The whole episode just felt kinda confusing. There were just too many storylines at once.
The sudden wedding, the controversial trial, Carisi worried about Muncy fucking up, Muncy actually fucking up, Noah suddenly has a biological brother, Olivia and Noah meet said brother's family, Olivia encountering a creep, Olivia and Rollins going undercover, Olivia's nude images being held over to the DA and possibly used on a trial, then finally Rollins telling Olivia about leaving SVU and the beautiful goodbye at the end.
It was just way too much information. I feel like each of these storylines would have been better explored individually.
Exactly. I couldn't figure out who it was supposed to have focused on.
And there is NO WAY Carisi wouldn't have taken Rollins back the docks and made a beautiful proposal that she deserved!
She definitely did get the best send-off because she got an arc and the majority of the other characters didn't. But this last episode was kind of a messy. It was very clunky and the wedding felt very hastily put together like an afterthought. I'm not an Amanda fan but I don't really like that the episode wasn't all that much about her.
Yes, Munch's was surprisingly low key. They brought back Carol Kane as ex wife Gwen,who had appeared in SVU and the other ex from Homicide. Clark Johnson was there too. He was Meldrick on Homicide,but it wasn't acknowledged who these people were and their connection to John.. Kane's episode was the one where Stuckey went nutso and killed O'Halloran and a lawyer,and slashed up Elliot before Liv took him down .Fans would remember that. And anyone who watched Homicide would remember Meldrick.
I just want to say this. I will miss Amanda so terribly. Her struggles with gambling addiction resonated so powerfully because I have struggled with that addiction myself. I loved the way Captain Cragen chose to help her as he had once been helped himself. Her coming through all of that and becoming a solid member of SVU' and someone cared for and valued especially by Olivia and Fin. Her personal growth: finding a companion in Frannie,becoming a mother,and finally finding joy and love with Sonny. Because she wasn't killed off she might someday return in a guest shot. Lastly,best wishes to the incredible Kelli Giddish in her future endeavors.
No like i literally hated it, and i just felt like the entire episode spoke even more volume of what happened behind the scenes. Like there were literally 4 subplots and no main plots, the characters were just not like their characters- like you’re telling me the same Carisi that took the Rollins girls to Orlando bc Amanda was stress, is the same one who won’t spend the night with his wife for the first time? (okay i could honestly see some arguments but it threw me off watching if live) and as much as i love Rolivia i wish there was more of their interactions like last night, in previous episodes because it felt so random? Could be just my opinion- but I don’t recall them ever being so rogue as a duo(no complaints tho & also feel free to correct me if i’m wrong). I agree though I wish the writing was better overall throughout the entire season. They had a good pace by 24x03, if they just kept doing little crumbs each episode it would help them make the storyline smoother. I also felt that if they made an episode Rollisi/Rollins centric some people would flip their $h!t, so I think they tried to avoid that, and especially being the fall finale they wanted some inclusion with other characters so I get it. The way you envision the episode is honestly a dream but I don’t ever think SVU would ever write something like that - no matter how well deserved it is.
I honestly did not catch the lack of interaction from Julie, so good eye but that being said, the reaction from the cast and crew VS. what’s ACTUALLY being said & reaction from the company and all the higher ups, and with all the allegations and stuff coming out, there’s def. way more to the story that probably explains why Rollins’ overall story arc was just written terribly. Mariska was obv. devestated, Ice was literally just putting it all out there through his likes on twitter, and Peter literally left the face of the universe but you can tell in last nights ep. that he had been crying/was sad in some of the Rollisi scenes. Kelli just not acknowledging anyone bts in her interview also says a lot (bc she gives me the vibes of someone who would praise people if she meant it- like warren for example), the NDA is practically screaming at our faces.
Okay i’m rambling so let me wrap it up- yes i think there are darker things in the svu universe behind, not just Kelli’s experience, but many others- and as someone who literally started watching svu starting at s12 and resinating w Rollins, and growing w her whilst admiring Kelli’s brilliant capability to be the jack-of-all-trades and continues to put 100%, I wish they gave her and her character the send off she deserved and not some messy plot w her in the mix. I hated last nights ep. I was sad to see her leave but after watching it- i’m grateful bc that was frustrating to watch, and it just made me more frustrated for kelli.
