(SPOILER ALERT: This article reveals plot points from the Dec. 8 episode of “Law & Order: SVU”)
After 12 seasons on “Law & Order: SVU,” Kelli Giddish’s character Amanda Rollins walked out of the squad room for the last time.
In the episode, titled, “And a Trauma in a Pear Tree,” Rollins decides to leave the Special Victims squad to take a job teaching at Fordham. The move wasn’t a big surprise as her guest lecture at the university in a previous episode was very well received. The character had been questioning her future in law enforcement after being shot in the stomach last season and experiencing PTSD after returning to work.
Captain Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) was at first upset to hear that Rollins was leaving, but ultimately gave her blessing, sending Rollins off with a warm hug and the parting words, “Don’t postpone joy.”
“You taught me how to be a good detective,” Rollins told Benson. “You taught me how to love myself and how to let people in — the victims and Carisi.”
Before her exit, Rollins and on-screen love ADA Dominick “Sonny” Carisi Jr. (Peter Scanavino) tied the knot in a small courtroom ceremony with Olivia, Fin Tutuola (Ice-T) and Joe Velasco (Octavio Pisano) present.
Giddish announced she was leaving the series in August. “I wanted to address the chatter I’ve seen online and let everyone know that this will, indeed, be my last season on ‘Law & Order: SVU.,” she said at the time.
“Playing Rollins has been one of the greatest joys and privileges of my life. I’ve been so fortunate to be a part of the ‘Law & Order’ family for the last 12 years. There is simply no other character on TV like Rollins. She’s grown and changed, and I have as well. I started on this show when I was in my late 20s and I’m grateful I got to spend so many of my adult years with Rollins in my life,” the actress said in a statement.
Showrunner David Graziano told TheWrap ahead of the Season 24 premiere that he was a big fan of the “Rollisi” pairing and Giddish’s departure was not her idea.
Giddish is set to appear on an upcoming episode of “Law & Order: Organized Crime.”
