With Amanda Rollins returning for guest spots on Law & Order: SVU & Organized Crime, there’s an opportunity for Kelli Giddish – on the latter show.
Law & Order: SVU fans received some good news with the revelation that Kelli Giddish is returning as a guest star during the Law & Order: Organized Crime and SVU finale crossover event. Viewers are still upset about Detective Amanda Rollns’ departure from SVU and so many are already clamoring for Giddish’s full-time return. And that may be an excellent way forward — but not on SVU, on Organized Crime.
Although Rollins served nearly 12 years on SVU, it’s unlikely the character would return so soon to the series that wrote her out with finality. Rollins’ time as an SVU detective was wrapped up neatly when she left to take a role teaching forensic psychology. But if she were to come back regularly to the franchise, Law & Order: Organized Crime would be a great way to move Rollins forward.
Detective Rollins’ History on Law & Order: SVU
Within a franchise that’s not unknown for giving regulars and fan-favorites the boot, Rollins’ departure hit a particular nerve. She originally butted heads with Captain (then Detective) Olivia Benson. However, their friendship grew and Rollins’ character was fleshed out as she developed into an important part of SVU. She became a mother and eventually ended up with her slow-burn soulmate, ADA Sonny Carisi, before leaving in Season 24 to teach at Fordham University. Upon her return, Rollins will be pregnant with her third child — the first for her and Carisi.
But in her absence from SVU, the show brought in a pseudo-Rollins with Detective Grace Muncy. She filled Rollins’ place literally and figuratively — even sitting right at Rollins’ desk, to Benson’s initial annoyance. But the comparisons are starting to fade away. In her short tenure, Muncy has already begun to grow and earn her place in the squad. Writing her out so quickly just to swap her predecessor back in would feel hollow on both sides, especially in light of the emotional response that Rollins’ SVU exit garnered.
Law & Order: Organized Crime Could Be Rollins’ Perfect Home
Law & Order: Organized Crime is not hampered by a replacement character, meaning there’s a place Rollins could fit into without any awkward storytelling decisions. In fact, it would provide her new opportunities with characters she doesn’t have years of history with, as Elliot Stabler left SVU off-screen in the same episode Rollins arrived. There would still be chances to work with her old friends in SVU crossovers. And Organized Crime’s shortened Season 4 can benefit from the added viewership of Rollins’ fan base. That smaller amount of episodes may also be more convenient for Giddish herself, who wouldn’t have to commit as long or heavy a workload as she had on SVU.
The Law & Order franchise is no stranger to having characters hop from one role or profession to another. Rollins’s own husband Carisi began his tenure on SVU as a detective before taking law classes and becoming an assistant district attorney. So what would be stopping Rollins from hopping over to the strong ensemble structure of Organized Crime? Whether she formally rejoins the NYPD or appears as a consultant like BD Wong’s Special Agent George Huang did on SVU — the latter providing an easy way to work around that Fordham teaching job and the Rollisi baby news — there is plenty of room for her. And her return would make very happy a large number of viewers who never wanted to see the character leave in the first place.