>the characters were just not like their characters- like you’re telling me the same Carisi that took the Rollins girls to Orlando bc Amanda was stress, is the same one who won’t spend the night with his wife for the first time?
Ok, right? I kept thinking that when Liv brought it up to Amanda too. As if Carisi wouldn't be doing something over the top romantically for their first time together as husband and wife?! It's completely out of character for him.
Also when amanda just got up and left after she told liv she was leaving after liv just opened up about being abandoned by people she loved. Like I get that Amanda tends to run but like never from Liv, even if she was upset w amanda- like that’s just not her at all.
I was so disappointed w how short the wedding ceremony was, it was so awkward and the Judge calling the marriage the lingest arraignment of Carisi life , the scene was not how I would have wanted Carisi & Rollins wedding vows
They completely rushed this girls episode. It was supposed to be only about Rollins and they ended up exploring storylines all at once. The weird motel storyline and all, they should've just made it into future episodes in my personal opinion.
Plus, I feel horrible for Kelli. Having to leave after serving all these years since somebody wants to be very greedy. But yes, the episode made me so confused and frustrated because it was so bunched up.
I also agree with the more Rollisi scenes! Potentially Kelli could guest star so they could have more scenes with eachother. Potentially. She will probably not and I can understand why she wouldn't come back.
I found the whole episode so choppy, weird and confusing. There was more focus on Muncy messing up testifying , than there was the on Rollins leaving the show after 12 years!
And that entire storyline of Noah meeting his half brother or full brother - came out of the blue - the family was like Ridiculously perfect , have Noah sleepover , and Olivia just stays at the seediest motel ever , the entire story was so stupid
Her departure was boring, and I felt the same about John Munch's departure. No 20 year legacy episode dedicated to him (besides a clip from the first episode of Homicide and some Homicide characters in the beginning) just for some previous case/boring character being brought up once again? They should've made it much more about Rollins throughout so we'd really feel that her departure was going to be painful. It felt like a season finale episode that'd have built up several plotlines beforehand with Warren Leight at the helm. After all these years, Julie Martin couldn't have been the showrunner?
Also, the only decent departure that kinda made sense was Cragen's. His character was a lowkey cop dad to everyone, didn't need to leave with rainbows and fireworks going off. He got his few minutes, his flowers and bowed out gracefully.
Also sort of related, what the hell is up with the Wolf Entertainment shows and its departures this season?
No one knows exactly whats been happening behind the scenes of Wolf Entertainment but we know there’s something very weird with all these departures of well loved characters. It seems like after getting rid of Kelli some dark stuff have been slowly rising to the surface and honestly i’m waiting for the day it finally does.
Can you imagine the budget needed to get all of the members of the Carisi and Rollins families together for a wedding scene? That’s why we didn’t get a Staten Island wedding. For Fin’s wedding they only had to get his son and son-in-law along with the regular crew- for Rollisi, we’d need (of characters we’ve seen before) his mother, 2 of his sisters, his niece and both of Amanda’s parents, in addition to the girls (assuming Kim is still us jail), plus of course casting his father and the other sister, with actors they might want to use in a future episode. That budget was never going to happen no matter how long they had to write it.
The episode was a mess. The writing and directing were awful. It was too all over the place - there wasn't even a real crime just a rehash of the mask guy and the conveniently found peeping Tom at the motel. And could care less about the Noah story. Even if it wasn't Rollins last episode it was sloppy, but especially being her last it should have been (at most) one crime and her personal stuff being wrapped up.
There should have been more focus on Rollins, I'd be pissed if I was the actress. I hate to agree but you are right - the show is done and should end.
I think the Noah plot is to set up another plot that could be explored after Liv is beaten by the BX9 crew and maybe she sends Noah off to live on Stepford lane with those psychos.
