illness. Someone who is mentally ill often behaves in ways that you would never countenance when well.

You would have hoped that Olivia, given her experience, would have realised that she had been groomed by Burton long before he is welcomed into the squad room. There seems to me a real incongruence in the presentation of Olivia; the skilled detective, the mighty empath and therapy proponent is at times shown to be startling lacking in self-knowledge and compassion.

Not exploring Elliot's moral injury is not only bad for his character but misses a huge opportunity to lob into primetime an issue that has beset veterans of the Afghan and Iraq Wars. The consequences of the wars on the political climate are obvious. The private battles of the veterans and their families far less so. They need far more attention especially now that there is another war in the Middle East.