‘Law & Order: SVU’ Season 25: Kelli Giddish Returning in Premiere — 3 Things We Want to See

Meredith Jacobs November 28, 2023, 2:42 pm

Kelli Giddish in 'Law & Order: SVU' - Season 24 — Ralph Bavaro/NBC

It looks like we might get some resolution that burning question we were left with at the end of Law & Order: SVU Season 24: How can the show address Amanda Rollins’ less-than-happy feelings about her current career?

Kelli Giddish is set to return as Rollins in the Season 25 premiere (airing January 18), according to TVLine. This appearance directly follows her guest spots in the major crossover that ended the last seasons of SVU and the Christopher Meloni-led spinoff Organized Crime.

While Giddish’s previous return included the happy news that she and husband ADA Sonny Carisi (Peter Scanavino) were expanding their family — she was pregnant, and she already has two daughters from previous relationships — the more intriguing part came via conversations she had first with Detective Elliot Stabler (Meloni) then Captain Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay). Stabler noticed she was more excited talking to him about the case on which she was consulting than in the lecture hall (she’s now a professor at Fordham University), and she admitted, “I love the students, but I do miss the feeling of solving a good mystery.” Then to Benson, who could tell how she was feeling, she said, “My life could be so easy. Part-time teaching, get to spend time with family, but it’s not me.”

But there was quite a bit else to deal with in the rest of the crossover, so that was it. Now, with Rollins coming back, SVU has the opportunity to address that (and more). Below are three things we’re hoping to see in Giddish’s Season 25 premiere appearance.

Rollins’ Professional Future Addressed

Since there’s no word that Giddish is returning full-time and the premiere could be her only episode in the shortened 25th season, let’s at least find out that Rollins has found a way to be as happy with her current professional situation as possible. Maybe she consults more with the NYPD.

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Rollins and Carisi Talk

Rollins told both Stabler and Benson that she hadn’t spoken with her husband about how she’s feeling. “It’ll break his heart. He’s the one who got me the job,” she said to Stabler, later agreeing with Benson that she’s good at “compartmentalizing.” Now, unless the premiere picks up immediately following last season’s finale and since we’d rather not have had the two not talking about this all this time, let’s find out that they did discuss it off-screen in one of their conversations. It’s understandable why she may have been hesitant to talk to him about it, but we’d rather they moved on from that.

Rollins and Benson Heart-to-Heart

Do we even need to explain this one? We absolutely love their scenes with a meaningful conversation, whether it’s about Benson’s feelings for Stabler (as happened in Giddish’s last episode as a series regular) or the aforementioned talk about how Rollins is feeling from the finale. Maybe it can be about either of those things this time. Maybe it’s about their kids. Maybe it’s about something that comes up during the premiere. Whatever it is, give us some good Rollins and Benson content.

Law & Order: SVU, Season 25 Premiere, Thursday, January 18, 2024, 9/8c, NBC