With twenty years of change on the air, “Law & Order: SVU” does what it can to keep storylines fresh. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) has had a long tenure on the series, which leaves room for new characters who are just as compassionate as she is. Enter Detective Grace Muncy (Molly Burnett), a classic no-nonsense New York detective. But after she transfers from the Bronx gang unit, she surprisingly does not last long. Muncy washes out after only 21 episodes, a shockingly low number compared to her predecessors.
Muncy’s departure coincided with Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish), who left “SVU” after over a decade. Giddish released a graceful statement about the decision, but that is easy to swallow when Rollins has had such a prolific presence on the show. This was not the case for Muncy, and it was only worsened by NBC’s response to her exit. In a short clip, “SVU” released a deleted scene that gave more context to her leaving the series. The scene features Muncy giving an emotional goodbye to the unit. Her farewell to Joe Velasco (Octavio Pisano) was especially loaded with tension and eye contact, adding to the cumulative disappointment how her story was handled. The heartfelt scene was not in the official cut of the episode, making her abrupt conclusion feel even more jarring.
Muncy was not afforded an official goodbye
“Law & Order: SVU” has a typical 22-episode season, and that usually means there is a lot of plot to cover and little emotional resonance. That is the nature of the crime procedural beast. But in their haste to rush Muncy out the door, “SVU” neglected to give her a goodbye fitting for the character. Fans suffered whiplash from the erratic decisions in the series, and they did not hesitate to air their grievances about the underwhelming farewell.
“Why you always cut scenes that are important to the characters’ development?” @ClNDERELABAlANA posted in response to the video. “Why no Rollisi scenes? Are they really married?” The relationship between Rollins and Carisi (Peter Scanavino) has been another sore spot. Kelli Giddish understood fans would go ballistic if the beloved couple didn’t make it official. Rollins and Carisi eventually marry, but the ceremony was brief and barely enough to satisfy viewers. Even the short time Muncy was on the series inflamed reactions from fans when the show barely recognized that it was her last episode.
“[B]ut why cut this scene? why rush her exit?” echoed @rollinsxgrey. “[W]hy no rollisi? [I]nstead so much time was wasted on the suspect. A few minutes was needed to explain his reasoning for the site, not what felt like a slow motion car ride & meal. We would have liked more content of the actual characters…”
