Amanda Rollins’ new role in Law & Order: SVU is an insult to the actress Kelli Giddish after the way she was written out. Rollins is one of the most popular characters in the long-running police procedural. After Giddish’s season 24 exit from Law & Order, Rollins made several guest appearances on the series, including the penultimate episode of season 25. That final appearance left the door open for her to return to SVU, as Rollins had quit her teaching job and tagged along on a case with Benson to ease her boredom.
Lead actress Mariska Hargitay has been vocal about wanting Giddish to be rehired full-time, but after Benson’s Law & Order: SVU season 26 team was announced, it seemed like this would not happen. A new update indicates a brighter future for Rollins than expected. However, she will not be returning full-time, and another twist in her story is not only disappointing, but insulting to Giddish after the way she was written out despite her character’s popularity.
Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Brings Back Rollins, But There’s A Caveat
When Rollins returns to Law & Order: SVU, it will be as a recurring character who does not work for the Special Victims Unit. Instead, she will be working for the new-to-the-franchise Intelligence Unit. This unit has officers stationed worldwide, which means Rollins will be doing a lot of traveling (via TV Insider). This aspect of Rollins’ job will likely account for her absences in episodes that she does not appear in.
Rollins’ new job means that when she does appear on SVU, it will be in a consulting role. This is similar to how she was used post-exit, when Benson or other team members would visit her at Fordham College when they were in need of her expertise. However, now that she is no longer employed by the college, she could have returned to SVU full-time instead of working for a different unit.
Rollins’ Expanded Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Role Is Insulting
Rollins’ exit was controversial due to the character’s popularity as well as multiple suggestions that Giddish did not leave by choice. Rollins’ decision to leave SVU to pursue teaching opportunities didn’t fit her character, and the series was left to search for a new female detective who would fill her shoes. No such character materialized; instead, the unit burned through a seemingly endless number of temporary characters who departed almost as quickly as they arrived, proving that Law & Order: SVU needed Rollins to return to fix its casting mistake.
Rollins’ final guest appearance in season 25 signaled a willingness to correct this error by undoing the plot point of Rollins becoming a college professor. Although the episode ended with Benson telling Rollins she wouldn’t rehire her unless Rollins was sure that’s what she wanted, it seemed obvious that Rollins would eventually come to that conclusion and return full-time. The Law & Order season 26 casting news that Rollins would only be a recurring character was thus disappointing, and it adds insult to injury that she is not even working for SVU.
Putting Rollins in a new unit simply swaps out her previous guest role as a teacher that consults with SVU for one as a cop turned consultant.
Having Rollins work for another unit would be acceptable as a back-door pilot for her to star in a Law & Order: SVU spinoff about the NYPD Intelligence Unit. Instead, SVU brought the popular character back without making her a full part of the series. Putting Rollins in a new unit simply swaps out her previous guest role as a teacher who consults with SVU for one as a cop turned consultant. SVU tends to rotate cast members throughout episodes as a cost-saving measure, so Rollins could have rejoined SVU but not appeared in every episode.
Can Law & Order: SVU Properly Bring Back Rollins?
When Rollins was considering returning to the Special Victims Unit at the end of season 25, Benson was extremely short-staffed. However, that’s not the situation in season 26. The announcement of Benson’s new team suggested that Rollins would not be returning to Law & Order: SVU, at least not as a new SVU detective, since Benson has a full roster of detectives to work with for the first time in several years.
Rollins’ new role on Law & Order: SVU opens several storyline possibilities for her despite her not being allowed to work for her original unit. She and Carisi will likely have marital stress due to Rollins’ constant travel, which leaves him to care for their three children by himself, and Rollins might be able to cross over to other shows in the One Chicago universe because of her job. However, none of that changes the fact that it’s insulting that SVU eliminated Rollins from the cast unnecessarily and then re-inserted her as a recurring character with a different job.
