If having decades on the air and 23 seasons behind it is what makes a show successful, then “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” is already there. However, that’s not all this police procedural series has going for it. In a time when television is packed with crime dramas, “Law and Order: SVU” brings unique storylines, memorable crime scenes, and a cast that wins over new viewers while keeping the longtime watchers invested.
“Law and Order: SVU” has its fair share of A-list stars and long-standing cast members, such as Mariska Hargitay (Olivia Benson) and Kelli Giddish (Amanda Rollins). These characters bring a powerful presence to the series, and fans can’t seem to get enough. In a show about getting to the bottom of the most disturbing crimes, it’s easy to imagine the detectives as heroes. However, now and again, the writers remind us that they’re human and make the same mistakes as the rest of us. One particular mistake made by Rollins shocked viewers and changed how many looked at her character.
Rollins tries to strike a deal with criminals to save her job
There are many places on the internet where “Law and Order: SVU” fans debate the hardest episodes to watch. Many of those episodes look closely at the show’s main characters. The Season 15 episode, “Gambler’s Fallacy,” shows a darker side of Amanda Rollins as she dives deep into personal challenges. Outside her job as a detective, Rollins faces a gambling addiction. She enters an illegal gambling club but is recognized as a cop and finds herself in a life-or-death situation.
The storyline takes Rollins in a direction that makes viewers question her ability as a cop. A Reddit thread discussing the episode starts with u/crruss pointing out that Rollins should have lost her job. “Even if she wasn’t arrested, she should’ve been kicked out of the NYPD and not allowed to work in any other police departments.” Kelli Giddish knew going into the episode that it was a turning point for the detective and even spoke with TV Guide about her experience getting to know her character in that setting. “To see someone that’s good at their job, that really cares about what they do, and they still sacrifice it for something [like] that, it’s inexplicable, except to someone who has that addiction,” the actress commented. While the episode shows the worst mistake Rollins ever made on “Law and Order: SVU,” it does, however, lead to character development that allows her to continue solving some of the worst crimes committed in New York.
