Law & Order: SVU season 24 episode 9: How did Rollins leave?

As we prepared for Law & Order: SVU season 24 episode 9 tonight, there was one thing we knew in advance: This was Rollins’ swan song. It was hard to imagine the idea of Kelli Giddish departing the series and yet, that’s what was happening here.

Over the course of this hour, there were a ton of different reveals that we expected when it came to this character, whether it be how she said goodbye to the team and then also the big wedding with her and Carisi. Every indication we got in advance suggested that this was going to be a romantic, fantastic celebration of Amanda, and not some sort of sudden or shocking end destined to depress us for years.

Also, we thought that there would at least be a chance for Giddish to return down the road, provided that it is something she is interested in doing.

The best thing that we can say about this episode is that we really got a chance to just see Olivia and Amanda talk — that’s rare without the larger framework of the case. Benson admitted to where she stood with Stabler, and it was nice to get a little more insight on that. Yet, there was also some tension: Olivia was blindsided by her colleague and friend’s decision to leave.

In time, Benson did come around and at the end of the episode, the applause Rollins got from the rest of SVU was so meaningful. Some of the tears actually felt real! We’re going to miss her so much, and we’re actually happy there were no major surprises here.

What were you expecting when it comes to Rollins’ exit moving into Law & Order: SVU season 24 episode 9 tonight?

Were you prepared to cry your eyes out? Be sure to share right now in the comments! After you do that, stay tuned — there are other updates coming and we don’t want you to miss any of them. (Photo: NBC.)

This article was written by Jessica BunBun.