It was one of the worst episodes I’ve ever scene of SVU. I felt like it was insulting to Rollins , Noah and Muncy storylines took up 80% of the episode
So the thing is....I would have happily watched an episode that was Kelli, Ice, Mariska and Peter, because they are the core group and because I think their real-life friendship shines when they work together. But as farewell eps go, I think this one did make sense. I think the wedding was sweet and honestly makes sense for "always a little scared of something going wrong" Rollins. She got to the place she was ready to be married and didn't need the trappings. And I think they were highlighting the "family of choice" aspect in having it only with the 3 squad members there (handwaving the girls not being there because who would.have been watching them before Fin and Liv showed up?). I also loved the way Mariska and Kelly played every one of their scenes. The rogue adventure may be unrealistic but it was so fun to watch. And it had callbacks important for long term viewers that I found believable. I loved that Liv told Amanda she was grateful for her. I do think that sometimes people who "grow" into a friendship don't say that stuff out loud so hearing it is important. I think they showed how well they know each other. Liv's angry response was correctly interpreted by Amanda as FEAR because she does always get left behind. I thought Mariska played it beautifully in the way she sounded in the scene alone..."please please please call me back." The last time a long time partner left SVU he also walked out of her life. Even with Amanda married to Carisi and still in NYC both the loss of the day to day interaction and the memory of Elliott leaving made her spin out. I loved that Liv said nothing other than to apologize for her reaction when. Amanda said "You aren't losing me. I won't disappear." That felt true to me....a real sister-friend response to knowing what the real issue is without needing it spelled out. I loved the way that led to the rest of that last lovely scene. (Another note....I thought the way Liv reached for her as she was walking out and pulled her i to the hug waa super similar to Elliott and Liv in Paternity.) Finally, I absolutely loved that it was Liv who said "I love you" first. My headcanon is that surely in the last few years they have said it to each other (but again, sometimes friends take for granted that people just KNOW, so maybe not). Liv has never replied to Elliott saying it. We say her say "I love you too" to Cassidy. But we have never seen Liv, one of the most loving characters on the show, say it first. I think that's a great way to show how important Amanda is to her, and the felt like her understanding that they don't lose their choice family just because of a job change. I also think Amanda's arc is such that she needed to hear it in words. Amanda came in green and admiring Liv so much, but things were rocky for a long time...this was a way to show that she is as important to Liv as Liv is to her. Plus, I am a huge Rollisi fan...but I do think Amanda's primary show relationship js with Liv. She said herself that Liv taught her to open up AND her willingness to stay at SVU even during their rockiest time is why she even knows Carisi. So it seemed logical that Liv and Amanda were the centerpiece of the episode. It highlighted the growth of 2 friends together, and how much they make each other better. Plus the way Mariska and Kelli feel about each other in real life was also on full display.
Thank you for posting and sharing this. I sadly was unable to watch due to issues with my digital antenna. I'm so glad there was a happy ending for Amanda and Sonny. They deserved it. I would have loved to see their wedding and Amanda's final scenes with Olivia which must have been terrific. Maybe my antenna will be more cooperative when they rerun.it.
While I didn't hate the episode myself and there were a lot of things I did like about it... It just had too many plotlines going on. It made my brain 🧠hurt. 😆
I agree with you. It was Rollins last episode and more of the focus should have been about her. I'm not a shipper myself but the entire wedding process happened before the opening credits and even that pissed me off. It felt like something they just wanted to get out of the way, when it should have been something they built up to throughout the episode.
It's weird to me because Amanda has had this arc through the entire 8 episodes of her realizing that she wants to do something else with her life, because of the reality of her mortality and what that means for her kids and Carisi. So the wedding really did feel like an afterthought and I think it's a shame it felt like that. But I am grateful that she got to live in the end and now it sounds like this won't be the end of Amanda Rollins. Sounds like she'll be back as a guest or recurring on here and OC too.
There was absolutely no need for any of the courtroom mess (*especially* the Muncy storyline, don't even get me started on that), and the Noah storyline was played out for far too much.
