How ‘Law & Order: SVU’ Brought Rollins Back to Benson’s Squad
Spoiler Alert
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Law & Order: SVU Season 27 Episode 4, “Clickbait.”]
Sergeant Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish) returns to Captain Olivia Benson’s (Mariska Hargitay) squad on Law & Order: SVU in the Thursday, October 16, episode, but both feel a bit wary of how it comes about.
Chief Kathryn Tynan (Noma Dumezweni) has been having Benson join her for monthly check-ins. At the latest, there’s talk of family (Noah’s 15, it’s wild), and the chief, of course, uses that as a selling point for the position she wants Benson to take. “One benefit of working at 1PP and say, a newly created deputy chief position, is schedule. Reasonable hours, more time with the family,” she says. Benson reiterates that she’s not looking for a desk job. Tynan knows, considering Benson is in the field more than any other captain in the department.
“I’m out in the field because victims are in the field, and that is where I’m the most useful,” Benson stresses. Tynan seems to be getting, “So, I’m offering you something you’ll never want.” Benson agrees: “Pretty much.”
Tynan then brings up getting Rollins back on her squad with Velasco’s departure, making her down a detective.
“I didn’t know that she was looking for a move,” Benson comments. Tynan’s sources say she’s shopping around. The chief insists she’s not trying to play her, but Benson knows she is. “If anything, at most, I’m trying to get you to like me,” Tynan suggests. “I know you take care of your people, and they are certainly loyal to you. I see no downside to shifting her back to SVU. Do you?” Benson doesn’t answer her, but she’s clearly taken note of it. (After all, we all know she’d love to have Rollins back with her.)
At the end of the episode, Rollins shows up in the bullpen and apologizes to Benson for the radio silence while she was weighing her options. Yes, she’s leaving Intelligence — because Tynan overhauled it beyond recognition, transferring out Rollins’s boss and putting her own guy in there. Benson assures her there’s always a place at SVU for her, and Rollins’ only hesitation comes from not wanting to be a pawn in the game Tynan’s playing with Benson. But if she doesn’t come back, and with Intelligence off the table, that just leaves possibly returning to teaching, and everyone knows how bored she was doing that.
“Look, is this an offer that’s going to bite me in the ass down the line? Probably. I mean, she’s after something, I just don’t know what. But personally, it sure would be nice to have somebody in here I could trust,” Benson admits. Yes, she’s referring to Detective Jake Griffin (Corey Cott), who had history with Tynan (and seems to be reporting to her). Plus, he’s still very much learning. He asks one smart question in this episode but also really gets on Detective Terry Bruno’s (Kevin Kane) nerves in interrogation and can’t see that a man proclaiming his innocence is genuinely shocked by accusations and innocent.
Griffin is “fine, he might even be here for the right reasons, I don’t know, but he’s ambitious, which could be worse,” according to Benson. As Rollins sees it, that means she’ll be keeping an eye on him. And with that, she’s back! Welcome home, Rollins.
What did you think of how Rollins returned to SVU? Let us know in the comments section below.
Law & Order: SVU, Thursdays, 9/8c, NBC
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J
Bringing back Rollins is fine, as long as they do not bring back her idiot sister.
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B
Agreed! Altho I think after last time they prob done with her fam she seems to have left them in the past once she got married but I love Rollins so much, and her and Bensons relationship is the absolute best casting! They are amazing together
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C
You got that right!
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S
At this point, I really don’t care how they got Kelly Giddish back! They should have never let her go in the first place! She’s a vital part of the show. My late husband and I saw her in her own show a few years ago and I have been trying to remember the name of the show but can’t find it anywhere! She’s awesome and a perfect fit with Hargitay! THANK YOU!
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B
Of course I like Rollins woman after my on heart she is from Georgia and I am from Georgia she leaves about 40 minutes from where I live you go girl
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G
I like Rollins but I think it’s time for her to leave SVU for good. I think a better idea would be to develop better and deeper storylines for the current detectives. We don’t know much about their backgrounds, families or why they chose SVU. And do the same for any new detectives that come along. The show does better when we are invested in all the detectives.
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B
Well Mariska basically demanded her back as did the fans and said she was MISERABLE without her- the two are besties in real life- personally for all of us that Love Benson and have watched since the beginning there’s so many of us that LOVE that she has Amanda as her Family and someone who truly loves her and makes her happy!
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