After her departure as a series regular in December - halfway through SVU’s 24th season - Kelli Giddish has made her return to the show, reuniting with friend and former partner, Olivia Benson. This time, however, she’s back as a sergeant.
Giddish’s character Amanda Rollins left SVU to pursue a professorship at Fordham University but briefly appeared later in season 24 and twice in season 25.
"Divide & Conquer" - LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT, Pictured: (l-r) Kelli Giddish as Amanda Rollins, Mariska Hargitay as Capt. Olivia Benson. Peter Kramer/NBC ©2024 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Longtime viewers of the procedural will remember her first appearance in SVU back in season 13 where a combative Benson was grieving the sudden departure of long-term partner Det. Elliot Stabler, and hesitant to start a new partnership with Rollins. Fast forward to season 26 where Rollins now works for the NYPD Intelligence Bureau. She makes an introduction to her new partner Det. Vince Corgan.
Rollins thanks Benson for vouching for her, stating that Benson steered her in the right direction.
Her character has come a long way and is now most settled, managing to balance a new job, a successful marriage, and three kids. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Giddish says her relationship with Benson is always developing, and her relationship with her mom is a little better.
"Divide & Conquer" - LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT, Pictured: (l-r) Kelli Giddish as Amanda Rollins, John Clarence Stewart as Det. Corgan. Peter Kramer/NBC ©2024 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
In Divide & Conquer, Rollins’ new case in the Intelligence Bureau intersects with SVU. The episode doesn’t stand out as memorable, especially after last week’s case left us on a high. Absent from the squad this week are Detectives Bruno, Silva and Velasco. Handling a larger cast and establishing relationships will be a task for SVU this season.
Captain Benson’s speech to a survivor is sure to bring an episode home every single time. “My experience is we cannot truly support another person until we deal with our own individual trauma”; a message that she’s had to be reminded of by friends and therapists in the past.
Giddish teases that this won’t be her only appearance for the season and that fans can expect an episode that is “totally out of the ordinary”.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit airs Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC.