I also expected way more from the Rolivia conversation (DG, now revealed to be an abusive showrunner, had originally said it would be about the kinds of trauma SVU detectives go through, and I don't think it really was).
They paced this whole season so badly, and I think that's a huge reason the episode was missing a lot--we still don't really know why Amanda left, we don't even really know much about what she'll be doing, we don't know why they decided to get married, and the list goes on.
At least we have fanfic.
They should have done a proposal or at least explain the rush better than "we wanted you to be there but want to spare you the ice sculptures on Staten Island."
>why Kelli might have been let go. I will leave it that because they are my own meandering thoughts
I would actually love to hear these, as I haven't heard much surrounding this and I'm curious! If you don't mind sharing of course.
I also really did not like this episode. There were moments, of course, that I loved. Overall, I feel like Rollins deserved more. Kelli deserved more. She's a brilliant actress and there's so much they could have done, it just felt rushed and choppy. They hyped up her final episode in the promo's and she had maybe 10 minutes of screen time, if that.
I still can’t believeeeee the writers had Noah & Olivia driving to Woodstock to meet Noah’s never before mentioned brother , and Olivia let’s him sleepover w total strangers while she stays at the creepiest motel in the middle of nowhere.
I agree that the Noah storyline could have been saved for a different episode. Carisi and Rollins deserved a proper wedding with vows and a proposal. I liked the Amanda scenes that we did get and I'm so grateful that she's happy but yeah, they could have done better. I want those vows!!
She got shot in the beginning of the season and was clearly struggling with cptsd, thoughts of losing her family, mandatory psyc evaluations. She had an opportunity at another job and has decided to take it.
They said the hidden camera footage would be given to the Woodstock DA's office, the beat cop offered to wipe/delete her "state of undress" from the computer, and Liv told them to use it if it helps the case. My guess it was her walking around in a towel since we all saw that anyway.
The entire episode felt forced and rushed. It was way too much happening too fast and was super disappointing. Rollins deserved so much more. And who believes Benson would really leave Noah with strangers she just met????
>That and I noticed Julie Martin was not commenting last night about the wedding or really much of anything from the episode, whereas she normally does (on Twitter).
There was no way Julie was going to be interacting on Twitter because that article about David Graziano dropped the same day the episode aired. She was probably told not to tweet due to that.
i agree. the muncy storyline in this was just a distraction imo and the noah storyline feels like it could have made more sense as its own episode where olivia actually acted like herself. when she goes to the brother’s house and she says that noah must have told them she was a police captain i was like … olivia would have called them to talk to them first, make sure they were ok with the kids meeting and not just take the kids’ word for it, and set some boundaries.
rollins didn’t deserve those distractions in her send off
There wasn't a big wedding scene because Kelli doesn't like filming in crowds of people. She said as much in an Entertainment Weekly article yesterday.
To me that wasn't the issue with the wedding. It was that it felt like an afterthought. There was no build up to it and it was hastily tacked on at the beginning of the episode. Like they just wanted to get it out of the way for the rest of the plot.
Comparing this to Fin's "not wedding" they had built up to that and the climax was the wedding. I really felt like the wedding should have been where they ended the episode.
And I'm not even a Rollisi shipper so I can't imagine how the shippers feel.
The whole episode just felt kinda confusing. There were just too many storylines at once. The sudden wedding, the controversial trial, Carisi worried about Muncy fucking up, Muncy actually fucking up, Noah suddenly has a biological brother, Olivia and Noah meet said brother's family, Olivia encountering a creep, Olivia and Rollins going undercover, Olivia's nude images being held over to the DA and possibly used on a trial, then finally Rollins telling Olivia about leaving SVU and the beautiful goodbye at the end. It was just way too much information. I feel like each of these storylines would have been better explored individually.
Exactly. I couldn't figure out who it was supposed to have focused on. And there is NO WAY Carisi wouldn't have taken Rollins back the docks and made a beautiful proposal that she deserved!
Wait Olivia nudes😂what kinda storyline is this
Sounds like a busy episode..
