Maybe the third time’s the charm? Kelli Giddish is returning for a third time to Law & Order: SVU since her exit in the middle of Season 24 (let’s not count her Organized Crime episodes for the sake of the argument). She’ll be reprising her role as Amanda Rollins, SVU detective-turned-criminology professor, in the 11th episode of Season 25.
There are not yet details available about what brings her back this time, but thanks to photos Mariska Hargitay (who plays Captain Olivia Benson) shared, we know that Giddish is currently filming.
Giddish left in the ninth episode of Season 24, then returned later that season for its finale. She also guest-starred in the Season 25 premiere. And a common thread of both appearances is that she’s not exactly thrilled with her new position. In fact, our biggest question heading into Season 25 was if SVU would ever address that.
At the end of last season, it was Detective Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) who remarked she was more excited talking to him than in her class and wondered how long she’d been bored. “I love the students, but I do miss the feeling of solving a good mystery,” she admitted, and that was something she couldn’t tell her husband, ADA Sonny Carisi (Peter Scanavino), because he got her her current job. Benson, too, could tell how Rollins was feeling and that she loved SVU more. “My life could be so easy. Part-time teaching, get to spend time with family, but it’s not me,” Rollins said.
Then, in the Season 25 premiere, Benson turned to Rollins for help with the case, and the former detective offered up a potential perp, notably saying, “our perp.” The captain called her out on that.
But in both cases, there was no follow-up, no solution offered, and nothing said about Rollins talking to Carisi about it. SVU has the chance to change that—and fix a major problem—with Giddish’s next episode. Presumably, no matter what brings her back (unless it’s the suggestion we’re about to make), Rollins is going to lend her expertise during the episode’s investigation. Rather than that lead to yet another instance of someone saying she’d clearly be happier back at SVU, why not have her become a part-time consultant with the squad? They could even call her in episodes she’s not in—a quick “Rollins suggests” from someone—and she could continue teaching part time (the logistics wouldn’t have to be thoroughly thought out, given most of her SVU work would, presumably, be off-screen).
