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What’s Next for Law & Order: SVU’s Amanda Rollins After That Hostage Episode?

Whats Next for Law & Order SVUs Rollins After Hostage Episode
Kelli Giddish as Detective Amanda Rollins on "Law & Order: SVU.'"Virginia Sherwood/NBC

Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish) escaped a hostage ordeal in one piece on the Thursday, January 9, midseason premiere of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, but the terrifying ordeal will have long-lasting effects on the detective’s psyche.

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In the episode, Rollins is taken captive by an ex-cop seeking justice for his daughter’s rapist, and she eventually empathizes with him and — after he surrenders — accompanies him to the station to ensure his safety.

Whats Next for Law & Order SVUs Rollins After Hostage Episode
Nicholas Turturro as Detective Frank Bucci and Kelli Giddish as Detective Amanda Rollins on “Law & Order: SVU.” Virginia Sherwood/NBC

Even so, SVU showrunner Warren Leight told E! News that Rollins will experience “ripple effects” in the wake of the ordeal. “It won’t be until episode 14 that you see her beginning to kind of emerge back to Rollins,” he revealed. “I think the post-traumatic stress, that is real, and she’s not at full-force for a while.”

The character might also commiserate with Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), who was previously taken hostage on the NBC procedural, but Leight, 62, disclosed that Benson has her own concerns in upcoming episodes. “Not to give too much away, but there’s some stress coming up for Benson in the next few episodes as well. Some real difficult episodes for her coming up,” he said. “It’s never easy for our guys.”

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Rollins will also continue seeking professional help in future episodes, even though Leight says he’s “not sure she’s crazy about therapy.” Plus, Rollins had more of an “aha” moment about her professional and personal life through her conversations with Bucci than she has had so far with her therapist.

Whats Next for Law & Order SVUs Rollins After Hostage Episode
Kelli Giddish as Detective Amanda Rollins on “Law & Order: SVU.'” Virginia Sherwood/NBC

Giddish, 39, reflected on that irony to E! News: “I think what’s interesting in this arc is that she’s in therapy and she knows she needs to be there, but she doesn’t really want to be there. And it’s hard for her to talk about the stuff that is really affecting her deep down, then she ends up talking with Bucci about the stuff. It’s not the therapist that gets to Rollins’ heart and soul, it’s Bucci, and I think she really makes some big realizations while she’s with him, which is very ironic, and I like that ironic twist.”

“I think it was a great idea from Warren to have that. Very Rollins!” Giddish added with a laugh. “‘I can’t talk to you about this, you’re a therapist, but get me in a motel room and have a gun trained on me and maybe I can dig deep down and see what’s going on.’”

In an interview with TV Insider, Giddish teased upcoming cases. “There’s a boxing mentor coach that takes advantage of his students, so we get to see the boxing world, which was really cool to be able to film,” she said. “Jamie Gray Hyder does a great job in that one.”

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She went on: “There’s an episode coming up that Rollins gets to go undercover because there’s a government worker that exchanges green cards for sex, so she attempts to catch him. That was a lot of fun. Any time the audience gets to see Rollins go undercover, it’s fun.”

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit airs on NBC Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET.

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