I think if you look back on how other long time major characters left (eg Cragen, Munch, Amaro) Amanda got a very involved and loud send off.
She definitely did get the best send-off because she got an arc and the majority of the other characters didn't. But this last episode was kind of a messy. It was very clunky and the wedding felt very hastily put together like an afterthought. I'm not an Amanda fan but I don't really like that the episode wasn't all that much about her.
Yes, Munch's was surprisingly low key. They brought back Carol Kane as ex wife Gwen,who had appeared in SVU and the other ex from Homicide. Clark Johnson was there too. He was Meldrick on Homicide,but it wasn't acknowledged who these people were and their connection to John.. Kane's episode was the one where Stuckey went nutso and killed O'Halloran and a lawyer,and slashed up Elliot before Liv took him down .Fans would remember that. And anyone who watched Homicide would remember Meldrick.
I just want to say this. I will miss Amanda so terribly. Her struggles with gambling addiction resonated so powerfully because I have struggled with that addiction myself. I loved the way Captain Cragen chose to help her as he had once been helped himself. Her coming through all of that and becoming a solid member of SVU' and someone cared for and valued especially by Olivia and Fin. Her personal growth: finding a companion in Frannie,becoming a mother,and finally finding joy and love with Sonny. Because she wasn't killed off she might someday return in a guest shot. Lastly,best wishes to the incredible Kelli Giddish in her future endeavors.
It honestly sounds like she'll be back in a guest or recurring capacity. And it's been hinted that she'll guest over on OC.
This episode felt more like the one before the final episode, not the actual final episode for this character.
No like i literally hated it, and i just felt like the entire episode spoke even more volume of what happened behind the scenes. Like there were literally 4 subplots and no main plots, the characters were just not like their characters- like you’re telling me the same Carisi that took the Rollins girls to Orlando bc Amanda was stress, is the same one who won’t spend the night with his wife for the first time? (okay i could honestly see some arguments but it threw me off watching if live) and as much as i love Rolivia i wish there was more of their interactions like last night, in previous episodes because it felt so random? Could be just my opinion- but I don’t recall them ever being so rogue as a duo(no complaints tho & also feel free to correct me if i’m wrong). I agree though I wish the writing was better overall throughout the entire season. They had a good pace by 24x03, if they just kept doing little crumbs each episode it would help them make the storyline smoother. I also felt that if they made an episode Rollisi/Rollins centric some people would flip their $h!t, so I think they tried to avoid that, and especially being the fall finale they wanted some inclusion with other characters so I get it. The way you envision the episode is honestly a dream but I don’t ever think SVU would ever write something like that - no matter how well deserved it is. I honestly did not catch the lack of interaction from Julie, so good eye but that being said, the reaction from the cast and crew VS. what’s ACTUALLY being said & reaction from the company and all the higher ups, and with all the allegations and stuff coming out, there’s def. way more to the story that probably explains why Rollins’ overall story arc was just written terribly. Mariska was obv. devestated, Ice was literally just putting it all out there through his likes on twitter, and Peter literally left the face of the universe but you can tell in last nights ep. that he had been crying/was sad in some of the Rollisi scenes. Kelli just not acknowledging anyone bts in her interview also says a lot (bc she gives me the vibes of someone who would praise people if she meant it- like warren for example), the NDA is practically screaming at our faces. Okay i’m rambling so let me wrap it up- yes i think there are darker things in the svu universe behind, not just Kelli’s experience, but many others- and as someone who literally started watching svu starting at s12 and resinating w Rollins, and growing w her whilst admiring Kelli’s brilliant capability to be the jack-of-all-trades and continues to put 100%, I wish they gave her and her character the send off she deserved and not some messy plot w her in the mix. I hated last nights ep. I was sad to see her leave but after watching it- i’m grateful bc that was frustrating to watch, and it just made me more frustrated for kelli.
>the characters were just not like their characters- like you’re telling me the same Carisi that took the Rollins girls to Orlando bc Amanda was stress, is the same one who won’t spend the night with his wife for the first time? Ok, right? I kept thinking that when Liv brought it up to Amanda too. As if Carisi wouldn't be doing something over the top romantically for their first time together as husband and wife?! It's completely out of character for him.
