Story details surrounding Detective Rollins' final Law & Order: SVU episode have been revealed. Kelli Giddish first joined Law & Order: SVU as a series regular in season 13, playing the troubled Detective Amanda Rollins. Over the last 12 years, Rollins overcame her struggle with a gambling addiction and strained relationship with her sister Kim. Rollins has since become an essential character on Law & Order: SVU, starting a romantic relationship with ADA Carisi (Peter Scanavino) and an endearing friendship with series lead Captain Olivia Benson, played by Mariska Hargitay.
SVU season 24 began with a three-part crossover event bringing the characters from Law & Order together with spinoff shows Organized Crime and SVU for the first time. During the premiere event Rollins is responsible for protecting a young sex-trafficking victim named Nicole at a safe house, while the rest of the team targets the crime boss, Mark Sirenko. However, as the case progresses, Rollins is seriously injured when she's shot in the abdomen. Law & Order: SVU appeared to be starting up Rollins' exit storyline, though new information casts some doubt on how she will depart the show.
New details about Rollins' final episode have been confirmed by TVLine after first being reported by Give Me My Remote. Episode 9 will be Giddish's final episode playing Rollins on Law & Order: SVU and is scheduled to air on Thursday, December 8. Additionally, it is confirmed Giddish will return on Law & Order: Organized Crime later this season, though the exact episode was not confirmed. The outlet also reveals that in spite of her recent brush with death, the character will not be killed off during her final episode.
Rollins' Law & Order: SVU Exit Explained
Before the premiere of Law & Order: SVU season 24, it was revealed that Giddish would be exiting the series. When Giddish confirmed the rumors of her exit in an Instagram post, fans were upset by the decision to write off Rollins. However, this quickly turned to outrage when it became clear that the decision was not made by Giddish or SVU's David showrunner, Graziano. Reports also confirmed that Hargitay, who serves as executive producer on the series, objected to Rollins exit, but the decision was already made from higher up executives at NBC. This lead to an online campaign demanding the character's return and accusing the production of hypocrisy and misogyny.
While fans of Detective Rollins may still be disappointed by her exit, they can take comfort in Graziano's plans for the Giddish's final episodes. After her shocking shootout injury, there was concern that her character would be killed off. The confirmation that Rollins will be not meet her end during her final episode and her inclusion in additional episodes of Law & Order: Organized Crime offer some hope for fans of the beloved detective. As Law & Order: SVU season 24 progresses, expect the groundwork for Rollins' goodbye to be laid.
Source: Give Me My Remote & TVLine