Spoilers ahead for Episode 20 of Law & Order: SVU Season 24, called “Debatable.”
Law & Order: SVU tackled a case that came to the NYPD’s attention as arson but ultimately turned out to be a case of two adults taking advantage of a teenage girl who saw them as her peers. Benson did everything to get through to the victim to tell the whole truth, but Carisi still had an uphill battle to close the case. Fortunately, he got the guilty verdict and justice for two victims, and dropped a comment that made me think that maybe he was about to mention a big development in his life… but not a word! And if you ask me, it’s getting weird.
As any SVU fan who keeps up with news about the show undoubtedly knows by now, Kelli Giddish is soon returning as Amanda Rollins for the first time since the fall finale (available streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription), and she’ll probably be looking quite different than she did back before Christmas. Rollins will be pregnant when she turns up again on SVU and Law & Order: Organized Crime, which I would have thought the dad-to-be would have mentioned by now.
Sure, he’s basically been Jesse and Billie‘s dad in all but name since before he and Rollins even got together, and there can be no doubt that he’s just about the best stepfather that a pair of kids could want, but I would have expected him to at least casually hint that his wife is expecting back at home. There was even a great opening in “Debatable,” when he told Benson at the end of the hour:
I’m gonna head home too. Rollins and the girls want Moo Shu take out tonight.
I thought that maybe he’d end the sentence with “because Amanda’s having a craving” to at least nod to the reveal that’s coming when Kelli Giddish turns up again, but nope! I’m hoping at this point that SVU is saving any pregnancy mentions for a surprise to viewers who haven’t kept up on news, and not that Benson doesn’t know. If the crossover reveals that Rollisi were keeping this big secret from her – not to mention that Benson wouldn’t have seen her – then the situation will be more than just weird!
It would track that they see each other less since Rollins left the NYPD to become a professor, but this would be a big thing for Benson to not know. Hopefully this is just a case of Carisi not talking about this aspect of his own life during cases, and the pregnancy could be a fun surprise for viewers when they see Rollins again. On the whole, I just feel that SVU could use a little extra lightness every once in a while, and hearing from Carisi that he and Rollins are expecting would deliver. Is there any doubt that he’d be thrilled about it?
All of this said, SVU is presumably never going to be a show that spends a ton of time on the personal lives of the characters, and that format has kept the show going strong since 1999. Benson has been the leading lady for more than two decades now, and we still don’t get to see too much of her personal life unless danger has followed her home.
Fans did get a brief reunion between Benson and Stabler earlier this season, but it didn’t go exactly as many expected, and we’ve had to read between the lines for how SVU may have hinted at Benson’s feelings about their partnership. Fortunately, based on what Mariska Hargitay has teased, the upcoming crossover should include some interesting Benson/Stabler scenes to go along with the Rollisi news. SVU has been renewed for Season 25 as well, so there will be time for these stories to continue in the 2023-2024 TV season.
For now, keep tuning in to NBC on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET for new episodes of Law & Order: SVU, between Law & Order (which just put Cosgrove through the wringer with his daughter) at 8 p.m. and Law & Order: Organized Crime at 10 p.m. until the season finales on May 18.