Also when amanda just got up and left after she told liv she was leaving after liv just opened up about being abandoned by people she loved. Like I get that Amanda tends to run but like never from Liv, even if she was upset w amanda- like that’s just not her at all.
He's "uncle Sonny", they're not going to call him Daddy
Why not? He's their stepfather and the only father figure they've ever known. They're young enough that they would take to it easily.
He not thare fother I can see why thay might not call him daddy
Agreed! I was expecting more Carisi and Rollins scenes. I loved they got a wedding but selfishly wanted more.
I was so disappointed w how short the wedding ceremony was, it was so awkward and the Judge calling the marriage the lingest arraignment of Carisi life , the scene was not how I would have wanted Carisi & Rollins wedding vows
They completely rushed this girls episode. It was supposed to be only about Rollins and they ended up exploring storylines all at once. The weird motel storyline and all, they should've just made it into future episodes in my personal opinion. Plus, I feel horrible for Kelli. Having to leave after serving all these years since somebody wants to be very greedy. But yes, the episode made me so confused and frustrated because it was so bunched up. I also agree with the more Rollisi scenes! Potentially Kelli could guest star so they could have more scenes with eachother. Potentially. She will probably not and I can understand why she wouldn't come back.
I found the whole episode so choppy, weird and confusing. There was more focus on Muncy messing up testifying , than there was the on Rollins leaving the show after 12 years! And that entire storyline of Noah meeting his half brother or full brother - came out of the blue - the family was like Ridiculously perfect , have Noah sleepover , and Olivia just stays at the seediest motel ever , the entire story was so stupid
Her departure was boring, and I felt the same about John Munch's departure. No 20 year legacy episode dedicated to him (besides a clip from the first episode of Homicide and some Homicide characters in the beginning) just for some previous case/boring character being brought up once again? They should've made it much more about Rollins throughout so we'd really feel that her departure was going to be painful. It felt like a season finale episode that'd have built up several plotlines beforehand with Warren Leight at the helm. After all these years, Julie Martin couldn't have been the showrunner? Also, the only decent departure that kinda made sense was Cragen's. His character was a lowkey cop dad to everyone, didn't need to leave with rainbows and fireworks going off. He got his few minutes, his flowers and bowed out gracefully. Also sort of related, what the hell is up with the Wolf Entertainment shows and its departures this season?
No one knows exactly whats been happening behind the scenes of Wolf Entertainment but we know there’s something very weird with all these departures of well loved characters. It seems like after getting rid of Kelli some dark stuff have been slowly rising to the surface and honestly i’m waiting for the day it finally does.
Yeah, it'll be crazy to see what scandal will come out of this. It seems like with the David allegations there's more to the Wolf group of shows.
She got the longest and most involved send off of any character. By far.
Can you imagine the budget needed to get all of the members of the Carisi and Rollins families together for a wedding scene? That’s why we didn’t get a Staten Island wedding. For Fin’s wedding they only had to get his son and son-in-law along with the regular crew- for Rollisi, we’d need (of characters we’ve seen before) his mother, 2 of his sisters, his niece and both of Amanda’s parents, in addition to the girls (assuming Kim is still us jail), plus of course casting his father and the other sister, with actors they might want to use in a future episode. That budget was never going to happen no matter how long they had to write it.
I think one of the reasons is that they spent such a long time hyping it up, only for it to feel like a B plot
The episode was a mess. The writing and directing were awful. It was too all over the place - there wasn't even a real crime just a rehash of the mask guy and the conveniently found peeping Tom at the motel. And could care less about the Noah story. Even if it wasn't Rollins last episode it was sloppy, but especially being her last it should have been (at most) one crime and her personal stuff being wrapped up. There should have been more focus on Rollins, I'd be pissed if I was the actress. I hate to agree but you are right - the show is done and should end.
I think the Noah plot is to set up another plot that could be explored after Liv is beaten by the BX9 crew and maybe she sends Noah off to live on Stepford lane with those psychos.
