“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and its long-lasting cast of characters have become fixtures of the primetime TV landscape. That includes Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish), who has been fighting crime alongside Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) since 2007 when she first appeared in Season 8, Episode 12, “Outsider.” Giddish would leave the show during Season 24. And during her 12 years on “SVU,” there was one scene she claimed that was so emotional that she was left speechless and in tears.
Season 24, Episode 9, “And a Trauma in a Pear Tree,” finds Rollins tying the knot with Dominick Carisi (Peter Scanavino). Rollins and Benson later celebrate with a box of wine while chatting about Rollins’ marriage and the possibility of becoming a professor. Giddish told The Nerds of Color that the scene was hard to get through during the ADR process, which is when an actor re-records lines after a scene is filmed. “I was doing the lines and all of a sudden I couldn’t talk. So, I was like in this booth … watching and I was like … ‘Hold on, hold on. I’ll be back with you. Just give me a second.’ You know, and wiping away my own tears … and I texted Mariska. I was like, ‘I just had to do our scene and actually put on makeup today and now it’s all over my face …'” she said.
And while it was hard to say goodbye, Giddish is proud of her legacy on the hit show.
Why Giddish is so happy with her character’s ending
Following Kelli Giddish’s exit from “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” Mariska Hargitay wrote on her Instagram, “Kelli, I’ve loved acting, learning, growing, talking, laughing, and crying with you. I’ve loved watching your achingly beautiful performances … You have my respect, my gratitude and my love forever …” But the two did get to share the screen together one more time in Season 24, Episode 22, “All Pain is One Malady.”
The episode finds Amanda Rollins in her new role as a forensic psychology professor at Fordham University. Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) reaches out to her for help with a tough case, giving fans the chance to see her with Olivia Benson once again. The former SVU member arrives at the office pregnant with her third child during the season finale. The episode was also a crossover event with “Law & Order: Organized Crime,” giving Giddish the chance to appear during Season 3, Episode 21, “Shadowërk,” and Episode 22, “With Many Names.”
While reflecting on her time as Rollins, Giddish told Entertainment Weekly that her character’s happy ending is very rare for the show. “That’s a huge legacy. You won’t remember her for like the gruesome way she got murdered … they gave her [a] happy ending. That’s kind of awesome,” she said.