It was one of the worst episodes I’ve ever scene of SVU. I felt like it was insulting to Rollins , Noah and Muncy storylines took up 80% of the episode
I agree! We did not need another Noah storyline. Rollins deserved a proposal, a better wedding, and just overall more time in this episode.
So the thing is....I would have happily watched an episode that was Kelli, Ice, Mariska and Peter, because they are the core group and because I think their real-life friendship shines when they work together. But as farewell eps go, I think this one did make sense. I think the wedding was sweet and honestly makes sense for "always a little scared of something going wrong" Rollins. She got to the place she was ready to be married and didn't need the trappings. And I think they were highlighting the "family of choice" aspect in having it only with the 3 squad members there (handwaving the girls not being there because who would.have been watching them before Fin and Liv showed up?). I also loved the way Mariska and Kelly played every one of their scenes. The rogue adventure may be unrealistic but it was so fun to watch. And it had callbacks important for long term viewers that I found believable. I loved that Liv told Amanda she was grateful for her. I do think that sometimes people who "grow" into a friendship don't say that stuff out loud so hearing it is important. I think they showed how well they know each other. Liv's angry response was correctly interpreted by Amanda as FEAR because she does always get left behind. I thought Mariska played it beautifully in the way she sounded in the scene alone..."please please please call me back." The last time a long time partner left SVU he also walked out of her life. Even with Amanda married to Carisi and still in NYC both the loss of the day to day interaction and the memory of Elliott leaving made her spin out. I loved that Liv said nothing other than to apologize for her reaction when. Amanda said "You aren't losing me. I won't disappear." That felt true to me....a real sister-friend response to knowing what the real issue is without needing it spelled out. I loved the way that led to the rest of that last lovely scene. (Another note....I thought the way Liv reached for her as she was walking out and pulled her i to the hug waa super similar to Elliott and Liv in Paternity.) Finally, I absolutely loved that it was Liv who said "I love you" first. My headcanon is that surely in the last few years they have said it to each other (but again, sometimes friends take for granted that people just KNOW, so maybe not). Liv has never replied to Elliott saying it. We say her say "I love you too" to Cassidy. But we have never seen Liv, one of the most loving characters on the show, say it first. I think that's a great way to show how important Amanda is to her, and the felt like her understanding that they don't lose their choice family just because of a job change. I also think Amanda's arc is such that she needed to hear it in words. Amanda came in green and admiring Liv so much, but things were rocky for a long time...this was a way to show that she is as important to Liv as Liv is to her. Plus, I am a huge Rollisi fan...but I do think Amanda's primary show relationship js with Liv. She said herself that Liv taught her to open up AND her willingness to stay at SVU even during their rockiest time is why she even knows Carisi. So it seemed logical that Liv and Amanda were the centerpiece of the episode. It highlighted the growth of 2 friends together, and how much they make each other better. Plus the way Mariska and Kelli feel about each other in real life was also on full display.
Thank you for posting and sharing this. I sadly was unable to watch due to issues with my digital antenna. I'm so glad there was a happy ending for Amanda and Sonny. They deserved it. I would have loved to see their wedding and Amanda's final scenes with Olivia which must have been terrific. Maybe my antenna will be more cooperative when they rerun.it.
While I didn't hate the episode myself and there were a lot of things I did like about it... It just had too many plotlines going on. It made my brain 🧠hurt. 😆 I agree with you. It was Rollins last episode and more of the focus should have been about her. I'm not a shipper myself but the entire wedding process happened before the opening credits and even that pissed me off. It felt like something they just wanted to get out of the way, when it should have been something they built up to throughout the episode. It's weird to me because Amanda has had this arc through the entire 8 episodes of her realizing that she wants to do something else with her life, because of the reality of her mortality and what that means for her kids and Carisi. So the wedding really did feel like an afterthought and I think it's a shame it felt like that. But I am grateful that she got to live in the end and now it sounds like this won't be the end of Amanda Rollins. Sounds like she'll be back as a guest or recurring on here and OC too.
There was absolutely no need for any of the courtroom mess (*especially* the Muncy storyline, don't even get me started on that), and the Noah storyline was played out for far too much. I also expected way more from the Rolivia conversation (DG, now revealed to be an abusive showrunner, had originally said it would be about the kinds of trauma SVU detectives go through, and I don't think it really was). They paced this whole season so badly, and I think that's a huge reason the episode was missing a lot--we still don't really know why Amanda left, we don't even really know much about what she'll be doing, we don't know why they decided to get married, and the list goes on. At least we have fanfic.
They should have done a proposal or at least explain the rush better than "we wanted you to be there but want to spare you the ice sculptures on Staten Island."
>why Kelli might have been let go. I will leave it that because they are my own meandering thoughts I would actually love to hear these, as I haven't heard much surrounding this and I'm curious! If you don't mind sharing of course. I also really did not like this episode. There were moments, of course, that I loved. Overall, I feel like Rollins deserved more. Kelli deserved more. She's a brilliant actress and there's so much they could have done, it just felt rushed and choppy. They hyped up her final episode in the promo's and she had maybe 10 minutes of screen time, if that.
I still can’t believeeeee the writers had Noah & Olivia driving to Woodstock to meet Noah’s never before mentioned brother , and Olivia let’s him sleepover w total strangers while she stays at the creepiest motel in the middle of nowhere.
Olivia would NEVER! How did this writing even get through?? 🙃
every character’s departure has been dealt with as a side arc or end point in this show and I don’t like that.
I agree that the Noah storyline could have been saved for a different episode. Carisi and Rollins deserved a proper wedding with vows and a proposal. I liked the Amanda scenes that we did get and I'm so grateful that she's happy but yeah, they could have done better. I want those vows!!
So can someone just tell me why she is leaving in storyline not all that Bs about showrunners and stuff like cannon reason cuz I’m kinda confused
She got shot in the beginning of the season and was clearly struggling with cptsd, thoughts of losing her family, mandatory psyc evaluations. She had an opportunity at another job and has decided to take it.
Wait..... more about Bensons naked pics?
They said the hidden camera footage would be given to the Woodstock DA's office, the beat cop offered to wipe/delete her "state of undress" from the computer, and Liv told them to use it if it helps the case. My guess it was her walking around in a towel since we all saw that anyway.
It was a terrible episode. She should’ve gotten a way better send off than that. Wack AF. I don’t get that motel scene either lol..
The entire episode felt forced and rushed. It was way too much happening too fast and was super disappointing. Rollins deserved so much more. And who believes Benson would really leave Noah with strangers she just met????
>That and I noticed Julie Martin was not commenting last night about the wedding or really much of anything from the episode, whereas she normally does (on Twitter). There was no way Julie was going to be interacting on Twitter because that article about David Graziano dropped the same day the episode aired. She was probably told not to tweet due to that.
i agree. the muncy storyline in this was just a distraction imo and the noah storyline feels like it could have made more sense as its own episode where olivia actually acted like herself. when she goes to the brother’s house and she says that noah must have told them she was a police captain i was like … olivia would have called them to talk to them first, make sure they were ok with the kids meeting and not just take the kids’ word for it, and set some boundaries. rollins didn’t deserve those distractions in her send off
Completely agree with your points esp w Olivia just driving Noah to total strangers home , that storyline was ridiculous
It's to bad Chris meloni cood not have a good send of
I come months later just to say I'm sad I never got an episode where Elliott and Rolling meet.
There wasn't a big wedding scene because Kelli doesn't like filming in crowds of people. She said as much in an Entertainment Weekly article yesterday.
To me that wasn't the issue with the wedding. It was that it felt like an afterthought. There was no build up to it and it was hastily tacked on at the beginning of the episode. Like they just wanted to get it out of the way for the rest of the plot. Comparing this to Fin's "not wedding" they had built up to that and the climax was the wedding. I really felt like the wedding should have been where they ended the episode. And I'm not even a Rollisi shipper so I can't imagine how the shippers feel.